The most accepted language test around the world is “International English Language Testing System (IELTS). In general, the listening module of IELTS checks student’s ability to understand spoken English and their IELTS listening skills. Hence, this module of the IELTS section consists of four parts, each part with ten questions, and it lasts for about 30 minutes. So, you can use different listening methods to understand spoken English better. To get a pre-check, you can take an IELTS practice test listening to enhance your skills. Here are some tips or ways to improve your listening skills.
5 Ways to Prepare for IELTS Listening Skills
The IELTS test is divided into four parts, and the four essential components are Listening, Speaking, Writing, and Reading.
In fact, every part is important and plays a crucial role in this examination process. Therefore, every student needs a reasonable score to pass this exam. In this article, we will focus on the listening part and polish your skills to score better. However, we will use some effective listening tips and tricks to improve your IELTS listening skills. Let’s understand these tips in detail.
Listen to a variety of topics
Listening to a variety of topics will help you improve your understanding of language and pronunciation. Certainly, choosing different topics will expand your knowledge. However, it will expose you to different subjects and fields. Learning about different dialects will help you expand your vocabulary and improve your IELTS listening skills.
Improve your listening skills
First understand, that your listening ability doesn’t come from books or reading. You need to start listening to more and more English to improve your listening ability. After knowing all this if you are aspiring to work on your listening skills but don’t know where to start let’s start with a Japanese technique. This technique is known as ‘shadowing’; it simply means to carefully listen and loudly repeat the exact words of the person you are listening to. You can practice this technique while watching movies, TV shows, radio or podcasts. While following this technique, you just need to follow these two-step rules;
- No Subtitle
- Don’t worry if you understand or not just say whatever you hear.
Every person’s brain mechanism works like a piece of art, so do not worry about learning. After practicing for a few months, you will notice yourself improving and understanding everything.
Therefore, give yourself some time; it’s not going to happen in days or weeks but surely in months.
Apparently, you need at least 5 months of regular listening practice before you see any actual improvement.
Practice with different accents
To improve your English skills, try exposing yourself to various English-speaking sources. During exams, you might encounter recordings with different accents, which can be unlike what you’re used to. However, these accents reflect the English spoken in different regions. Prepare yourself for this diversity in accents by practicing with recordings from various English regions. News channels are excellent for this purpose, and you can also listen to podcasts and watch local TV shows.
Improve vocabulary
During your test, you will be examined in different areas, such as pronunciation, fluency, and the depth of your vocabulary range.
Thus, it is important to ensure you practice your vocabulary section every day.
Therefore, practice idioms, phrases and new words to sharpen your skills.
In fact, learn vocabulary in context and listen to podcasts to learn new words and phrases.
Use abbreviation
An abbreviation is “cutting down big words into small ones.” Also, when you practice writing while listening, focus on writing it down in the form of abbreviations. Because listing and writing work hand in hand. However, don’t use full words and sentences. Use abbreviations that you will understand. For instance, P for people and U for you.
Helpful Tips to Improve Your IELTS Listening Skills
To improve your IELTS listening skills, you can use some tips and different ways to practice them. However, learn to be transparent with yourself and practice the tips below to improve your skills. In the meantime, getting some knowledge about how tests work will help you excel in the exam.
Practice active listening
Active listening is a part of aligning your focus in one place. Moreover, to improve your focus, you need to practice active listening. However, this involves setting yourself small tasks when you are practising. Also, when you practice at home, make it as real as possible, just as you will be in your IELTS listening exam.
Prepare a different set of questions
In general, there are six types of questions in the listening exam. However, practice different sets of questions to improve your IELTS listening skills. Also, make sure to practice all of them, not only the listening part. Familiar yourself with different sets of difficult levels. Be task-oriented and give yourself space to work on yourself. This practice will boost your confidence level.
Deliver answers correctly
In the exam hall, you will only get 10 minutes to deliver your answer. However, prepare yourself to write as fast as possible and ensure that you deliver answers correctly. Also, pay attention to spelling and grammar mistakes. Avoid misspelling words, or you will lose marks for that mistake.
Conclusion
These tips and tricks will help you to prepare well for the IELTS Mock test. However, you will get a good understanding of your core skills. After practicing for a while, students learn to practice focus and understand how to deliver words correctly. Meanwhile, this test improves your listening ability; the more time you spend implementing these tips and tricks, the better you will get with time. Also, this will help you to get higher scores on your exam and improve your IELTS practice test listening score.
