What should I pack for ielts listening?

IELTS Listening

Matching Questions

Matching questions are very common in the IELTS Listening exam, so expect to get one in your test.

This type of question usually appears in sections 1 or 3 in which the recording is a conversation between two or more people. The question will contain two sets of information and you have to match them.

You need to have a good strategy to answer matching questions successfully and thats what youll learn in this lesson.

The lesson includes:

Matching questions come in several different forms. Here are a couple of examples from past papers.

IELTS Listening matching questions Sample 1

In this example, you are given a list of hotel names [A-E] and a list of features of the hotels [1-4]. You must listen to the recording and identify which hotel has which feature.

Source: Cambridge English Test Paper

IELTS Listening matching questions Sample 2

In this example, you are given a list of course options [21-25] and a list of choices the student could make about whether or not he will take the course. You must listen to the recording and identify the decision the student makes about each course.

Source: Cambridge English Test Paper

Im going to use this second example to teach you the answer strategy and give you tips and advice on how to overcome the challenges presented by this type of question.

Strategy & Tips

You will have a short time to prepare before the speakers begin talking. Use this time to familiarise yourself with the question and focus your mind on what you need to listen out for.

1] Analyse the question

One of the biggest challenges with matching questions in the IELTS listening test is that they can be confusing when you first see them, so start by analysing the question to make sure you fully understand what you have to do.

Step 1 First, you need to understand the relationship between the question sentence and the question options 21-25.

Highlight the key part of the question sentence and think about how it relates to the question options.

So, you will need to listen out for what Jack tells his tutor about Media Studies, what he tells her about Women and Power, and so on.

Step 2 Next, look at questions 21-25 in relation to the answer options A, B and C.

So, does Jack tell his tutor that he will definitely do Media Studies, he may or may not do Media Studies or that he won't do Media Studies?

Does Jack tell his tutor that he will definitely take the Women and Power course, he may or may not take the Women and Power course or that he won't take the Women and Power course? And so on.

2] Answer order

In matching questions, the questions will be mentioned in order in the recording but the answer options will appear randomly.

So, for our sample question, the speakers will first talk about Media Studies, then Women and Power, then Culture and Society, etc. The three decisions options as to whether or not to take each course could be heard in any order.

3] Synonyms and paraphrasing

Synonyms and paraphrasing will be used extensively in the recording and another good use of your preparation time is to quickly think of some words and phrases that might be used to express the information in the question.

First, lets think about the three answer options. Jack is not going to say,

He will use different phrases to convey the same meaning. You will need to listen out for both positive and negative vocabulary and sentence structures. For example,

If you can think up a few examples of what you might hear Jack say, you will be well prepared for picking out the synonyms and paraphrasing as the recording plays.

4] Watch out for distractors

The examiners will try and catch you out with distractors.

A distractor is a word or a phrase that changes or corrects the original piece of information given. So, you maybe given an answer and then have it taken away again.

Here are some sample sentences containing distractors. Ive highlighted the relevant words.

But andhowever are common distractor but there are many other words and phrases that can be used to change the information given. There are several present in the recording so listen carefully for them.

You will also hear Jack changing or clarifying decisions as the conversation progresses and hes given new information by the tutor Dr Ray.

The best approach to marking the answers is to write A, B or C next to a question as soon as you think youve heard the correct answer but continue to listen carefully in case you find that youre wrong. If this happens, you can quickly cross it through and write the correct answer beside it.

You can write on your test paper as much as you want to. Youll have 10 minutes at the end of the Listening test to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

5] Writing the answer

Read the question carefully.

For matching questions in the IELTS Listening test, you must write a letter for the answer, not a word or phrase.

So, if the answers is He'll definitely do it, you must writeA,notthe sentence. If you write the words He'll definitely do it for your answer, it will be marked wrong even though the information is correct. Dontthrow away marks with silly mistakes like this.

6] Predict the answer

In some questions, you may be able to predictsome likely matches of information. This will help to quickly eliminate some of the possible answers.

This isnt possible in this question but do bear it in mind as you practice with other sample questions.

7] Guess if necessary

My final tip is to never leave a blank space on the answer sheet. If you miss an answer, take an educated guess. This gives you at least some chance of getting it right. Dont stress about a missed answer or it will affect your ability to answer the next set of questions. Just make your choice and move on.

Practice Activity

Its now time for you to practice using this strategy on our sample question. Here it is again.

Sample matching question

Listen to this recording and answer the question. Refer back to the strategy as you need to.When youve completed the practice activity, go through the answers below.

Answers

Here are the correct answers. Examine the language that makes them correct, that is, the paraphrasing that has been used.

Answers:

Answer 21:CHe won't do Media Studies.

Heres the section of dialogue this answer appears in:

This is how the answer has been paraphrased:

He won't do itàbutIve decided I'd rather do something completely new

Note the use of the distractor but as Jack goes from a position of interest, which could suggest an answer of maybe, to a decision to definitely not do the course.

Answer 22:AHe'll definitely do Women and Power.

Heres the section of dialogue this answer appears in:

At first, Jack says that he is not sure about taking womens studies which suggests that he may or may not do it. When he hears that the tutor teaching the course is Dr Steed, he decides that he will definitely take this course.

This is how the answer has been paraphrased:

He'll definitely do ità I'll sign up for that, then

Answer 23:B He may or may not do Culture and Society

Heres the section of dialogue this answer appears in:

This is how the answer has been paraphrased:

He may or may not do ità I'll think about that one

Answer 24:BHe may or may not do Identity and Popular Culture

Heres the section of dialogue this answer appears in:

This is how the answer has been paraphrased:

He may or may not do ità I might wait until then to decide

Answer 25:C He won't do Introduction to Cultural Theory

Heres the section of dialogue this answer appears in:

This is how the answer has been paraphrased:

He won't do ità I'll forget about that one, then

Initially, Jack says hes quite interested in that too but on discovering that hes already covered a lot of the course material in a previous module, he discounts it as an option.

Heres a summary of the answers to help you focus in on the vocabulary and sentence structures used.

I hope youve found this lesson on IELTS Listening matching questions helpful. Now practice using this strategy on other matching questions.

You'll find lessons on how to answer other types of Listening questions in the menu below.

IELTS ListeningAll Lessons

IELTS Listening TestUnderstand the format & question types. Know what skills are assessed. Also, discover 3 important marking tips.

Listening StrategiesLearn 3 essential listening strategiesquestion analysis, answer prediction & how to use keyword clues.

Listening SkillsLearn the4 key listening skills needed for a high score highly. Examples from real questions.

Listening Exercises8 listening exercises to help you recognise & learn vocabulary for 6 common topics time, numbers, prices, dates, letter names & addresses.

The 10 Question Types Examples of all 10 types of Listening questions. Learn how to recognise & understand them. Links to 10 step-by-step lessons.

Listening TipsTop 10 tips to bring you success in your Listening test. Essential information you need to know to achieve a high score.

How to Improve Your Listening Skills6 simple strategies essential for achieving a high score in the test.

Listening Practice4 practice techniques to develop your listening skills

Map & Plan VocabularyLearn the vocabulary you need for your test. 5 maps & plans with sample sentences containing common vocabulary of location & direction.

Listening Practice Samples Short activities toimprove your listening skills & help you learn topic vocabulary.

Genuine Full Practice Tests:

• Practice Test 1

• Practice Test 2

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