While Listening: Being Ready to Hear

 Let's discuss some essential strategies to employ while the listening sections are playing. Each listening extract commences after a pause, during which you should focus on reviewing the question paper while listening for answers to the questions.


It's important to note some key facts about the listening questions. The answers are heard in the same sequence as the questions presented on the question paper. Therefore, if you've just heard the answer to question 11, the answer to question 12 will follow, and so on. Given this sequence and the inability to replay the recording, you must be prepared to identify each answer by listening for words and expressions that correspond to the keywords in the questions.


Consider an extract from a question paper, such as this section with question numbers 11 to 20, as indicated. The question paper also provides instructions. In this section, you'll need to listen about a company named 'BCD International' and complete the notes. Let's focus on question 11, where the keywords are 'number of employees.'


In the IELTS Listening Test, you won't hear the exact words as presented in the questions; otherwise, it would be too straightforward. Hence, you must anticipate hearing different words and expressions indicating the answer. For question 11, possible words and expressions could include 'how many' and 'staff' instead of 'number of employees.' There may be other variations as well.


Consider question 12. Instead of 'produces,' what alternative words or phrases might you hear? Perhaps 'makes' or 'BCD is a manufacturer of…' Being prepared in this manner will significantly assist you in answering the questions.





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