A full Listening test in the browser: four parts, 40 questions, played once

Is this a real IELTS Listening recording?

No. The voices are your browser’s speech synthesis, so the accents, the rhythm and the pauses are not those of a real IELTS recording. The four recordings were written for this site in the style of a Part 1 conversation, a Part 2 talk, a Part 3 discussion and a Part 4 lecture. Use them to practise the skill: following speech you hear once and writing a name, a number, a word or a place correctly, or choosing the right letter.

How long is the real IELTS Listening test?

IELTS.org’s Listening format page says the test takes approximately 30 minutes and has four parts and 40 questions, each worth one mark, and that you hear each recording once only. Part 1 is a conversation between two speakers in an everyday social context. This page practises all four parts, ten questions in each, so a full sitting has the same 40 questions as the real test. The recordings are the browser’s voices, so the time a sitting takes is not a measure of the real test’s timing. IELTS Listening test: the four parts, six question types and scoring goes through the format.

What is Part 2 of the Listening test?

IELTS.org’s Listening format page says Part 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context, for example a speech about local facilities. As in every part, you hear it once only, and the questions can be of the kinds IELTS.org lists, including multiple choice, matching, map and diagram labelling, and form, note and table completion. The talk on this page was written for this site: a volunteer coordinator welcoming new helpers to a nature reserve, with five multiple-choice questions and five matching questions. IELTS Listening test: the four parts, six question types and scoring goes through the question types.

What are Parts 3 and 4 of the Listening test?

IELTS.org’s Listening format page says Part 3 is a discussion between two main speakers in an educational or training context, for example two students talking about an assignment, and Part 4 is one speaker on an academic subject. As in every part, you hear each recording once only. The Part 3 discussion on this page was written for this site: two students prepare a presentation on a bird survey, with five multiple-choice questions and five matching questions. The Part 4 lecture was written for this site too: a lecturer explains how crows use tools, with ten note-completion questions, each answered with one word. Why IELTS Listening Parts 3 and 4 are harder, and how to cope goes through both.

When does the test show a band?

Only for the full 40-question sitting, when you take all four parts. IELTS.org publishes its Listening raw-score conversion for a test of 40 questions, so a score out of 10 has no official row to be read against, and a score scaled up to 40 would only be a guess. For the full test the page reads your score from the Listening band-by-band table used by the band score calculator. IELTS.org says the marks needed for a band vary slightly from one test version to another, so the band is indicative: an estimate, not your result on a real test. If you have a raw score out of 40 from another test, the band score calculator converts it.

What counts as a correct answer?

In Part 1 and Part 4 your answer is compared with the key after spaces are trimmed and capitals are ignored. A time written 7.30, 7:30 or 730 is accepted in Part 1. If you write more than the word limit, the answer is marked wrong; IELTS.org says the same of the real test, and IDP says a misspelt answer is marked wrong, so check your spelling before you submit. In Part 2 and Part 3 you choose a letter, and it is right when it is the key.

What if I hear nothing?

The test needs a browser with speech synthesis, an English voice and your sound switched on. If the browser has no English voice, only Practice mode is offered, with the transcript on screen, so you can still answer the questions by reading it. If the voices do not start in Exam mode, try Practice mode.