IELTS Listening is structured into four sections:

• Part 1: A conversation between the two of you on everyday topics such as booking a hotel, booking a bus ticket, or calling a repairman.

• Part 2: A monologue spoken by a person, discussing common topics such as introducing a place or describing jobs.

• Part 3: Conversations of two to four people, focusing on academic topics.

• Part 4: Monologues on academic topics such as science, history, etc.

Tips for IELTS Listening to help you get a high score.

1. Develop a revision and homework strategy

In the IELTS exam, the Listening section requires flexibility in handling a variety of questions. Each type of question requires candidates to use distinct skills and strategies. However, many students still struggle to build a revision strategy and do the test, leading to unsatisfactory results.

You should have your own revision and test strategy, whether it is the teacher's guide/online reference strategy or you build your own personal strategy through test experience.

2. Doing Section 1 correctly

Doing Section 1 correctly will bring a lot of benefits to your IELTS Listening test. 

• First, Section 1 is the first section you will hear when you enter the exam and is the easiest section in the whole paper, so completing them well will help you stay mentally strong and be more confident in completing the next sections. 

• Next, sometimes an IELTS Listening test will have a difference in difficulty (Sections 2, 3, 4 are too difficult), so to ensure you get the best score in the band, try to get all of Section 1 right. 

Focus on practicing regularly with many Practice Tests (Cambridge 7 - 18, IELTS Trainer 2,..) on online websites or books to achieve the best results.

In addition, you should create a list of vocabulary words to learn every day, including the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning of each word. This will help you build a solid foundation, which is extremely important in increasing your chances of success in the IELTS Listening test.

3. Listen carefully from the top of the base

To achieve the best results in the IELTS Listening section, the most important thing is to focus on listening to the audio carefully, maintaining a high level of concentration to avoid confusing the answers with distractors.

Read the entire question before listening to the audio, analyze the questions carefully, then focus on listening carefully, take notes of important information and do not neglect until the audio is over.

4. Apply the exclusion method 

IELTS Listening methods are very popular, one of the relatively effective methods is the exclusion method, which is often applied when you accidentally "miss" information or cannot determine the correct answer. 

5. Practice Multiple Choice Questions carefully

The Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) in IELTS Listening are often the ones that test takers are most likely to make mistakes, including those who are confident in their listening ability.

A common mistake is wasting time rereading the answers in Sections 1 and 2 instead of focusing on completing Sections 3 and 4. After the audio is over, you immediately move on to reading the questions of the following section to keep up with your performance in all sections.

Another serious mistake is to spend time rereading the question while the audio is playing instead of focusing on listening. To avoid making this mistake, candidates should read and note the keywords in advance.