The IELTS listening test is the same for both those taking the Academic and General Training papers.

It consists of 40 questions (10 per section) and lasts around 30 minutes. You will have 10 minutes at the end to transfer your answers from the question paper to the answer sheet.

The listening test consists of four separate sections, each more difficult than the last. In other words, part one is the easiest and part four is the most difficult. Each part has a different theme or focus.

• In section 1 you will hear a conversation between two people and it is almost always someone making an appointment or making a booking of some kind (e.g. making a hotel reservation or hiring a car). The questions are normally gap-fill questions in which you have to listen to the information and complete a form or sentence.
• In section 2 you will hear someone talking by themselves about a non-academic subject (e.g. TV or radio presenter).
• Section 3 switches to an academic context and it will always be more than one person discussing something (e.g. an academic paper or assignment).
• Section 4 is normally an academic lecture and you will hear one person (normally the lecturer or professor) talking for an extended period of time.