IELTS Listening: Section 4 Practice

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IELTS Listening Section 4 is an educational lecture below are tips and a practice lesson to help you prepare. All candidates take the same listening test so this is the same for Academic and GT candidates. This is the most difficult section of the listening test. The listening exercise below is based on section 4 and it focuses on short answer questions. It is possible to get any question type in section 4.

IELTS Listening Section 4 Tips

  1. Section 4 is an academic talk by one speaker, a lecture.
    • Please note, for candidates taking the General Training IELTS Test, you will be taking the same listening test and the same speaking test as the Academic candidates.
  2. Academic lectures are usually structured:
    • Introduction – what the talk main points will be
    • Middle
      • Main Points with Detailed and Examples
    • Conclusion – a summary
    • This logical organisation of information will help you.
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  3. Signposts:
    • As the speaker moves from one point to another, they will say things like:
      • Looking at X
      • Moving on to Y
      • Another interesting point is …
    • You need to pay attention to these words.
  4. Linking words
    • Talks will also use linking words to add information, give an opposite point or give an example. All these words will help you understand the information and follow the points. Example words:
      • Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly
      • Also, in addition, moreover, furthermore
      • by contrast, conversely, on the other hand
      • for example, such as, like, namely
    • You can find a list of common linking words on this page: Linking Words. Although the page is for writing task 2, they are formal linking words used for formal talks as well.
  5. Academic talks contain vocabulary relevant to the topic. Such vocabulary often isn’t paraphrased, which can be very useful in navigating the recording.
  6. Don’t try to understand everything. Focus on listening for answers only
  7. Predict the type of answer you need to listen for.
  8. Listen out for paraphrases of common words.
  9. For the listening practice below, answers will come in order
  10. Section 4 usually has 10 questions. The lesson below is a practice lesson rather than a test. The aim is for you to get used to the language and layout of listening section 4.

When you finish your listening practice, listening again and read the transcript at the same time. Answers are given below.

Practice for IELTS Listening Section 4

Section 4 Practice Lesson

Dolphin Intelligence

Questions 1-6: Write no more than three words and/or a number.

1. The lecture will concentrate on tools, communication, sonar and what other aspect of dolphin intelligence?
2. How big is the brain of the bottle-nosed dolphin?
3. What other species use tools?
4. What can dolphins copy from other species?
5. Can dolphins see out of the water?
6. What does a dolphin hear through?

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TRANSCRIPT & ANSWERS

Click below to reveal the transcript and answers:

TranscriptAnswersVocabulary

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Summary Completion: IELTS Listening Practice

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IELTS Listening Summary Completion Exercise

Summary completion listening questions are similar to sentence completion questions. The difference is that the summary is in a paragraph form rather than disconnected, individual sentences. The difficulty level of this exercise is typical of IELTS Listening Section 4.

First read through the summary and predict the types of answers you need for each gap. You will always have time to review the questions before the recording starts. However, the time is brief so you will need good speed reading skills.

Listening Summary Completion for IELTS

The Terracotta Army

Questions 1-5: Complete the summary using no more than three words and /or a number.

The terracotta army was made in order to 1.  …………………… the emperor after this death in his afterlife. This funerary art has been estimated to be from the 2. ………………. and was discovered in 1974 by the 3. …………………… The majority of the sculptures were 4………….. and 5. ………….. sculptures of cavalry horses were also found.

Recording

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Transcript, Answers and Vocabulary

Click below to show the transcript and answers:

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IELTS Listening Table Completion: Practice and Tips

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Table completion questions in IELTS listening are quite common and can appear in any section of the listening test. Spend time preparing the headings and the predict the missing content of the table. Pay attention to the number of words possible for the answers. This listening exercise is a similar level to section 4 of the listening IELTS test.

Essential Tips for IELTS Listening Table Questions

Read the points below to learn how to tackle Table Questions in IELTS Listening. These questions are known as “Table Completion” questions.

  1. Tables can appear in any section of the IELTS Listening Test.
    • However, they are most common in section 2 and section 4.
      • Section 2 is based on social situations and is one person talking about a place, a service – something specific.
      • Section 4 is based on an educational lecture. This is one person speaking who is giving a lecture. All lectures have introduction, middle (with main points and examples) and a conclusion.
      • Both of these sections are often very structured in content which is why table questions are so suitable.
    • However, tables can appear in Section 1 and 3 – but they are less common in those sections.
  2. The table will usually have a title.
      1. This is useful because you will know what the table questions relate to.
      2. Table questions do not cover all questions for one single listening section. They will only cover about 5 questions out of 10 for that section.
      3. This means during the recording you might have to listen carefully to the information to know when to move to the table questions. The title will help you with this because it will tell you what the questions relate to.
  3. Tables are organised logically and labelled with either rows, columns or both.
    1. You must read those headings carefully because they tell you the content of each question.
  4. The questions will come in order in the recording.
  5. Notice which direction the question take in the table – do the questions follow the rows or the columns? Notice this quickly so that you do not get lost during the listening.
  6. The recording will follow the organisation that exists within the table.
  7. Notice how the other answers are given already in the table. It shows you the type of answers you will need to write down. Often the answers do not require “a” or “the”. You can usually see this by the examples of information already given in the table. 
  8. Always pay attention to how many words you can have for the answer. If it asks for no more than two words, it means you can have one word, two words but not three words.
  9. Spelling counts. You’ll lose marks if you spell the word incorrectly.

Practice Lessons for IELTS Listening Table

These practice lessons are at various levels of difficulty so that you have realistic practice for the difficult in different sections of the listening test. You can only listening once in the real test and you can’t pause the recording in your actual test. You will always have a short amount of time to read through questions and get familiar with the table before the recording starts.

Listening Table:  Practice Lesson 1 

The level of this listening table practice lesson is similar to a section 4  of the IELTS listening test.

Introduced species of the British Isles

Questions 1-5: Write no more than three words for each answer.

IELTS Listening Table Question

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TABLE ANSWERS & TRANSCRIPT

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The transcript is to be used for checking your answers and also reviewing the recording word for word after you complete the lesson to see precise why you got an answer right or wrong.

TRANSCRIPT ANSWERS

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Listening Table: Practice Lesson 2

The level of this table listening lesson is similar to a section 2 of the IELTS Listening Test.

London Attractions

Questions 6-10: Write no more than two words and / or numbers for your answer.

IELTS Table Listening Questions

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TRANSCRIPT & ANSWERS

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