Common mistakes of IELTS Listening Module

Writing Answers on the answer sheet

• It is very important to remember that the audio is played only once, not repeated.
• So it is crucial that one does not get distracted, lose the place or miss hearing information.
• If one is flitting between the answer sheet and the question paper as well as trying to listen attentively, one risks confusing own self.
• The test gives 10 minutes after the audio finishes to transfer the answers from the question paper to the answer sheet to avoid this.

 

 Avoid listening instructions

• In IELTS, the common mistake occurred is to answer in more words than instructed. If the task says "Not more than 2 words", answering in 3 or more words will definitely cost marks.
• In other cases, one might be asked to circle more than one answer, and so if you only circled one, the answer would be incomplete and therefore wrong.
• One needs to make it sure that one does exactly what the instructions state.

 

 Listen to audios by being blind

• It is a huge mistake to sit down only listening without any perception and without thinking about why one is listening or what information one needs to listen for.
• One will put own self at a disadvantage if one is unprepared for what he/she about to hear because he/she will have to make sense of everything in order to explore the answers.
• One should look for clues & cue-words in the instructions and any text or visuals given. This will activate the vocabulary and language in preparation for listening.
• In order to listen strategically, one needs to predict what kind of content one is going to hear & what specific information one needs to answer the question.
• To perceive & underline key words in the questions makes anyone focused to think about any paraphrases or synonyms one may hear.

 

 Loss of concentration & place

• It’s possible to be completely confused by one of the questions in the Listening paper and this could cause you to lose your concentration.
• It is important to try not to get given up on one erratic question otherwise one might lose the specific place and miss important information for the following questions.
• If this happens to anyone, then he/she should try to stay calm remembering that no one question is worth any more than another.  
• Each question is worth the same.
• So it is not worth spending a lot of time on a question one finds difficult to answer.
• If one can’t get the exact answer after that time then it is the time to perceive and guess.

 

 Improper use of time

• A disorganized management of time in listening can cost a lot in the overall mark.
• One needs to adapt the excelled way of listening, reading and writing together by means of perpetual practices.
• One will listen to four recordings for 30 minutes of native English speakers and then write the answers to a series of questions. Assessors will be looking for evidence of the ability to understand the main ideas and detailed factual information, the opinions and attitudes of speakers, the purpose of an utterance and evidence of one’s ability to follow the development of ideas.
• If anyone uses the time given between each section to finish off questions in the previous section instead of planning ahead for the following section.
• This means there is a risk being unprepared for what one will hear or worse, losing their concentration and not being able to catch up and/or missing important information.
• One should plan ahead for the following section by means of anticipation and given question papers.

 

Incapable of identifying the main Idea

• One of the most important things one needs to listen to during a conversation or an academic lecture is the main idea.
• Performing inattentive listening with a scattered & distracted concentration one would waste time and one may miss out essential information.
• Practicing listening under timed conditions would help to develop reading skills.

 

 Inattentive to distractors

• One should be aware that distractors are a common feature of IELTS Listening.
• One example of a distractor is when a speaker says one thing but then corrects himself.
• Another example is when one has multiple choice questions and one hears all of the possible choices but only one is the correct answer.

 

 Incorrect knowledge of spelling and grammar

• Incorrect knowledge of tense, spelling, and grammar may lead anyone to the path of mistakes in perception which will make anyone confuse during answering.
• One should be conscious enough to use the correct form of spelling in answering in the answer sheet otherwise the answers will be marked as wrong.
• Mistakes in grammar e.g.: leaving off the plural ‘s’ or confusing countable and uncountable nouns will also be marked as wrong.

 

Leaving a question unanswered

• One does not lose marks for a wrong answer i.e. there is no negative marking.
• So one should guess on the basis of perception if he/she is not sure of the answer.
• The power of probability can be applied by means of guessing where there is a chance that the answers guessed can be correct.

 

Common mistakes can be turned into the sharpness to shine with a smart score if one can apply the knowledge and caution derived from them in the test. The listening section is so important that one has to be prepared and concerned enough about the strategies and mistakes to complete the section by means of confidence originated from the knowledge of common mistakes.