IELTS Listening Band Score - Marking Scheme, Chart, Calculate IELTS Listening Score

IELTS Listening Band Score

IELTS Listening band score is the score that the test takers achieve in the listening section of the IELTS exam. It is a part of the overall band score which is an average of all the skills. The IELTS listening section carries an equal weightage as the rest of the three sections, namely, reading, writing, and speaking. The scores can be given in .5 also, such as 6.5 or 7.5 and are pushed to the nearest half or full bands.

A good score in the IELTS listening section is a testimonial that the candidate can understand and comprehend a variety of native accents and mixed accents. They will hardly face any difficulty in a foreign land. They can converse and communicate without any fallacies or minimal inaccuracies.

The IELTS is an exam that assesses the English language abilities of the examinees who take the exam for purposes such as higher education, migration and employment. The listening section is similar for both the types of IELTS exam that is academic and general training. The IELTS listening band score is calculated on a scale of 0-9 which is then added along with the score bands of the other three sections to form the total IELTS score. The raw score is first calculated and then converted to the IELTS listening band score. The process is very simple and the conversion chart is given later on the page.

First, let us take you through the two types of IELTS exams and the difference between the listening sections of both.

IELTS Academic vs IELTS General Training

Both IELTS exams assess the English language skills of students and can be taken on paper-based or on a computer or at home. The IELTS exam has two major types depending on the purpose of the test taken as well as the exam pattern and syllabus. The contrast between the types of IELTS exam, IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training is given below:

• IELTS Academic - The IELTS Academic exam is mainly taken by students who wish to pursue their higher education in English-speaking countries. A study visa is also offered based on the IELTS score. The topics of IELTS Academic are based on academic content suited to university studies such as journals and academic books. The reading and writing sections of IELTS Academic are different from IELTS General Training. 

• IELTS General Training - The IELTS General Training exam is taken by professionals who migrate to other countries to render their services or engage in employment activities. This exam is also required to get citizenship in countries like Canada.  In IELTS GT topics are based on general everyday interests and include advertisements, notices and newspapers. The syllabus is based on the work environment and social contexts.

The listening section of both the IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training is the same. Therefore, examinees can follow similar practice techniques and preparation techniques.

Format of IELTS Listening Section

The IELTS Listening Section format is the same for IELTS academic and IELTS general training. The format is given below: 

The duration of the IELTS listening section exam is 30 minutes. 10 questions are to be answered from each of the four recordings and an additional 10 minutes are given to transfer the answers from a rough draft to the answer sheet. Each question is of 1 mark.

The recordings are played only once during the examination. The details of the four recordings in IELTS Listening are given below:

• Recording one plays a dialogue between two people on general topics.

• The second recording is a monologue on a topic.

• Many consider the third recording the most difficult because a conversation on an academic subject among four people is played here.

• The last recording is a monologue on an academic subject.

There are six variations of questions asked in the IELTS listening test. They are multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, matching questions, arranging, designing and classifying, completing sentences, short answer questions and flow charts, notes and summary completion.

Test-takers can write the answers while listening to the recordings and at the end of the test transfer the answers to the paper in the time given. They should take care while writing the answers as poor grammar and spelling are subjected to a penalty

IELTS Listening Scores

The IELTS raw score is the number of questions answered correctly by the candidate. The raw score is then converted into a band score. If the score is 0.25, it is rounded to 0.5. 

Students need to get a high band score to get admission to the top universities of the world. Most universities require students to get at least 6.5 and above band scores in the listening section.  Here is the conversion table of the IELTS listening exam raw score to band score.

IELTS Listening Band Score Descriptors

Band score descriptors are the means by which the examiner accesses the performance of test-takers in each section of the IELTS exam. The band descriptors are the same for both IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic.

The IELTS listening band score descriptors describe the proficiency level of the student depending on the band score achievement in the listening section. Here is a description of the same:

IELTS Listening Score in Top Universities

IELTS listening scores are an important component in getting to study abroad. Most universities specify the overall as well as sectional requirements for the IELTS exam. Students must fulfil the requirement in order to be eligible to study at that particular university. If they do not clear the IELTS listening score cutoff, they may not get the offer letter.

Most of the top universities across the globe expect students to get between 6.5 to 8.5 in each module including the IELTS listening section. Very few universities accept scores lower than this. It is always a good idea to check out the listening score requirements at the universities where the applicant is planning to take admission. For convenience, here are the minimum listening scores for IELTS in popular universities.

Tips to Improve Your IELTS Listening Band Score

A good band in IELTS listening section helps to increase the overall score on the exam. It is essential for students to work rigorously in every section, including the listening part. Here are some essential tips to improve your IELTS listening band score:

• Pay Attention: The audios in the listening section are played once therefore it is necessary to concentrate fully while it is playing. During mock tests, students should practice hearing the audio only once so that this practice can prove fruitful during the real test.

• Practice Listening Section: Students must make it a point to listen to various types of audio on different topics. The audio types must match with the ones that come in the exam. They must also keenly observe their faults and reprimand them soon.

• Take Help of Subtitles: The inability to understand foreign accents is a major hurdle faced by students. In the beginning, they can listen to audio recordings with subtitles. It will be easy for them to understand each word distinctively irrespective of the accent the speaker is speaking in. With time, they will be habituated and can comprehend without the audio scripts.

• Be Attentive While Writing the Answers: Often students make mistakes in singular or plural form, spelling and units or do not follow the instructions in the question. If it is asked to answer in one word, the candidate has to do so. 

• Talk and think in English - There is a tendency or non-native speakers to believe in their own language and then translate that to English. This practice should be avoided and students should think in English and speak it out. Conversing with family and friends gives students the opportunity to “hear” English words and get habituated.