Strategies for Part 1
Distinguishing Between Speakers
One important strategy is to distinguish between the voices of the speakers. This can be useful in Part 1 of the listening test, and also in Part 3 . Here are some strategies you can use to help you do this:
Before you listen:
- read the questions and
- identify the speakers’ names if possible.
While you listen:
- focus on listening for the speakers’ names at the beginning of the conversation
- distinguish between the speakers’ voices by noticing:
- Tone: How high or low their voice is.
- Volume: How loudly or softly they speak.
- Accent: Does their accent sound different? For example, is it American or South African?
Listening for Numbers
Another essential skill you need in Part 1 of the listening test is listening for and recognising numbers.
In this part of the test, you are often required to fill in a form and you may have to listen for numbers in the following forms:
- times
- dates
- telephone numbers and credit cards
- prices
- decimals.
Times are common answers in the IELTS listening test. There are two ways to tell time in English, and either way may be used in the test:
Time | hour + minutes | minutes + hour |
6:25 | six twenty-five | twenty-five past six |
6:35 | six thirty-five | twenty-five to seven |
Notice the difference between the two times in the minutes + hour format. Before the thirty minute mark (i.e. 6:30), we use the word ‘past’. For 6:25 we say ‘twenty-five past six because 25 minutes have passed since 6 o’clock. However, after the thirty minute mark, we need to use the word ‘to’. This is because the time is approaching the next hour, so in this case, we are approaching 7 o’clock. With the time 6:35, there are 25 minutes until we reach 7 o’clock; therefore, we say ‘twenty-five to seven’. For times involving 15 and 45 minutes, we can use ‘a quarter’, and 30 minutes ‘half’. For example:
Time | hour + minutes | minutes + hour |
7:15 | seven fifteen | a quarter past seven |
10:45 | ten forty-five | a quarter to eleven |
2:30 | two thirty | half past two |
There are three different ways in which dates can be said in English. For example, 17 August can be:
1. August seventeenth | 2. August the seventeenth | 3. The seventeenth of August |
As you can see, dates can be formed by a specific date and a month, and they can also include a year. Let’s have a look at these three elements in more detail separately.
Dates
The date is often said using ordinal numbers. Below is a list of the possible dates in their ordinal number form which you may hear in the IELTS test.
1st first 2nd second 3rd third 4th fourth 5th fifth 6th sixth 7th seventh 8th eighth 9th ninth 10th tenth | 11th eleventh 12th twelfth 13th thirteenth 14th fourteenth 15th fifteenth 16th sixteenth 17th seventeenth 18th eighteenth 19th nineteenth 20th twentieth | 21st twenty-first 22nd twenty-second 23rd twenty-third 24th twenty-fourth 25th twenty-fifth 26th twenty-sixth 27th twenty-seventh 28th twenty-eighth 29th twenty-ninth 30th thirtieth 31st thirty-first |
If your answer includes a date and it is said in its ordinal form, you can write it without ‘th’. This means that, for example, 17 August or 17th August would both be marked correct.
Months
For answers that include a month, you may write it in full, its abbreviation or corresponding number.
Full word | Abbreviation | Number |
JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember | JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec | 010203040506070809101112 |
This means that if the answer is 17 August, you can also write 17/08 or 08/17.
If you decide to write the full word for the month, remember that it must be written in Capitals letters (i.e. August and not august).
Years
Listen to how the following years are said in English:
1975 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2010 |
Up to 1999, the year is said as a pair of two-digit numbers. For example:
- 1910 – nineteen ten
- 1985 – nineteen eighty-five
If above 2000, the year can be said as follows (e.g. 2018):
- two thousand and eighteen
- two thousand eighteen
- twenty eighteen
You often listen for telephone numbers in Part 1 of the IELTS test when you complete forms.
Telephones numbers may contain 6 to 10 digits and may include an area code. For example: (312) 956 2399.
How would you say these two phone numbers? Listen to check your answers.
9854 6018 | 9947 3677 |
In the IELTS Listening test, prices are most often given in British pounds (£) or dollars ($). Dollar currencies that are most commonly used in the Listening test are: U.S. dollars (US$), Canadian dollars (C$), Australian dollars (A$), New Zealand dollars (NZ$), Singapore dollars (S$), and Hong Kong dollars (HK$). However, in your answers, you do not need to write the specific currency; you only need to write the dollar sign ($).
Similar to numbers, times and dates, there are different ways to say prices. Listen to the following price examples and how they can said:
Example | Price | |
1 | $2.40 | two dollars fortytwo fortytwo dollars and forty cents |
2 | $100.80 | one hundred dollars eightyone hundred dollars and eighty cents |
3 | £5.45 | five pounds forty-fivefive pounds and forty-five pence |
4 | £78.80 | seventy-eight pounds eightyseventy-eight pounds and eighty pence |
Numbers with decimals are used throughout the listening test, not just in Part 1. They are often used with percentages (e.g. 7.5% of the population does regular exercise) or in larger numbers (e.g. 4.9 million people live in Sydney).
Let’s look at how decimal numbers are said.
3.5% | three point five percent orthree and a half percent |
3.05% | three point oh five percent orthree point zero five percent |
53.76 million | fifty three point seven six million |
Recognising Street Suffixes
In Part 1, you will often be asked to listen for a person’s address and you will need to write the name of the street.
Street names are usually followed by what is called a ‘street suffix’. This is a word that follows the name of a street to tell you what type it is. In the IELTS listening test, you can write out the word (for example, s t r e e t), or you can abbreviate it (for example, St.).
Below is a list of the most common street suffixes and their abbreviations. You can also listen to how they are pronounced.
Suffix | Abbreviation |
Street | St |
Road | Rd |
Drive | Dr |
Lane | Ln |
Way | No abbreviation |
Avenue | Ave |
Boulevard | Blvd |
Highway | Hwy |
Parade | Prd |
Circus | No abbreviation |