Improve your IELTS Listening score
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WELCOMEWelcome to IELTS Online Listening
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Meet Your Course Trainers
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Course Overview
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Using the Platform
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IELTS LISTENING TESTIELTS Listening Test2 Topics
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LISTENING SKILLS AND STRATEGIESIntroduction to Skills and Strategies
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General Skills and Strategies6 Topics
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Skills and Strategies for Part 16 Topics
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Skills and Strategies for Part 24 Topics
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Skills and Strategies for Part 34 Topics
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Skills and Strategies for Part 46 Topics
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QUESTION TYPESIntroduction to Question Types
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Common Strategies for All Questions
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Multiple Choice Questions8 Topics
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Matching Questions8 Topics
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Labelling Questions8 Topics
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Completion Questions8 Topics
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Sentence Completion Questions8 Topics
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Short-answer Questions8 Topics
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IELTS PRACTICE TESTSIELTS Listening Mock Tests2 Topics
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COURSE CONCLUSIONOverall Tips for a Greater Score
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Congratulations on Course Completion
Determining the Topic of the Talk
Determining the Topic of the Talk
The first step you need to take before you listen to the talk in Part 4 of the test is to determine its topic. Doing so can help you to start thinking about possible information and vocabulary in the talk.
You may identify the topic of the talk by:
- listening to the spoken instructions before the talk, and
- reading the headings within the questions.
Let's practise determining the topic of a talk with the following activities.
Activity
Below is an example of a table completion question.
Read the headings in the table and listen to the spoken instructions to determine the topic of the talk.
Check your answer
As you can see, there isn’t a clear title for this table completion question. However, in the first column you can see it makes reference to hard and white soft wheat, which gives you an idea that the topic may be about wheat.
You can confirm this by listening to the spoken instructions:
“You are going to hear an extract from a university lecture about wheat and how it is used to make pasta“.
From this spoken introduction, you have confirmed that the topic of this talk is wheat. In this question type, in particular, you can also use the headings in the table to learn more about the content of the talk. You see that the speaker will begin talking about:
- the two types of wheat
- their history
- where they grow
- the qualities and
- uses.
The spoken introduction also mentions that the lecture discusses how wheat is used to make pasta, so you can expect the other question types in this part of the test to have questions related to this.
Activity
Below are some sample note completion questions.
Determine the topic of the talk by looking at the headings.
Questions 35 – 40 Complete the notes. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each gap. Indoor Noise Pollution Definition Noise pollution can be defined as any 35 _______________ sounds that unreasonably disturb daily lives. Reducing noise pollution
Quiet Buildings To reduce noise pollution in a house:
Health Issues Research has shown that people living with noise pollution:
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Check your answer
By looking at the main heading, you can see that the topic of the lecture is Indoor Noise Pollution. By looking at the headings of each section of the notes, you learn that the talk will include:
- a definition,
- how noise pollution can be reduced,
- a section about quiet buildings, and
- another one about health issues.
This, in addition to helping you have a better idea of what the talk will be about, will help you know how the ideas are organised, which is the next listening strategy.
