How to make useful notes in IELTS listening test?

The best listeners entirely occupy themselves with whatever they listen to. This could be a meeting at work or a casual conversation with a friend. It often happens that while we speak with a friend, we wonder, ‘oh, what did he just say?’ Because we were miles away. The same can happen in your IELTS test too.

Learn to make notes

In the IELTS Listening test, they will play the audio only once. Therefore you ought to be a mindful listener all the way through.

For instance, when you watch your favorite TED talks, what information do you focus on? For starters, make notes on that information. The more information you have, the better.

• What is the speaker ‘interested’ in?
• What does he believe about the topic?
• What does he want to talk about in his speech?
• If it is about education, what point is he pressing?
• If it’s about politics, what are his likes and dislikes?

You can find the answers to these questions in the first five minutes of the video.

Find opportunities

The good thing about TED talks is that you can watch them as many times as you want. They also come with transcripts so you can read what is being said. If you are struggling with your listening skills, follow the transcript to know what the speaker is saying. You can even check the spellings of words you don’t know and look them up in the dictionary.

According to Times of India, one should find opportunities in things that interest them. This way you can improve your ability as an engaged listener. You can listen to talks, music and even watch movies. Focus on what the people are saying. Try to understand the predominant meaning of their speech.

Keep practicing

The more you practice, the sooner you excel at it. You should start by watching talks that interest you and make notes. Better yet, you should avail of the mock tests to see how you’re doing, as quoted by IELTS practice.

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