Listening
Using the pause to work out what the answer will be before you hear it. With a practice exercise.
Predicting and anticipating in IELTS listening means using the twenty to forty seconds before each section to work out what kind of answer each gap needs. It is the single highest-return habit in the whole paper.
The reason is simple. If you know a gap needs a surname, you are listening for one thing rather than processing everything. If you have no idea what is coming, you are trying to understand the entire recording, and there is not time for that.
Worked example
Take a typical Section 1 form and see how much you can work out before hearing anything.
NAME: Mary ______ · ADDRESS: ______, Lansdale Street · TELEPHONE: ______ · MEMBERSHIP TIME: ______ · TYPE: FULL / GYM AND SWIMMING / GYM ONLY · HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US? ______
The title says application form and one option mentions a gym, so this is a new gym enrolment. It asks basic personal details, so it is not a renewal.
A surname. Mary is given, and in English-speaking countries the first name normally comes first. Listening for Mary tells you the answer is next.
A house number, possibly with a letter, because the street, suburb and county follow it.
A string of digits, probably with an area code.
Prediction narrows the field; it does not decide the answer. Under telephone number, the person may have no telephone, and the answer could be none.
Method
Six things to do in twenty to forty seconds.
You get time at the end to check answers. The pauses are worth far more spent on the next set of questions.
Noun, number, name, date, place. Write a single letter beside each one. This is the core of the technique.
In each question, the term most likely to be said unchanged. That is the signal the answer is arriving.
Who is talking, where, and about what. The section introduction tells you, and it makes every answer easier to place.
If questions 1 to 3 are about one place and question 4 moves to a person, that shift tells you where you are in the recording.
Know the next one and the one after. If you miss an answer you are still positioned for what follows.
Practice
Look at this receipt and decide what kind of answer each gap needs. There is no audio: this is prediction practice.
Name of ticket holder: Carl Hawkins
Payment method: (1) ______
New Zealand All Blacks v (2) ______
Starts at: (3) ______
Number of people: (4) ______
Seat numbers: K112 and (5) ______
1Gap 1, payment method
A payment method. Most likely cash or credit card, though telephone, internet or in person are all possible. Prediction narrows the field rather than deciding it.
2Gap 2, the opposing team
A country or team name. It is an international, so expect a country, possibly given as a nickname such as the Springboks.
3Gap 3, start time
A clock time. Probably afternoon or evening. There is a small chance the date is needed too, so keep an open mind.
4Gap 4, number of people
Probably two. Gap 5 has room for one more seat number, so the transaction covers two seats. The layout has told you the answer before the recording starts.
5Gap 5, the second seat number
Probably K111 or K113. Seats booked together are usually sequential, but keep an open mind: it could be J112 or L112 if the row changed.
Almost everyone does at first, and it is the most expensive habit in the listening test. You get two minutes at the end for exactly that.
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Prediction improves fast with feedback, because you find out which of your predictions were wrong and why.
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Usually twenty to thirty seconds, and about forty before Section 4. Spend it reading the next questions, not checking previous answers.
The type of answer: noun, number, name, date, place. Marking a single letter beside each gap is enough and takes seconds.
No. You get two minutes at the end for that. Reading ahead is worth far more.
Prediction narrows the field, it does not decide the answer. Keep an open mind: a telephone number gap could be answered none.
Yes, more than anywhere. Section 4 has no pause in the middle, so everything you work out beforehand has to carry you through the whole talk.
Full membership
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