In Listening Section 3, students must listen to a conversation involving 2-4 people. The conversation is in a formal or academic situation, meaning the vocabulary will be more difficult than in the earlier sections. Students should also be aware that the recording will include numerous pieces of information designed to confuse the student, such as comparing the past and the present, or stating something is not true and something is true. Students must therefore be careful to pick the correct information. In some cases the speakers may also use synonyms for words in the questions: for instance, the question says ‘advantages’ but the speakers talk about ‘benefits’.
– The recording is played only once.
– Students are highly encouraged to make notes while they listen. This means they can think about answers later and not miss any information.
– Note that before listening students are given some time to look at the questions. Students should use this time to understand what answers they are listening for.
– When the recording is finished, students are also given a short time to write their answers. This is when notes to think about difficult questions are useful.
– The entire listening test, of 4 sections, lasts 40 minutes (30 minutes of recordings, and 10 minutes for writing answers) and has 40 questions. Section 3 will last around 8-10 minutes and usually contains 8-10 questions.
Sample Questions and Answers
britishcouncil.org
Practice Test, Section 3
www.ieltsbuddy.com
Test 2, Section 3
Test 3, Section 3
Test 4, Section 3
ielts-up.com
Test 1, Section 3
Test 2, Section 3
Test 3, Section 3
Test 4, Section 3
Test 5, Section 3