Why more practice tests stop improving your IELTS Listening score
Most learners try to improve IELTS Listening by doing test after test. That works for a while, then the score sits still. A test gives you one number out of 40 and a list of wrong answers, but it cannot tell you what went wrong in your ear, because by the time you check, the recording is long gone.
So the gap from about band 6 to about band 7 is roughly seven marks across 40 questions. Those marks are rarely lost to whole sentences you did not understand. They go on small things: a plural you did not hear, a number that sounded like another number, a word swallowed by the word before it. You find those small things by slowing down, not by doing more.
That is the idea of this sheet (BandLadder advice): keep full tests for once a week, and on the other days work on one short clip, write down every word, and see exactly where your ear drops out.
The 20-minute IELTS Listening practice routine
You need a recording of 60 to 90 seconds that comes with a transcript. The recording from a practice test you have already marked is ideal, because the speed, accents and topics match the test. Podcasts or talks with transcripts work too. Use the same clip for the whole routine.
One clip, five steps (BandLadder method)
- 1
Gist (2 min). Play the clip once without stopping. Write one line: who is speaking, to whom, and about what. This copies the test: one hearing, meaning first.
- 2
Dictation (8 min). Play it again, pausing every 4 to 6 words. Write exactly what you hear. Replay each chunk up to three times, then move on even if it has gaps.
- 3
Check (4 min). Now open the transcript. Compare word by word and mark every difference, however small: a missing 's', a missing 'to', a wrong number.
- 4
Shadow (4 min). Play the clip and speak along with it, half a second behind, copying the rhythm. Do it three times. Slow down only for the chunks you got wrong.
- 5
Log (2 min). Give each mistake a letter (see the table below) and count them. Your biggest number is tomorrow's focus.
The six kinds of miss (BandLadder's categories)
| Code | Kind of miss | What it sounds like | Where it costs marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | Lost ending: -s, -ed, -'s, 'd | 'four hour long' for 'four hours long' | Gap answers: the wrong form of the word you heard |
| W | Weak small word: a, to, of, for, can | 'next the kitchen' for 'next to the kitchen' | Meaning flips, so the answer changes |
| L | Linked sounds | 'at leas teight' for 'at least eight' | A number or noun hidden inside the link |
| N | Number or name | 'thirteenth' heard as 'thirtieth' | Form, table and note completion (see Part 1 tips for writing them exactly) |
| U | Unknown word | You hear it clearly but cannot write it | Any gap: you must write the word, not just recognise it |
| T | Lost thread | Every word is right, but you could not say what was decided | Multiple choice and matching |
These are study categories, not official IELTS terms. One mistake can carry two codes.
IELTS Listening dictation: two checked examples
Here is what step 3 looks like. Each example shows a written transcript (in your practice you would hear it, with no text in front of you), then the learner's dictation compared with it. The marks show where the dictation went wrong.
Right, welcome, everyone. Before you meet the dogs, a few practical things. Your shifts are four hours longE, and we ask for at least two a monthW. Please wear boots, not trainersE, because the yards get muddy after rain. Lockers are next to the kitchenW, and you'll need a pound coin for those. If an animal seems unwell, don't try to treat it yourself. Tell whoever's running the shiftE.
- → Learner wrote: 'Your shift are four hour long, and we ask for at least two months.' The weak 'a' (said 'uh') vanished, which turns two shifts a month into a length of time.
- → Learner wrote: 'Please wear boot, not trainers' and 'Lockers are next the kitchen'. In a gap answer, 'boot' and 'boots' are different words (BandLadder advice).
- → Learner wrote: 'Tell whoever running the shift.' The 's of 'whoever's' disappeared into the next word.
- → Log: E = 3, W = 2. Nothing here was a hard word. Every miss was a small sound at a word boundary.
For the final report you'll need around fifteen hundred words, and the deadline's the thirteenthN, not the thirtiethcorrection as it says in the handbook. Use at least eight sourcesL, and I'd like a short reflectionE at the end on what you'd do differently next time.
- → Learner wrote: 'the deadline the thirtieth'. The contraction ('s) went, and the stress was misheard: thir-TEENTH has its stress at the end, THIR-tieth at the start.
- → 'Not the thirtieth' is also a correction trap: see IELTS Listening distractors.
- → Learner wrote: 'Use at least a sources'. The 't' of 'least' moves onto 'eight', so it sounds like 'leas teight', and the number vanished.
- → Learner wrote: 'I like a short reflection'. The 'd of 'I'd' is very quiet before 'like'.
- → Log: N = 1, L = 1, E = 2. This learner's numbers need work, so tomorrow's clip should be full of dates and figures.
Shadowing for IELTS Listening: train your ear for speed
Dictation shows which sounds you miss. Shadowing trains you to expect them. When you say 'next to the' fast enough to sound like the speaker, the weak 'to' stops being invisible, because you have produced it yourself. The recording does not get slower; you get quicker at recognising joined-up speech.
If an animalstress seems unwellstress, don't try tosay 'try tuh' treat itlinked yourselfstress.
- → English rhythm hangs on the stressed words. The small words between them are shortened and joined, which is exactly where E, W and L misses happen.
- → Shadow at normal speed. If a chunk is too fast, loop just that chunk three times, then go back to the full clip.
How to improve your IELTS Listening score week by week
A weekly shape (BandLadder advice)
- 1
Five routine days. One clip a day, 20 minutes. Choose clips heavy in your biggest code: numbers for N, fast conversation for L, lectures for T.
- 2
One test day. A full timed test: once only, no pausing, the way the real test runs. Answer every question: a blank can never score (see IELTS negative marking).
- 3
One review day. Code every wrong answer from the test with the six letters. If the test misses match your clip misses, the routine is aimed correctly.
Then link each code to a question type. E and W misses show up in gap answers, so practise sentence completion and note completion, where the exact word matters. N misses show up in form completion. T misses show up in multiple choice, where you must follow a decision rather than catch a word; the trap patterns are in IELTS Listening distractors.
For the weekly test, a free IELTS mock test gives you the full timed run. If you want to see the reasoning behind each answer, BandLadder's Solve Along works through practice questions step by step.
Your turn: name the miss
Each item shows what a speaker said and what a learner wrote in a dictation. Choose the code from the table, then check.
- Heard: "She's worked there since the spring." Wrote: "She worked there since the spring."
- A. E: lost ending
- B. W: weak small word
- C. N: number or name
- D. T: lost thread
Show answer
E: lost ending
The 's (has) disappeared. It changes the tense: she still works there.
- Heard: "Bring a cup of water." Wrote: "Bring a cup water."
- A. E: lost ending
- B. W: weak small word
- C. L: linked sounds
- D. U: unknown word
Show answer
W: weak small word
'of' is said as a quick 'uv' between two stressed words, so it vanished.
- Heard: "It's an old map." Wrote: "It's a nold map."
- A. E: lost ending
- B. N: number or name
- C. L: linked sounds
- D. T: lost thread
Show answer
L: linked sounds
The 'n' of 'an' moved onto 'old'. Knowing the words, you can split the sound correctly.
- Heard: "The group has seventy members." Wrote: "The group has 17 members."
- A. W: weak small word
- B. N: number or name
- C. U: unknown word
- D. T: lost thread
Show answer
N: number or name
-ty and -teen numbers differ mainly in stress: SEV-en-ty against sev-en-TEEN.
- You score 28 out of 40 in a practice test. Using ielts.org's average marks, where does that sit, approximately?
- A. Below band 5
- B. Between band 6 and band 7
- C. Band 8 or above
Show answer
Between band 6 and band 7
ielts.org lists about 23 marks for band 6 and 30 for band 7, and the exact numbers vary by test version.
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
How can I improve my IELTS Listening skills at home?+
Work on one short clip a day with a transcript: listen once for gist, write it down word for word, check it against the transcript, then shadow it. Do a full timed test once a week. This is BandLadder's routine, not an official IELTS method.
Is dictation good for IELTS Listening?+
Yes, as daily practice. Writing every word shows exactly which sounds you miss, such as word endings, small words and numbers, which a test score cannot show.
Does shadowing help with IELTS Listening?+
It helps you keep up with natural speed. Saying the clip along with the speaker teaches you how stressed and unstressed words sound when they are joined, which makes them easier to catch.
How do I improve my IELTS Listening score from 6.5 to 8?+
ielts.org's average marks are about 23 out of 40 for band 6, 30 for band 7 and 35 for band 8, varying slightly by test version. Band 6.5 sits between the first two, so reaching band 8 means finding several more correct answers. Those are usually small slips, so log and fix them by type rather than adding more tests. No method can promise a band.
How many times is the recording played in IELTS Listening?+
Once. The ielts.org format pages say you will hear the recordings once only, which is why your weekly practice test should be done without pausing.
Should I practise IELTS Listening at 1.25 speed?+
Only as an occasional stretch. Your daily work should be at normal speed, replaying short chunks, so you learn the joined-up sounds the test actually uses (BandLadder advice).
Sources
- ielts.org: IELTS Academic Listening test format (parts, questions, timing, once only, accents, marking): https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-academic-test/ielts-academic-format-listening
- ielts.org: IELTS General Training Listening test format (same format): https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-general-training-test/ielts-general-training-format-listening
- ielts.org: IELTS scoring in detail (Listening: average marks out of 40 at bands 5 to 8): https://ielts.org/take-a-test/your-results/ielts-scoring-in-detail
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