IELTS Listening-Section 4

IELTS Listening Section 4 tests the candidates on their ability to pick out facts, details of a long talk or lecture. Whether it is a talk or a lecture, the important thing for the student is to be able to follow the flow of the discussion. To do well in this portion of the test, candidates need to understand signpost terms s such as on the contrary, (to indicate the opposing side) for instance (to show examples) and n conclusion to indicate the end of a lecture.

They also need to gauge the position of the speaker in terms of his/her stand with regards to the issue at hand.

An ability to summarize the key points of the lecture would be useful too. Usually for this kind of task, an incomplete summary is given and all the candidate needs to do is to fill in the gaps which may appear at the start, middle or end of a sentence. The instructions will also state the number of words needed, usually not more than three words.