Full listening practice and review
A dress rehearsal for the two hardest parts of the test: a full Part 3 discussion and a full Part 4 lecture under exam conditions, followed by an examiner-style method for reviewing every mistake so your next score goes up.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Apply the complete Listening strategy (prediction, signposting, distractor control, checking) under exam conditions
- Complete a full Part 3 discussion (multiple choice and matching) and a full Part 4 lecture (note completion)
- Convert your score to an approximate band
- Classify every mistake as prediction, distractor, spelling, paraphrase or concentration, and choose the right fix
- Build an error log that tells you exactly what to practise next week
Dress rehearsal
You have studied every part of the Listening test. Now it's time to perform. This lesson gives you the two parts that separate band 6 from band 7+: a Part 3 academic discussion and a Part 4 lecture, each with 10 questions numbered as in the real test (21–30 and 31–40).
To get a score you can trust, set up exam conditions:
- Use headphones in a quiet room and put your phone on silent.
- Play each recording once only: no pausing, no rewinding.
- Read the questions only during the reading time built into the recording.
- Write your answers as you listen, then use the checking time at the end of each part.
- Mark strictly: a misspelling, a missing plural or too many words all score 0.
The second half of the lesson is just as important as the test itself. Strong candidates don't improve by doing endless tests. They improve by reviewing each mistake properly and practising the specific skill that failed.
Strategy recap: the whole test in six moves
- 1
Read like a detective
In the reading time, circle the word limit, underline the keywords and predict each answer: word type, singular or plural, and a possible meaning. For multiple choice, turn each option into simpler words so you can recognise it when it's paraphrased.
- 2
Follow the signposts
Answers come in question order. In Part 3, listen for topic changes (Right, let's go through…, Now, the results…). In Part 4, follow the lecture structure (Let's start with…, The second reason…, Which brings me to…) and match it to the headings in the notes.
- 3
Hear past the first match
The first option you hear is often a distractor. Keep listening for corrections and rejections: actually, but, I'd be careful about that, not there, in the end. In Part 3, always ask: who says it, and is it the final decision?
- 4
Never stall
If an answer passes you, let it go and move to the next question immediately. One lost mark is normal. Losing three because you were stuck on one is a concentration error.
- 5
Write it right
Correct spelling, the plural the grammar needs, within the word limit, numbers as digits. Contractions are never tested; capitals don't matter.
- 6
Use every pause
In the 30 seconds after each part, fix spellings and plurals and fill every blank with a best guess. Then turn straight to the next part's questions.
Part 3 vs Part 4 at a glance
| Part 3 | Part 4 | |
|---|---|---|
Speakers | Up to four people, usually students and/or a tutor | One speaker giving a lecture or academic talk |
Context | Discussing an assignment, research project, course or presentation | An academic topic: science, history, environment, psychology, business… |
Typical tasks | Multiple choice, choose two from five, matching (opinions, decisions, features), sometimes flow-chart or notes | Note completion (very often ONE WORD ONLY), sometimes sentence or summary completion, occasionally MCQ |
Main traps | Suggestions that are later rejected; one speaker's view vs another's; options that are all mentioned | Dense information, fast answers, paraphrased headings, a long stretch with no break |
Reading time | About 30 seconds before each half | About 45 seconds at the start, with no break in the middle |
What to track | Who says it, and is it the final decision? | Where are we in the lecture? Follow the headings in the notes. |
Warm-up: are you exam-ready?
5 questions- 1
In Part 3 multiple-choice questions, the speakers usually…
- 2
Which TWO are the best uses of reading time before a Part 4 note completion task?
Select 2.
- 3
In a Part 3 matching task such as ‘What do the students decide about each section?’, what should you listen for?
- 4
Put a strong approach to one Listening part in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Use the 30 seconds to check spelling, plurals and blanks
- 2Listen and follow the questions in order
- 3Read the instructions and circle the word limit
- 4Underline keywords and predict the answers
- 5Move on when the speaker moves on
- 5
ONE WORD ONLY. Notes: *restore the natural flow*. You hear: ‘projects begin by restoring the natural flow of water’. You write:
Answer every question to check.
Part 3: discussing a field study
10 questionsTwo students, Leila and Ben, discuss the draft of their field report on urban heat islands with their tutor, Dr Moss.
Recording
🎧 Read the questions first, then play the recording once — just like the real test. You can replay it after checking your answers.
Questions 21–25
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Why did the students choose urban heat islands as their topic?
What was the main problem with the sensors?
What does Dr Moss think about the students' choice of measurement times?
What do the students decide to do about the readings from the park?
What did Leila find most surprising about the results?
Questions 26–30
What do the students decide to do with each section of their report?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 26–30.
Decisions
- Ashorten it
- Badd more references
- Cmove it to an appendix
- Dinclude a map
- Ecombine it with another section
- Fask a classmate to review it
- Gturn it into a poster
Introduction
Literature review
Method
Results
Recommendations
Part 4: a lecture on mangrove forests
10 questionsA lecturer gives a talk on mangrove forests: how they survive, why they matter, how they are being lost and how they can be restored.
Recording
🎧 Read the questions first, then play the recording once — just like the real test. You can replay it after checking your answers.
Questions 31–40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Mangrove forests
Mangrove forests
Background
- grow between high and low tide on tropical and subtropical coasts
- largest single forest: the Sundarbans (Bangladesh and India)
Survival
- salt: ‘secreters’ push out excess salt through glands in their
- oxygen: pneumatophores grow upwards and work like
- the propagules of some species can float for more than a
Why mangroves matter
- protection: the Sundarbans reduced damage from a in 2007
- nursery: young fish shelter among the roots, safe from
- carbon: most is stored in the , not in trunks or branches
Loss
- biggest cause in South-East Asia: ponds for farming
Restoration
- early mistake: seedlings planted on , which stay underwater too long
- only one planted, whether or not it suited the site
- success: restore natural water flow and involve local
What does your score mean? (rough guide)
| Your score out of 20 | Equivalent out of 40 | Approximate band |
|---|---|---|
19–20 | 38–40 | 8.5–9.0 |
17–18 | 34–36 | 7.5–8.0 |
15–16 | 30–32 | 7.0–7.5 |
13–14 | 26–28 | 6.5 |
11–12 | 22–24 | 5.5–6.0 |
9–10 | 18–20 | 5.5 |
below 9 | below 18 | 5.0 or below |
Reading your score honestly
The table doubles your score to estimate a full-test result using the usual Listening conversion (about 30/40 for band 7, 23/40 for band 6). Treat it as a rough guide: the official conversion varies slightly between test versions.
Parts 3 and 4 are the hardest parts of the test, so most candidates score a little higher on a full test than this estimate suggests, because Parts 1 and 2 bring the average up. If you scored 15 or more here, band 7+ is within reach.
Whatever your score, the number matters less than why you lost each mark. Two candidates can both score 13/20 and need completely different practice. One loses marks to distractors, the other to spelling. That's what the review method below is for.
The five error types and how to fix them
| Error type | What it looks like | Typical cause | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|---|
Prediction | You wrote the wrong kind of word (a name where a common noun was needed, a singular where the notes needed a plural), or the answer surprised you | Reading time wasted; grammar around the gap ignored | Use every second of reading time: label each gap (n / pl / # / adj) and guess a likely answer before the audio starts |
Distractor | You wrote a word that was said, but it was rejected, corrected, belonged to another speaker or answered a different question | Grabbing the first match; missing but, actually, I'd be careful | Keep listening after the first match; mark change signals; in Part 3 ask who says it and whether it's the final decision |
Spelling / form | Right word, wrong letters, or a missing plural (mudflat, comunities, predaters) | Weak spelling of common words; no final check | Spelling hit list, dictation drills, and the S-P-L-N scan after every part |
Paraphrase | You didn't realise the speaker's words matched the question (cutting down = shorten; at the back = appendix) | Listening for the exact words on the page | Before listening, brainstorm 2–3 paraphrases for key words and options; keep a paraphrase log of every pair you missed |
Concentration | You lost your place, missed two or three answers in a row, or knew the answer but didn't write it | Stalling on one hard question; fatigue; losing the signposts | Move on when the speaker moves on; follow the headings; build stamina from single parts to full tests |
| Q | My answer | Correct | Type | What went wrong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | A | C | Distractor | Chose A as soon as Ben said ‘leave that site out’; missed Dr Moss rejecting it |
| 26 | E | A | Paraphrase | Didn't connect ‘cutting down’ and ‘trim’ with ‘shorten’ |
| 32 | pencils | snorkels | Distractor | Wrote the first comparison; the notes asked what they work like, not what they look like |
| 34 | Sidr | cyclone | Prediction | Didn't notice that a ___ needs a common noun, not a name |
| 36 | (blank) | soil | Concentration | Still thinking about Q35 when the answer came |
| 38 | mudflat | mudflats | Spelling / form | Ignored the plural verb stay in the notes |
- The patternSix errors, but two of them are distractors. This student understands the recordings; they commit too early. Next week's focus: distractor drills and Part 3 decision-tracking.
- The quick winsQ34 and Q38 are grammar-around-the-gap errors. Both would have been caught by a 10-second S-P-L-N scan, so that habit starts today.
- The warning signQ36 was lost because Q35 was still on the student's mind. One blank is normal, but if blanks come in pairs, it's a concentration problem: practise letting go and jumping to the next heading.
Weak review vs strong review
Marking and moving on
- Score: 13/20
- Reads the answer key: ‘Oh, I nearly had that one.’
- Feels annoyed, starts a new test tomorrow
- Makes the same distractor mistakes next week
Result: lots of practice, the same score for months.
Diagnosing every mark
- Score: 13/20
- Finds the exact sentence in the transcript for each missed answer
- Classifies each error: 3 distractor, 2 paraphrase, 1 spelling, 1 concentration
- Re-listens to each section, first with the transcript, then without
- Spends next week on distractor drills
Result: fewer practice tests, but a higher score every fortnight.
A test only tells you your score. The review tells you how to raise it. Spend at least as long reviewing as you spent listening.
The 20-minute review routine (after every practice test)
- 1
1. Mark strictly (2 minutes)
Spelling, plurals and the word limit count. If you wouldn't get the mark in the real test, don't give it to yourself here.
- 2
2. Locate (5 minutes)
Open the transcript and find the exact sentence where each missed answer was given. Underline the answer and any distractor before it.
- 3
3. Classify (3 minutes)
Label each mistake: prediction, distractor, spelling, paraphrase or concentration. If two labels fit, choose the earliest point of failure.
- 4
4. Re-listen (7 minutes)
Play each section again with the transcript until you can hear the answer clearly, then once more without it. This is how your ear learns.
- 5
5. Log and target (3 minutes)
Add the errors to your log and count the types. Your most frequent type becomes next week's focus, using the fixes in the table above.
Final quiz: review like an examiner
10 questions- 1
Match each mistake to its error type.
Wrote tsunami instead of cyclone; both were mentionedWrote comunities instead of communitiesDidn't realise cut it down meant shortenLost your place and left 36 and 37 blankWrote a name after a ___ where a common noun was needed - 2
Your error log for two weeks shows: distractor ×6, spelling ×1, paraphrase ×2, concentration ×1. What should you focus on next?
- 3
Which review habit improves your listening most?
- 4
ONE WORD ONLY. Notes: *involve local . You hear: ‘they involve local communities from the start’. You write:
- 5
A student scores 14 out of 20 on this lesson's Part 3 and Part 4.
This is roughly equivalent to 28 out of 40, which is around band 6.5.
- 6
In Part 3, which TWO phrases signal that a suggestion is being rejected?
Select 2.
- 7
The lecturer said pneumatophores look like pencils but work like snorkels. The notes say grow upwards and work like ___. Why is pencils wrong?
- 8
Find and correct the mistake:
Early projects planted seedlings on mudflat, which stay underwater too long.
- 9
You often miss answers in Part 4 just after the lecturer moves on to a new section. What type of error is this, and what helps most?
- 10
Put the 20-minute review routine in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Re-listen with the transcript, then without it
- 2Locate each missed answer in the transcript
- 3Log the error and choose next week's focus
- 4Mark strictly
- 5Classify the error
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Keep your progress
You've completed 0 of 4 activities. A free Abroadway account saves your scores, turns new vocabulary into flashcards and builds a daily plan around your target band, with a full mock exam every week.