Latest IELTS Listening Test 2025 (with answers)

IELTS Listening is one of the most important and challenging sections of the IELTS test. To help you best prepare for this test, ETEST English for Study Abroad has compiled the set IELTS Listening test latest 2025 with detailed answers. These materials not only help you familiarize yourself with the test structure but also provide you with effective strategies to improve your listening skills. Let's join ETEST English for Study Abroad learn and IELTS Listening practice test right in the article below!

Introduction to IELTS Listening test structure

ETEST Study Abroad English introduces to you the IELTS Listening test structure including: Test structure, test sections, common topics and some types of IELTS Listening tests to help you practice effectively.

IELTS Listening test assesses candidates

• Candidates must demonstrate the ability to grasp the main content and details of conversations.
• Candidates need to demonstrate the ability to follow the speaker's line of thought and argument.
• In addition to grasping information, candidates also need to identify the speaker's opinions, attitudes, and emotions.

IELTS Listening test structure

Exam time: The duration of the IELTS Listening test is 30 minutes.

Exam format:

• For paper-based tests: Candidates will have an additional 10 minutes outside of listening time to transfer their answers to the answer sheet.
• For computer-based tests: Candidates will enter their answers directly during the test as instructed, so they will not have an additional 10 minutes to transfer their answers as they would in a paper-based test.

IELTS Listening Test Sections

The IELTS Listening test consists of 4 English audio passages from native speakers, arranged in order of increasing difficulty corresponding to the 4 parts of the test:

• Part 1: Part 1 will be a conversation between 2 people about everyday topics such as: Booking plane or train tickets, registering for a course, travel information, shopping and returning goods, registering for sports and clubs, health advice, booking a hotel room, etc.
• Part 2: Part 2 is a monologue on everyday topics, which may include personal information and may be related to a social or public context of an academic nature such as: Details of an event or programme, such as activities at an exhibition or conference, detailed instructions on how to use a product or device, advertising notices about events, activities, or services, etc.
• Part 3: Part 3 is a discussion between 2-3 people. The content in this part is academic and scientific in an educational environment. Therefore, the topics in this part are often related to: Scientific research, analysis of the impact of science and technology on society, discussion of current topics related to education and science, etc.
• Part 4: Part 4 of IELTS Listening is the final part of the test, usually an academic lecture lasting about 4-5 minutes. The topic of the lecture usually revolves around the content of a presentation, an academic lecture or knowledge about a specific topic such as: Knowledge of natural sciences, social sciences, new scientific and technical inventions, the impact of technology on society, climate change, environmental pollution, health problems, treatment methods, healthy lifestyles, etc.

Common topics in IELTS Listening test

• Daily life
• Tourism
• Education
• Job
• Health
• Environment
• Science and technology
• Arts and Culture
• History
• Economy
• Law
• Politics
• Society

Some common Listening test types

• Part 1: Matching, note-completion, form-completion, table-completion, diagram-completion.
• Part 2: Note-completion, table-completion, flow-chart completion, summary completion.
• Part 3: Multiple-choice, matching, note-completion, table-completion.
• Part 4: Multiple-choice, matching, note-completion, summary completion, identifying information.

Complete IELTS Listening Test

IELTS Listening Test 1

IELTS Listening Test 2

IELTS Listening Test 3

IELTS Listening Test 4

IELTS Listening Test 5

IELTS Listening Test 6

IELTS Listening Test 7

IELTS Listening Test 8

IELTS Listening Test 9

IELTS Listening Test 10

Important notes when practicing IELTS Listening test

To be able to review effectively, you need to have a really reasonable study method. Before starting to practice with IELTS Listening test, please note the following:

Do a practice test:

• Take a practice IELTS Listening test with the same time limit as the real test. Each test section will have 30 minutes to complete, and candidates will have a total of 120 minutes for the 4 skills of Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking.
• After time is up, check your answers and calculate your total score to know your current level.
• Review the tapescript of the listening passage, identify why you made a mistake and learn from it for next time.

Improve listening skills:

• Start listening at a slow speed, then gradually increase it to let your ears get used to different voices and speeds.
• Questions often contain trick words like “but” and “also” to distract you. Don’t rush to fill in the answer as soon as you hear it, listen to the whole sentence and the context to choose the best answer.
• Read the word count requirement carefully to avoid missing or exceeding the allowed number of words in your answer. If you write a word too many or too few, you will be deducted points.

Read the question:

• Read the question before listening to know what type of answer to choose (noun, adjective, quantity, etc.).
• Pay close attention to recognize final sounds like “s”, “es”, “ed” to avoid losing points.

Time Management:

• Mindset that time is very important. Calculate and allocate time reasonably when doing IELTS Listening test.
• You only have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the Answer sheet before submitting your test. The time limit for transferring answers is only applicable to paper-based tests. Computer-based tests do not have this additional time.

Important vocabulary and structure notes:

• Prepare a notebook to take notes. IELTS vocabulary or IELTS test structure Noteworthy, especially pairs of words with similar pronunciation, identifying signs, predicting the topic.

Free download IELTS Listening test set Full PDF

To effectively prepare for the IELTS Listening test, you should practice sample test sets regularly. These sets IELTS test This not only helps you get familiar with the test structure but also helps you improve your listening and information processing skills.

Below is a set of 10 IELTS Listening questions compiled by ETEST Study Abroad English to support you.

Link to download IELTS Listening test: Set of 10 IELTS Listening test questions + answers

Hopefully with the set IELTS Listening test With the listening practice methods shared above, you will be able to prepare well for the official IELTS exam. These tips will not only help you get familiar with the structure and difficulty of the IELTS Listening test, but also improve your listening skills comprehensively.

However, to achieve the best results, self-training needs to be combined with IELTS learning roadmap specific and dedicated guidance and support. ETEST English for Study Abroad proud to bring you the IELTS course scientifically designed, suitable for each student's level. With a team of experienced lecturers and modern teaching methods, we are committed to providing the best output quality, helping you achieve your IELTS goals.

Register for an IELTS course at ETEST Study Abroad English today to start your IELTS journey!

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Some other documents you can refer to: 

• IELTS Listening Practice Materials
• IELTS Listening Practice Method
• IELTS Listening test types