Anticipating Answers: The Key to Success

The IELTS Listening test gives you a crucial opportunity to prepare before you hear the audio. You will have time to read the questions for each section. Using this time wisely by practicing anticipation is a highly effective strategy.

1. Read the Questions and Underline Keywords

Don't just skim the questions. Read them carefully and underline the keywords. Keywords are the most important words in the question that tell you what information you need to listen for. These could be:

• Nouns: Park, library, address

• Verbs: Book, describe, recommend

• Adjectives/Adverbs: New, first, quickly

For example, in the question, "The meeting is at the new community hall, what is the name of the hall?" the keywords are "new community hall" and "name." This tells you to listen for the name of a specific place.

2. Predict the Type of Answer

Once you have identified the keywords, you can often predict the type of answer required. This mental preparation helps your brain focus on specific details in the recording. Ask yourself:

• Is it a name? (e.g., a person's name, a place name)

• Is it a number? (e.g., a telephone number, a price, a quantity)

• Is it a date? (e.g., a day of the week, a month, a year)

• Is it a time? (e.g., 2:30 PM, 09:15)

• Is it a location? (e.g., on a map, a specific room)

Example:

• Question: What is the phone number for the booking office?
  Prediction: I need to listen for a sequence of numbers.

• Question: The library is closed on...
  Prediction: I need to listen for a day of the week.

By actively anticipating answers, you transform from a passive listener into an active one. This focused approach significantly improves your chances of catching the correct information when the audio begins.