IELTS Tips and Tricks - Doing Well in the Listenting Task

English radio and TV talk shows give you good exposure to the way native speakers - not English teacher - actually use the language. They familiarize you with slang and other colloquialisms.

English radio and TV news programmes give you great background for the multiple-voice, nonacademic setting section of the ielts Listening test, which often uses a mock radio broadcast. Hearing up to four different individuals talk about the same incident from different personal perspectives, in different acoustical situations, and in a variety of accents (including those of second-language speakers) is exactly the kind of training you need to perform well on this portion of the test, which some candidates find the hardest.

Watching English, Australian, American, and other movies in English - in any format - is also highly useful in giving you exposure to the way "real people" speak English. As with all languages, it's not the same as classroom English.