IELTS Listening Score Calculator

If you want to study, work or migrate abroad, proving your English language proficiency is essential. IELTS is the most popular exam to prove your English proficiency. Over 3 million people take an IELTS Test every year! If you plan to apply to a top university abroad, you must get high IELTS scores. Understanding the score calculation while preparing for IELTS can help you score better. Applicants tend to lose scores in the listening section as it requires a lot of attention. This blog gives you an insight into everything you should know about the IELTS listening score calculator.

IELTS	International English Language Testing System
Starting Year	1980
Annual No. of Test Takers	More than 3 Million
Skills Tested	Listening, reading, writing, speaking
Score Range	0-9 (0.5 band increments)
Score Validity	24 Months

Must Read: Movies for IELTS Listening

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IELTS Test Structure

IELTS Test takers must be aware of the test format as it allows them to be familiar with how IELTS testing actually works. There are 2 types of IELTS Tests, IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training or GT. Both of these tests are graded in the same way. While taking an IELTS test your Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking skills are tested. The test includes all four skills together but the speaking test is supposed to be held individually. However, the test scores are graded altogether to provide the test taker with an Overall IELTS Score. Mentioned below is the format for an IELTS Test:

Listening Format

You will be required to listen to the following recordings of native English speakers.

Recording 1 –  This will be a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.

Recording 2 – This recording will be a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.

Recording 3 – This recording is supposed to be a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment.

Recording 4 – This will be a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

Listening Structure

Timings	40 Minutes including the transfer time
Number of Questions	40
Task Type	multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram labelling, form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion, sentence completion
Marks	Each correct answer gets a +1 score. Scores out of 40 are then converted into the IELTS 9-band scale.

Must Read: Become a Pro in IELTS Listening

IELTS Listening Score Calculator

1. The IELTS Listening consists of 40 questions
2. Each correct answer is awarded 1 mark
3. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS nine-band scale
4. Scores are then reported in whole and half bands

The table mentioned below depicts the average number of marks required to achieve a specific band score in Listening:

Band Scores	Score out of 40
5	16
6	23
7	30
8	35

How are IELTS Bands Calculated?

IELTS Bands are based on a 0-9 band scale i.e 0 being the lowest and 0 being the highest score. Mentioned below is the IELTS Score Scale:

Band Score	Skill Level
9	Expert User
8	Very good user
7	Good User
6	Competent User
5	Modest User
4	Limited User
3	Extremely limited user
2	Intermittent user
1	Non-User
0	Did not attempt the test

The hypothetical test report mentioned below provides overall band scores and band scores for each of the four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. This will give you an idea of how IELTS Bands are calculated.

Test Taker	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Average Score	Overall Score
A	6.5	6.5	5.0	7.0	6.25	6.5
B	4.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.875	4.0
C	6.5	6.5	5.5	6.0	6.125	6.0

1. The average score of the four components is divided by 4
2. If the average of the 4 components ends in .25, the overall band score is rounded up to the next half band
3. If the average of the 4 components ends in .75, the overall band score is rounded up to the next whole band.

Tips to Get a Good Score in IELTS Listening

1. Preparation before the test is extremely important as it requires a lot of focus and attention. You get to listen to the recording only once, hence it gets difficult sometimes to understand what the speaker is saying. 
2. Understanding the situation is equally important to get an idea of the situation. Before the start of the listening test, you’ll be provided with introductory audio. Remember to listen carefully to get an idea of what is coming for you.
3. Improving your vocabulary as section 3 is always about education. Try to learn education-related vocabulary. This will help you explore and learn new words.
4. Focus on word indicators such as then, however, therefore, perhaps, thus etc. This will help you predict what the speaker is going to say.
5. You do not have to answer quickly. Take time to understand, sometimes the speaker may speak something incorrectly and repeat it later on. This way you might get your answer incorrect. Listen carefully and do not jump to conclusions quickly.

Must Read: IELTS Listening Tips

IELTS Listening Score in Top Universities

IELTS listening scores for most Universities range from an IELTS Listening Score of 6.5 to almost 8.5. Mentioned below is a list of top Universities along with the required IELTS Listening Band Score

To help you achieve and understand the range of IELTS listening band scores you may need.

University Name	IELTS Listening Score
Harvard University	7.5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	7.0
California Institute of Technology	7
Princeton University	7
Yale University	7
Oxford University	7
University of Cambridge	7
McGill University	6.5
University College London (UCL)	6.5
University of Toronto	6

Relevant Read: IELTS 5.5 Band Colleges in Canada

How can Non-English speakers score an IELTS Listening Band Score 9?

Most of the time Non-English speakers find it difficult to score High in the listening section of IELTS because of obvious reasons. However, it is not impossible to score 9 in IELTS Listening if you practice on a daily basis. The very first step is to understand the accent. Different accents be it that of British, Canadian or Australian, all three of them have different pronunciations which makes it difficult for a Non-English listener to understand the words spoken in the audio. So it is better to get familiar with different accents, for instance, the commonly used word ‘nought’ isn’t very common in India. It could mean zero, failure, or nothing depending on the context of the audio. Another thing to keep in mind is that you only listen once as once you’ve missed a certain piece of information, there’s no way back. So be attentive while listening to the audio and try to practice the same way before taking the IELTS. Apart from this, expanding your vocabulary is one of the major factors contributing to a good IELTS score be it in listening, reading, writing or speaking. You may be asked to write synonyms of a word in the listening section as synonyms of words have similar meanings. 

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IELTS Listening Practice Papers

A great way to improve your IELTS listening score is to practice sample papers on a daily basis. Practice Papers help you identify your weak points and work on them. Below mentioned are some IELTS listening practice papers you can look for while preparing for the test:

• Sample 1
• Sample 2
• Sample 3
• Sample 4
• Sample 5
• Sample 6
• Sample 7
• Sample 8

Must Read: How to Increase IELTS Listening Score?

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FAQs

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