Listening Skills

Why prediction is the most important Listening habit কেন prediction সবচেয়ে জরুরি অভ্যাস

In the exam you hear each recording only once, and the speakers do not slow down for you. If you start listening with no idea what you are waiting for, the answer often goes past before you notice it. If you already know that gap 3 needs a price and gap 4 needs a place in a building, your brain is ready to catch exactly those things.

Prediction has two layers. The first is grammar: what kind of word can fit the gap — a noun, a number, an adjective, a verb ending in -ing? The second is meaning: what is the word probably about — a day, a colour, a type of food, a job? You will not always guess the exact word, and you do not need to. You only need to narrow the possibilities so the right answer stands out when you hear it.

Strong candidates do this for every question in the reading time before each part. It takes about three seconds per gap once you are used to it, and it is the single habit that most clearly separates Band 6 listeners from Band 7 listeners.

Recording একবারই বাজে, তাই শোনার আগেই জানতে হবে কী খুঁজছেন। প্রতিটি gap-এর জন্য দুটি জিনিস অনুমান করুন — grammar (noun, number, adjective) আর meaning (দিন, জায়গা, দাম)।

A 30-second routine for any set of questions যেকোনো প্রশ্নের জন্য ৩০ সেকেন্ডের routine

Use the same routine every time, so it becomes automatic under pressure. Practise it today on the task below, and on every practice test this week.

• Step 1 — Read the instruction. Circle the word limit. NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER means 'half past ten' (three words) is too long, but '10.30' is fine.
• Step 2 — Find the keywords. In each question, underline one or two words that carry the meaning: usually nouns and verbs such as 'fee', 'begin', 'deposit', 'borrow'. Ignore small words like 'the', 'will', 'of'.
• Step 3 — Predict grammar. Look at the words directly before and after the gap. Write a tiny note in the margin: N (noun), No. (number), Adj, V-ing.
• Step 4 — Predict meaning. Ask: what would make sense here in real life? A photography course might ask you to bring a camera, a notebook or a tripod — not a towel.
• Step 5 — Think of synonyms. For each keyword, quickly think of one or two other ways a speaker could say it. 'Begin' might be 'start', 'kick off' or 'the first session is at'.

প্রতিবার একই পাঁচটি ধাপ: নির্দেশনা ও word limit পড়ুন, key word চিহ্নিত করুন, grammar অনুমান করুন, meaning অনুমান করুন, আর key word-এর সমার্থক শব্দ ভাবুন।

Paraphrase: the speaker rarely uses your words Paraphrase: বক্তা প্রায় কখনো প্রশ্নের শব্দ ব্যবহার করেন না

The people who write IELTS questions deliberately use different words from the recording. If the question says 'The centre will lend students a camera', the speaker might say 'you can borrow one of ours' or 'we'll give everyone a camera to use for the term'. If you wait only for the word 'lend', you will miss the answer.

Paraphrase happens in three main ways. Synonyms replace one word with another ('cheaper' → 'reduced rate'). Different grammar turns the same idea around ('students pay £70' → 'the fee for students is £70'). Explanation replaces a word with a description ('refreshments' → 'tea, coffee and some biscuits'). Part 1 uses mostly simple synonyms; Parts 3 and 4 use much more explanation.

This is why Step 5 of the routine matters. You do not have to guess the exact paraphrase. You only need to be listening for an idea, not a word. When you hear something that means the same as your keyword, you know the answer is close — usually in the same or the next sentence.

প্রশ্নে যে শব্দ থাকে, recording-এ সাধারণত তার সমার্থক শব্দ বা ব্যাখ্যা শোনা যায়। নির্দিষ্ট শব্দ নয়, ধারণা (idea) শোনার চেষ্টা করুন।

Fixed signposts: what cannot be paraphrased যেগুলো paraphrase হয় না: নাম, সংখ্যা, তারিখ

Some words cannot be changed: names of people and places, numbers, dates and times. If a question mentions 'Room 14' or 'the Kamal Building', you will hear those exact words. Use them as signposts. When you hear one, you know exactly where you are in the questions, even if you lost your place earlier.

But be careful: a recording often mentions more than one number, day or price, and only one is the answer. The speaker may give a full price and then a student price, or an old time and then a new time. Your meaning prediction helps here. If the question says 'Student price', you are waiting for the second price, not the first. If it says 'now begin', the word 'now' tells you the time has changed, so you should expect to hear an old time first.

Finally, keep your prediction flexible. If you predicted a day but the speaker clearly gives a date that fits the grammar and the meaning, write the date. Prediction is a tool for focusing your attention, not a rule you must obey.

নাম, সংখ্যা ও তারিখ বদলায় না — এগুলো দিয়ে কোন প্রশ্নে আছেন তা বুঝুন। তবে একাধিক সংখ্যা বা দাম শোনা গেলে প্রশ্নের key word (যেমন 'student', 'now') দেখে সঠিকটি বেছে নিন।

Why multiple choice feels harder than it looks Multiple choice কেন কঠিন মনে হয়

In a gap-fill question you write one word you hear. In a multiple-choice question you read three or four options, and almost all of them will be mentioned in some way. The question writers build every wrong option from something the speakers really say. That is why so many candidates choose an answer, feel certain, and still lose the mark.

The wrong options are called distractors. They usually work in one of four ways: the idea is mentioned and then rejected ('We thought about a survey, but…'); it is true for someone else (the tutor likes it, but the question asks about the student); it is true at a different time ('we used to…'); or it uses the exact words from the recording but with a different meaning. The correct option, by contrast, is usually paraphrased, so it often sounds less obvious than the distractors.

Multiple choice appears in all four parts, but it is most common in Part 2 and Part 3. Matching — where you link a list of people, places or features to a box of options — is mainly a Part 3 task, with some Part 2 versions.

Multiple choice-এ প্রায় সব option-ই recording-এ কোনো না কোনোভাবে শোনা যায়। ভুল option (distractor) সাধারণত বাতিল করা ধারণা, অন্য কারও মত, অন্য সময়ের তথ্য, বা হুবহু শব্দ দিয়ে তৈরি। সঠিক উত্তর সাধারণত paraphrase করা থাকে।

Preparing multiple choice in the reading time পড়ার সময়ে multiple choice-এর প্রস্তুতি

You will not have time to read every option slowly while the speakers talk, so the preparation has to happen before the recording starts.

• Read the question stem first and underline its focus: 'why', 'what problem', 'what does the tutor suggest', 'what do they agree'. A question about the tutor's opinion means the students' opinions are traps.
• Read the options and find the differences. If all three options are about a survey, underline the part that differs: 'too few replies', 'confusing questions', 'took too long'. That difference is what you are listening for.
• Shorten each option in your head to one or two words: A = permission, B = noticed waste, C = tutor's idea. This makes them faster to compare while listening.
• Do not choose an option the moment you hear its words. Wait until the speakers finish that point. The answer often comes after a 'but', an 'actually' or a reply from the second speaker.
• Put a light mark, then decide. Tick an option when it is mentioned, cross it when it is rejected, and commit when the conversation moves on.

Recording শুরুর আগে প্রশ্নের মূল বিষয় চিহ্নিত করুন, option-গুলোর পার্থক্য খুঁজুন, প্রতিটিকে এক-দুই শব্দে ছোট করুন। Option-এর শব্দ শুনেই উত্তর বেছে নেবেন না — বক্তারা কথা শেষ করা পর্যন্ত অপেক্ষা করুন।

Listening for agreement and disagreement সম্মতি ও অসম্মতি শোনা

In Part 3, an idea is only the answer if the speakers accept it. So the most important words are often small reactions. Learn to hear these signals quickly, because they tell you whether the option you just ticked survives.

Agreement sounds like: 'That's a good point', 'Exactly', 'I'd go along with that', 'Fair enough', 'Let's do that then'. Disagreement or doubt sounds like: 'I'm not so sure', 'The trouble with that is…', 'Maybe, but…', 'I see what you mean, however…', 'I'd rather not'. A change of mind sounds like: 'Actually, thinking about it…', 'On second thoughts…', 'So we've dropped that idea'.

Watch out for polite disagreement. English speakers, especially tutors, often reject an idea softly: 'That's interesting, but think about the time it would take' means no, or not now. If you only hear 'interesting', you will tick the wrong box.

Part 3-এ একটি ধারণা তখনই উত্তর যখন বক্তারা তা মেনে নেন। 'That's a good point' মানে সম্মতি; 'I'm not so sure', 'Maybe, but' মানে আপত্তি। Tutor-রা প্রায়ই ভদ্রভাবে না বলেন — 'interesting, but…' শুনে ভুল বুঝবেন না।

Matching: a list of items and a box of options Matching: তালিকার সাথে option মেলানো

A matching task gives you a numbered list (for example four data sources, five people, or six facilities) and a box of lettered options (A, B, C…). You choose one letter for each item. There are usually more options than you need, or some letters are used more than once — check the instruction.

The items in the numbered list are spoken in order, so they work as signposts. The options in the box are not in order, and they are almost always paraphrased. 'We've dropped that idea' matches 'rejected'; 'if we finish early, we'll add it' matches 'will use only if there is time'.

Before you listen, read the box of options until you can remember them — there are rarely more than five or six. Then, while listening, keep your eyes on the numbered list and wait for each item to be named. When the speakers move from one item to the next, make your decision, even if you are not completely sure, and move on. Getting stuck on item 2 is how you lose items 3 and 4 as well.

Matching-এ তালিকার item-গুলো ক্রমানুসারে আসে — এগুলো signpost। Option box-এর কথাগুলো paraphrase হয়ে আসে। শোনার আগে option-গুলো মুখস্থের মতো পড়ে নিন, তারপর তালিকার দিকে চোখ রাখুন।

A home drill for distractors Distractor চেনার জন্য বাড়িতে অনুশীলন

You can train this skill without a full practice test. Take any Part 3 recording you have already done, open the transcript, and find each multiple-choice question. For every option — right and wrong — underline the sentence where it is mentioned. Then write one short label next to each wrong option: rejected, someone else, wrong time or denied. After three or four recordings you will start to hear these patterns automatically, because you will have seen how the question writers build them.

A second drill works on agreement. Play a two-person discussion from a podcast or a TV panel and pause after every reaction ('Mm, maybe', 'Absolutely', 'I'm not sure that works'). Say aloud whether the speaker is accepting or rejecting the last idea. This sounds simple, but it trains the exact decision you must make in Part 3 in less than a second.

Finally, when you check a practice test, do not only look at the questions you got wrong. Look at the ones you got right by luck. If you cannot explain why each wrong option is wrong, you have not yet learned the skill — you were simply fortunate on that day.

Transcript খুলে প্রতিটি ভুল option-এর পাশে লিখুন কেন সেটি ভুল: rejected, someone else, wrong time বা denied। আলোচনা শুনে প্রতিটি প্রতিক্রিয়ায় থেমে বলুন — বক্তা মেনে নিলেন, না বাতিল করলেন।

What map and plan questions look like Map ও plan প্রশ্ন দেখতে কেমন

Map labelling usually appears in Part 2, where one speaker — a guide, a manager, a volunteer organiser — describes a place: a park, a museum, a campus, a sports centre, a new housing development. You see a plan with some features already named and some blank boxes or letters. Your job is to match each place in the list to the right letter, or write a name in a box.

Diagram labelling is similar but shows a machine, a building or a process, and appears more often in Part 3 or Part 4. The skills are the same: understand where you are starting, follow the speaker as they move, and listen for position language.

Candidates who are good at gap-fill often find maps difficult, not because the English is hard, but because they lose their place. The speaker says 'go past the café and turn left', and while you are still looking for the café, they have already described two more buildings. The solution is preparation: by the time the recording starts, you should know the map almost as well as the speaker does.

Map প্রশ্ন সাধারণত Part 2-এ আসে — একজন guide কোনো জায়গা বর্ণনা করেন। কঠিন ইংরেজির কারণে নয়, বরং map-এ জায়গা হারিয়ে ফেলার কারণে নম্বর কাটে। তাই শোনার আগে map ভালোভাবে চিনে নিন।

Orienting yourself in the reading time পড়ার সময়ে map-এ নিজেকে চিনে নেওয়া

Spend your 30 seconds on the map, not just the question list. Work through these checks in order:

• Find the starting point. Look for 'You are here', an entrance, a gate or a reception desk. Speakers almost always begin there, so put your pen on it.
• Find the compass. If there is an N arrow, say quietly to yourself which way is north, south, east and west on this page. Many maps put north at the top, but not all.
• Read every named feature. The names already printed — the lake, the car park, Main Street — are your signposts. The speaker will use them to guide you to the blank ones: 'opposite the car park', 'between the lake and the road'.
• Notice the shape. Is there one central path, a ring road, a corridor with rooms on both sides? Knowing the shape helps you follow a route.
• Read the list of places to find and predict a little: a café is likely near an entrance or a view; toilets near the car park; a staff-only area at the edge.

প্রথমে শুরু করার জায়গা (entrance বা 'You are here') খুঁজুন, তারপর compass দেখুন, map-এ লেখা নামগুলো পড়ুন, পথের আকার বুঝুন, এবং কোন জায়গাগুলো খুঁজতে হবে তা পড়ে নিন।

Left and right: the trap that catches everyone বাম আর ডান: সবচেয়ে বড় ফাঁদ

When a speaker says 'on your left', they mean the left of a person walking in the direction described, not the left side of your page. If you enter a garden through a gate at the bottom of the map and walk up, your left is the left of the page. But if you enter from the top and walk down, your left is the right side of the page.

The simplest fix is physical: turn the question paper (or imagine turning it) so you are facing the same way as the speaker. On a computer-delivered test you cannot rotate the screen, so draw a small arrow on your scrap paper and trace the route with your finger.

Compass directions do not have this problem. 'The north-west corner' is always the same place, whichever way you walk. Speakers in IELTS use both systems, often in the same talk, so you need to be comfortable switching between them.

'on your left' মানে হাঁটার দিকের বাম, পাতার বাম নয়। উপর থেকে নিচে হাঁটলে বাম দিক পাতার ডান দিকে পড়ে। Compass direction (north-west ইত্যাদি) সবসময় একই থাকে।

Following a route while you listen শোনার সময় পথ অনুসরণ করা

Keep your pen or finger moving with the speaker. Every time they name a printed feature ('when you reach the pond'), move your pen there. Every time they give a movement ('turn left and keep going to the corner'), move your pen along the path. When they name a place from your list, the letter under your pen is usually the answer.

Listen carefully for changes. Places move: 'The café used to be by the car park, but it's now beside the lake.' Features are described that are not on your list or not labelled: 'the small greenhouse next to it is for staff only'. These are the map versions of the distractors you studied yesterday.

Finally, remember that the answers still come in order. If the speaker has finished describing the shop and moved on to the café, stop looking for the shop — choose the most likely letter and follow the new route.

আঙুল বা কলম দিয়ে বক্তার পথ অনুসরণ করুন। জায়গা সরে যাওয়া ('used to be… now') এবং label-বিহীন জায়গার বর্ণনা — এগুলো map-এর distractor।

Diagrams, plans and flow-charts Diagram, plan ও flow-chart

Not every labelling task is a map. You may see a floor plan of a building, a diagram of a machine such as a water filter or a solar cooker, or a flow-chart of a process. In a diagram the speaker usually describes the parts from top to bottom, from outside to inside, or in the order the thing works: 'Water enters at the top, passes through a layer of sand, and then…'.

The language changes slightly. Instead of left and right you hear above, below, on top of, underneath, inside, attached to, at the base of and in the centre. In a process you hear first, next, after that, once this is done and finally. The preparation is the same as for maps: find where the description is likely to start, read every printed label, and decide which way the speaker is probably moving.

Diagram answers are often written words, not letters, so the Day 5 rules apply: check the word limit, the spelling and whether a plural is needed. A label such as 'metal ______' after a number like 'two' must be plural.

Diagram বা flow-chart-এ বক্তা সাধারণত উপর থেকে নিচে বা কাজের ক্রমে বর্ণনা করেন। above, below, inside, attached to, first, next — এই শব্দগুলো শুনুন। উত্তর লিখিত শব্দ হলে word limit, বানান ও plural দেখুন।

The most common question type — and the easiest marks to lose সবচেয়ে বেশি আসা প্রশ্ন — আর সবচেয়ে সহজে নম্বর হারানো

Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary and sentence completion all work the same way: you write words you hear into a gap. Together they make up a large share of the 40 questions, and almost all of Part 1. They are not usually difficult to hear. They are difficult to write correctly under time pressure.

An answer is marked wrong if it is misspelled, if it breaks the word limit, if it has the wrong number (singular instead of plural), or if it does not fit the gap. Nobody gives half marks for 'nearly right'. A candidate who hears all ten answers in Part 1 can still score six out of ten. Four lost marks like that can be the difference between Band 6.5 and Band 7.0 across a whole test (26 versus 30 correct).

So today's lesson is less about listening and more about accuracy: the rules the examiners use, and the habits that protect your marks.

Completion প্রশ্নে উত্তর শোনা সাধারণত কঠিন নয় — কঠিন হলো সঠিকভাবে লেখা। বানান ভুল, word limit ভাঙা, singular/plural ভুল — যেকোনো একটিতেই পুরো নম্বর যায়।

Word limits: read them, circle them, obey them Word limit: পড়ুন, চিহ্নিত করুন, মেনে চলুন

Every completion task begins with an instruction such as ONE WORD ONLY, ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER, or NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If your answer is longer than the limit, it is wrong — even if it contains the right word. The rules for counting are simple once you learn them:

• A hyphenated word counts as one word: 'part-time', 'well-known', 'twenty-three'.
• A number written in digits counts as a number, not a word: '23', '7.45', '£385'. So with ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER, 'Tuesday 14' is allowed.
• ONE WORD ONLY means no number can be added. 'Tuesday' is fine; 'Tuesday 14' is not.
• Do not repeat words already printed next to the gap. If the form says '14 ______ Road', write only 'Larkfield', not '14 Larkfield Road'.
• When a number could be written in words or digits, choose digits. 'Twenty-three' and '23' are both correct, but digits are faster and avoid spelling mistakes.

Hyphen দেওয়া শব্দ এক শব্দ। অঙ্কে লেখা সংখ্যা 'number' হিসেবে গণ্য। ONE WORD ONLY হলে সংখ্যা যোগ করা যাবে না। Gap-এর পাশে ছাপা শব্দ আবার লিখবেন না। সংখ্যা সবসময় অঙ্কে লিখুন।

Numbers, dates, times and money সংখ্যা, তারিখ, সময় ও টাকা

Numbers are where Part 1 marks quietly disappear. First, learn how numbers sound. In phone numbers and codes, 'oh' means 0, 'double four' means 44 and 'triple two' means 222. Thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, fifteen and fifty differ mainly in stress: thir-TEEN stresses the end, THIR-ty stresses the beginning. If you are unsure, listen for what comes next — a speaker who says 'thirty… that's three-oh' is helping you.

Dates can be written several ways, and all common forms are accepted: '18 May', '18th May', 'May 18', 'May 18th'. Avoid all-number dates such as 18/5, because they can be read differently in different countries. Times: '7.45', '7:45' and '7.45 am' are all fine. Do not write both a time in digits and 'in the morning' if that breaks the word limit.

Money: if the currency symbol is already printed (£ ______), write only the number. If it is not, include the symbol or the word: '£385' or '385 pounds'. Listen to the end of the sentence before writing a price — speakers often add an extra charge or a discount, and the total is what the question wants.

'oh' = 0, 'double four' = 44। thirteen/thirty-র পার্থক্য stress-এ। তারিখ '18 May' বা 'May 18' — দুটোই চলবে, তবে 18/5 লিখবেন না। £ ছাপা থাকলে শুধু সংখ্যা লিখুন, আর দাম লেখার আগে বাক্য শেষ পর্যন্ত শুনুন।

Spelling, plurals and grammar fit বানান, plural আর grammar মেলানো

When a name or a code is spelled, write the letters as you hear them — do not try to remember the whole word first. Learn the letters that Bangladeshi learners most often confuse in English: A (ay) and E (ee), E and I (eye), G (jee) and J (jay), and W (double-you). Practise by spelling your own name and address aloud every day this week.

Common words that are not spelled out must still be spelled correctly: accommodation, necessary, library, Wednesday, February, receipt, environment. British or American spelling are both accepted (colour or color), but a spelling that is neither is wrong.

Plurals are the other silent killer. If the speaker says 'space for four bicycles', the answer is 'bicycles', not 'bicycle'. Look at the words around the gap: a number before it ('two ______'), no article ('bring comfortable ______'), or a plural verb after it ('______ are provided') all point to a plural. Finally, read the full sentence with your answer in it. If it does not sound like correct English, something is wrong.

Spell করা নাম অক্ষর ধরে ধরে লিখুন। A/E, E/I, G/J অক্ষরগুলো আলাদা করে চিনুন। British বা American — দুই বানানই চলে। Gap-এর আগে সংখ্যা থাকলে উত্তর plural হবে। শেষে পুরো বাক্যটি পড়ে দেখুন ঠিক শোনাচ্ছে কি না।

Tables, flow-charts and summaries Table, flow-chart ও summary

The same rules apply to every completion format, but each layout has its own small trick. A table is read row by row, usually left to right, so the answers move across before they move down. Look at the column headings — Name, Cost, Location, Comments — because they tell you the type of answer in every gap of that column. If one cell in the 'Cost' column says '£12', the gap below it is also a price.

A flow-chart shows the stages of a process with arrows. The speaker describes the stages in order, so the arrows are your route. Gaps in a flow-chart are often verbs or nouns for actions: 'The samples are ______' or 'Collect the ______'. Predict the grammar carefully, because a verb in the wrong form (dry instead of dried) can be marked wrong.

A summary or sentence completion gives you continuous sentences with gaps. These look harder, but they give you the most grammar clues. Read each sentence aloud in your head with a blank in it, and decide exactly which word class is missing before the recording starts.

Table সাধারণত সারি ধরে বাম থেকে ডানে পড়া হয় — column heading দেখে উত্তরের ধরন বুঝুন। Flow-chart-এ তীরচিহ্ন ধরে এগোন; verb-এর সঠিক রূপ দিন। Summary-তে grammar clue সবচেয়ে বেশি থাকে।

Why Parts 3 and 4 feel so different Part 3 ও Part 4 কেন আলাদা লাগে

Parts 1 and 2 are about everyday life, and most answers are concrete: names, prices, places. In Parts 3 and 4 the context becomes academic. Part 3 is a discussion about study — a project, an assignment, a piece of research — with two to four speakers. Part 4 is a lecture given by one speaker, with no break in the middle, and usually about ten questions in a row.

The vocabulary is harder, but that is not the main problem for most candidates. The real problems are length and concentration. A Part 4 lecture lasts several minutes without a pause. If you lose your place once, you can easily lose three or four answers before you find it again. So the skills today are about structure: knowing where the speaker is in their talk, and knowing how to get back in when you get lost.

Remember the score table from Day 1. Band 7 needs 30 out of 40. Many Band 7 candidates still lose four or five marks in Part 4. You do not need to understand every sentence of the lecture; you need to keep up with the notes.

Part 3 পড়াশোনা নিয়ে আলোচনা, Part 4 একজনের lecture — মাঝে কোনো বিরতি নেই। মূল সমস্যা কঠিন শব্দ নয়, বরং দৈর্ঘ্য ও মনোযোগ ধরে রাখা। প্রতিটি বাক্য বোঝার দরকার নেই — notes-এর সাথে তাল রাখুন।

The notes are a map of the lecture Notes হলো lecture-এর map

Part 4 questions are usually note completion: a page of notes with headings, bullet points and gaps. The person who wrote those notes listened to the lecture and summarised it in order. That means the notes show you the structure of the talk before you hear it.

In the reading time, do not just read the gaps. Read the headings first. If the headings are 'How mangroves survive', 'Coastal protection', 'Carbon', 'Threats', you already know the lecture has four sections, and you know the order. When the lecturer starts talking about storms, you know you are in the second section, even if you missed everything before it.

Then predict each gap as you learned on Day 2: grammar first, then meaning. In a lecture the answers are often nouns for processes, materials, places or groups of people, and often only ONE WORD ONLY is allowed. Underline the words next to each gap; the lecturer will say something very close to them just before or after the answer.

Part 4-এর notes lecture-এর ক্রম অনুযায়ী লেখা। আগে heading-গুলো পড়ুন — এগুলো দেখায় lecture কয়টি অংশে ভাগ এবং কোন ক্রমে। তারপর প্রতিটি gap-এর grammar ও meaning অনুমান করুন।

Using signposts to stay on track Signpost দিয়ে সঠিক জায়গায় থাকা

Signposting phrases are your best friends in Part 4. When you hear 'Turning to coastal protection', move your eyes to the heading 'Coastal protection' immediately — even if you have not answered the questions above it. The lecturer will not go back.

Two signposts deserve special attention. 'A key point' or 'what's crucial' very often comes just before an answer, because the question writer chose the most important information for the notes. And 'People often assume… In fact…' is a built-in distractor: the first idea (what people assume) is wrong, and the answer comes after 'in fact'. It is the lecture version of the corrections you met in Part 1.

Part 3 has signposts too, but they are shorter and shared between speakers: 'Shall we move on to the methodology?', 'What about the results section?', 'OK, that's the introduction sorted.' Listen for them in the same way — they tell you which group of questions you are in.

'Turning to…' শুনলেই notes-এর পরের heading-এ চোখ নিন। 'A key point' প্রায়ই উত্তরের ঠিক আগে আসে। 'People assume… In fact…' — প্রথম ধারণাটি ভুল, উত্তর আসে 'in fact'-এর পরে।

When you get lost — and you will হারিয়ে গেলে কী করবেন

Every candidate loses the thread sometimes. What matters is how fast you recover. Use this simple rescue plan:

• Do not go back. The question you missed is gone. Make a quick guess later, in the checking time.
• Look ahead two gaps. Read the words around the next two gaps, not just the next one. One of them will match what you hear soon.
• Wait for a signpost or a heading word. As soon as the lecturer names a section ('So what's destroying them?'), you know exactly where you are.
• Keep writing short. In Part 4 you have no time to write long notes. Write the answer, or the first few letters, and correct the spelling in the checking time.
• Practise under real conditions. At home, play a full Part 4 once, without pausing, and do not read the transcript until you have finished. Pausing the audio trains a habit you cannot use in the exam.

হারিয়ে গেলে পেছনে যাবেন না। পরের দুটি gap দেখুন, signpost-এর জন্য অপেক্ষা করুন, সংক্ষেপে লিখুন। বাড়িতে অনুশীলনের সময় audio থামাবেন না — পরীক্ষার মতো একবারেই শুনুন।

Part 3 under exam conditions পরীক্ষার পরিবেশে Part 3

Part 3 combines the challenges of Days 3 and 6. There are several voices, so you must know who is speaking. Use the reading time to note the names in the questions and, if possible, picture each speaker: the tutor usually sounds more formal and asks questions, while the students explain and disagree. When the recording starts, the speakers introduce themselves or call each other by name in the first few lines — listen for that and connect each voice to a name.

Part 3 question sets often change type halfway: four multiple-choice questions, then a matching task, then a short completion task. Before the recording begins, draw a line between the groups and read the new instruction for each group. Many candidates lose marks at the change, because they are still answering in the style of the previous group.

Finally, protect your stamina. Parts 3 and 4 come at the end of the test, when concentration is lowest. In your practice at home, take Parts 3 and 4 back-to-back without a break at least once a week, so that the real test does not feel longer than your training.

Part 3-এ কে কথা বলছে তা বুঝুন — tutor সাধারণত বেশি formal। প্রশ্নের ধরন মাঝপথে বদলায়, তাই প্রতিটি group-এর নির্দেশনা আলাদা করে পড়ুন। বাড়িতে সপ্তাহে অন্তত একবার Part 3 ও 4 একটানা অনুশীলন করুন।

Why review matters more than another test আরেকটি test-এর চেয়ে review কেন বেশি জরুরি

Many students prepare for IELTS Listening by taking test after test. They check the score, feel happy or unhappy, and start the next one. Their score often stays the same for months, because they keep making the same mistakes without noticing them.

A score tells you how many answers were wrong. It does not tell you why. The why is what you can fix. One student loses marks because she writes the first number she hears; another because he misspells common words; a third because she gets lost in Part 4. They all score 24, but they need completely different practice.

Today you will review the week, do a short mixed task, and then learn a simple method for diagnosing your own mistakes. From now on, every practice test you take on this site should end with ten minutes of this diagnosis. It is the cheapest way to gain marks.

শুধু test দিলে score একই থাকে, কারণ একই ভুল বারবার হয়। Score বলে কতগুলো ভুল, কিন্তু কেন ভুল তা বলে না — আর 'কেন' খুঁজে বের করলেই উন্নতি হয়।

The six reasons answers go wrong উত্তর ভুল হওয়ার ছয়টি কারণ

After you mark a test, open the transcript and find the exact sentence that contains each answer you got wrong. Then decide which of these six causes explains it. Be honest — the point is to find a pattern, not to feel better.

• Not heard: you did not catch the words at all — the speaker was fast, the accent was unfamiliar, or you did not know the word.
• Paraphrase missed: you heard the answer but did not realise it matched the question, because the words were different.
• Distractor: you chose an option that was mentioned but rejected, corrected, or true for someone else.
• Lost place: you were still waiting for an earlier answer when this one went past.
• Form error: you heard and understood it, but wrote it wrongly — spelling, plural, word limit, or the wrong number format.
• Prediction error: you wrote a word of the wrong type (an adjective where a noun was needed) because you did not check the grammar of the gap.

প্রতিটি ভুল উত্তর transcript-এ খুঁজে ছয়টি কারণের একটিতে ফেলুন: শুনতে পাইনি, paraphrase ধরতে পারিনি, distractor-এ পড়েছি, জায়গা হারিয়েছি, লেখায় ভুল (বানান, plural, word limit), বা gap-এর grammar মেলাইনি।

Building your personal error log নিজের error log তৈরি করা

An error log is a simple table in a notebook or a phone note. Every time you get an answer wrong, add one line. It takes about thirty seconds per mistake, and after two or three tests the log will show you clearly where your marks are going.

For each wrong answer, write: the test and question number, the part, the question type, what you wrote, the correct answer, the cause from the six above, and one action for next time. Keep the action short and specific: not 'listen better', but 'when I hear a price, wait for the end of the sentence'.

At the end of each week, count your causes. If half your mistakes are form errors, your next week's practice should be dictation of numbers, dates and spellings, not harder lectures. If most are distractors, practise Part 3 multiple choice and say aloud why each wrong option is wrong. If you keep losing your place, practise full parts without pausing. Let the log decide your practice, not your mood.

প্রতিটি ভুলের জন্য এক লাইন লিখুন: test, প্রশ্ন নম্বর, part, প্রশ্নের ধরন, আপনার উত্তর, সঠিক উত্তর, কারণ, আর পরের বার কী করবেন। সপ্তাহ শেষে কারণগুলো গুনে দেখুন — সেটাই ঠিক করবে কী অনুশীলন করবেন।

Before Week 2: keep Listening alive Week 2-এর আগে: Listening চর্চা চালু রাখুন

Next week moves on to Reading, but your Listening will fade quickly if you stop. Keep a small daily routine of fifteen to twenty minutes alongside the Reading lessons.

• Every day: five minutes of number and spelling dictation — play any English podcast and write every number, date and name you hear.
• Every day: ten minutes of active listening with a task set before you press play, then a check with the transcript.
• Twice in the week: one full practice part on this site, followed by ten minutes of error-log diagnosis.
• At the weekend: count the causes in your log and choose next week's focus.

Week 2-এ Reading শুরু হলেও প্রতিদিন ১৫–২০ মিনিট Listening চালিয়ে যান: সংখ্যা ও বানানের dictation, task নিয়ে শোনা, সপ্তাহে দুটি practice part, আর error log বিশ্লেষণ।

Using the checking time well শেষের checking time কাজে লাগানো

Your error log will probably show some mistakes that a final check could have caught. On the computer-delivered test you have two minutes at the end; on the paper test you have ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Use that time in a fixed order.

First, fill every blank with your best guess, because there is no negative marking. Second, check form: spelling of common words, plurals after numbers, and the word limit for each group of questions. Third, check numbers: did you write 15 when the context suggests 50? Does a price or a date make sense in real life? Do not spend the checking time trying to remember a recording you did not hear — that time is better spent protecting answers you did hear.

On paper, transfer carefully: one wrong line on the answer sheet can move every later answer into the wrong box. Check the question number every five answers.

শেষের সময়ে আগে সব ফাঁকা পূরণ করুন, তারপর বানান, plural ও word limit দেখুন, শেষে সংখ্যাগুলো যুক্তিসঙ্গত কি না দেখুন। Paper test-এ প্রতি পাঁচটি উত্তরে প্রশ্ন নম্বর মিলিয়ে নিন।