Multitasking is an important ability that may reduce the efforts required to complete many tasks in your life. Including getting high scores in your IELTS Listening module.
Listening is one of the most challenging modules in IELTS. This is due to the fact that it is the only section that demands the candidate to listen, read, and write at the same time. So multitasking is an inevitable talent that a candidate needs to possess in order to perform well in the listening part.
Let us look at the importance of multitasking abilities and some techniques for improving them to help you achieve better listening scores.
Why is multitasking important in listening ?
For the listening session, you will be played an audio (once) and given a question paper on which you must fill in all of the correct answers in the prescribed gaps. To correctly work out this session, you should read the questions, attentively listen to the audio, and write down the appropriate answer in the places supplied, all of which needs you to multitask.
If you concentrate too much on one feature, you will overlook the others. For example, if you are just focused on listening to the audio, you may not have enough time to write down the answers; if you are solely focused on writing the answers, the audio will continue to play and you will miss key information necessary to write the rest of the answers. To score well in the listening portion, you must have a good balance of all three abilities (listening, reading, and writing).
How to improve multitasking for listening?
There are several strategies that will help you score higher by enhancing your multitasking abilities. Let us go through some helpful hints for it.
1. Concentration
Concentrating on the task at hand is critical for each endeavour you try. You must teach your brain to be completely focused for the whole 30 minutes of the listening module. When you focus better, your brain eliminates unnecessary passing thoughts, allowing you to perform better in listening.
2. Need based strategy formulation
When multitasking, it is critical to keep a to-do list so that you can prioritise the attention that each sort of query deserves. Before the recording begins, read over the questions carefully. Highlight the main keywords in the question and try to predict what responses might be appropriate there. Because you have previously identified the relevant keywords, listening to the audio will help you filter your answer area. Guessing the answers will assist you avoid writing a blunder answer that doesn’t even match the statement in the question grammatically and contextually.
3. Practise to build a habit
If you examine attentively, you will notice that you already have multitasking abilities. So, in order to build on what we have, we must practice. If you practise listening tests on a regular basis, it will become second nature to you, and you will feel more confident and succeed in your listening scores as a result.
Don’t worry if you become bored while taking the listening tests. You may also watch movies, television shows, or documentaries without subtitles to improve your listening and understanding abilities. Because the listening audios for the real test include individuals speaking in various accents, viewing English shows made in various regions of the world exposes you to a variety of accents.
4. keyword selection
When you have time to read the question, underline the relevant keywords to help you answer it successfully. This will make it easy for you to extract the specific term or a synonym from the audio piece.
How can I improve scores for multiple-choice questions in listening?
The multiple choice questions are typically found in section three of the listening module. This is one of the most difficult questions in the listening part, and you will not be able to answer it successfully if you lack multitasking abilities. Let me show you a few ways that can help you better deal with this sort of question:
- Highlight relevant keywords in all of the questions and options so that you can easily filter out the necessary sections from the audio.
- Always think carefully before writing the first response you hear, because the audios in this part are deceptive and will try to mislead you.
- Don’t waste time obsessing over a single question if you don’t get a response. Mark it for future reference and go on to the next question quickly since the audio will continue to play.
- If you hear terms like ‘but’ or ‘although,’ use additional caution before writing your answers. They suggest that some contradicting information is about to be presented.
- Whatever your level of confidence, never try a section without first thoroughly reading the instructions. The number of words you must answer will be clearly stated in the instructions.
How to attempt a map question in IELTS listening?
One of the most crucial tactics to use while answering a map question is to indicate the directions with a pencil on your question paper. Left and right sides can be indicated with a big L and R so that when the audio says turn right, you don’t have to worry about it because you’ve already written it down plainly. Likewise, indicating every right and left turn would be beneficial. You can write 1st L in the map for the initial right turn/path. The short form for the first right is 1st R, while the short form for the second right is 2nd R.
Typically, map questions appear in the second section of the listening test. This is a sort of question that requires your complete attention and multitasking abilities, especially when it asks you to listen and write quickly. It is simpler if you write all of the directions, such as north, south, east, and west, on your map. This allows you to follow the voice and your pencil across the map at the same time, and you may write the answers as you go.
If you struggle with maps, isolate different types of map questions offered in listening and try them. There are various places and position words that appear frequently in map questions; understanding them would be beneficial. Keep in mind that you should not halt the audio until you have completed the whole session in one sitting, as this is how the real examination is done.
What mistakes to avoid for getting a better score in listening?
- Don’t take the test unless you’ve practised transferring your correct answers onto the listening answer scripts. This is something that the majority of applicants overlook. Even though you are given 10 minutes to transfer the answers, it is vital to practise doing it once or twice to learn how it is done and what tempo you should use to write it fast and without errors.
- Don’t squander the additional time you get for reading the instructions or answering the questions. If you complete reading the questions in one area quickly, it is a good idea to turn the pages and underline the significant keywords for the following portions. This can save you time and effort as you tackle each section.
- If you modify the form of the word you hear, you may lose marks for the grammar section. Particularly when writing singular and plural nouns.
- Instead of performing dozens of listening exams back to back, which will fatigue you and build a phobia of the listening session, practise active learning.
- Even while viewing movies, talk shows like TedTalks, and documentaries might help you improve your listening skills, make sure you turn off the subtitles and attempt to understand and even write down brief parts of what you hear. If you leave the subtitles on, your attention will be solely on reading rather than trying to understand what you hear.
- Keep your concentration since a lot of information will be heard over the audio at a quicker pace, particularly in section four of the listening module. Pay great attention to the words closest to the gaps in this section, especially prepositions, because there is a good likelihood that the answer in the audio will be practically close to these words in most circumstances.
Conclusion
When it comes to working out the listening module, multitasking is critical. It is not a talent that can be learned overnight, but with constant practise and clever method application, you will be able to enhance this skill and attain your target score in no time.
