Free IELTS Listening Practice Questions in Indonesia

The IELTS Listening test includes 4 parts and 40 questions, covering everyday conversations, academic discussions, and monologues. Test takers listen once only, answering a mix of multiple-choice, form completion, map/labelling, and matching tasks. Below are free sample questions, answer types, and expert tips to help you prepare effectively.

The IELTS Listening test is a 30-minute exam with four recordings spoken at natural speed. You will answer 40 questions that assess your ability to understand factual information, opinions, attitudes, main ideas, and detailed reasoning. The Listening test is the same for both IELTS Academic test and IELTS General Training test. 

These questions test your ability to understand: 

• Main ideas and detailed factual information 

• The opinions and attitudes of speakers 

• The purpose of an utterance 

• The ability to follow the development of ideas. 

The test is divided into four parts, each featuring a different type of real-life listening situation:

1. Part 1: Everyday conversation between two speakers

2. Part 2: Monologue providing factual information (e.g., tour, event details)

3. Part 3: Conversation between 2–4 speakers in an academic or training context

4. Part 4: Academic lecture or presentation

You will hear each recording once. Question types include:

• multiple choice

• matching

• plan/map/diagram labelling

• form/table/flowchart completion

• sentence completion

Practice with varied English accents (British, Australian, North American) because IELTS includes multiple accent types.

1. Read the questions before the audio starts

This helps you predict the type of information you will hear.

2. Focus on synonyms and paraphrasing

Speakers rarely repeat the exact words from the question.

3. Track the audio’s logical flow

Recordings often follow a chronological order.

4. Be careful with distractors

Speakers may correct themselves or change details.

5. Improve your spelling and plural forms

Incorrect spelling = wrong answer, even if the idea is correct.

❌ Not checking word limits

If the question says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, follow it exactly.

❌ Writing answers while still listening

This causes you to miss the next part. Use shorthand or keywords instead.

❌ Overthinking distractors

Trust the FIRST clearly stated answer unless corrected by the speaker.

❌ Not transferring answers carefully

Small mistakes cost points.

Multiple choice questions can be answered with one correct answer, or more than one correct answer. Read the question very carefully to check how many answers are required.  

In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose one correct answer (A, B or C), you will be given: 

• a question followed by three possible answers 

• the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible ways to complete the sentence. 

In a multiple choice question, where you are required to choose more than one correct answer you will be given a longer list of possible answers and told that you have to choose more than one answer.  

Multiple choice questions are used to test a wide range of skills. You may be required to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the listening text.

• Sample question

• Audio recording

You are required to match a numbered list of items from what you hear in the listening audio to a set of options on the question paper. The set of options may be criteria of some kind. 

Matching assesses the skill of listening for detail and whether you can understand information given in a conversation on an everyday topic, such as identifying different types of hotel or guest house accommodation. It also assesses your ability to follow a conversation between two people. It may also be used to assess your ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the listening text. 

Sample 1

• Sample question

• Audio recording

Sample 2

• Sample question

• Audio recording

You will need to complete labels on a plan (e.g. of a building), map (e.g. of part of a town) or diagram (e.g. of a piece of equipment). You can usually select your answers from a list on the question paper. 

This matching task assesses your ability to understand, for example, a description of a place, and to relate this to a visual representation. This may include being able to follow language expressing directions (e.g. straight on/turn left/opposite). 

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

In this completion task, you are required to fill in the gaps in an outline of part or of all of the listening text. The outline will focus on the main ideas/facts in the text. It may be: 

1. A form: used to record factual details such as names, addresses, telephone numbers 

2. A set of notes: used to summarise information using the layout to show how different items relate to one another 

3. A table: used to summarise information which relates to clear categories – e.g. place/time/price, 

4. A flow-chart: used to summarise a process which has clear stages, with the direction of the process shown by arrows. 

You will select the missing words in either way: 

• From a list presented in the question paper 

• From the recording 

You must keep to the word limit stated in the instructions and use the exact words you hear from the recording. 

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. ‘police-man’. 

This gap completion task focuses on the main points which a listener would naturally record in this type of situation. 

• Sample question

• Recording

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

• Answers

In this sentence completion task, you are required to read a set of sentences summarising key information from either: 

• all the listening text

• from one part of it.  

You will then fill a gap in each sentence using information from the listening text. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER’. 

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. ‘police-man’. 

Sentence completion focuses on your ability to identify the key information in a listening text. You must understand functional relationships such as cause and effect. 

• Sample question

• Audio recording

In the short-answer question type, you are required to read a question and then write a short answer using information from the listening text. Sometimes test takers are given a question which asks them to list two or three points. 

A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g. ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g. ‘police-man’. 

Short-answer focuses on the ability to listen for concrete facts, such as places, prices or times, within the listening text. 

Sample 1

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

Sample 2

• Sample questions

• Audio recording

There is no shortcut to success and practice is the first step to the journey. Explore a variety of free and paid practice material on IELTS Prepare to give yourself the best chance of securing a high band score in your IELTS Listening test.