IELTS Listening Matching: Strategy, Traps and Practice

Matching questions give you a numbered list of items, such as people, places or features, and a lettered list of options, such as opinions, descriptions or reasons. You link each item to the right option. They often appear in Part 2 (for example, facilities on a tour) and Part 3 (for example, what students think of different sources).

What it tests

• Following a conversation or talk with several topics and keeping track of which detail belongs where.
• Recognising paraphrase: the option is almost never said in the same words.
• Understanding opinions and evaluations, not just facts.

Step-by-step strategy

1. Read the instructions. Check whether an option can be used more than once.
2. Read the options before the items. Options are the paraphrased part. Turn each one into a short idea you can recognise (for example, too expensive, hard to reach).
3. Use the items as your map. The items come in recording order, so you always know which item the speaker is talking about.
4. Wait for the full comment. Speakers often start with one view and finish with another.
5. Note a quick letter, then move on. Don't hold up the next item while you think. Check later in the review time.
6. Use elimination at the end. If each option can be used only once, an unused option may fit the item you missed.

Common traps

• Two items in one breath. A speaker compares two items, and the comment you hear belongs to the second one, not the first.
• "Contrary to what you'd think". A speaker says what people usually say about a place, then gives their own view.
• "I expected X but found Y". The expectation matches one option, the reality matches another.
• Similar-sounding names. Two people or places with close names, such as Hollis and Hollins. Check which one is being described.
• A changed opinion. In Part 3, one student convinces the other, so the final view differs from the first.
• Option words used for something else. The exact word from an option is said, but about a different item.

Try it: mini-example

This transcript is original practice material written for Bee English.

GUIDE: Let's start with the café by the entrance. People expect it to be pricey because it's in a gallery, but actually it's very reasonable. Next door is the gift shop, which is lovely, though it closes an hour before everything else, so plan ahead. Upstairs, the reading room is the place to go for peace and quiet. It used to be noisy when the school groups came through, but they now use the east wing instead. Finally, the garden. It's beautiful, but getting there means three flights of stairs, and there's no lift yet.

What does the guide say about each place? Choose the correct letter, A–E.

• A it is cheaper than expected
• B it is difficult to get to
• C it has limited opening hours
• D it is popular with school groups
• E it is quiet

1. café
2. gift shop
3. reading room
4. garden

Answers and explanations

1. A. People expect it to be pricey, but it is very reasonable. This is the contrary to what you'd think trap.
2. C. Closes an hour before everything else is a paraphrase of limited opening hours.
3. E. School groups are mentioned, but they used to come through and now go elsewhere, so D is a distractor. This is the changed situation trap.
4. B. Three flights of stairs and no lift means it is difficult to get to.

Related guides

• IELTS Listening: complete guide
• Listening multiple choice
• Reading: matching features
• The computer-delivered test screen

Sources

• IELTS, Academic Listening format and question types
• IDP, How computer-delivered IELTS works