Ielts Listening Score Chart

Ielts Listening Score Chart

The IELTS Listening test is one of the four components of the overall test, and it’s considered an important component. The listening test assesses your ability to understand spoken English in a variety of everyday contexts and situations. The ability to listen carefully is essential for effective communication in any situation, whether at home or at work.

Listening Bands Score

Listening Band Score

Descriptors

• 0 Expert User Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
• 5 Very Good User Can cope with most situations, although occasional breakdowns in communication occur when interacting with people whose first language is not English or whose cultural background differs from his/her own (e.g., resident foreigner). Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. May have problems dealing with abstract ideas or information that is presented via non-linguistic modes of communication (e.g., graphics).

8 Good User Can generally cope with reasonably predictable situations but may misunderstanding some information when it is presented via non-linguistic modes of communication (e.g., graphics) or if it contains abstract vocabulary and concepts that are new to him/her; miscommunications might also arise when interacting with people whose first language is not English or whose cultural background differs from his/her own (e.g., resident foreigner). Understands simple explanations and short, routine messages; generally handles complex grammatical structures well; responds appropriately to questions about personal details such as occupation, age, marital status etc.; reads basic information on signs at leisure destinations but has difficulty understanding extended written material unless it takes a fairly simple form such as street names on maps

Descriptors

Descriptors are a way of describing your level of ability. They’re based on the kinds of questions that you answered correctly or incorrectly, and they range from 0 (no knowledge at all) to 5 (exceptional command). The following table shows the descriptors for each band score.

0 1 2 3 4 5 No knowledge Little fluency Readily comprehends Some difficulty Understands with ease

If you have achieved a band score between 4 and 6, this is considered to be a good result since it means that you can understand most conversations in everyday situations, e.g., ordering from a menu or asking for directions on the street.

9.0 Expert User

• 0 Expert User

A 9.0 has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, using a large vocabulary. Can provide an analysis of social-science text or other discourse modes with insight and sensitivity to underlying structures, for example an essay or article on politics, history or sociology. Can deal with abstract ideas such as those contained in philosophy texts, literary criticism or theory (e.g., structuralism). Has a good command of both spoken and written academic English

has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.

has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.

Understands spoken language well, has a good vocabulary, can understand most of what is said on radio or TV and in conversations. Can write reports on topics that are familiar to him/her and make speeches where simple vocabulary is used (informal speech). Can talk about things that he/she has experienced or done, using complex phrases and sentences (often using modal verbs). Understands most of what is said by native speakers who speak clearly and slowly

8.5 Very Good User

Someone who has an IELTS Listening Band 8.5 is a very good user of the language. This person has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.

This level of speaker:

• Understands the main ideas of complex text on familiar topics such as politics, work or general interest (e.g., science). Can deal with less familiar material if it is supported by concrete detail; otherwise may have difficulty understanding because of insufficient vocabulary or grammar knowledge to understand more abstract or figurative language, which tends to be overused at this level.
• Can summarise information from different sources accurately and succinctly in his/her own words without assistance from others once he/she receives sufficient guidance from a more advanced speaker on how to formulate his/her summary before doing so

8.0 Good User

An 8.0 user of the language is a good user of the language. They can use and understand fairly complex language, and they can use and understand complex language in familiar situations. They also understand detailed reasoning, handle complex detailed argumentation well.

For example:

• They are able to discuss ideas in detail with fluency and clarity, organize their thoughts logically, express them precisely and articulately, maintain a conversation over an extended period of time on a wide range of topics;
• They are able to write clearly with few mistakes in spelling and grammar;
• They are able to provide reasoned arguments supported by precise examples from sources written or spoken at length about issues that require nuanced analysis (such as politics).

has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.

You get a score of 4 if you show:

• You have good operational command of the language but with occasional inaccuracies and inappropriacies.
• You can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
• You make non-native mistakes in tense, gender and number agreement, word forms, pronunciation and grammar, which are sometimes recognized by your interlocutor.

You get a score of 5 if you show:

• Your speech is generally intelligible for most purposes, though you may make some unavoidable errors. In spite of these minor inaccuracies or mistakes, your overall meaning is clear to native speakers; there will be no misunderstandings when communicating on familiar topics.

7.5 Competent User

• 5 Competent User

Competent users have generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

For example:

A tourist guide is taking a group of tourists on a tour of London’s sights and explaining all the historical details about each one. The guide uses simple language to explain things to her audience, who are mostly not very experienced travelers but also speaks using more advanced vocabulary words when appropriate.

has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

• Can use and understand fairly complex language especially in familiar situations.
• Can understand a wide range of vocabulary, idioms and phrases.
• Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst traveling in an area where the language is spoken.
• Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain complex points in a precise way, using appropriate examples from personal experience or reading.

7.0 Modest User

• 0 Modest User

You have generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. You can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. Your ability to paraphrase information is good as long as you are not asked to abstract or generalise beyond your experience base. You can handle some unexpected situations but may need extra time to recover if thrown by questions with vague instructions or unknown vocabulary. In unfamiliar situations, you would benefit from rephrasing or asking for clarification of instructions before proceeding with the task. You can cope well when faced with unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts but would like more time to think about how they fit into the framework of a passage that is otherwise familiar to you (e.g., a description).

Your responses are usually coherent, relevant and organized appropriately according to sense groups; however there are occasional unsystematic errors such as incorrect sentence structure or word choice errors that lead occasionally create problems in communication; these occur mainly at lower levels where speakers struggle for an appropriate word choice when faced with competing alternatives within an integrated context (e.g., within a sentence), whereas there seems little problem at higher levels where simple sentences predominate over more complex ones (in terms of word count).

6.5 Limited User

You can understand and remember isolated sentences and specific words. You can deal with simple, routine tasks and understand most of what is said to you when people speak slowly, clearly, and at a moderate volume.

You can ask and answer simple questions about personal information such as where you live and work. You may be able to describe a familiar topic or event that has happened recently.

has effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

A score of 5 indicates that you have effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

Can ask for clarification when needed and has good follow-up skills to show that he or she understands what is being said.

Can generally express him/herself using appropriate grammatical forms and vocabulary.

Can summarize information from different sources in a coherent way without serious errors of grammar or organization

6.0 Intermittent User Complete beginner user

What are you supposed to do with a 6.0?

Well, you can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic sentences to communicate needs in a simple way.

You can introduce him/herself and others, and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has.

This level appears on the IELTS Band 9 Listening Test.

The IELTS Listening Band Score Chart provides a breakdown of how well your responses were scored by a trained examiner. The bands range from the lowest level, which is ‘Complete Beginner’ (score 5.0), up to the highest level, which is ‘Expert User’ (score 9.0).