[TEACHER'S SHARING] Effective techniques for taking notes in IELTS Listening - Tips to improve your listening skills quickly

During your IELTS preparation, I'm sure all of you Preppies have received many tips and tricks to effectively approach the test and achieve high IELTS scores, right? In today's article, PREP would like to introduce you to the secret technique of taking notes in IELTS Listening - a trick to help you improve your listening skills quickly and easily. Check out this article to become a master in the IELTS Listening skill!

I. Preparation before listening

• Pay attention to the type of word needed to fill in the blanks (for fill-in-the-blank tasks) and keywords in the prompt to guide your attention while listening.
• Develop a habit of distinguishing important information from non-important information. For example, if the listening passage is a conversation between two people discussing dinner plans, the important information would be the agreed-upon date/time, while other details about different dates/times are not relevant.
• Please note that the speaker may not use the exact words from the questions but may instead use synonyms or paraphrase them. Pay close attention to this.

II. Techniques for taking notes in IELTS Listening

1. Don't write down every word you hear

During the IELTS Listening test, avoid writing down every single word you hear because it's impossible to do so.

• Instead, focus on selecting the content words to note down (content words: words that carry the most information in a sentence and are emphasized when spoken).
• Skip the function words (function words: words that carry very little information).

2. Pay attention to singular/plural nouns and verb forms

Please pay attention to singular/plural nouns and verb forms. When listening to a passage, it can be difficult to catch ending sounds. You can rely on the context of the sentence and the type of word to make guesses. For example, if there is "a/an" before the blank, you can predict that you need to fill in a singular noun (phrase).

3. Use symbols and abbreviations

Using symbols and abbreviations helps speed up the process of taking notes in IELTS Listening. In this part, you can create your shorthand conventions! Remember not to use abbreviations during the actual test. For example: an upward arrow can represent "increase," "transport" can be shortened to "trnspot," and "from day to day" can be written as "frm day 2 day."

4. Write in a clear and organized manner, with each main piece of information on a separate line

Write in a clear and organized manner, with each main piece of information on a separate line. This ensures that you can review and understand the notes later to provide the correct answers.

III. Specific examples of taking notes in IELTS Listening

Here are specific examples of effective techniques for taking notes in IELTS Listening:

11. The Treloar Valley passenger ferry

1. usually starts services in April.
2. departs at the same time each day.
3. is the primary means of transport for local villagers.

12. Which of the following is true about the river cruise?

1. Before listening

Identify keywords to listen for: passenger ferry, start, April, depart, same time, primary mean of transport, local

2. During listening

There is the Treloar Valley passenger ferry running between villages, alongside the river estuary and serves as a link with the train station at Barry, from which it takes only a 10-minute walk from the riverside village of Carlton. 

In the past, the main transport way in the area was the river and as in the past, the ferry timetable varied from day to day according to the time and height of the tide. The ferry is also seasonal, usually running its businesses  during the period between April and September depending on the weather. Visiting our website, www.treloarferry.co.uk, it’s convenient to download the timetable. 

If you would like to relax and enjoy the wonderful scenery, just take a river cruise to Carlton and back from the nearby City of Plymouth. Visitors were carried along the same route by steamships in the past. Queen Victoria and her family also enjoyed such a trip in 1856.

Sau khi nghe thấy Treloar Valley passenger valley, ta biết phần sau sẽ chứa thông tin cần thiết để trả lời câu hỏi 11.

Taking notes in IELTS Listening as follows:

• main trnspot way, river (remember to use abbreviations to save time)
• past, timetable varied frm day 2 day
• ferry, seasonal, run business, Apr - Sep

After hearing "river cruise," we know that the speaker has transitioned to providing information about question 12. We will then shift our attention to listening for related information related to the keywords of question 12.

After taking notes in IELTS Listening, if we can answer the question immediately, that's great. If not, we need to continue listening to the next question and come back later; otherwise, we will miss both question 11 and question 12 due to lack of attention. Going back to question 11, we analyze as follows:

• main trnspot way, river -> This information only indicates that the main mode of transportation is by water, but it doesn't mention that the ferry is the main vehicle -> eliminate answer choice C
• past, timetable varied frm day 2 day -> This is information about the past timetable of the ferry, not providing information about the present -> eliminate answer choice B
• ferry, seasonal, run business, Apr - Sep -> The starting time of the ferry's operation is in April -> select answer choice A

IV. Conclusion

Above are all the effective techniques for taking notes in IELTS Listening that will help you easily master the Listening skill. So, to become proficient in this skill, practice diligently during your IELTS preparation at home. PREP wishes all you Preppies to easily conquer the exam!