IELTS Listening Improvement Plan
Duración: 3–4 weeks · Tiempo diario: 1.5 h · Objetivo: listening +1.0
Para quién es este plan
Your listening lags your other skills. The fix is not "more tests" — it is training the ear to decode connected speech. Dictation is the engine of this plan; tests measure the progress.
El principio clave
Dictation is brutal and it works: replay, write every word, check the transcript, list what you misheard. Twenty minutes daily rewires more than two passive tests.
La ruta
Marca las tareas a medida que las completes — el progreso se guarda en este dispositivo.
Phase 1 — Decode (Weeks 1–2)
Daily dictation on Parts 1–2; learn the trap patterns (corrections, distractors, spelling).
Avanza cuando: A Part 2 section dictated with fewer than 5 errors.
Cada día
Dictation drill: replay ONE section of a listening test you already sat, write down every word, then check yourself against the transcript. This trains the ear, not the memory→
20 minimprescindible
Listen to the SAME section once more at normal speed, reading the transcript — connect sound to text→
10 minimprescindible
Re-read yesterday's wrong answers: for each, say out loud WHY the right answer is right before checking the explanation
15 minimprescindible
Durante la fase
Sit one full listening test from the newest month — exam conditions, then mark it→
40 minimprescindible
Study the Distractors format guide, then find that question type in a test and do just those questions→
25 minesta semana
Study the Spelling in Listening format guide, then find that question type in a test and do just those questions→
25 minesta semana
Study the Map Labelling format guide, then find that question type in a test and do just those questions→
25 minesta semana
Phase 2 — Speed & Sections 3–4 (Weeks 3–4)
Multi-speaker discussions and lectures; prediction from the question paper before audio starts.
Avanza cuando: Two consecutive tests at your target listening band.
Cada día
Dictation on a Part 3 or 4 segment (harder: academic vocabulary, speed)→
25 minimprescindible
Sit one full listening test from the newest month — exam conditions, then mark it→
40 minimprescindible
Durante la fase
Anclas diarias
Mañana: Read one passage or transcript aloud for 10 minutes before anything else — mouth and ear before eyes.
Antes de dormir: Before bed, review the words you collected today from wrong answers (5–10 minutes, no new material).
Autoevaluación semanal
- Dictation error count trending down?
- Which trap still catches you: corrections mid-sentence, plurals, spelling?
- Are you predicting answers before the audio starts?
Un plan es una ruta, no una promesa — ningún horario puede garantizar una puntuación de band. Ajusta los volúmenes a tu realidad y mantén el trabajo de producción.