Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Listening Test 1

• Each audio plays once. You CANNOT pause or rewind during the exam.
• Take notes on the question section as you listen.
• After audio ends, you have 10 minutes to review and finalize answers.

Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Listening Test 1 is paced like a real exam, so treating it as a diagnostic with strict timing reveals far more than slow study with pauses. Section 1 features an enrolment dialogue for a class or course; Section 2 moves into a talk about a new or refurbished building; Section 3 shifts into students preparing a joint presentation; and Section 4 closes with a history lecture.

Section 1 uses note completion; Section 2 uses multiple choice plus map labelling; Section 3 uses multi-answer multiple choice plus completion; Section 4 uses note completion. Section 2's map labelling rewards candidates who pre-read every spatial preposition — opposite, beyond, between, just past — and pin a finger on the starting reference point before the recording starts.

Spend the preview seconds underlining the keyword in each gap and pencilling a word-class hint above it. Resist over-correcting in real time — if you miss an answer, leave it and rejoin at the next signpost. Use the ten-minute transfer window to clean up capitalisation, plurals and word limits. For band 7, accuracy on the last ten questions usually decides the score.

New to this skill? Read the Listening question types guide for tactics, scoring rules, and frequency analysis across Cambridge 10–20. Or browse all Listening practice tests.

Looking for written strategy? See the IELTS Blog for in-depth posts.