IELTS Listening Maps tips

 

IELTS Listening Maps tips

The ability to follow directions on these maps is a critical, daily-life skill that, if you are not good at it, can lead to many frustrating interactions in the real world. Following someone’s directions is not as simple as hearing words like “left”, “right”, or “ahead” and “behind”. In the real world, we don’t give such clear directions all the time. We use collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, and less common location/direction words when giving directions to people. Real-world directions are not always as straightforward as English learning textbooks try to make them. Remember that even though IELTS map questions can be difficult to understand, the speakers will give you clues to help you! They will give you clues about how to look at the map; are you ‘inside the map‘ or ‘looking at the map on a piece of paper Remember to focus your attention on the very first part of a conversation or presentation that is focused on describing locations on a map, and you will see your IELTS Listening score improve!

 

Useful Language

Below is a selection of vocabulary and phrases you should be aware of before doing the listening test:

• at the top/at the bottom
• on the left/on the right/on the far side
• North/South/East/West
• to the north/to the west
• slightly west of
• in the southwest/in the northeast
• in the middle of/in the centre of
• above/below
• inside/outside
• opposite/in front of
• left-hand side/ right-hand side
• clockwise/anticlockwise
• a little beyond
• just past
• before you get to
• adjoining
• enter via
• runs alongside

 

In addition to location vocabulary, you also need to think about directional and instructional vocabulary– ie the words that tell you where to go or what to do.

IELTS Vocabulary for Location and Direction

Here are a few more:

Turn left/right…	Go straight for/on…	Head south on…
Keep going…	When you get to…	Across / kitty corner from…
Next to…	Behind…	At the corner of…
On the left/ right of…	It’s hidden behind…	It’s about 100 meters from…
Near to…	A little before/after…	Clockwise/anticlockwise…

 

VOCABULARY FOR PLACES

Finally, it is also important when labelling maps that you know the different names of places. To be honest, this is not quite as vital as the location/direction vocabulary because many of these places will be listed on your test paper. However, it is still an advantage to know it. Here are some words that might help.

Traffic sign	Route	Junction	Block
Map	One-way street	Side road	Roundabout
Crosswalk	Apartment building	Intersection	Entrance

 

If you don’t understand any of these, please look them up and practice using them.

The most common words below that you should look out for and study beforehand. 

 

NORTH o   At / On the top of o   To the north of  o   Above o   Slightly north of	SOUTH o   At the bottom of  o   South of  o   Below  o   Slightly south of
WEST o   To the west of  o   To the left of  o   On the left  o   Left-hand side  o   Slightly west of	EAST o   To the east of  o   To the right of  o   On the right  o   Right-hand side o   Slightly east of

 

There are also some other options that you may hear, such as:

On the far side - This means that it is on the opposite side of something. This will usually be spoken right after a clue is given regarding the opposite side, meaning that you will have to switch sides immediately in order to keep up with the speaker’s pace.

In the Southwest/Northwest/Southeast/Northeast - This is simply a mix between two directions, and can be present in examples with maps.

In the middle of/In the center of - This is simply in the center (or middle) of the diagram or map. This can also be the center of something explicitly stated in the example (ex: in the middle of the library).

Inside/Outside- This is usually used in a map, and will designate the area in which something is located. It will be either outside or inside of something.

Opposite/In front of - Similar to the ‘on the far side’ option, this can either be on the opposite of something or in front of something.

Clockwise/Anticlockwise - This is helpful to understand, and is quite common on the exam! Think of how a clock moves (to the right)--that is clockwise. The opposite direction (to the left) would be anticlockwise. This is usually included in the beginning of a listening prompt, and candidates must follow it correctly in order to get the remaining questions correct. So make sure to remember the difference between these two words!

A bit beyond - This is a common phrase for maps. Usually, it will come right after a landmark and then right before another. For example, “The grocery store is a bit beyond the library.” In this case, this means that the library would be just a bit farther than the grocery store.

Right past - This is another common phrase for maps. Similar to the ‘a bit beyond’ phrase, this will come right after a landmark and then right before another. For example, ‘The police station is right past the shopping center.” In this case, right past signifies something that is close by.

Before - This will be spoken when something occurs prior to something else. For example, ‘The children’s center is before the history museum”. In order to understand the direction, you will need to pay attention to the prior directions and follow the path of the speaker. For this reason, this will usually not be one of the first directions spoken.

After - This will be spoken when something follows something else. For example, ‘The children’s center is after the history museum”. In order to understand the direction, you will need to pay attention to the prior directions and follow the path of the speaker. For this reason, this will not usually be one of the first directions spoken.

Adjoining - This is a common word used in diagrams and plans, and signifies that something is connected to something else.

Enter through/via - This is usually included in maps, and shows how one can go into another area of the map. For example, “After entering through the kitchen, you will go through the lobby.”

Runs through - This phrase is common for maps and plans, and signifies that something goes through something else. For example, “The river runs through the park.”, which means that it goes through and is inside the park.

Runs alongside - This phrase is common for maps and plans, and signifies that something is located along something else, but not inside. For example, “The river runs alongside the park.”, which means that it is not inside, but on the outside, following the length of the park.

Listening Strategy

1. Read the question carefully. Understand the map or plan and its features.
2. Ask yourself where things are in relation to the questions. This should help you predict the answers and follow the talk.
3. Think about where the person might begin their talk from. What is to their right and left? What is in front of and behind them?
4. Look at the major parts of the map or plan to help you understand and navigate your way around.
5. Predict what type of words might be the answer i.e. will it be a place, room, street, building etc.
6. Listen to the beginning of the talk carefully because this will help you understand the context and help you follow the talk more easily.
7. Visualize the place they are describing whilst the person is talking. Note down any possible answers, but be careful with distractors e.g. ‘this was the library but we decided to move it down to the end of the corridor’.
8. Use signposting language like ‘The next room we are about to see is…’, or ‘If you now follow me to….’, to help you understand each stage of the talk.
9. Make short notes on the question paper and then transfer your answers at the end using correct spelling.

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