IELTS Listening currency

Numbers in the Listening Test: Date, Time, Telephone, Credit card

In all part of the IELTS test, you will encounter numbers in different forms. Today we will break down the variety of numbers you might see in each part of your IELTS test and how to structure them.

It is common in IELTS to be asked to listen for a number. The most common number that IELTS use is the number 15 / 50. Many students have a problem with hearing the difference between these numbers.

You might hear numbers in the following forms

• Age
• Currency
• Measurement
• Dates
• Times
• Telephone numbers
• Credit card numbers

A Common Mistake with Numbers and a Trick to Help You:

Can you tell the difference between 16 and 60?

Mistakes with teen numbers and 10 numbers are really common on the IELTS Listening Test. [Actually, native English speakers have trouble with them too!]

The trick for these numbers is to realize that not only is the pronunciation different [sixteen / sixty], but there is also a difference inword stress.

With sixteen,the second half of the word is stressed[we say it louder], like this: sixtEEN

With sixty,the first half of the word is stressed, like this: SIXty

This is the same for all of the teen numbers, and the 10s numbers. Lets go through the list for practice:

13 30

14 40

15 50 [careful, this is the hardest one!]

16 60

17 70

18 80

19 90

NUMBERS ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET:

Note that it doesnt matter whether you write 8 or the word eight on your answer sheetboth ways still simply count as a number for the instructions. You should always just write the number [like 8] to save yourself time.

Big Numbers:

How do we say 1300? Actually, there are two ways.

• We could say one thousand three hundred.
• Or, we could say thirteen-hundred.

You might hear either on the IELTS Listening Test.

*Note that this is only possible if the second number is not a zero!3000 is always just three thousand but 3100 can be three thousand one hundred OR thirty-one hundred!

Lets go through a list of big numbers for practice:

2700

27,000

270,000

2,700,000

BIG NUMBERS ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET:

Note that a big number like 27,000 just counts asone number.

Also, remember that you dont have to worry about commas or spaces in large numbers. Just write them out like this: 27000. Punctuation [like commas and spaces]doesnt matteron the listening test.

Money:

Since the IELTS relates to all English speaking countries, you may hear two different kinds of money. They are:

• Dollars [$]
• Pounds [£]

Dollars are used in most English speaking countries [Canada, USA, Australia] while pounds are used in the United Kingdom.

When listening to amounts, numbers can be said in different ways.Ascorrectspelling isimportantin the Listening test, a good tip is to write the numeral you hear, rather than writing the complete word.For example:

• 4.50 = Four dollars fifty cents/ Four pound fifty

Pay attention to the test paper to see whether you are listening for the word dollars or pounds; the questions will always be marked with either the $ or the £ symbols.

MONEY ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET:

Note that you willneverbe expected to write dollars or pounds [and you dont have to include the symbols, either]. This notation [$ / £] will already be marked on the question paper.

Note that any time a symbol for notation is already on the question, make sure youdontadd it into your answer or it will be marked wrong! [for example, if the question says 14. _____ % and you write 75% on the line so it says 75%% then you would be marked incorrect.]

Telephone Numbers:

Telephone numbers are quite common in Section 1 and 2 of the listening test.

You should learn the pronunciation of numbers in general, but there are also two tricks the IELTS listening test often uses:

1.Zero as oh. Often the number zero will be pronounced simply as oh. For example:

780 2489

When there are two zeroes in a row, sometimes the text will say double-oh. For example:

983 0091

2.The second trick is that sometimes someone will begin to read a telephone number, and thencorrect themselves with a different one!For example:

Okay, so the number is 338 no, wait. Thats my old number. Ah here it is: 342 9740.

In this case, you will need to be careful to use only the second number for the answer! [You can just scratch out the first dont waste time erasing. Remember, the examiner doesnt look at your test paper, just the answer sheet!]

TELEPHONE NUMBERS ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET:

Remember, spaces between the numbers dont matter. Again, punctuation isnotmarked on the listening test!

Watch this lesson to test yourself on listening for these difficult numbers and also review the pronunciation.

Measurements

You may hear different measurementsin your test. For example, you might hear measurements as:

• Centimetres
• Kilometres
• Kilograms

Youcanabbreviate the word when writing these measurements as numbers.For example, you can write 60kilometresas:

• Sixtykilometers
• 60kilometers
• 60 km
• 60 kms

Dates

Dates can be written in a variety of ways. You can use the number or word form, as well as abbreviate days of the weekormonths of the year.For example:

• March 5th
• Mar 5th
• 5th of Mar
• 03/05
• 5/3

Be careful with ordinal numbers.Most ordinal numbers end with th except for:

• 1st[first]
• 2nd[second]
• 3rd[third]
• 4th[fourth]
• 5th[fifth]

If youwrite, for example,2th,thiswill be marked as incorrectas the correct format is2nd.

Time

Although times can besaid differently,it isgenerally written in the same way.When writing time, make sure you know what quarter past, quarter to, and half past mean.For example:

• 6:45 = Six forty-fiveORQuarter to seven
• 6:15= SixfifteenORQuarter past six
• 6:30 = Six thirtyORHalf past six

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