Shadowing Practice: Ready for IELTS? 2026 Listening Mock Test (Real Exam Practice) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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We heard your requests in part one, so today we're focusing on the listening section of the IELTS exam.
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So here's part two of our full IELTS mock test.
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If you haven't seen part one of the video about speaking and reading, you can check up here or in the description below.
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So are you ready to test your listening skills?
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This is the exact format you'll face on test day.
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Four sections and 40 questions, which increase in difficulty.
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Before we start today's mock test, I recommend you download the free listening answer booklet.
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This booklet contains every question in today's class with space for you to write your response and notes.
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Just click the link in the description to download.
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Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
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I'm going to play the audio tracks for each section.
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You'll see the questions on screen.
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Write your answers down as you go.
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Here is a crucial tip for 2026.
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The exam is getting stricter on distractors, where a speaker contradicts themselves, so stay sharp.
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I'll be back after each section to check your answers and explain the tricky ones.
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Let's start with section one.
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If you want a full IELTS mock test graded and given feedback by one of our expert teachers,
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make sure to jump over to e2language.com and check out our packages with included mock tests.
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You can start for free and only pay the difference when you upgrade.
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Section 1 is the social conversation.
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For this one, we're covering travel insurance.
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You'll hear a telephone conversation between a woman and an insurance agent.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 1 through 11.
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Now turn to section 1.
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You will hear a woman telephoning an insurance company about travel insurance.
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But first, you'll have time to look at questions 1 to 11.
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Hello Travel Smart Insurance, how may I help you?
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Oh, hello.
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I'm calling because I'm going on a holiday and I'd like to take out travel insurance.
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Oh, lucky you.
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Okay, are you an existing client with us?
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Yes, I am actually.
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I have a car insurance policy with you.
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All right then.
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Can you give me your full name, please?
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Sure.
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It's Alexandra Wilkinson.
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Is that Wilkinson with two L's?
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No, just one L.
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It's W-I-L-K-I-N-S-O-N.
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Okay, Miss Wilkinson?
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Oh, please, call me Alex.
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Miss Wilkinson is my mother.
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Okay, Alex.
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And what is your client number?
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It's 305...
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Oh, sorry, it's 304-588-67.
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Thanks.
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What's your date of birth?
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It's 12th of November, 1978.
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Oh, you've just had a birthday.
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Yes, that's why I'm going on a holiday.
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It's a birthday present to myself.
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Wow, good for you.
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Okay, Alex, we do have your address on file.
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Can you confirm if it's still current?
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Yes, I'm at number 216, Lonsdale Street, Carlton.
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Oh, I'll need to update that address.
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Can you spell the street name for me?
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Yes, Lonsdale is L-O-N-S-D-A-L-E.
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OK, and what policy type would you like, Alex?
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We have trip protection, luggage protection, medical and comprehensive, which includes all of the ones I just mentioned.
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It's a bit more expensive but I highly recommend it.
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I'll go with a comprehensive policy.
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I don't want to take any risks.
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Agreed.
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Wise choice.
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I'll just need some details about your trip now.
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What are your travel dates?
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I depart on the 8th of January and return on the 8th of February.
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Oh no, the 7th, sorry.
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OK, and where are you travelling to?
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I'm going to Spain and Portugal.
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Wow, lucky you.
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I was in Portugal last year.
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Beautiful country.
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Yes, I can't wait.
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What airline are you travelling with?
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Northwestern Airways.
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Oh, I haven't travelled with them before.
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Me neither.
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This is my first time, but they come highly recommended.
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And which hotel will you be staying at during your travels?
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Well, a lot of the time I will be staying in hostels and Airbnb, but I have booked the Hilton for three nights in each place.
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Nice.
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And what about your baggage?
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What do you mean?
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Are you taking hand luggage and check-in luggage?
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Oh yes, I'll have check-in luggage and carry-on.
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Okay, how would you like to pay for that?
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Check, credit card or cash?
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I'll pay with my credit card.
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Okay, well now I have all the necessary details, I'll put your request for travel insurance through.
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You will receive an invoice in the mail and as soon as payment is processed, your insurance will be activated.
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Thank you.
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You're welcome.
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Have a great trip.
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Great work!
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Question one is usually the easiest, but did you catch the self-correction in question six?
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Let's look at the answers.
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Number one is Wilkinson, spelled W-I-L-K-I-N-S-O-N.
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Number two is 304-588-67.
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Number three is 1978.
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Number 4, Lonsdale.
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Number 5 is Comprehensive.
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Number 6 is the 7th of February.
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This was the distractor.
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She said, return on the 8th.
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Oh no, the 7th.
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This can be written out multiple ways.
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7 is Portugal.
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8 is Northwestern.
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9 is Hilton or The Hilton.
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10 carry-on.
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11 credit card or you could just say card.
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Now count your correct answers.
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If you missed question 6 about the date, remember always wait for the speaker to confirm the final detail.
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Don't write the first thing you hear.
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Are you ready for section two?
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If you want to learn more about the social conversation question type, we have tons of interactive activities and method videos on e2language.com.
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Now we move on to section two.
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You'll hear a guide describing how coffee is brewed. Be careful.
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Questions 15 to 17 require you to label a diagram.
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Here you should listen for spatial words like over, housed in, and released through.
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Now turn to section two.
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You will hear a speaker describing the process of brewing coffee.
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First, you will have time to read questions 12 to 18.
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Brewers have developed numerous techniques to prepare the popular beverage coffee.
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All techniques are based on leaching via solid liquid extraction, and each method aims to produce the best quality coffee possible.
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A subjective feat that, despite evaluations from professional coffee tasters, is often a matter of personal preference.
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Because so many chemical compounds comprise a single batch of coffee,
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Determining precise correlations between the soluble's physical parameters and the beverage's quality is difficult.
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However, understanding the mathematics of extraction can help identify the influence of various parameters on the final product.
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While past studies have investigated the mathematics of coffee extraction, researchers have previously paid little attention to the drip filter brewing system.
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Drip filter machines make up about 10 million of the over 18 million coffee machines sold yearly in Europe.
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But I'm getting a bit technical now.
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I'll explain to you the process of the drip system.
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Drip filter brewing involves pouring hot water over a loose bed of coarser coffee in a filter.
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The filter is housed in a funnel.
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Gravity pulls the water through the filter, extracting coffee solubles from the grains during the flow.
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The water flows through the bed, leaching soluble coffee components from the grains.
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Any undissolved solids in the fluid are filtered from the extract as the liquid leaves the filter
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and the brewed coffee is released through the funnel.
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By contrast, espresso coffee is made by forcing hot water under high pressure through a compacted bed of finely ground coffee.
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But we'll look at that in the next session.
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That was a bit more technical.
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Let's see how you did with the diagram labeling.
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Here are the answers for section two.
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Number 12 is personal preference.
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13, coffee extraction.
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Number 14 is 18 million or over 18 million.
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The distractor was 10 million.
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That's for drip filter machines only.
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The total is 18 million.
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15 is hot water.
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16, funnel.
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17, brewed coffee.
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18 was B.
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They force hot water through compacted, finely ground coffee.
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Question 14 was a classic IELTS trap.
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The speaker mentioned 10 million first, but the question asked for the total number, which was 18 million.
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Always read the question word for word.
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Now, let's move on to Section 3.
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Section 3 involves an academic discussion between a student, Marie, and a course coordinator.
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This is where it gets harder.
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You need to identify agreement and specific conditions for the course.
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Now turn to Section 3.
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You will hear a woman asking for more information about a museum studies course at a university.
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First, you have time to read questions 19 to 26.
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Hi Marie.
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Hello.
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I'm here to ask a few questions about the Masters of Museum Studies.
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Yes, I'm the coordinator of the program.
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Can I ask why you are interested in this particular course of study?
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Well, I did a Bachelor's in History with a minor in Migration Studies.
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I'm currently working at the Migration Museum and am interested in doing research to specialise in my field,
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particularly in the area of history of European migration to Australia.
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I see.
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I know the curator of the museum, Albert Hofferman, quite well.
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The university and the museum do quite a lot of projects together.
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Yes, it was actually Mr Hoffman who suggested I speak to you.
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I see.
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And how long have you been working at the Museum?
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I've been working there for eight months.
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Actually, it's been nine months now.
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Since I work full-time, I'd like to study part-time.
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How long would it take to complete a Master's part-time?
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Well, the graduate diploma is six months with one year full-time.
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But the Master's program is one year.
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One semester of coursework and one semester of research.
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So if you do it part-time it will take you two years.
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Also, what modes of study are available?
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Well, we actually offer campus mode, online mode or blended mode, which is part on campus and part online.
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Hmm, I won't be able to attend campus all the time.
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But I do want to be able to come to lectures and classes, so I guess blended mode would be best for me.
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Yes, it's more flexible and some of the classes are offered at night to cater to students like you who work.
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So how do I apply?
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Because this is a specialised program, you need to have a bachelor's degree, which you do, as well as at least one year's work experience.
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Although research experience is highly looked upon as you will be completing a thesis, work experience is a prerequisite.
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Okay.
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Have you thought about what you'd like to focus on?
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I know you said you're interested in the history of European migration to Australia.
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Well, I'm particularly interested in heritage studies.
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I'm really interested in how migrant communities have maintained their heritage over the generations.
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Well, you will enjoy the subject called Migration, Community and Heritage in Semester 1.
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Sounds great.
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I suggest you get started on your application.
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Applications are due by the end of October.
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Sorry, November.
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Do I need to submit references or recommendations?
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A recommendation letter from your employer would be beneficial, though not necessary.
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I'm sure Albert would be happy to write one for you.
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Yes, he is a very supportive boss and is really encouraging me to do further study.
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Well, all the best with the application.
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I look forward to seeing you at the start of the semester.
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Thank you for your time.
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This one had several distractors.
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Did you catch the correction on the date in question 26?
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Let's check your score.
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The answers for section 3 start with number 19, which is B, to specialize in a particular area.
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20 is B, 9 months.
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The distractor here is that she worked for eight months, but then she says, actually, it's been nine months now.
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21 is C, two years.
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22 is C, blended.
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Questions 23 and 24 ask you to choose two letters, A through F.
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They can be in any order, but the answers are A and B.
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So 23 would be A, bachelor's degree, and 24 would be B, work experience.
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Note that they mentioned that research experience is looked upon highly, but it is not required.
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25 is heritage.
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26 is November.
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The distractor here, they said end of October.
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Oh, sorry, November.
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27 is recommendation letter.
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Okay, let's move on to the final stretch, section four.
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This is the most difficult section, a monologue on an academic subject.
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There are no breaks in the audio here, so you must keep your focus for the entire clip.
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Now turn to section 4.
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You will hear an archaeologist talking about seven ancient mysteries archaeologists will solve this century.
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First, you will have time to read questions 28 to 40.
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Thank you.
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However, archaeologists have a staggering array of technological tools to employ,
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from remote sensing equipment that allows us to see beyond the visual bandwidth,
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to computers so powerful that they can process in a second what it would take humans thousands of years to do.
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Archaeologists are calling the 21st century the New Age of Exploration.
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The opportunities for what we can discover in this century, and the questions we'll finally be able to answer seem almost limitless.
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With that enthusiasm in mind, we may be able to look forward to, in this new century of discovery,
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discovering previously unknown cities or even civilizations in Central and South America.
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Archaeologists are using LIDAR, Light Detection and Ranging, to literally see beneath dense jungle canopies.
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They are also using ground penetrating radar or GPR in places like Honduras
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and Belize to locate settlements that we weren't aware existed.
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Finding the Tomb of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great Technology like Ground Penetrating Radar,
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GPR, enables archaeologists to look underground without digging.
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Archaeologists have this technology to identify potential locations for the burial site of Genghis Khan.
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While we didn't locate the Tomb of Genghis Khan at the time, it's a great way to survey large areas of land for what might be a relatively small feature.
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Ultimately, it's a numbers game.
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The more area you're able to survey, the more likely you are to find something.
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Why not the tomb of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great?
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Entering the Tomb of China's First Emperor Archaeologists know the location of the burial site of Qin Shi Huang Di,
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surrounded by his terracotta warriors in Xi'an.
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But the potential of damaging items preserved in the tomb for more than 2000 years makes them reluctant to open it.
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Remote sensing tools like GPR can give us an idea of the interior structure,
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and eventually we'll have tiny robotic devices that can enter the tomb and collect data with negligible disturbance.
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It's been more than a century since the powerful Minoan civilization of the Mediterranean was uncovered, but scholars are still unable to decipher their language known as Linear A.
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So far we have more than 1400 examples of Linear A to study,
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and now we have big data in our toolkit which used with computer analysis will help us decipher the mysterious language.
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Understanding the purpose of the Nazca Lines Researchers are still theorising on the purpose of the Nazca Lines.
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Do these elaborate geoglyphs in Peru represent constellations?
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Are they associated with water sources?
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Anthropologists say that no single evaluation proves a theory about the Nazca Lines.
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This is where using increasingly powerful computer analysis to crunch big sets of geographical and archaeological data would be really important.
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Recovering an intact Neanderthal As global warming causes ice sheets and glaciers to retreat, it will be very, very likely
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that a well-preserved Neanderthal will one day emerge much like the 40,000-year-old baby mammoth found in Siberia.
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Confirming large-scale Viking presence in North America Just as increasing temperatures will make glaciers reveal their secrets,
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the thawing coasts of Canada will expose a network of Viking settlements
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that will force us to rewrite the discovery of the Americas.
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We already have identified two Viking sites in the Americas, and once we better understand the nature of these settlements,
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I'll bet you will start recognizing them all along the Atlantic coast.
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It's not impossible to imagine.
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NASA also provides sophisticated high-tech tools that archaeologists are making use of.
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NASA satellite imagery has been used to search for Mayan ruins in southern Mexico and Central America.
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They've also made use of ground-penetrating radar, which sends electromagnetic pulses underground and then spots signals reflected back by buried structures.
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The radar scans allow scientists to create images of what exists below.
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In northwestern New Mexico, archaeologists have used drone aircraft equipped with thermal imaging cameras to identify the walls
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and passages of a 1,000-year-old sediment buried beneath the dirt.
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And Brexton University archaeologist Caitlin Bart and colleagues have used a robotic snake to probe man-made caves excavated by ancient Egyptians.
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One of the advantages of these new tools is that touch-free archaeology enables searchers to scrutinize large areas without disturbing them,
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and accidentally destroying valuable material.
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Another potential advantage of high-tech archaeology is that despite the cost of sophisticated equipment, it saves time and manpower, and some of the tools,
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such as software that stitches together data from various sources, usually can be downloaded for free.
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And that's the end of the listening section.
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Section 4 moves fast.
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Let's see if you survived the archaeology lecture.
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Here you should have been looking for specific technologies like GPR and LIDAR.
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The answers to section 4.
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Number 28 is A.
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Ground Penetrating Radar or GPR.
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29 A.
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30 A.
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31 C.
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Computer Analysis.
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32 C.
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33 B.
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Warming Temperatures.
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34 B.
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For numbers 35 and 36, again the order doesn't matter, but it's answers A and D.
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Number 37 is A, thermal imaging.
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38 is C, drones or drone aircraft.
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39 is B, saving the sights.
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40 is C, saving time and energy.
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Deep breath, you're done with the listening section.
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Now count up your total score out of 40.
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How did you do?
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If you scored under 30, don't worry.
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It usually means you fell for the distractors.
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Go back and re-listen to those specific parts.
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If you want the PDF of this test to print out and try again, click the link in the description.
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We also have a full IELTS reading mock test coming up next, so make sure you subscribe and hit the like button.
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Keep practicing and I'll see you in the next video where we'll cover the entire reading section.
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Master IELTS Listening with Real-Life Scenarios
The video dives into a practical IELTS listening mock test, starting with a social conversation about travel insurance—a common real-life scenario. This dialogue mirrors the exam’s focus on everyday interactions, helping you practice understanding natural speech patterns, like casual corrections (e.g., "Wilkinson with one L, not two") and client-agent exchanges. Such contexts are key for building confidence in both exams and real-world English.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Boost Your Skills
Here are 5 essential word groups from the conversation to memorize:
- "Take out travel insurance" – A common phrase for purchasing insurance, critical for travel-related dialogues.
- "Existing client" – Used to describe someone already with a company, a key term in service interactions.
- "Client number" – A standard request in formal conversations, essential for administrative contexts.
- "Call me Alex" – A casual way to suggest a nickname, showing how to soften formal exchanges.
- "Contradicts themselves" – A tip from the video, referring to speakers who correct themselves, a common IELTS distractor.
Your Shadowing Challenge: Practice Like a Pro
Shadowing is a proven technique to improve listening and speaking. Here’s your task: Play the dialogue’s first 30 seconds, pause, and repeat it aloud, mimicking the tone, speed, and intonation. Focus on "Is that Wilkinson with two L's? No, just one L." Do this 5 times. For extra practice, use a shadowing app or try the shadowspeak method—repeating immediately after the speaker without pausing. This trains your brain to process English quickly, a must for IELTS. To level up, learn English with videos like this one, as they expose you to real conversational flow. Remember, the 2026 IELTS exam emphasizes distractors, so shadowing helps you stay sharp and catch subtle corrections.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | have you been working · I've been working |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't seen · you've just had · haven't travelled |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is processed · can be written · is brewed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | number, which was · mode, which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.