IELTS Listening Matching Questions: Who Said Which Item
Matching questions in IELTS Listening reward a marking routine, not memory: give every option a two-word handle, code each mention GO, NO or WA, then rehearse it inside one ielts listening mock test with answers.
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Matching questions are where IELTS Listening candidates who understand every word still lose four marks: four or five items arrive in a rush, and the option box sits at the top of the page doing nothing.
Everything about the test here comes from the test owners' published format page and sample tasks, read on 4 November 2026: four parts, ten questions each, forty questions in about thirty minutes, each recording heard once. The lists below follow those samples in style, not a live paper.
Why a matching task feels harder than it is
A matching task is two lists to join: numbered items on one side, lettered options in a box above or below. The language is ordinary; the join happens live. The official samples show two shapes.
| Sample | Items | Options | Instruction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 3, Q21 to 25 | Five course names | Three letters, A to C | A letter may repeat |
| Part 1, Q1 to 4 | Four descriptions | Five hotels, A to E | One option is unused |
Read the last line of the instruction box first: if letters may repeat, elimination is unsafe; if one option is spare, crossing off is a tool.
The reading window: order the items, not the letters
The questions follow the order of the recording. The option box does not: the speaker wanders through it in whatever order the conversation allows.
Spend the reading time on the items, numbering them down the left margin, then give each option a two-word handle of your own:
A definitely B maybe C never
The handle is what you will hear: option text is a formal label, the audio the same idea in speech. One sample option reads offers facilities for business functions while the audio describes meeting rooms and a conference suite.
Column marking: three two-letter codes
Marks keep the page readable when the audio speeds up: a code beside the option when it is mentioned, then the item's letter once the verdict is clear.
| Code | When you write it | What it stops you doing |
|---|---|---|
| GO | Speaker confirms this option for the item | Reopening a settled answer |
| NO | Mentioned, then rejected, corrected or dropped | Choosing the first thing you heard |
| WA | Label mentioned, verdict not in yet | Guessing before the speaker finishes |
The rule behind the codes is one sentence: never erase. A second code beside the first turns the page into a record of the conversation, which is what you need when item 23 is decided three sentences later.
The three distractor patterns these recordings are built on
Matching groups repeat three moves, and each one leaves a mark you can write.
The rejected option. One speaker names a label and another corrects it: I thought Dr Stevens was running it. and He's on sabbatical this term, so it's Dr Ray. The first name distracts; the correction answers.
The changed mind. A choice is announced and withdrawn in the same turn: I was going to take Media Studies, but the tutor changed, so no. The withdrawal follows actually or a pause and is usually the last word on the item.
The paraphrased label. The option is abstract and the audio concrete: needs a booking becomes two students saying the lab must be reserved a week ahead. Nothing sounds like the option, so your handle matters more than the text.
A worked example: five modules, three verdicts
A five-item group in the style of the Part 3 sample. The box is A She will take it. B She may take it. C She will not take it.; the items run Marine Ecology, Coastal Fieldwork, Data in Conservation, Science Writing, Museum Placement.
The script: I'm definitely doing Marine Ecology; it's the only one that fits my timetable. Then Coastal Fieldwork clashes with my job, so that's out. Then Data in Conservation looks useful, but I haven't decided. Then I was going to take Science Writing, but the tutor changed, so no. Then Museum Placement is the one I've already applied for.
| Item | What you hear | Mark on the page | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Marine Ecology | definitely doing | GO | A |
| 22 Coastal Fieldwork | clashes with my job | NO | C |
| 23 Data in Conservation | haven't decided | WA beside B | B |
| 24 Science Writing | was going to ... but the tutor changed | NO | C |
| 25 Museum Placement | already applied for | GO | A |
Item 22 is answered by the second half of a two-clause sentence; item 24 by a clause that cancels the one before it. Without a code both look finished at the first clause, which is how a candidate writes B, B and moves on.
Six items, one answer sheet: an ielts listening mock test with answers
Run it on one recording, marking the page as you listen, not afterwards.
The box: A opens all night B needs a booking C is free for students D is in the main building E closes in August. The items are the print room, the language lab, the careers office, the gym, the bike store and the café.
The key is A, B, D, A, C, E. Two items share a letter, which is the point: the group tests whether you kept marking after a repeat.
| Step | Time | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Read the box | 40 s | Handles; can letters repeat? |
| While listening | Audio | GO, NO or WA; letter in the margin |
| Self-mark | 2 min | Compare; name each error's pattern |
| Re-listen | 1 min | Only missed items, up to the deciding sentence |
Then fold the drill into a weekly IELTS listening mock test with answers: sit one full paper under real timing, mark the matching groups first, and keep three lines per error, the item, the pattern that fooled you and the word that gave the answer away. After three weeks one pattern dominates, and that is the one to rehearse.
The speaking half rewards a related habit: HiBay's AI conversation practice gives section-by-section feedback against IELTS-style criteria, which sharpens the paraphrase instinct matching depends on. It guarantees no score.
Frequently asked questions
How many matching questions are there in IELTS Listening?
The test does not fix a number: matching is one of six question types, and a paper may hold one group, two groups or none.
What is fixed is the shape of a group: the official sample tasks run one group over questions 21 to 25 and another over 1 to 4, so a group is usually four or five items inside one part. Count your own and plan for that size.
Can I write on the question paper during IELTS Listening?
On paper, yes: you write answers on the question paper as you listen and transfer them to the answer sheet in the ten minutes at the end.
On computer there is no question paper: you type into the numbered box, a notes sheet is provided for your marks, and two minutes at the end replace the ten minutes of transfer.