IELTS Listening Test 14 (2026) with Answers

Teacher section. Do not give this to learners before they take the test.

Original IELTS-style practice material. Not produced or endorsed by IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

Note: A script alone does not reproduce a timed audio test. In the real test, candidates hear each recording once, at natural speed, with fixed pauses. If you read these scripts aloud, keep to the pause lengths shown and do not repeat anything.

Pause markers: [PAUSE 30s] means 30 seconds of silence. In the actual recording, each pause is silence only.

Answer locations: In this teacher copy, the words that give each answer are marked like this: ⟦Q1⟧. Remove these markers before recording.

PART 1

Speakers: NARRATOR; THANDI (female, membership secretary of a community choir in Cape Town, cheerful and chatty, South African accent); OWEN (male, an engineer who has just moved to Cape Town from Wales, polite and a little nervous, Welsh accent)

NARRATOR: Part 1. You will hear a man phoning a community choir in Cape Town to ask about joining it. First, you have some time to look at questions 1 to 4.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 4.

THANDI: Hello, Harbour Voices, Thandi speaking.

OWEN: Oh, hello. My name's Owen. I saw a poster for your choir in the library, and I was wondering whether you're taking new members.

THANDI: We certainly are! Have you sung in a choir before, Owen?

OWEN: Yes, back home in Wales I sang in a choir for about ten years. I moved to Cape Town in January for work, and I really miss it. How big is the choir?

THANDI: Well, it's grown a lot. When I joined five years ago, there were only about thirty of us. ⟦Q1⟧ At the moment, we've got sixty-four singers. Our conductor says she'd like to stop at eighty, so there's still plenty of room.

OWEN: That's a good size. Do you sing a particular kind of music?

THANDI: A real mixture. Our conductor, Lerato, likes to include some traditional South African songs in every concert, but we also do pop arrangements, and sometimes a bit of classical music. You don't need to be able to read music, either. About half our members can't.

OWEN: That's good to know. I can read it a little, but I'm quite slow. And when do you rehearse?

THANDI: ⟦Q2⟧ Every Tuesday, from seven until half past nine. We did try Thursdays for a while, but too many people had other commitments that night.

OWEN: Tuesday's fine for me. Where do you meet?

THANDI: Ah, this is the fun part. For years we used a school hall, but it was always cold, and the sound wasn't very good. ⟦Q3⟧ Now we rehearse in an old fire station in Observatory. The fire engines moved out years ago, and the city lets community groups use the building. It's got a really high ceiling, so the sound is wonderful.

OWEN: That sounds great. Do I need to do an audition?

THANDI: No, we don't do auditions. We just ask new people what they've sung before, so that we can put them in the right section. What did you sing in your old choir?

OWEN: I sang bass. Although, to be honest, I always found the lowest notes a bit of a struggle.

THANDI: Can you reach the high notes more easily?

OWEN: Yes, much more easily, actually.

THANDI: Then ⟦Q4⟧ I think you'd be happier with the tenors. We can try you there first, and if it doesn't suit you, you can always move.

NARRATOR: Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.

OWEN: Could you tell me about the cost?

THANDI: Sure. We have three terms a year, and ⟦Q5⟧ the fee is three hundred and eighty rand a term. If you're a student, you only pay half that.

OWEN: That's very reasonable. What does that cover?

THANDI: Mostly the hire of the building and the conductor's fee. And ⟦Q6⟧ each member is lent a folder with all the music in it. You don't need to buy anything, but please look after your folder, because we ask everyone to hand it back at the end of the year.

OWEN: Of course. Do you give concerts?

THANDI: Two a year. The one in December is usually in the City Hall, but the next one, in July, is a bit different. ⟦Q7⟧ It's going to be at the city's aquarium, down at the waterfront. We'll be singing in the big hall with the shark tank behind us!

OWEN: That's unusual. Is there anything I need to wear?

THANDI: Everyone wears black trousers or a black skirt, and ⟦Q8⟧ we all wear something green on top, because that's the colour of our logo. It can be a shirt, a top, whatever you like. A lot of choirs wear white, but we wanted to look a bit different.

OWEN: I'll have to go shopping, then. And is there anything I should know about rehearsals?

THANDI: Well, they start at seven, but before that, the conductor does some warm-up exercises for our voices. So ⟦Q9⟧ we ask everyone to arrive fifteen minutes early. There's tea and coffee at the break, at about eight-fifteen.

OWEN: OK. And if I can't come one week?

THANDI: That's fine, it happens to all of us. ⟦Q10⟧ Just send a message to your section leader. Each section has one, and they keep a record of who's coming. There's no need to tell the conductor or me. For the tenors, that's a man called Sipho. I'll give you his number when you come.

OWEN: Great. One more thing: is there anywhere to park near the fire station?

THANDI: There's a small car park at the back, but it fills up quickly. Most people park on the street. It's quite safe, and there's a security guard outside the building during rehearsals.

OWEN: That's reassuring. So can I come along next Tuesday?

THANDI: Absolutely. We'll see you then, Owen.

NARRATOR: That is the end of Part 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[PAUSE 30s]

PART 2

Speakers: NARRATOR; DANA (female, homestay coordinator for an agency in San Diego, warm and well organised, American accent)

NARRATOR: Part 2. You will hear a woman giving a talk to people who are going to provide homes for international students. First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.

DANA: Good evening, everyone, and thank you all for coming. My name's Dana, and I'm the homestay coordinator at Pacific Bridge. Most of you will be welcoming your first student next month, so tonight I want to go through the practical side of hosting, and then explain who looks after what.

Let's start with the length of the stay. We do have a few university students who stay for a whole academic year, but they're unusual. ⟦Q11⟧ Most of our students are on the English language program, and they usually stay for twelve weeks. Some then extend their stay, but we'll always ask you first.

Now, meals. ⟦Q12⟧ You'll provide breakfast and dinner every day, including weekends. Students buy their own lunch at the college cafeteria, so you don't need to make a packed lunch. And please do ask about food when your student arrives. Some students have allergies, and some just aren't used to American portions!

Payment. Several of you have asked about this. ⟦Q13⟧ We pay you at the end of every month, directly into your bank account, and you'll get a statement by email at the same time. If you have a question about a payment, contact our finance team rather than me.

The first few days are the most important. Most students arrive feeling tired and a little anxious. Before classes begin, please spend some time showing them the neighborhood: where the nearest store is, that kind of thing. And ⟦Q14⟧ we ask every host to take their student on a practice bus ride to the college, so that they know which bus to catch and where to get off. You'd be surprised how many students get lost on their first morning otherwise.

And finally, we won't leave you on your own. ⟦Q15⟧ After your student's first weekend, someone from our office will phone you to see how everything's going. Of course, you can call us at any time before that if you need to.

NARRATOR: Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.

DANA: OK. Now I want to explain who's responsible for what, because this is where misunderstandings happen.

First, transportation. Students need a monthly pass for the bus and the trolley, and ⟦Q16⟧ they buy that pass themselves. It's cheaper for them, because they get a student discount. Some hosts kindly offer to pay for it, but please don't feel you have to.

Then, the student's room. You'll provide the bed and furniture, of course, and ⟦Q17⟧ we also ask you to provide the towels and bed linen, and to change them once a week. The students take care of their own clothes, and we'll show them how to use your washing machine.

What about health? Students sometimes ask their hosts what happens if they get sick. You don't need to worry about that. ⟦Q18⟧ We arrange health insurance for every student before they leave home, and they get a card with all the details when they land.

Talking of arrivals, we send a driver to meet every student at the airport, so you don't need to go and collect them yourself. And when they get to your house, ⟦Q19⟧ please give them their own key on the first day. Students tell us that it really helps them feel at home, rather than like a guest.

And lastly, what if things don't work out? Most small problems can be solved by talking them through with your student, and we'd always encourage you to try that first. But very occasionally, there's a more serious problem. If that happens, you don't need to find another home for the student yourself. ⟦Q20⟧ That's our job: we'll find them a new family, usually within a few days.

Right, I think that covers everything. Has anyone got any questions?

NARRATOR: That is the end of Part 2. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[PAUSE 30s]

PART 3

Speakers: NARRATOR; ANIKA (female, urban design student, thoughtful and confident, Indian English accent); LIAM (male, urban design student, practical and a little sceptical, English accent from the north of England)

NARRATOR: Part 3. You will hear two urban design students, Anika and Liam, discussing a project on children's playgrounds. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.

ANIKA: So, Liam, we've visited all four playgrounds now, and we've got all our observation notes typed up. Shall we start planning the presentation?

LIAM: Yes, good idea. We've only got fifteen minutes to talk, so we'll need to be selective. Dr Moore said she'd rather we made three or four points well than tried to cover everything.

ANIKA: That makes sense. So what's our main point?

LIAM: I think it's about safety, isn't it? When you look at most of the playgrounds in the city, it's obvious that ⟦Q21⟧ the designers' first priority was to meet the safety regulations, not to make somewhere children would enjoy.

ANIKA: ⟦Q21⟧ Absolutely. I felt exactly the same. Everything was so low and so soft. And I noticed that the children got bored really quickly. They'd go down the slide once and then wander off.

LIAM: Partly, yes. But some of the younger ones seemed happy enough on the swings.

ANIKA: True. But what really interested me was what happened at the adventure playground. There was a pile of wooden planks and some old tyres, and the children spent ages with those. ⟦Q22⟧ I think that's what children really want: things they can use in lots of different ways, not equipment that only does one thing, like a slide.

LIAM: I'm not so sure. I think a lot of them just liked being somewhere new. Anyway, I have to say, ⟦Q23⟧ the adventure playground looked a bit of a mess to me. Broken pallets, bits of rope everywhere. If I were a parent, I'm not sure I'd want to take my kids there.

ANIKA: I'm not sure that's fair. I loved it. I didn't think it was messy at all. It looked like a place where children were in charge.

LIAM: Hmm. Talking of parents, there's something else I want to include. Did you notice how few places there were for adults to sit? At the playground by the river, there was just one bench, in full sun. ⟦Q24⟧ It's as if designers forget that parents are there too, sometimes for hours.

ANIKA: Really? I don't think designers forget about parents at all. Two of the playgrounds had a café right next to them. It's usually just a question of budget.

LIAM: Maybe. What about the drawings? Do we include those?

ANIKA: Definitely. ⟦Q25⟧ Asking the children to draw their ideal playground gave us some of our best ideas. Remember the boy who drew a tree house with a slide coming out of the window?

LIAM: But half of them drew things like a chocolate river. ⟦Q25⟧ I don't think we learned much from it, to be honest.

ANIKA: Well, I think it's worth a slide or two.

NARRATOR: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.

[PAUSE 30s]

NARRATOR: Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.

ANIKA: So, let's agree on our recommendations. The first one is natural features, isn't it?

LIAM: Yes. Logs to climb on, definitely. I was going to suggest sculptures as well, but they're expensive.

ANIKA: ⟦Q26⟧ What about rocks? Big ones, that children can climb and jump off. They cost almost nothing.

LIAM: Good idea. Let's say logs and rocks. Next, what goes under the equipment?

ANIKA: ⟦Q27⟧ I'd go for bark. It's soft, it's cheap, and it's natural. It needs replacing every few years, but that's fine.

LIAM: Agreed. Almost every playground we saw used rubber, which is very safe, but it's expensive, and it's made from oil. And sand's no good, because cats use it as a toilet!

ANIKA: Exactly. And then seating, which was your point.

LIAM: Right. I think the seats shouldn't just be by the entrance, where they usually are. ⟦Q28⟧ They should be in the shade, under trees if possible, and close enough for parents to see their children.

ANIKA: Fine. What about fences? Every playground we visited had a fence all the way round.

LIAM: I think that's often unnecessary. It makes the playground feel like a cage. ⟦Q29⟧ We could say that fences aren't needed, unless the playground is right next to a busy road.

ANIKA: Yes, and that's quite a strong point to make. And finally, we wanted to say something about involving children in the design.

LIAM: Most councils put plans online and ask people to comment. But it's only adults who do that.

ANIKA: Exactly. So ⟦Q30⟧ I think designers should go into local schools and ask the children themselves, before the plans are finished.

LIAM: OK. I'll start writing the slides tonight.

NARRATOR: That is the end of Part 3. You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[PAUSE 30s]

PART 4

Speakers: NARRATOR; LECTURER (male, university lecturer in environmental science, calm and engaging, Australian accent)

NARRATOR: Part 4. You will hear a lecturer giving a talk about a project to restore land on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

[PAUSE 45s]

NARRATOR: Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

LECTURER: Good afternoon, everyone. Today I'm going to talk about one of the largest environmental projects in the world: the Great Green Wall. It covers the Sahel, the dry region that stretches across Africa just south of the Sahara, from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east. Over the last century, much of the land there has become degraded. The soil has lost its nutrients, the trees have been cut down for fuel, and when it does rain, the water just runs off the surface.

The Great Green Wall was launched in 2007, with the support of the African Union. The original idea was very simple: to plant a belt of trees about fifteen kilometres wide and eight thousand kilometres long, which would stop the desert from spreading south. But today, the most successful work doesn't involve planting new trees at all. So I want to describe four methods that people have used to bring the land back to life.

The first is called farmer-managed natural regeneration, and it began in Niger in the 1980s. What researchers noticed was that, under many fields that looked completely bare, there was a hidden forest. ⟦Q31⟧ The old tree stumps were still alive under the ground, and every year they sent up new shoots, which farmers usually cut down. The idea is simply to let them grow. Farmers choose the strongest shoots, protect them and cut back the weaker ones. Within a few years, they have trees again, and those trees bring a whole range of benefits. Their leaves fall and add nutrients to the soil, but farmers say the main advantage is that ⟦Q32⟧ the trees shelter their crops from the wind, which used to blow the young plants away. Millions of hectares in Niger have been restored this way.

The second method comes from Burkina Faso, and it's called zaï. Farmers dig small holes, about twenty centimetres deep, in the hard ground during the dry season, and ⟦Q33⟧ they fill each hole with manure before the rains arrive. When it rains, the water collects in the holes instead of running away, and the seeds that are planted there get both water and nutrients. Termites help too, by breaking down the manure and making tunnels that let the water soak in.

A similar idea is used on a larger scale in what are called half-moons. These are curved banks of earth, a few metres across, which catch rainwater as it flows downhill. Some farmers use them to grow crops like millet, but they're particularly good for growing trees, and ⟦Q34⟧ also grass, which is then used to feed animals.

The last method is very old, and very cheap. Farmers lay lines of stones across a slope, following the shape of the land. They don't stop the water completely, but ⟦Q35⟧ they slow its flow, so that it has time to soak into the ground. And, just as importantly, ⟦Q36⟧ they stop the soil from being washed away. In some areas, farmers using stone lines have doubled their harvests.

So, how successful has the Great Green Wall been overall? The honest answer is: less than was hoped. Millions of trees were planted in the early years, but many of them died. People have suggested various reasons for this. Some say that the wrong species were chosen, and that may be true in some places. Others blame the timing of the planting. But the main problem, I'd argue, was that ⟦Q37⟧ once the trees were in the ground, nobody was given the job of looking after them. Without water and protection from animals, most young trees didn't survive their first dry season.

As a result, the project has changed. ⟦Q38⟧ It's no longer about a single line of trees. Instead, it supports many different ways of using the land: farming, grazing and forestry, side by side. And it's now much more focused on local communities. In the early days, decisions were often made by governments far away, without asking the people who actually lived on the land. What we've learned since then is that ⟦Q39⟧ people look after land when it gives them an income: for example, when they can sell fruit, or the gum from acacia trees.

Is the project going to meet its target of restoring a hundred million hectares by 2030? Almost certainly not. But ⟦Q40⟧ I'd argue that counting trees, or hectares, isn't the best way to measure its success. What matters is whether families can feed themselves, and whether young people can see a future in their villages. By that measure, some parts of the Sahel are doing much better than they were twenty years ago.

NARRATOR: That is the end of Part 4. You now have one minute to check your answers.

[PAUSE 60s]

NARRATOR: That is the end of the Listening test. In the IELTS test, you would now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.