IELTS Energy 1498: Part 3 Listening Practice and an Important Update!
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This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1498, Part 3 Listening Practice, and an important update.

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American hosts, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and former IELTS examiner, Jessica Beck, coming to you from Arizona and Portland, Oregon, USA.

Today, you will get to practice a listening part three with three speakers, practice time-saving listening strategies, and hear an important announcement as well.

How do you know when you've reached an advanced level in English? It's not just about having conversations. It's about being interesting when you speak. To get there, you need the right method and a clear plan. Our connection method is designed to get you there. Join our B2 English fluency course built entirely on spontaneous, unrehearsed video interviews with native speakers.

plus with brand new AI activities for instant feedback and a vibrant community to practice with every week. This is your roadmap to real English and real connection. Save up to $50 before June 29th and get a free bonus course. Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2. That's letter B number two. Aubrey, we have a special guest today.

There are three of us today. Lindsay, hello. - Hello, Aubrey and Jessica. Thank you for having me on. I'm excited to be here. - We are super excited that you're a bigger part of IELTS Energy again. I'm sure our students have missed you. - Yes, glad to be back after many years.

All right, Aubrey, what are we giving our students today? Yes, today you are going to hear IELTS listening part three practice with three speakers. We have loved giving you a lot of real listening practice for the exam, but this is rare that we have three speakers and this is the most difficult listening audio on IELTS when you have to track three different speakers. Yes, exactly. And we know you guys love when we do our listening practice.

So we're going to do some live listening practice today. And then I have a very important update to share towards the end of the episode. Awesome. Yes. So stay to the end, guys. I'm excited for that. So should we dive in? Be sure to hit follow, guys. We will be continuing to do this listening practice. You don't want to miss any of it. So make sure to follow right here on IELTS Energy. Awesome. All right. Lindsay, would you be there

the narrator and read the instructions for section three. I would love to, Jessica. So here we go. So section three, you will hear a conversation between three coworkers who are discussing a colleague's career change. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24. Awesome. Awesome. Now, Aubrey, what usually happens after the instructions on the listening exam?

Then there's just about 30 seconds of silence. We won't give you that 30 seconds of silence here, so you could pause it for a second or come back to the blog. On the real exam, you would have questions to look at, and it won't usually be four. It's going to be a longer section of questions, so you will need that full 30 seconds to read through those questions and use the strategies that we're about to model for you.

Perfect. Perfect. So with note completion, guys, you will have time to read everything, circle keywords and make predictions, right? We've talked recently about how multiple choice questions are a little bit more difficult. And so you really have to practice the strategies to maximize the time. But let's talk through how to use the strategies for this. Aubrey?

Yeah, so you're going to read through the information in the what's provided. There'll be a table with some information provided, then the numbers with blanks. You want to be aware of what you should be listening for. So in these notes, we first see person resigning with a number and a blank. So you know the first thing you'll be listening for is the name of a person.

Exactly. It could be the exact name. It could be a position title, right? So see what we're doing here, guys. We're identifying keywords. So on the paper exam, you'll circle them. On the computer exam, you'll highlight them. And you must make a prediction. Lindsay, why do you think it's so important for students to make predictions at

this time. Yeah, this as we were just going through this, I was thinking open your brain box, right? Because we've talked about this on IELTS energy and our three keys out course, when you open your brain box, and you predict what you're going to find your brain is ready to hear those words, it will just make you more effective and score higher on the listening test.

Totally. Totally. And these answers will come in order. So when you are aware of what you've predicted, what's happening, then you're going to be able to track the audio so much more easily. Yes. Awesome. So don't skip the notes that are completed, right? Those are still key words. Read everything because that helps you keep track while you're listening. Like Aubrey said, everything is in order, right? So after you circle the key words and make predictions, you just follow

So let's keep going with these notes. Aubrey? Yeah. So then you see new company, Titan Industries. So this is T-I-T-A-N, but you'd probably hear that as Titan with that glottal stop, the T. Most people don't pronounce that Titan. So you'll be able to listen for that company name. And then we have the next answer you're listening for after that.

Okay, cool. So position accepting, I would circle position, right? And then I would brainstorm possible answers, make predictions. What are a couple possible position titles, Lindsay?

Well, you could be a sales manager, for example. You could be a software developer. You know, these are things that come to mind here. Podcast or teacher. Awesome. All right. Let's move through the rest. Aubrey, what does it say and what are the keywords? Yeah.

Now you then see work location remote. So you're probably going to hear about the work location being remote rather than in the office. Then magazine referenced Forbes. So you're going to hear the title Forbes magazine.

And then we have a percentage of people trying to switch careers. So percentage, definitely a keyword. Switch, this means change, pivot. There could be all kinds of ways in the audio that you would hear this, but you're listening for a percentage of people changing careers.

- Yeah, so that one's easy, right? We know exactly what we're listening for, a number, a percentage. And then Lindsey, talk us through the last question. - Yes, so the last question, we are looking for a blank here. Reasons provided for seeking a job change

What we're giving you is wanting a remote job, work life balance, job fulfillment, expanding skill set, and there's a blank in there. After wanting a remote job, we want to listen for that. So what would be another reason for looking to make a job change, a career change?

And the nice thing is these will be in order as well. They're listed here for you and you'll know those will come in order. So after you hear this desire for a remote job, the answer will come next. Yes. Good point, Aubrey. Love that. Awesome. So guys, make sure to come back to the blog, allearsenglish.com slash IELTS, and then you can actually do this listening along with the audio. So let's get to this IELTS level audio. Are you guys ready?

Yes, I am ready. Here we go. All right. The narrator would then say, listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24, and then the audio would begin immediately.

I want to say a huge welcome to the new students who just enrolled in our B2 Fluency course. Welcome to Ali, Yad, Nikita, Jutta, Hernan, and so many more. It's inspiring to see so many of our listeners committing to this study plan. And I want to say a huge welcome to the new students who just enrolled in our B2 Fluency course.

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Aubrey? Hello. Yes. Yeah. All right. All right. I'm a Sardis. Hello, Linda, Margaret. Did you hear Jack is resigning? I'm sad to see him go. He was such an amazing asset to the company and really fun to work with. Yeah, he told me this morning. He has accepted a position at Titan Industries as a sales engineer. Oh, I hadn't heard. Will he be working from home or will he need to relocate?

He'll be working remotely, luckily. It'd be difficult to move in the middle of such a big career change.

I recently read a Forbes article that said 58% of employed workers are currently trying to switch careers. It listed several reasons: wanting a remote job and higher pay were the top two reasons, along with better work-life balance, more fulfillment, and expanding one's skill set. Interesting. 58% is so high. Well, whatever his reason, I'm glad he's making the choice that's best for him.

I also read a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, which reported that the average American worker has been at their job for just under four years. This number dropped 15% between 2014 and 2024. So I guess it's not surprising that Jack is moving on to another job. Excellent. Awesome. That was such a great model for something you'll hear on Listening Part 3, you guys. Love that.

Yeah, so we're going to go over the answers now. This is funny, as I'm listening to this audio, I would not be giving statistics like this. And I think it's a good point that IELTS passages like this, audio passages are not often exactly like a regular conversation. So just listening to regular spoken conversation doesn't always prepare you for IELTS audio, unfortunately. That's a really good point, Aubrey. It didn't feel like a natural conversation whatsoever.

I felt a little too prepared, a little too scripted out. I remember all of these statistics from these articles. I know, right?

Oh, I think if you really did talk like that in real life, I don't know if people would want to talk to you very often. You don't have that many friends. Yes, no connection in your life. I agree. All right. So we had our first question. It was person resigning with a blank. So you likely heard that right in the beginning when I said, hello, Linda, Margaret, did you hear Jack is resigning? So that answer right in the beginning is Jack.

- Nice. And then we heard Titan Industries. So we move on to the next line of notes and then we keep going, right? Position accepting. What's that answer, Lindsay? - Yeah, so the position being accepted is a sales engineer. Sales engineer. - What's a sales engineer?

That's a good question. My husband works with a lot of sales engineers. This is a job title. It's the person who generates the sale, generates the lead. And then they have a solutions architect that's like the product expert. So it's very different from like a sales associate, which would be maybe more in like a retail place. This is going to be, yeah. And there's a very good salary for sales engineers. That's

But this is interesting on IELTS, if the job title were sales engineer, if you just wrote sales or engineer, this would be incorrect. And an engineer like a civil engineer or a nuclear engineer is a very different job. That's a very good point. I love that. Good point. All right. Sweet. Aubrey, what is the answer for 23?

Alright, and then it was this percentage you were listening for, which I had said 58% of employed workers. So you hopefully heard that percentage. If not, this does not happen often. But in this passage, Lindsay repeated that number for you and said 58% is so high. So you got a chance there to double check it. Yes. Does that happen often on IELTS, Aubrey?

No, this is almost never I would say. I very rarely will see a number repeated. You really need to catch it the first time. Yeah, sometimes in sections one and two, they'll have a couple where they do repeat the answers because those are easier, right? Right. Okay, cool. And then 24, Aubrey, what is that missing reason for trying to switch jobs?

Yeah, so we had it said it listed several reasons wanting a remote job and higher pay were the top two. So you know that answer is higher pay. And this is a two word answer. It wouldn't make sense to just write pay. You want both of those words higher pay.

Good point, Aubrey. Yes, I love these little hacks, these little IELTS hacks, which we, you know, you're pointing out the typical mistakes that students might make. So we make sure we're not making those mistakes. I love it. I love it. Awesome. All right, cool. So now it's time to move on to my big announcement. Are you guys ready? Yes, Jessica, what is the big announcement? Yes.

All right, guys. So I, just like Jack in today's listening, I'm switching jobs. I am moving on to something different because, you know, I've been here a very long time and I am confident that Aubrey and Lindsay are going to do a fantastic job for you guys. So today actually is my last episode. And now...

I'd like to officially pass the baton on to Aubrey and Lindsay. What does that mean? Pass the baton. Oh, pass the baton. I was going to say, how long have you been at Allers English? Because I think it's a lot higher than the average American worker, right? Yes, indeed. I know, right? Yeah. Coming up,

coming up on 11 years I mean it's been over a decade yes it's been a long time we're so lucky to have had you on our team for 10 11 years Jessica I mean wow yeah I'm lucky to have been here and I'm lucky that I got to train Aubrey right you know everything that

I know. Aubrey is trained, has been trained just like an examiner. She's been training with me and working side by side with me on all this IELTS stuff for five years. That's a lot of IELTS experience, Aubrey.

I know. And I love, like you said, now you're passing the baton on to me. And Lindsay has always been here. And I do love this expression. I know I cut you off. It means to pass responsibility, maybe expertise over to someone. And I'm excited about it. Yeah, awesome.

And I know our students are excited too because they trust you. They know that you are fully certified by All Ears English. I have put you through the same set of standards and testing that IELTS examiners go through, right? So you've passed it all. You are fully certified to teach IELTS and to talk about IELTS. Yes, which is exciting. And I have a master's in ESL from the City University of New York.

And I've been the co-host here since October 2019. That's a long time going on almost six years now. And it's been really fun. I've learned so much. And Aubrey, how many episodes of IELTS Energy have you hosted so far? It's quite a lot of episodes. Yes, 670 episodes. We were at 786 when I started in October 2019. That's incredible. And I want to throw a couple more numbers out at our listeners because Aubrey, you're so impressive.

Impressive. And you're such an IELTS expert. How many essays, for example, do you think you have graded in our learning center? Yeah, I had to kind of look back and think about this. I knew it was a lot. About 5,000. We have so many students submit essays, and I have graded about 5,000. That's insane. So a lot of essays. A lot of essays, Aubrey. Wow. Impressive. A lot of experience. What about speaking tests? Do you think it's also 5,000?

No, not quite. But about 500. I've done mock IELTS speaking tests with feedback for students. So also a lot. And I have really loved doing sample answers with you, Jessica, and giving feedback to your answers as well, which I feel like more than anything, I learned so much there about like what makes a really high scoring answer. That's awesome. That's amazing. And...

So, Lindsay, you are going to be Aubrey's new co-host. How do you feel about that? Oh, I am excited to be back on the IELTS Energy podcast, Jessica. You know, I was the co-host with you, Jessica, back between 2015 when we launched this show until 2019 when Aubrey joined us. So a good four or five years. And so I'm excited to get

back into the IELTS world because I love the fact that with IELTS, we know that our listeners are going to be able to directly achieve their dreams, right? Get that immigration opportunity

and see their lives play out in a different way. I love it. Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, you have already done 780 episodes of IELTS Energy, right? So you know a ton about IELTS as well. Absolutely. And you're coming here from already recording 3,500 podcast episodes, right? If we count all of the All Ears English episodes, Business English and IELTS episodes,

3,500 podcast episodes. Amazing. Not new to podcasting here. That might break some kind of record, I feel like. Right? It's been a lot of podcasting in the last 10 years. So if our listeners are not following All Ears English or Business English, make sure you go over there, guys, and hit that follow button. Aubrey and I co-host All Ears English. Michelle and I do. Sometimes Aubrey and Michelle co-host together.

We are all over there on those shows as well. But All Ears English has done pretty well in the last few years. We were ranked number one in South Korea in September of 2024. So we're super proud of that ranking. Yeah. So awesome. And Business English ranked number nine in global business in 2022. That's amazing. Yes. It's incredible, guys.

But what we want you to know, the most important thing is that you will continue to learn IELTS using our three keys strategies, right? The ones that you know work because you've heard students who have used them on the show and gotten amazing score, like nines in reading, right? Like Ryoki and Nikolai, Jean-Lou, Lucia. Those are just the first four that come to mind, but there have been tons.

Yes, they do. I know. We have helped hundreds of students achieve the seven or higher they needed. Reading and listening nines, like you said, Jessica, huge improvement for scores. And like you said, we will continue sharing those strategies with you here. Exactly. There is a system, there is a way of thinking and a way of succeeding when it comes to IELTS that we bring forward on IELTS Energy, and that will stay consistent along with the enthusiasm of the co-hosts, Aubrey and Lindsay. Excellent. Of course.

And remember, guys, there is more live listening practice that we have provided for you. So if you would like some more, scroll up IELTS Energy 1451, Part 1 IELTS Listening Practice. And remember to come back to the blog for today's allearsenglish.com slash IELTS.

Yes. And just to wrap up here, I just want to say a huge thank you again to Jessica. 10 years of commitment to All Ears English and IELTS Energy podcast. You have influenced so many listeners. You know, we know it. We know what they're thinking now. You've influenced them. You've motivated them. And thank you. Just a big thank you.

I am grateful to have been here this long, you guys. So just remember that the strategies are not changing. Our help and expertise for you, our dedication to our listeners and students is not changing, right? You need strategies to boost IELTS listening scores like we've talked about today. Aubrey, what do you think are the two most important strategy takeaways from today?

Yeah, for listening, you must practice identifying keywords and making predictions in that silence you have before you hear the listening audio. You have to do this before test day on real IELTS practice tests so that you are ready. Yes, exactly. Remember to follow wherever you are listening to us today. And we'll see you next time. All right. See you next time. Thanks, everyone. Thanks. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

Welcome to It Takes Energy, presented by Energy Transfer, where we talk all things oil and natural gas. Oil and gas drive our economy, ensure our country's security, and open pathways to brighter futures.

What do you know about oil and natural gas? You likely associate them with running your car or heating your home. But these two natural resources fuel so much more than that. More than 6,000 consumer products that we rely on every day are made using oil and gas. Before you even step out the door in the morning, you've already used more products made possible because of oil and gas than you realize.

From the toothpaste you brush your teeth with, the soap you washed your face with, and the sheets you slept on. Not to mention your makeup, contact lenses, clothes, and shoes. Oil and gas are vital parts of all these products and so many more. Look around and you'll see the essential role oil and gas plays in our lives. Our world needs oil and gas, and people rely on us to deliver it. To learn more, visit energytransfer.com.

Welcome to It Takes Energy, presented by Energy Transfer, where we talk all things oil and natural gas. Oil and gas drive our economy, ensure our country's security, and open pathways to brighter futures. What do you know about oil and natural gas? You likely associate them with running your car or heating your home. But these two natural resources fuel so much more than that. More than 6,000 consumer products that we rely on every day are made using oil and gas.

Before you even step out the door in the morning, you've already used more products made possible because of oil and gas than you realize. From the toothpaste you brush your teeth with, the soap you washed your face with, and the sheets you slept on. Not to mention your makeup, contact lenses, clothes, and shoes. Oil and gas are vital parts of all these products and so many more.

Look around and you'll see the essential role oil and gas plays in our lives. Our world needs oil and gas, and people rely on us to deliver it. To learn more, visit energytransfer.com.