IELTS Listening Matching Features: tips and strategy
Match speakers or items in a grid.
IELTS Listening matching features questions ask you to link items, such as places, products or people, to one of a small set of features or opinions. They test whether you can tell which comment belongs to which item in a conversation. Candidates lose marks when a feature first given to one item is later moved to another, or when speakers disagree.
What you see on screen
A grid links speakers or items to features, and you click cells or dropdown letters to mark pairings. The single recording covers every row in sequence.
How it is marked
One mark per correct pairing in the grid. Each speaker or item is described once, in the order shown on screen.
How long to spend
In the reading time, learn the short list of features well enough that you can recognise them without reading them again, because the items come up quickly one after another. In the computer-delivered test you have 2 minutes at the end to review, so check that every row has an answer, even if some are guesses.
Strategy
- Study both axes of the grid during preview so you know exactly what a pairing sounds like.
- Track who is speaking whenever names are involved; losing the speaker loses that whole row.
- Listen for contrast markers like 'whereas' and 'unlike', which separate one item's features from another's.
- Mark tentative pairings during the audio and finalise later; hesitation mid-recording is expensive.
Traps that cost marks
Assigning a feature to the wrong speaker after losing track of who said what mid-discussion.
Treating a shared feature as unique to one item when the audio signalled it applied to both.
Worked example
Priya: The Grange is right next to the conference hall, which is handy. Leon: Actually, they've opened a new entrance at the back of the hall, so Harbour Lodge is closer now. The Grange has just had all its rooms redecorated, though. Priya: And the Mill House? Leon: It's a bit of a walk, but if you show a student card they take fifteen percent off the room rate.
What do the students say about each hotel? Choose THREE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-C, next to Questions 21-23. A offers a discount for students B has recently been renovated C is closest to the conference venue 21 The Grange 22 Harbour Lodge 23 The Mill House
Answer: 21 B, 22 C, 23 A
Priya first says the Grange is right next to the hall, but Leon corrects this: the new entrance means Harbour Lodge is closer now (C). The Grange 'has just had all its rooms redecorated', which paraphrases recently renovated (B). The Mill House takes fifteen percent off with a student card, which is a student discount (A). If you choose C for the Grange, you have accepted the claim that Leon corrects.
An original example written for this guide, not taken from a published test.
Questions candidates ask
- Are matching features answers in the same order as the recording?
- The numbered items are usually discussed in the order they appear in the question, but the lettered features in the box are not in any fixed order. Follow the numbered items to keep your place, and keep the whole box of features in mind rather than expecting A, then B, then C.
- What if the speakers disagree about an item?
- Check the question stem to see whose view it asks for. It might ask for one named speaker, for what both speakers agree on, or for what is true in the end. When one speaker corrects another with new information, the corrected fact is normally the answer. An opinion that only one speaker gives does not count if the question asks what both of them think.
- Is spelling a problem in matching features questions?
- No. You choose a letter, so spelling is not tested in this question type. The difficulty is in understanding which item a comment is about. Speakers often use pronouns such as 'that one' or 'the other place', so keep track of which item is being discussed and do not rely only on hearing its name.
Now try it under exam conditions.
Practise Matching Features questions