IELTS Listening Part 2: Monologue, Maps and Signposting (2026)

Part 2 changes the rhythm. Instead of two people exchanging details, one speaker talks at length — welcoming visitors, describing a venue, announcing arrangements. There is nobody to slow the pace or ask clarifying questions. You have to track a talk by yourself.

The good news: the context stays everyday, and the speaker is organised. They signpost where they are going, describe locations relative to landmarks, and list features in predictable patterns. If you learn to follow the structure instead of chasing every word, Part 2 becomes very scorable.

Background reading: our IELTS Listening guide for format and scoring, and question types for map and matching rules.

What Part 2 Tests

Part 2 is a monologue in an everyday social context: a guided tour, an orientation talk, a community announcement, a description of a facility or event.

Typical scenarios: a museum or gardens tour, a new sports centre induction, a festival briefing, a hostel welcome talk, a local radio announcement about roadworks or events.

It tests whether you can:

• Follow a structured talk and keep your place across 10 questions
• Match descriptions to locations (map/plan labelling), options (matching), or statements (multiple choice)
• Recognise paraphrase — the speaker rarely repeats the exact option wording

Question mix: usually two sets, e.g. map labelling (Q11–14) followed by matching or multiple choice (Q15–20). Sentence completion appears occasionally. Answers still come in order, but within matching tasks the options are discussed out of list order — you must match meaning, not sequence.

For Band 9 strategy across all four parts, see how to get Band 9 in Listening.

The Part 2 Method: Orient, Signpost, Anchor

1. Orient (pre-reading time is everything)

You get limited time before the audio. Spend it on the first question set only — that is what you will hear first.

For maps:

• Find the start point (arrow, "you are here", entrance). Everything is relative to it.
• Note the compass if shown, plus fixed landmarks: road, river, gate, car park, reception.
• Learn the labels: A–H or named rooms. Visualise left/right, opposite, next to, behind, between.

For matching/multiple choice:

• Read the questions (stems) carefully, not just the options. The stem tells you what to listen for ("Which feature does each area have?").
• Underline differences between options — they are designed to sound similar. If options are "renovated / extended / relocated", those three words are your listening targets.

2. Follow signposting language

The speaker constantly tells you where they are in the talk. These phrases are your GPS:

• Topic shifts: "moving on to…", "next, I'd like to…", "turning now to…", "as for…"
• Emphasis: "what's special here is…", "the key point is…", "I'd particularly mention…"
• Sequence on tours: "as you come in…", "on your left…", "opposite that…", "further along…"
• Corrections: "actually…", "rather than…", "instead of…" — the final version counts.

Illustrative snippet (invented example, not a real test): "As you enter through the main gate, the café is on your left, directly opposite the ticket office." One sentence gives the start point, a direction, and a landmark anchor — that is the Part 2 pattern in miniature.

3. Anchor each answer before moving on

• On maps: point at (or mentally mark) each location as confirmed. If you miss one, guess and move on instantly — the talk does not pause, and one lost mark becomes three if you dwell.
• On matching: eliminate as you go. Cross out used options; most matching sets use each option once.
• On multiple choice: expect every option to be mentioned. The correct one gets developed or confirmed; distractors are dismissed ("we considered X, but…"). Never pick the first keyword you hear.

Full option-handling rules are in question types; session planning is in the practice guide.

Traps in Part 2

1. Losing orientation on maps. You look down to write and the speaker has turned two corners. Fix: keep a finger on the map and move it continuously. Write the answer with the other hand or after the section.

2. Relative directions. "On your left as you face the lake" flips depending on facing direction. Always anchor to the speaker's stated viewpoint and the start point, not your own left/right on the page.

3. Paraphrased options. The option says "offers guided visits"; the speaker says "a member of staff will walk you round." If you listen for exact words, you miss it. Train yourself to listen for meaning — underline the concept in each option during pre-reading.

4. Mentioned-but-dismissed distractors. "There's a gift shop — well, there will be once the extension opens." Not yet = not the answer. Listen for tense and qualifiers: planned, former, proposed, temporarily closed.

5. Question-order illusion in matching. The speaker discusses items in map/talk order, not option-list order. Option C may be answered before option A. Track the stem (which area?), not the option letter sequence.

Practice Drill: The 30-Minute Part 2 Session

1. 5 min — map warm-up. Take any Part 2 map without audio. Describe a route aloud using opposite, adjacent, bend, junction, entrance. Fluency with spatial language is half the battle.
2. 12 min — timed Part 2 set. Pre-read the first set only, then play without pausing. Guess-and-move-on if lost.
3. 8 min — transcript review. For each miss, ask: lost place, paraphrase miss, or distractor? Re-listen to exactly those lines.
4. 5 min — signpost list. Copy 5 signposting phrases from the transcript into a notebook. You will recognise them faster next time.

Do this twice weekly, alternating map-first and matching-first sets. Log accuracy per set type so you know which to prioritise. The practice guide shows how to fit this into a weekly plan, and the Band 9 guide sets target scores per part.

Quick-Reference: Map Language Table

What the speaker means	Phrases you will hear
Location	opposite, next to, beside, adjacent to, behind, in front of
Movement	go straight on, turn left/right, take the first bend, cross over, follow the path
Position in a building	on the ground/first floor, at the far end, in the corner, through the archway
Change of topic	moving on, next, turning to, now for, let me mention
Correction	actually, rather, instead, on second thoughts, sorry — I mean

Learn these as recognition vocabulary, not production vocabulary — you only need to hear them.

Worked Example: How a Tour Question Unfolds

Imagine Q11 asks for the location of the café on a site map. The speaker will rarely say "the café is at C." Instead you hear a chain: start point ("as you come through the main entrance"), a movement ("follow the path to the left"), a landmark ("past the fountain"), then the target ("the café is the low building opposite the ticket office"). Each clause eliminates one or two options. Candidates who wait for the word "café" alone get lost at "fountain" because they stopped tracking. Candidates who move their finger along the path arrive at the café before it is even named.

Apply the same chaining to matching tasks. If Q15 asks which feature belongs to the north wing, the speaker may describe three wings in turn, attaching one feature to each. Do not decide when the first feature is mentioned — wait until the wing name lands. The stem's subject (which wing?) is the anchor; the feature is cargo. Mixing those up is the most common matching error in Part 2, and chaining fixes it: subject first, detail second, mark, move on.

The Bottom Line

Part 2 is a tracking test. Orient on the map or stems before the audio, ride the signposting, anchor each answer, and never chase a lost question.

Next: study option traps in question types, then lock in a routine with the Listening practice guide.