Spelling for IELTS Listening: Everyday Words to Get Right
Shreya from Bareilly heard “accommodation” perfectly and wrote it with one m. The mark was gone.
In IELTS Listening, an answer with incorrect spelling loses the mark, so spelling is worth practising. Focus on familiar words from travel, study and daily life, especially those with double letters and silent letters.
Which Spellings Does IELTS Accept?
The Cambridge IELTS FAQ says both UK and US spellings are accepted in Listening, so “colour” and “color” are both fine. It adds that the words you write will usually be common words, and that names may be spelt out in the recording.
As a habit, pick one spelling style and stay with it. For more on the differences, see our comparison of British and American English.
The three tables below are a practice list chosen by Enable Academy, not an official word list.
How Do I Spell Housing and Travel Words?
Part 1 is an everyday social conversation, and the official examples include one in an accommodation agency and one about travel arrangements. These words suit that setting.
| Word | The trap |
|---|---|
| accommodation | double c, double m |
| itinerary | ends in -ary, not -ery |
| maintenance | middle syllable is ten, not tain |
| reception | c before e, then -ption |
| restaurant | au in the second syllable |
| luggage | double g, ends in -age |
| departure | single p, ends in -ure |
| destination | single s, ends in -ation |
| reservation | serv, not serve, then -ation |
How Do I Spell Study and Work Words?
Part 3 is set in an educational or training context, such as a tutor and a student discussing an assignment, which is an official example.
| Word | The trap |
|---|---|
| questionnaire | double n, ends in -aire |
| colleague | double l, then ea, ends in -gue |
| laboratory | lab-or-a-tory, with o in the second syllable |
| assignment | double s, silent g |
| schedule | begins with sch |
| profession | single f, double s |
| curriculum | double r, then a single c |
| certificate | c before e, c before a |
| discipline | d-i-s-c, with sc after the d |
Our post on spelling mistakes Indians make lists commonly misspelt words in professional writing, with memory tricks.
How Do I Spell Health and Daily-Life Words?
These words come from health, dates and daily routines.
| Word | The trap |
|---|---|
| Wednesday | silent d in the first syllable |
| February | the r after the b |
| necessary | single c, double s |
| temperature | the middle e is easy to leave out |
| leisure | e before i, ends in -ure |
| prescription | pre, then script |
| medicine | c makes a soft s sound |
| privilege | ends in -lege, not -ledge |
| exercise | ex, then -cise, not -size |
Words that sound alike but differ in meaning are covered in our lesson on homophones and homographs.
How Can I Practise Spelling?
As advice, rather than memorising a list, practise writing the words you hear. Choose a short audio clip, write or type what you hear, then check each word letter by letter in a dictionary.
Keep going back to the words you miss. The Cambridge IELTS FAQ says you lose marks for incorrect grammar as well as spelling, so a missing plural ending counts too.
Incorrect: “Close enough counts.”
Correct: A misspelt answer is marked incorrect, even when you heard the word perfectly.
Tip
Keep a correction log of words you misspell in practice, and write each corrected word three times.
Try It
Four of these eight words are misspelt. Find them and correct them:
- acommodation
- assignment
- restarant
- colleague
- neccessary
- departure
- Febuary
- schedule
Show answers
- accommodation — double c and double m.
- assignment — correct as written.
- restaurant — “au” in the second syllable.
- colleague — correct as written.
- necessary — single c and double s.
- departure — correct as written.
- February — the r comes after the b.
- schedule — correct as written.
Key Takeaways
- A misspelt answer in IELTS Listening is marked incorrect.
- UK and US spellings are both accepted in Listening answers.
- Watch double letters and silent letters in everyday words.
- Short dictation practice and a dictionary help you check your own spelling.
The bottom line: A word you hear correctly earns the mark once you spell it correctly, so start with everyday words.