Hi there — I’m Emily Carter, IELTS Listening instructor here at IELTS Zone.
In Section 3 of the IELTS Listening test, you’ll often hear a short group discussion among two to four speakers — typically students and sometimes a tutor. One of the most analytical task types here is Matching Speakers to Opinions in IELTS Listening.
Your task is to decide who expressed each opinion or piece of information. It sounds simple, but when voices overlap and opinions change, precision matters. In this guide, I’ll show you how to track each speaker efficiently, understand subtle agreement cues, and avoid classic examiner traps.
This question type presents a list of statements (opinions, views, or experiences) and a list of speakers identified by letters (A, B, C, D).
Example:
Who says they found the project more difficult than expected?
A Anna
B Ben
C Clara
D David
You must match each opinion (e.g., Questions 21 – 25) to the correct letter.
Key facts:
During the 30-second preview:
Predicting voice–idea connections beforehand helps your brain focus when the audio starts.
At the start, the recording introduces each speaker:
“You will hear students Anna, Ben and Clara discussing their group project.”
Pay attention to:
I always tell my students: identify voices in the first 10 seconds — before content begins. That single habit lifts your accuracy immediately.
IELTS conversations use clear language to show viewpoints.
Function | Common Phrases |
Giving opinion | “I think / I feel / Personally I believe…” |
Agreeing | “Exactly / That’s true / I totally agree.” |
Disagreeing | “Not really / I’m not so sure about that.” |
Comparing ideas | “While I liked it, Ben didn’t find it helpful.” |
When you hear a name mentioned in third person (“Ben thought the lecture was too long”), note that Ben’s opinion might be an answer.
Speakers sometimes change their view mid-sentence, creating distractors:
“I initially thought the reading was boring, but once I understood the theory it was really interesting.”
Correct answer → the final opinion (interesting), not the first.
✅ Tip: Trust the last statement a speaker makes on a topic — that’s usually the examiner’s intended answer.
IELTS rarely repeats question wording. Recognise common synonym swaps:
In Question | In Recording |
“enjoyed the lecture” | “found the talk engaging” |
“had difficulty with” | “struggled to understand” |
“agreed with the tutor” | “supported the professor’s point” |
“wanted more examples” | “felt there weren’t enough illustrations” |
During practice, highlight these equivalences in transcripts to train recognition speed.
Answers appear in random order, so:
Think of the audio as a conversation loop — voices alternate, so stay flexible.
Mistake | Why It Happens | Fix |
Confusing voices | Similar accents or speed | Identify tone at start; take notes by initials. |
Writing too early | Guessing before final view heard | Wait for confirmation or agreement phrases. |
Losing order | Looking at wrong question while listening | Use a finger or cursor to track. |
Ignoring synonyms | Expecting exact words from question | Train for meaning, not word match. |
Day | Task |
Mon | Listen to a Cambridge Section 3 set and label voices before audio. |
Tue | Extract all agreement/disagreement markers from the script. |
Wed | Practise paraphrase matching for 10 minutes. |
Thu | Take a mock test without pausing. |
Fri | Analyse errors — voice confusion, keyword trap, timing. |
This short, steady cycle builds accuracy fast.
Imagine three students discussing a field trip:
Anna: “I really liked the guide’s explanation — it made the history come alive.”
Ben: “I agree it was informative, but I thought the trip was too long.”
Clara: “I didn’t mind the length; my issue was the weather.”
Question: Who enjoyed the guide’s explanation?
✅ Answer → Anna
Notice how each opinion corresponds to a clear phrase; identifying the name linked to it is key.
Section 3 can feature British, Australian, or North American accents.
To train, listen to BBC Learning English for UK intonation and ABC Australia podcasts for Australian rhythm.
For official practice, visit British Council IELTS Listening Tests
To summarise, Matching Speakers to Opinions in IELTS Listening tests your ability to:
Once you’re comfortable with this skill, you’re ready for tasks that focus on capturing key facts from academic dialogues.
Next, read Note Completion (Academic Context) to learn how to record specific information from student–tutor conversations.
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