Lesson 7 · Lesson guide
Listening: Spelling Names and Addresses
Hello, my dear student!
Hello, my dear student!
In IELTS Listening Part 1 you often complete a form: someone books a hotel room, joins a sports club or registers for a course. You hear names, addresses and phone numbers, and the speaker often spells them letter by letter.
Here one small mistake costs a whole mark. Smith and Smyth are different answers, and so are 14 and 40. The good news: these marks are easy when you know the traps.
Today you will practise the letters that Uzbek learners mix up, double letters, English addresses, UK postcodes and phone numbers. Listen carefully and write exactly what you hear.
See you in the exercises,Your teacher
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Spelling in Listening Part 1
The task
Complete a form
In Part 1 you hear a conversation about everyday things: someone books a room, joins a club or registers for a course. You write names, addresses and numbers on a form. Names are often spelled letter by letter.
- Surname: Smith(Familiya: Smith)
- Address: 14 Park Road(Manzil: Park Road koʻchasi, 14-uy)
Letters
Letters that sound alike
Be careful with E (“ee”) and I (“eye”), A (“ay”) and E, G (“jee”) and J (“jay”), K (“kay”) and Q (“kyoo”), V (“vee”) and W (“double-you”). Y sounds like “why”.
- E, I
- G, J
- V, W
Double
Double letters and capitals
“Double L” means LL: write the letter twice. Names of people and streets start with a capital letter. In IELTS you can also write all your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.
- Russell: R, U, double S, E, double L
Addresses
Number, street, postcode
An English address starts with the house number. Then comes the street name and a word like Road, Street, Avenue or Lane. A UK postcode has letters and numbers in two parts, like CB2 1TN.
- 14 Park Road(Park Road koʻchasi, 14-uy)
- 7 Mill Lane(Mill Lane koʻchasi, 7-uy)
Numbers
Phone numbers and emails
In phone numbers, “oh” means 0 and “double four” means 44. In an email address, “at” is @ and “dot” is a full stop.
- oh, seven, double four
- aziz at mail dot com
Remember!
Write exactly what you hear: every letter and every number, in the right order.
Letters that sound alike
Tap each one and listen carefully. Uzbek learners mix up these letters most.
E, I
E = “ee”, I = “eye”
A, E
A = “ay”, E = “ee”
G, J
G = “jee”, J = “jay”
K, Q
K = “kay”, Q = “kyoo”
V, W
V = “vee”, W = “double-you”
Y
Y sounds like “why”.
double L, double S
LL, SS: the same letter twice
What you hear on a form call
Tap each sentence to hear it. Read the note to see what you write.
How do you spell your surname?
(Familiyangiz qanday harflanadi?)
a question you often hear
It’s Smith. S. M. I. T. H.
you write: Smith
I live at 14 Park Road.
(Park Road koʻchasi, 14-uyda yashayman.)
number, name, street word
The postcode is C. B. 2, 1. T. N.
you write: CB2 1TN
My number is oh, seven, double four, nine, two, one, six.
you write: 07449216
My email is aziz at mail dot com.
you write: aziz@mail.com
No, it’s with a K, not a C.
(Yoʻq, C bilan emas, K bilan.)
a correction: write K
Booking a room
Bekzod is a student in Cambridge. He calls a hotel. Listen and look at what the receptionist writes.
- Receptionist
Good morning, Riverside Hotel. How can I help you?
- Bekzod
Hello. I’d like to book a room for two nights, please.
- Receptionist
Of course. Can I have your surname?
- Bekzod
Yes, it’s Karimov. K. A. R. I. M. O. V.
- Receptionist
Is that with a C at the start?
- Bekzod
No, it’s with a K, not a C.(Yoʻq, C bilan emas, K bilan.)
- Receptionist
Thank you. And your address?
- Bekzod
27 Mill Lane, Cambridge. Mill is M. I. double L.
- Receptionist
And the postcode?
- Bekzod
C. B. 4, 2. J. Q.
The receptionist writes: Karimov, 27 Mill Lane, CB4 2JQ. Bekzod corrects the first letter and says “double L”.
Mistakes that cost marks
Not: Smith (you hear S. M. Y. T. H.)Say: Smyth
Write the letters you hear, not the spelling you know.
Not: Mil Lane (you hear M. I. double L.)Say: Mill Lane
Double L means two Ls: LL.
Not: Jill (you hear G. I. double L.)Say: Gill
G sounds like “jee”, J sounds like “jay”.
Not: CB2 ITN (you hear “two, one”)Say: CB2 1TN
“One” is the number 1. The letter I sounds like “eye”.
Not: 40 Park Road (you hear “fourteen”)Say: 14 Park Road(Park Road koʻchasi, 14-uy)
fourTEEN has a long, strong end. FORty has its strong part at the start.
Check yourself
How do you write “double S”?
What does “oh” mean in a phone number?
Which letter sounds like “why”?
What does a UK postcode look like?
Now it’s your turn!
6 short parts, each a little harder than the one before. Take your time: mistakes are how we learn.
— Your teacher