Fieldwork Debrief: Observing Children at Play: Listening Answers & Explanations
IELTS Listening practice test · 9 questionsPart 3hard
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About this recording
The recording opens: “So, you're both back from the playground observation. This was your first proper piece of fieldwork.”
- Transcript length: about 426 words
- Questions: 9
- Question types: Multiple Choice, Matching Sentence Endings, Matching Features
“Fieldwork Debrief: Observing Children at Play” is an original IELTS-style practice recording written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Fieldwork Debrief: Observing Children at Play answers with explanations
Question 1: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What did Leah find most difficult about the observation?
- A. keeping up with fast-moving children while writing
- B. understanding the theory beforehand
- C. reaching the playground on time
- 1
Leah's main difficulty was
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Answer: A — keeping up with fast-moving children while writing
Why: Leah found it difficult to keep up with the fast-moving children while writing because she mentioned missing things as she was still writing down the last note, indicating her struggle with their speed.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 2 (Leah) “But children move so fast that I kept missing things while I was writing the last note down.”
Question 2: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What does Dr Okafor identify as the biggest threat to reliability?
- A. children performing for the observers
- B. unclear behaviour categories
- C. sitting too far from the action
- 2
According to the tutor, reliability is most threatened by
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Answer: B — unclear behaviour categories
Why: Dr Okafor identifies ambiguous categories as the biggest threat to reliability, as they lead to disagreements in coding the same event differently, which affects the study's consistency.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 4 (Dr Okafor) “Ambiguous categories are the single biggest threat to reliability in this kind of study.”
Question 3: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What do the students agree to do differently next time?
- A. arrive earlier so children get used to them
- B. record from a hidden camera instead
- C. observe only one child at a time
- 3
To reduce reactivity, they will
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Answer: A — arrive earlier so children get used to them
Why: The students agree to arrive earlier next time to reduce reactivity, as Sam suggests letting the children get used to them before they start recording, which Dr Okafor confirms as a good instinct for habituation.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 9 (Sam) “I think next time we should arrive earlier and let them get used to us before we start recording anything.”
Questions 4–6: Matching Sentence Endings
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–E.
Choose the correct ending for each sentence from the list A–E . There are more endings than sentences.
- A. because the children were clearly laughing together.
- B. so that observers can be honest about disagreement.
- C. because the coding categories overlapped.
- D. so the study could be finished more quickly.
- E. because there were not enough observers.
- 4
Sam and Leah coded the same toy-grabbing event differently
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Answer: C — because the coding categories overlapped.
Why: Sam and Leah coded the toy-grabbing event differently because the coding categories were ambiguous, as Sam noted that deciding what counted as one behavior and what counted as two was challenging.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 5 (Sam) “One child grabbed a toy from another, and I recorded it as aggressive, but Leah recorded exactly the same moment as playful.”
- 5
Leah decided her 'playful' label was probably wrong
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Answer: A — because the children were clearly laughing together.
Why: Leah decided her 'playful' label was probably wrong because, upon reviewing her notes, she realized that the two children were laughing, which indicated that the situation wasn't accurately captured as playful.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 6 (Leah) “Looking back at my notes, the two children were laughing, so playful probably wasn't accurate either.”
- 6
The study measures inter-rater reliability
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Answer: B — so that observers can be honest about disagreement.
Why: The passage explains that measuring inter-rater reliability allows observers to be honest about disagreements, as Dr Okafor emphasizes the importance of acknowledging differing observations to refine definitions and improve study reliability.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 7 (Dr Okafor) “And that's precisely why we measure inter-rater reliability — so we can be honest about how often observers disagree.”
Questions 7–9: Matching Features
Who will write each section of the report?
Choose your answer from the list of people A–C and select the correct letter for each section.
- A. Leah
- B. Sam
- C. Dr Okafor
- 7
the methods section
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Answer: B — Sam
Why: Sam is the correct answer because he expressed a preference for writing the methods section, stating he took the most detailed notes on the procedure.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 11 (Sam) “I took the most detailed notes on the procedure, so it makes sense for me.”
- 8
the discussion section
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Answer: A — Leah
Why: Leah is responsible for the discussion section because she expressed interest in analyzing the disagreements and their implications for theory, which she finds most interesting.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 12 (Leah) “Then I'll do the discussion — I've got lots of ideas about what the disagreements actually mean for the theory.”
- 9
the introduction
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Answer: C — Dr Okafor
Why: Dr Okafor is responsible for drafting the introduction with the background reading, as mentioned when he states, "And I'll draft the introduction with the background reading, so you two can build on a solid frame.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 13 (Dr Okafor) “And I'll draft the introduction with the background reading, so you two can build on a solid frame.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 9 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Listening conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single recording is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 9 / 9 | 9.0 |
| 8 / 9 | 8.0 |
| 7 / 9 | 7.0 |
| 6 / 9 | 6.5 |
| 4–5 / 9 | 5.5 |
| 3 / 9 | 4.5 |
| 2 / 9 | 3.5 |
| 1 / 9 | 2.5 |
| 0 / 9 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Listening Part 3
- Before the audio, read the questions and note whose view each one asks about — "What does Marta think…" is answered by Marta’s words, not her tutor’s.
- Learn the voices in the first few seconds: names are always exchanged early, and attaching name to voice immediately pays off for the whole part.
Common trap: Attributing one speaker’s opinion to another, especially when a speaker summarises someone else’s view before disagreeing with it.
Full Listening Part 3 strategyPractise “Fieldwork Debrief: Observing Children at Play” under exam conditions
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