IELTS Listening: How important is spelling?

The British Council’s LearnEnglish site answers this question clearly and succinctly: ‘Everything must be spelled correctly.’ So, what are the pitfalls? In this blog post we’re going to look at just one scenario.
The problem


In the IELTS Listening test, you may have the answer spelled out for you. For example, one of the speakers might spell their name, and you have to copy it down. This can present a number of challenges:
Some English letters sound similar to each other: m and n, for example, are very similar so you have to listen carefully.
Some English letters sound like different letters in other languages. For instance, j in English sounds like g in French.
Two English letters may simply sound the same in your language. A Spanish speaker might find it difficult to tell the difference between b and v.