How do you get better at listening?
I have three pieces of advice:
I scored a 9 for listening, but I hadn't really done a ton of IELTS listening itself.
There is no secret. Really. Behind a high test score are years and years of listening.
When I first started (2008), I listened to a lot of BBC 6 Minute English, which in my opinion is the best material ever, and audio from TOEFL iBT books.
Mind you, I started as an absolute beginner in listening with intermediate-level material. Of course, I didn't understand much of it. I listened and read the transcripts at the same time. I printed out the transcripts and took them around, along with the amazing Sony NWZ, which cost me a fortune.
Then, I found more podcasts for English learners, including LearnEnglish Professionals podcast by British Council. I remember listening to one about the Airbus A380.
Another one is Effortless English podcast, by A. J. Hoge. I didn't follow the method though. I listened to his material mostly because he speaks very slowly. The content is pretty useful too. Another beginner-friendly material is ESLPod. It was free back then but has been put behind a paywall now.
Then, VOA Special English. It had this wonderful series called American Stories. I listened to these a lot of nights when I was staying in the university dorm back then.
When I got bored I even looked for podcasts intended for native speakers. I remember listening to an American phone-in radio show. It was very hard. I barely understood it, but I kept going for a while because I thought it was good exercise.
So, essentially the idea is that I was on this mission to listen to as much English as possible. I kept looking for different materials, and I kept listening.
Eventually there was a break-through point. I don't think we can know when this happens. But what we can absolutely do is to keep crack open that YouTube video and get started! 🚀