Strategies for TOEFL iBT Listening Section
TOEFL iBT Listening section is delivered immediately after the
Reading section. The Listening section of TOEFL iBT measures your
ability to understand spoken English in academic settings. In TOEFL iBT
the listening is done for 3 major purposes:
1. Listening for basic comprehension.
2. Listening for pragmatic understanding.
3. To connect and combine ideas presented in multiple information sources.
2. Listening for pragmatic understanding.
3. To connect and combine ideas presented in multiple information sources.
Each part of the Listening section (2 or 3 parts) consists of 1 long
conversation and two lectures. The test takers hear each lecture or
conversation only once. Lectures and conversations are 3-5 minutes long.
During the listening the time is not running. The allotted time of 10
minutes for each part is only for answering the questions.
Preparation Strategies
Listen to spoken English from multiple sources
as much as possible. Listen to English spoken movies and English spoken
TV channels, listen to the radio and as many other listening sources as
you may find. It would be better if your passages are academic or close
to what is in TOEFL iBT. The more you practice listening, the better
listener you will become. Listen for the main idea. It is
usually found at the beginning of the listening passages, while the
details are dispersed throughout the lecture. The main idea will give
you understanding of what the conversation/lecture is about. Then you
may listen for details.Learn to find how the ideas are presented
in the listening passage. Some of the main relations between ideas
include cause/effect, compare/contrast, and steps in a process.Learn to listen for signal words that indicate different part of the passage - introduction, major steps, examples, conclusions, etc.
Build your vocabulary. While
listening, try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context. It
is very important since there is a big chance to come across words you
don't know at the real test. Then, you should guess their meaning. Write
down every word you don't know and include it in your wordlist. Try to
memorize it and use it in your speaking and writing. Flashcards could be
a great way to improve your vocabulary.Listen to conversations or lectures with variety of accents.
In TOEFL iBT Listening section there is a variety of accents and
pronunciations. For this reason, you should practice listening to a
people with different accents and pronunciation patterns.
Practice note-taking. Note-taking is
allowed during all sections of TOEFL iBT. Effective note-taking may
highly improve your performance. It is almost impossible to memorize all
clues and details provided in the Listening section. Moreover, you can
hear the passages ONLY ONCE. Therefore, to answer the questions you have
to rely on what you remember from the passage and your notes. See also
our Effective Note-Taking Strategies.Summarize in writing what you have heard,
using your notes. Thus, you will learn to find the purpose and main
idea of the listening, and also the most important details. You will
also learn to take and use notes. It also helps in improving your
writing skills.
Familiarize yourself with the type of questions
in TOEFL iBT. Make sure that during the preparation you learn what
answers are required by the different types of question. Some questions
may ask you to provide two answers, others to click in a chart box. If
you are familiar with the question types, you may save important time.
At the exam strategies
Forget about the Reading section. Now it is time to fully concentrate on the Listening section.
The clock is ticking only when you are answering the questions and
not when you are listening to the passages. So, when you listen, forget about the clock.Prepare for note-taking. Before the
section starts, write down the words 'main idea', 'major points', and
'important details'. Under which word you will place your notes from the
listening passage.
Do not be distracted by the speaker's accent, speaking style and delivery. Focus on the content and flow of information the speaker(s) deliver.Listen to find clues that will help
you understand what the speaker's purpose, attitude and degree of
certainty is. Listen for words that show relationship between ideas.Pay attention to the visual materials.
Some of the visual materials in the Listening section bring important
information. Blackboards show important words or phrases that are
discussed during the lecture. Illustrations and graphics support the
information presented in the lecture. They are available only when the
lecturer refers to them.
Answering is different. In the Listening section you may not return to the previous questions to correct your answers. Nevertheless, you have to confirm twice that you want to move to the next question. First, when you provide your answer you have to press the NEXT button. After pressing the NEXT button you may alter you answer. To move to the next question you have to press OK button. Sometimes test takers forget this and lose important time. Please, set your mind that you have to press two buttons.
Take a guess. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer in TOEFL iBT. It doesn't bring any points. If you see you are running out of time, just take a guess and mark answers for all remaining questions. There is 25 % chance to guess the right answer.
TOEFL Lectures
On the TOEFL Listening test, you'll get two kinds of listening passages, but in this lesson, we're just focusing on one type: the lecture passages. Lecture passages re-create what you might hear in a classroom, either a professor giving a lecture or a conversation between a professor and a group of students.The TOEFL will have between four and six lecture passages with six questions on each. Each passage is between three and five minutes long. Like all listening passages, lecture passages can be hard because they move quickly. But here's how to listen effectively, take notes, and generally make the lecture passages work for you.
Listening
The first step to good strategy on a lecture passage is how you approach the passage itself. This has two parts: listening and taking notes. On the TOEFL, you'll only hear the passage; you won't be able to read a transcript, so everything depends on how well you can listen. Here's how to listen strategically:- Listen for the main point. Don't stop to worry over one individual word while the passage moves on without you! It's important to understand what the overall idea of a conversation is.
- Pay attention to signal words and transitions. Transition words, like 'next' or 'finally,' can help you figure out where you are in the passage.
- Listen to intonation as well as words. Even if you don't know what a word means, the tone of the speaker's voice can help you figure out the big picture. For example, English speakers usually raise their voice at the end of a question, like this: 'Did you bring the macaroni?'
Taking Notes
While you're listening, you'll also be taking notes. You'll be able to use these notes as you answer the questions. Here's how to take notes effectively:- Don't write down every word. Your pencil is not as fast as the speakers. You'll just end up falling behind and writing down one part of the passage while you're listening to another, which can be confusing. Instead?
- Write down key names, places, events, and main points. Write only as much as you need to jog your memory later. For example, if a person in the dialog spends three or four sentences talking about how furious she is that she got a C on her paper, you could just write down 'student - angry - C.'
- For multiple people, try a column chart. If you have a lecture passage with multiple speakers, it helps to make a chart that looks something like this.
Write your notes however you like. It's perfectly fine to use smiley faces, abbreviations, diagrams, text speak, pictures, or slang in your notes; you won't be graded on the notes and nobody else will ever see them. They're only there to help you, so write down the information in a way that makes sense to you.
The Questions
Listening effectively and taking good notes is really half the battle on these passages. If you do that, you'll be well-prepared for the questions to follow. You'll answer three types of questions. In order from easiest to most difficult, they are:- Listening for Basic Comprehension questions ask about basic facts and information from the passage.
- Listening for Pragmatic Understanding questions ask about a speaker's attitude or purpose.
- Connecting and Synthesizing Information questions ask you to make connections and inferences from the passage as a whole.
Five Tips to Improve Your TOEFL Listening Score
Not getting your ideal score on your listening section and looking for
concrete ways to improve it? The listening section on the TOEFL
exam can be overwhelming for many students with its complicated
lectures and at times lengthy conversations. Here are 5 proven tips to
up your score – guaranteed!
(1) Keep it simple. Remember: you don’t have to write everything down. The TOEFL listening section does not want or expect you to write down every single detail – such a feat would be impossible, even for a native speaker. When taking notes for conversations, differentiating by columns what the male speaker says versus the female is quite useful, as there will more than likely be questions regarding opinions and statements from each speaker. With lectures, make sure to write down key words and not get bogged down with too many details. You don’t want to lose track of the lecture or conversation because you’re so concerned with specifics.
(2) Organize your notes. It’s always a smart idea to number or letter your notes by section, particularly if the speaker gives examples. Be aware that when any sort of process is described in a lecture or conversation there will be questions later on in the test regarding what order the process comes in. Organizing your notes as you hear them will save you time later and be invaluable when answering “rhetorical function” questions, which are very common on the listening section.
(3) Listen to academic audio recordings. If you can, go to your library or search online for academic lectures; specifically, history, science, philosophy or the arts. The lectures presented on the TOEFL exam are lectures that would be typically heard by freshmen or sophomore students at a university. Challenge yourself by seeking these types of audio recordings out so you can be familiar with the structure and language. If you can’t find academic recordings, then try listening to the news online, which is usually spoken in Standard American Dialect and uses advanced vocabulary words, all of which are applicable to the TOEFL.
(4) Watch TV. Yes – believe it or not, you’re being given advice to watch TV to study for the listening section on the TOEFL. Not just any type of TV program, either: sitcoms and hour-long dramas. Why? These are useful to the conversations presented to you in the TOEFL listening section because they are spoken in dialogue and deal, ultimately, with problems and solutions. When watching a sitcom or hour-long drama, take notes and make sure to identify the problem and the solution.Research any idioms or slang you might hear – this will also come in handy, as many rhetorical function questions deal directly with idiomatic expressions.
(5) Listen to less music and more spoken words. Download news articles from the BBC or Business English from I-Tunes and try to listen to them instead of music for thirty minutes a day. Pick topics that interest you – there are a wide variety of podcasts to choose from. This will sharpen your listening skills and expand your vocabulary, not to mention make you more well-informed. Remember, listening skills can be improved just as your reading, speaking and writing skills. And keep in mind – the TOEFL does not expect you to have a preconceived knowledge of any of the material based in the lectures or conversations, so don’t feel overwhelmed when you are given a lecture on cellular division in plants or the geographical history of a particular nomadic tribe.
(1) Keep it simple. Remember: you don’t have to write everything down. The TOEFL listening section does not want or expect you to write down every single detail – such a feat would be impossible, even for a native speaker. When taking notes for conversations, differentiating by columns what the male speaker says versus the female is quite useful, as there will more than likely be questions regarding opinions and statements from each speaker. With lectures, make sure to write down key words and not get bogged down with too many details. You don’t want to lose track of the lecture or conversation because you’re so concerned with specifics.
(2) Organize your notes. It’s always a smart idea to number or letter your notes by section, particularly if the speaker gives examples. Be aware that when any sort of process is described in a lecture or conversation there will be questions later on in the test regarding what order the process comes in. Organizing your notes as you hear them will save you time later and be invaluable when answering “rhetorical function” questions, which are very common on the listening section.
(3) Listen to academic audio recordings. If you can, go to your library or search online for academic lectures; specifically, history, science, philosophy or the arts. The lectures presented on the TOEFL exam are lectures that would be typically heard by freshmen or sophomore students at a university. Challenge yourself by seeking these types of audio recordings out so you can be familiar with the structure and language. If you can’t find academic recordings, then try listening to the news online, which is usually spoken in Standard American Dialect and uses advanced vocabulary words, all of which are applicable to the TOEFL.
(4) Watch TV. Yes – believe it or not, you’re being given advice to watch TV to study for the listening section on the TOEFL. Not just any type of TV program, either: sitcoms and hour-long dramas. Why? These are useful to the conversations presented to you in the TOEFL listening section because they are spoken in dialogue and deal, ultimately, with problems and solutions. When watching a sitcom or hour-long drama, take notes and make sure to identify the problem and the solution.Research any idioms or slang you might hear – this will also come in handy, as many rhetorical function questions deal directly with idiomatic expressions.
(5) Listen to less music and more spoken words. Download news articles from the BBC or Business English from I-Tunes and try to listen to them instead of music for thirty minutes a day. Pick topics that interest you – there are a wide variety of podcasts to choose from. This will sharpen your listening skills and expand your vocabulary, not to mention make you more well-informed. Remember, listening skills can be improved just as your reading, speaking and writing skills. And keep in mind – the TOEFL does not expect you to have a preconceived knowledge of any of the material based in the lectures or conversations, so don’t feel overwhelmed when you are given a lecture on cellular division in plants or the geographical history of a particular nomadic tribe.
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