TOEFL Listening Tips for Studying

Now that you are up-to-date on what to expect on the TOEFL Listening test, read these four tips and follow them throughout your studying in order to be prepared on test day.

1. Listen to Spoken English Regularly

The number one TOEFL Listening tip is, unsurprisingly, to listen to English regularly. The more you hear English, the better your listening skills will become and the easier you’ll find the Listening section. You want to listen to spoken English, so music sung in English won’t be as useful since English sounds different when it’s sung compared to when it’s spoken

Talk radio, news stations, movies, tv shows, and podcasts are all great options (as long as they’re in English, obviously). Try to listen to some English with background noise, such as an interview conducted outside or in front of a large crowd. TOEFL Listening recordings purposely include background noises, so you’ll want to be used to that

2. Listen to Different English Accents

It will also help you down the line if you practice listening to different accents while you’re studying. The TOEFL Listening test will include at least one native-speaker English accent outside of North American accents. This is done to help prepare you for the variety of English accents you’ll likely come across in the real world. These accents will come from the U.K., Australia, or New Zealand.

Even native English speakers can struggle to understand different English accents, so be sure to get some exposure to different accents before exam day. Try listening to news clips or radio stations from these countries if you’re wondering how you can hear more accents.

3. Take Complete Practice TOEFL Listening Tests

Part of what makes TOEFL Listening tricky is that you spend the section going back and forth between listening to recordings and answering questions on them. After three or four recordings, you may get tired and your attention may start to lag. This can really hurt your score if you miss important information in the audio recording, so you want to take steps to avoid this, and one of the best ways to do that is to take complete practice Listening sections.

A full Listening section is four lectures and two conversations. Set aside time to take this section all at once, with no breaks and no distractions, just like on the real TOEFL. Doing this will help you become familiar with the length and pacing of the Listening section before test day.

4. Get in the Habit of Taking Notes

Even if you have great English skills and usually remember the things you hear in English, you should still takes notes during the Listening section. Each of the recordings is several minutes long and contains a lot of information. If you don’t take notes, it can be easy to forget some of points made and therefore miss questions on the test. Read the next section for tips on how to take great notes.

5. How to Take Great TOEFL Listening Notes

The notes you take on TOEFL Listening will often be key to how high a score you get on this section. It’s important that they are clear and contain the information you’ll be tested on. Below are the three tips you should follow to take great Listening notes.

1) Stay Focused While the Recordings Are Playing

The TOEFL is a long exam, and it can be easy for your mind to wander during parts of it. However, one of the worst times for this to happen is during the Listening section when the audio recordings are playing. You only get to hear each recording once, so if you miss a key point, you likely won’t have all the information you need to get a top score on this section. Your notes will only be great if you do a great job listening to the recordings, so make it a priority to pay attention while they’re playing.

The longest each recording will be is five minutes, so work to keep your focus for that long (doing practice problems, as discussed above, will help you with this).

The part of the Listening section where you’re answering questions is typically less rushed than other sections (you’ll have about 35 seconds to answer each question), so, if you need to take a mental break for a few seconds, do it then so you can be ready to focus on the next recording when it starts playing.

2) Write While Listening

Some TOEFL test-takers try to listen intently while the audio recording is playing and only begin writing notes once it’s finished. This is a bad idea for two reasons. First, the audio recordings are each several minutes long, so you’ll likely forget some key points when you’re trying to write all your notes at once. Second, not writing your notes until after the recording has ended means you’ll be writing them during your time to answer questions, which can make you more rushed during the answer portion of the section.

Instead, write notes throughout the recording. Keep them short (see below), and try to work out a pattern where you listen for a brief period of time, write down some short notes, then go back to listening. Practicing will help you get better at this.

3) Focus on Main Ideas

Don’t try to write down everything you hear. You won’t be able to, and you’ll likely miss some important points because you’re trying to copy every word. Instead, focus on the main ideas in the recording.

If you’re listening to a lecture, think about (and take notes on) what the professor is trying to accomplish. Is he/she trying to explain a new topic? Make something clearer? Explain two different opinions? If another person, such as a student speaks, what are they trying to learn or show? You may want to make a column in your notes for each speaker and write the main points of what they say under the appropriate column to make it easier to remember who said what.

It can be easy to get bogged down in all the details of a recording and miss out on what’s really being discussed. The majority of TOEFL Listening questions will focus on major points as opposed to minor details, so focus your notes on the former.

The listening problem is divided into several parts:

PART A : 30 short dialogues. Each dialog is followed by a question.
PART B : 2 long dialogues Each dialogue is followed by 4-5 questions.
PART C : 3 monologue. Each monologue is followed by 4-5 questions.

There are several Strategies to answer questions about listening comprehension:

Familiar with question instructions.
Listen carefully to the recording and focus on the answer choices available in the test booklet.
If you do not know / doubt the answer to a question, the answer option option should not be left blank. There is no reduction in the score if the answer is wrong.
All answers can be marked first. Because we will have the opportunity to shine when part B instructions are read. Try to mark it half full immediately, so the chance to shade next is just to tidy up the black sphere (usually the old one at the edge of the circle).

Listening PART A: Short dialogue

In the instructions in Part A, we are required to wait and not read ahead , clearly there is the word "WAIT" on the first page.
Instantly see the answer choices before the dialog starts (the difference between questions 8 seconds)
Listening PART A is a conversation between two people (the first person asks and the second person answers). The narrator will make a question based on the conversation between the first and second person. And all Narrator questions are only directed at the second person's answer. That means you have to focus more on the answers of the second person.
You must be able to catch one of the key words in the second person's answer — in the predicate sentence.
The keywords that are meant here are verbs ( verb ) and adjectives .
Why are adjectives or verbs used as keywords? Because what you are looking for is OTHER WORDS / SINONIM (words that have the same meaning) with keywords in people's answers to -2.
If you only understand a few words or ideas in the second person's sentence, choose an answer that contains synonyms / other words from the word / idea.
If you do not understand the sentence that the second person says, choose the answer that sounds the most different from the words you hear.
DO NOT CHOOSE the answer just because the answer sounds similar (in pronunciation / pronunciation) with the words in the dialog.

Example :

Merry : Hi Bob, do you bring my English book? I need to finish my homework tonight.

Bob : Oh, sorry. I forget to bring it.

Narrator: What does the man (Bob) mean?

A. The man forgets to bring the book.

B. The man does not know about the book.

C. The man brings Merry’s book.

D. The man does not remember to bring the book.

The correct answer is D (The man does not remember to bring the book). The keyword in the answer to the second person is forget. Then you have to look for other answers that mean the same as the word forget that does not remember.

Listening PART B: LONG DIALOGUE

Listening PART B in the form of two long dialogues between two people. The narrator will make 4-5 questions based on the conversation between the two people.
Before the dialogue starts, as soon as possible scheme all the answer options on the four / five numbers that are available. Conclude 1 -2 keywords that will roughly be the topic of dialogue that will be played and predictions of questions to be asked based on the existing answer options.
For Dialogue 1, focus on 4 numbers while ignoring instructions.
Before the dialogue starts, the narrator will mention the question number for the dialogue that will be played. The narrator also mentions two speakers in the dialogue 9. Listen carefully so you know who the speaker is in the dialogue.
Listen to the first line of the dialog. Usually the first line contains the main idea, subject, or topic of dialogue.
When listening to a dialogue, conclude the dialogue situation (who speaks, the location of the dialogue, or when the dialogue takes place)
When listening to the dialogue, see the answer option from the four / five questions in the test booklet. The narrator's questions are generally sequences from the first to the fourth / five questions, and the answers to the questions usually sound the same as what the speaker says in the dialogue.
The choice of answers should not be left blank. Guess the answer even though it's not sure.
After finishing answering the last question from the first dialog, immediately scheme all the answer options for the next 4 or 5 numbers from the second dialog.

Example :

When you hear a question, read the four possible answers in your test book and decide which one would be the best answer sheet, find the number of the problem and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

Woman : I hear that Paul Schmidt has written a new novel.
Man : Yes, it’s a science fiction piece called martian Renaissance.
Woman : Sounds intriguing. What’s the plot like ?
Man : It deals with a five-man, one-woman crew on a three-year mission to Mars.
Woman : Is their mission successful?
Man :Erll, in some respect it is.They have a series of incredible adventures once they land.
Woman : Do they meet any real Martians ?
Man : You’ll have to read the book to find out.

1. What is the name of Paul Schmidt’s new book?
(A) The incredible Adventures of the Martians.
(B) Mission to Mars.
(C) Martian Renaissance.
(D) Captivating tales of Mars.

The correct answer is (C), because it was explained by the man in the following conversation, "Yes, it's a science fiction piece called Martian Renaissance". The choice of answer (d) is clearly wrong, while the choice of answers (a) and (b) has the same meaning but the choice is not found in the conversation.

2. What type of bookisit?
(A) Science fiction
(B) Adventure
(C) Biography
(D) Documentary

The correct answer is (A), because it was explained by the man in the following conversation, "Yes, it's a science fiction piece called Martian Renaissance". The choice of answer (c) is clearly wrong, while the choice of answers (b) and (c) has the same meaning but the choice is not found in the conversation.

Listening PART C: MONOLOG

Listening PART C in the form of three monologues. The narrator will make 4-5 questions based on the monologue.
Like PART B, before the monologue starts, as soon as possible scheme all answer options on the four / five numbers that exist. Conclude 1-2 keywords that will roughly be the topic of dialogue that will be played and predictions of questions to be asked based on the available answer options.
Before the monologue starts, the narrator will mention the question number for the monologue to be played. The narrator also mentions what the monologue is.
Listen to the first line of the dialog. Usually the first line contains the main idea, subject, or topic of the monologue.
When listening to a monologue, conclude the situation (who speaks, the location of the dialogue, or when the dialogue takes place)
When listening to a monologue, see the answer option from the four / five questions in the test booklet. The narrator's questions are generally sequences from the first to the fourth / five questions, and the answers to the questions usually sound the same as what the narrator says in a monologue.
After finishing answering the last question from the first monologue, immediately scheme all the answer options for the next 4 or 5 numbers from the second monologue.

Example :

(narrator) Listen to an instructor talk to his class about painting.
(man) Artist Grant Wood was a guiding force in the school of painting known as American regionalist, a style reflecting the distinctive characteristics of art from rural areas of the United States. Wood began drawing animals on the family farm at the age of three, and when he was thirty-eight one of his paintings received a remarkable amount of public notice and acclaim. This painting, called "American Gothic," is a starkly simple depiction of a serious couple staring directly out at the viewer.

Now listen to a sample question.

1. (narrator) What style of painting is known as American regionalist?
In your test book, you read:

(A) Art from America's inner cities

(B) Art from the central region of the United States

(D) Art from rural sections of America

The best answer to the question, "What style of painting is known as American regionalist?" is (D), "Art from rural sections of America." Therefore, the correct choice is (D).

2. (narrator) What is the name of Wood's most successful painting?

In your test book, you read:

(A) "American Regionalist"

(B) "The Family Farm in Iowa"

(D) "A Serious Couple"

The best answer to the question, "What is the name of Wood's most successful painting?" is (C), "American Gothic." Therefore, the correct choice is (C).

Source :

· https://www.prepscholar.com/toefl/blog/toefl-listening-test-tips/

· https://amenakao.blogspot.com/2016/06/strategi-tes-toefl-listening.html?m=1

· http://adulkuliahpmh8.blogspot.com/2014/05/strategi-serta-contoh-simulasi.html?m=1