Strategies for Preparing for the Listening Section for TOEFL

A.    Academic Listening Skills

The listening section measures your abilityto understand spoken english. Is academic settings, students must be able to listen to lectures and conversation. Academic listening is typically done for one of the three following purposes. 

1.      Listening for basic comprehension

      Comprehend the main idea, major points, and important details related to the main idea. (comprehension off all details is not necessary.)

2.      Listening for pragmatic understanding

      Recognize a speaker’s attitude and degree of certainty

      Recognize the function or purpose of a speaker’s statement

3.      Connecting and synthesizing information

      Recognize the organization of information presented

      Understand the relationships between ideas presented (for example, compare/contrast, cause/effect, or effect, or steps in a process)

      Make connections among pieces of information in a conversations or lecture

      Recognize topic changes (for example, digession and aside statements) in lectures and conversations, and recognize introductions and conclusion in lectures.

B.     Strategies for the Listening Section

Take notes while you listen, Only the major points will be tested, so do not try to write down every detail. After testing, notes are collected and shreded before you leave the test center. When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the new words or concepts introduced by the professor. And will often be tested .When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the way the lecture is organizedand the way the ideas in the lecture are connected . Choose the best answer. The computer will ask you to confirm your choice. After clicking on OK, you automatically go on to the next question. And listening questions must be answered in order. Once you click on OK. You cannot go back to a previous question.

How to Sharpen Your Listenning Skills

Listening is one of the most important skills necessary for success on the TOEFL test and in academics in general. The ability to listen and understand is tested in three out of four sections of the TOEFL iBT test.

The best way to improve your listening skills is the to listen frequently to many different types of material in various subject areas (science, social sciences, arts, business, and others). Of course, watching movies and TV and listening to the radio are excellent ways to practice listening. Audiotapes and CDs of talks are available in libraries and bookstores; those with transcripts of the listening material are particularly helpful. The internet is also a great resource for listening material.

Here are some ways you can stengthen skills for the three listening purposes teted on the TOEFL, IBT test.

1.       Listening for basic comprehension

      Increase your vocabulary knowledge, perhaps by using flash cards.

      Focus on the content and flow of material. Speaker’s style and delivery.

      Anticipate what the speaker is going to say as a way to stay focused, and adjust your predictions when you receive additional information.

      Stay active by asking yourself questions (for example, what main idea is the professor communicating?).

      Copy the words “main idea,” “major points,” and “important details” on different lines of paper. Listen carefully and write there things down while listening. Listen again until all important points and details are written down.

      Listen to a portion of a lecture or talk and write a brief summary of important points. Gradually increase the amount you listen to and summaries. Note: summarizingskills are not tested in the listening section, but they are useful for the integrated tasks in the Writing and Speaking sections.

2.      Listening for pragmatic understanding

      Think about what each speaker hopes to accomplish; that is, what is the purpose of the speech or conversations? Is the speaker apologizing to plaining, making suggestions?

      Notice the way each speaker talks. Is the language formal or casual? How certain does each speaker sound? Is the speaker’s voice calm or additional? What does the speaker’s tone of voice tell you?

      Notice the degree of certainty of the speaker. How sure is the speaker about the information? Does the speaker’s tone of voice indicate something about his or her degree of certainty?

      Listen for changes in topic or side comments in which the speaker briefly moves away from the main topic and then returns (digressions).

      Whatch television or movie comedies and pay attention to stress and intonation patterns used to convery meaning.

3.      Listening to connect ideas

      Think about how the lecture or organized. Listen for the signal words that indicate the introduction, major steps or ideas, examples, and the coodsion or summary.

      Identify the relationships between ideas in the information being discussed. Possible relationships include cause/effect, compare/contrast, and steps in a process.

      Listen for words that show connections and relationship between ideas.

      When you listen to recordedmaterial, stop the recording at various points and try to predict what information or idea will be expressed next.

      Create an outline of the information discussed while listening or after listening.

A.    Academic Listening Skills

The listening section measures your abilityto understand spoken english. Is academic settings, students must be able to listen to lectures and conversation. Academic listening is typically done for one of the three following purposes.

1.      Listening for basic comprehension

      Comprehend the main idea, major points, and important details related to the main idea. (comprehension off all details is not necessary.)

2.      Listening for pragmatic understanding

      Recognize a speaker’s attitude and degree of certainty

      Recognize the function or purpose of a speaker’s statement

3.      Connecting and synthesizing information

      Recognize the organization of information presented

      Understand the relationships between ideas presented (for example, compare/contrast, cause/effect, or effect, or steps in a process)

      Make connections among pieces of information in a conversations or lecture

      Recognize topic changes (for example, digession and aside statements) in lectures and conversations, and recognize introductions and conclusion in lectures.

B.     Strategies for the Listening Section

Take notes while you listen, Only the major points will be tested, so do not try to write down every detail. After testing, notes are collected and shreded before you leave the test center. When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the new words or concepts introduced by the professor. And will often be tested .When listening to a lecture, pay attention to the way the lecture is organizedand the way the ideas in the lecture are connected . Choose the best answer. The computer will ask you to confirm your choice. After clicking on OK, you automatically go on to the next question. And listening questions must be answered in order. Once you click on OK. You cannot go back to a previous question.

How to Sharpen Your Listenning Skills

Listening is one of the most important skills necessary for success on the TOEFL test and in academics in general. The ability to listen and understand is tested in three out of four sections of the TOEFL iBT test.

The best way to improve your listening skills is the to listen frequently to many different types of material in various subject areas (science, social sciences, arts, business, and others). Of course, watching movies and TV and listening to the radio are excellent ways to practice listening. Audiotapes and CDs of talks are available in libraries and bookstores; those with transcripts of the listening material are particularly helpful. The internet is also a great resource for listening material.

Here are some ways you can stengthen skills for the three listening purposes teted on the TOEFL, IBT test.

1.       Listening for basic comprehension

      Increase your vocabulary knowledge, perhaps by using flash cards.

      Focus on the content and flow of material. Speaker’s style and delivery.

      Anticipate what the speaker is going to say as a way to stay focused, and adjust your predictions when you receive additional information.

      Stay active by asking yourself questions (for example, what main idea is the professor communicating?).

      Copy the words “main idea,” “major points,” and “important details” on different lines of paper. Listen carefully and write there things down while listening. Listen again until all important points and details are written down.

      Listen to a portion of a lecture or talk and write a brief summary of important points. Gradually increase the amount you listen to and summaries. Note: summarizingskills are not tested in the listening section, but they are useful for the integrated tasks in the Writing and Speaking sections.

2.      Listening for pragmatic understanding

      Think about what each speaker hopes to accomplish; that is, what is the purpose of the speech or conversations? Is the speaker apologizing to plaining, making suggestions?

      Notice the way each speaker talks. Is the language formal or casual? How certain does each speaker sound? Is the speaker’s voice calm or additional? What does the speaker’s tone of voice tell you?

      Notice the degree of certainty of the speaker. How sure is the speaker about the information? Does the speaker’s tone of voice indicate something about his or her degree of certainty?

      Listen for changes in topic or side comments in which the speaker briefly moves away from the main topic and then returns (digressions).

      Whatch television or movie comedies and pay attention to stress and intonation patterns used to convery meaning.

3.      Listening to connect ideas

      Think about how the lecture or organized. Listen for the signal words that indicate the introduction, major steps or ideas, examples, and the coodsion or summary.

      Identify the relationships between ideas in the information being discussed. Possible relationships include cause/effect, compare/contrast, and steps in a process.

      Listen for words that show connections and relationship between ideas.

      When you listen to recordedmaterial, stop the recording at various points and try to predict what information or idea will be expressed next.

      Create an outline of the information discussed while listening or after listening.