Listening section can be hard
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At first glance, TOEFL Listening may seem like an easy section: all you have to do is pay attention to some short conversations and answer a few questions on them. Should be easy for anyone who has watched a movie or listened to music in English, right? As a matter of fact, the TOEFL Listening section is often challenging because it requires test takers to remember facts and information from several-minute long recordings and then answer questions on specific information mentioned in the recording.
To really ace the TOEFL Listening test, you need to know exactly what types of questions you’ll be seeing, how you should be studying, and how to take great notes on test day. I gathered some useful tips from several websites that can be helpful to deal with TOEFL Listening Sections.
TOEFL Listening Section Overview
Listening is the second of four sections on the TOEFL. The entire section lasts 60 to 90 minutes and includes four to six lectures and two to three conversations. Each lecture lasts about three to five minutes and is followed by six questions, and each conversation lasts about three minutes and is followed by five questions.
First things first, are you allowed to take notes on the TOEFL? The answer is yes — you may take notes on every section of the TOEFL. According to ETS (the creators of the TOEFL)
“You can take notes throughout the entire test, using the paper provided by the test administrator. At the end of testing, all paper is collected and destroyed at the test center to ensure test security. Do not tear or remove part of any piece of scratch paper.”
Your test center will give you scratch (blank) paper to use during the test. If you run out of paper at any time, you may ask a staff member to give you more. At the end of the test, your notes will be collected and destroyed for security purposes. In other words, you may not remove your TOEFL notes from the test center, even once you’ve completed the test.
Listening to music helps a lot
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TOEFL Listening Tips For Studying
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.
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.
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.
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.
Taking notes is important
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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 some tips you should follow to take great Listening notes.
Make the Most Of Your Scratch Paper
On the TOEFL, it’s important to use the space on your scratch paper wisely. One reason is so you don’t have to constantly flip to a new page or turn a page over to continue your notes. You also don’t want to have to ask a staff member for additional scratch paper, as this can waste valuable test time.
So as you take the TOEFL, try to save as much space as you possibly can on your scratch paper — but in such a way that you’re still able to read what you’ve written and can easily make sense of where each note begins and ends. I suggest beginning your TOEFL notes in the top-left corner of each page and working your way down as you fill up space. Taking notes in this manner ensures that you won’t have tons of extra blank space in the margins and that you aren’t overlooking any valuable space you can use.
On a related note, remember to use both sides of your paper, too!
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.
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.
Here’s an example of a chart you could make for a listening clip centering on a conversation between a student and a professor:
Avoid Full Sentences — Use Symbols and Abbreviations
You should also aim to take notes concisely and quickly. In short, always avoid writing full sentences — doing this will only slow you down in the end and result in your having a lot of extra information you don’t actually need for answering the questions. So instead of writing down every detail and word, employ an easy-to-understand system of symbols and abbreviations.
Here are some examples of symbols and abbreviations you could use in your TOEFL notes:
Don’t be afraid to come up with your own symbols, either. Just make sure the symbols and abbreviations you use are easy to write, short, and clear in meaning to you. (In other words, their meanings don’t need to be obvious to other people — just you!)
Pinpoint the Main Idea Right Away
As soon as the audio clip begins playing, try to recognize what the overarching topic of the conversation or lecture is. Doing this will help you predict what the rest of the audio clip is likely to focus on and what types of details you may hear. With most audio clips, you should be able to catch the main idea of the conversation or lecture within the first few sentences.
When You Get The Main Idea, Take Notes !!
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Review: How to Do Well on TOEFL Listening
You’ll need strong listening skills, as well as good concentration skills, in order to ace the TOEFL Listening test. Besides knowing what types of recordings and questions to expect on this section, you’ll need to do some studying as well.
The most important TOEFL Listening tips for studying include listening to spoken English regularly, listening to different English accents, take complete practice TOEFL Listening tests, and get in the habit of taking notes. During the TOEFL Listening, you should stay focused when the recordings are being played, write while listening, and focus on main ideas when taking notes.
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