TOEFL
listening section, tests the ability of a student, especially a non-native
English speaker, to understand spoken English (accentuated) in educational
setting. Listening is an important skill to understand the concepts and ideas.
Only when the concepts are understood completely it becomes a lighter task to
score in the listening section of TOEFL test. In order to develop the listening
skills for TOEFL, there are certain set of listening strategies or steps. They
are explained in detail given below.
Requirements
for TOEFL Listening Strategy
Listening
strategies for TOEFL aims at providing each and every minute detail that are
required to respond to all the questions within the given time in this section.
Responding to the questions in time is very important because, it will help
TOEFL candidates to save time, which they might spend on, one specific part of
the test section.
There
are certain steps in strategies that would help in managing time in each part
of listening test section (recordings). There are some basic requirements for
listening skills which serves the steps in TOEFL listening strategies as
detailed below :
·
Basic
Comprehension
When students listen
to a recorded lecture or a conversation, they should understand the central or
main idea in it. Then they should skim the recording for key points, important
facts, purpose and the relevant details that connects the key points.
- Practical Understanding
It
may also be called as “pragmatic understanding” where the meaning of a word
should be taken, according to the context. Students are needed to find the
intended meaning of the speaker i.e. from his point of view. A wide range of
vocabulary is necessary for this process because, the recordings in listening
test are usually from academic background. Practical understanding also becomes
a must to find the purpose of a lecture or a conversation.
- Relate Ideas given in multiple information sources
Relating
ideas is the final state where the key points and the important facts are
compared to find the relationship between them. This method would initially
lead to construct an argument. Then a string of supportive and non supportive
elements are categorized and as a result the causes for the events are traced.
This is where a student would end up identifying the conclusion which is
expressed indirectly.
- Inference
Inference
is to find the implied conclusion in recordings from the author’s point of
view. The conclusion might be implied or expressed indirectly anywhere in the
passage.
These
are the basic requirements necessary, in each part of the strategy of listening
section, which consists of two recorded lectures and one long conversation. These
fundamentals are to be followed, in the following few preparatory steps.
Strategies
in Preparation
- Spoken English From Various Sources And Accents
There
are variations between the accents of English. It is the best to listen to
English from various sources like television, music, radio etc. And also it is
good to listen to the native speakers of English with different pronunciation
and dialect. By doing this students would be able to improve their listening
skills and also they will get used to different kinds of accents. It will be
helpful very much if they listen to academic passages or conversations.
- Making Notes
While
listening to a recording, notes should be jot down. These notes would help you
to remember the important points given by speaker. The reason is also that,
during the test you will be given only one chance to listen to a passage. Note
making will help you to remember the details and the clues effectively.
- Main Idea
The
main idea of a passage should be identified in a recording, as a first task
while taking notes. Main idea of a lecture is usually given in the introductory
part. The other details would be given in the rest of a lecture. Once the main
idea is found it becomes a lighter task to find the purpose of the speaker.
- Pointer Words, Important Facts And Relationship Between The Facts
The
pointer words may be defined as signal words or clues, given by the speaker.
These keywords should be collected along with important facts and events. This
should be done in order to compare them and identify the relationship between
them. In turn this would give you the cause of the events.
- Summary of Observation
Give
a summary of the recording which was listened, using the notes that are taken
down. During this process, only important facts, relevant details, main idea
and the key facts are covered. This is a good time saving technique, to prevent
going through the notes again and again.
- Building your Vocabulary
Above
all it is also important to build a student’s vocabulary, to find the meaning
of a word, according to the context of the speaker. Students should get
familiar with the words which they consider as new ones and practice them in
their everyday life.
The
steps and the requirements in TOEFL strategies for listening section, which are
elaborated above should be followed and practiced to manage time while taking
up the test. The most important part in listening section is to concentrate on
the subject of the speaker, and a student does not have to be distracted by the
accent.
The Listening Comprehension section
tests your ability to understand both short and long conversations in English.
The section contains recorded material that is similar to what you might hear
if you were with a group of students at an English-speaking college or
university. The language includes
·
vocabulary
and idiomatic expressions common to spoken English
·
special grammatical constructions used in
speech
There are three
parts to this section, with special directions for each part. Answer all
questions based on what is stated or implied by the speakers you hear.
Here is an example.
On the recording, you will hear:
(woman) : I
don't like this painting very much
(man) :
Neither do I.
(narrator) : What does the man mean
In your test book, you will read:
A.
He doesn't like the painting either.
B.
He doesn't know how to paint.
C.
He
doesn't have any paintings.
D.
He doesn't know what to do.
You learn from
the conversation that neither the man nor the woman likes the painting. The
best answer to the question, "What does the man mean?" is A, "He
doesn't like the painting either." Therefore, the correct choice is A.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1.
You will hear :
(man) :
Shall I lock up the computer lab now before I go home?
(woman) : Don't bother. I'm not leaving for a while, I
can check it on my way out.
(narrator) : What will the woman probably do?
You will read :
A. Lock
the computer lab later.
B. Leave
with the man.
C. Buy
a new lock for the computer lab.
D. Show
the man where the lab is.
2.
You will hear :
(man) :
Do you mind if I turn the television off?
(woman) : Well, I'm in the middle of watching a
program.
(narrator) : What does the woman imply?
You will read :
A. The
man should watch the program too.
B. The
man should leave the television on.
C. The
program will be over soon.
D. She'll
watch television later.
3.
You will hear :
(woman) : I
heard the math requirements for graduation are being changed.
(man) Yes. And I may be short one course.
(narrator) What does the man mean?
