Are you or someone you know preparing to take the TOEIC exam? Learn what to expect from the listening section in today’s blog post.
The listening section of the TOEIC exam is broken up into four parts.
Keep reading to learn how to ace each section.
Part 1: Photographs
You will be asked to look at ten photographs. With each photograph, you will listen to a recording. The recording contains four different statements. It is your job to determine which of the statements best describes the photograph. Remember to take in every detail; the statements will be designed to distract you, and details about object placement are the most common distraction. For example, the recording may say something was on the table when it was in fact on the wall. Be careful!
Part 2: Question & Response
This part of the exam is all about your ability to respond to questions. You will listen to a recording of a question being asked, followed by three possible responses. You need to decide which of the responses is correct.
Wh-questions
Wh-questions are open questions. An open question is a question that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. You can expect to hear a lot of them in this part of the test.
Wh- questions you can expect to find
Who/whom
(Used to obtain information about a person or people)
-Question: Who are you? / Whom is he dating?
-Answer: I am your father. / He is dating Miranda.
What
(Used to get information about something, can be used in almost any scenario)
-Question: What does that sign mean?
-Answer: It means all cars must turn left.
When
(Used to get information about time)
-Question: When does the film start?
– Answer: It starts at 8 pm.
Where
(Used to get information about location)
-Question: Where does she live?
-Answer: She lives in New York.
Why
(Used to find the reason or cause for something)
-Question: Why are you late?
-Answer: I am late because my alarm didn’t go off.
Which
(Used to get information for making a comparison)
-Question: Which of these shirts do you like the most?
-Answer: I like the pink one the most.
Whose
(Used to find out who owns something).
-Question: Whose bag is this?
-Answer: It’s my bag!
How
(Used to find out the way something happens)
-Question: How did you get so good at football?
-Answer: I practice every day with my teammates.
*Even though “how” technically doesn’t have a “w”, it counts as an honorary wh- question because it is used in the same way.
Part 3: Conversations
Part three tests your ability to understand conversations. In this section, you will listen to a conversation and answer three multiple choice questions about what you heard. When selecting your answer, you should make sure to look out for word order. Ask yourself: are these words put together correctly? Do they sound right?
Part 4: Talks
In part four, you will listen to a recording of a monologue, or one person talking continuously. It could be a phone message, a TV advertisement, a radio announcement, or any other similar format. This is the hardest part of the listening exam, and it requires you to listen for details and keep your stamina even after completing the previous sections.
General Tips
Process of Elimination
When it comes to multiple-choice questions, I always advise my students to use the process of elimination method. The process of elimination describes a strategy for finding the correct answer where you first cross out each option that you think is wrong. This should leave you with one or two options to choose from which are likely to be correct.
If you don’t know, try anyways
In a multiple-choice question, the answer is always right in front of you. There is always a chance you can guess it correctly, even if you don’t understand the question. Don’t admit defeat by leaving a question blank!
Every detail counts
Details are vitally important in the listening section of the TOEIC. Time is limited, so you need to give each recording your full attention. If you start to feel nervous or overwhelmed, just take a deep breath and refocus your attention on the task at hand.
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