STRATEGY LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN TOEFL

The first in 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.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

1. Be familiar with the directions.
2. Listen carefully to the conversations and talks.
3. Know where the easier and more difficult questions are generally found.
4. Never leave any answers blank on your answer sheet.
5. Use any remaining time to look ahead at the answer to the questions that follow.

There are three parts in the Listening Comprehension section of the TOEFL test:

1. Part A consists of thirty short conversations, each followed by a question. You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your test book. 
2. Part B consists of two long conversations, each followed by a number questions. You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your text book.
3. Part C There are three conversation, each of them following by  some question. 

Part A: SHORT CONVERSATION

There are 30 shorts conversation, every conversation following by question.You must choose the best answer for every question which are mentioned by the speaker. As for the keys that you can use in the face of Listening Comprehension Part A is as follows:

1. As you listen to each short conversation, focus on the second line of the conversation.
2. Choose answer with synonyms. Keep in mind that the correct answer is probably a restatement of a key word or idea in the second line of the conversation. Keep in mind that certain structures and expressions are tested regularly in Listening part A. Listen for these structures and expressions:

·        Structures (passive, negatives, wishes, conditions)

·        Functional expressions (agreement, uncertainty, suggestion, surprise)

·        Idiomatic expressions (two-part verbs, three-part verbs, idioms)

·        If you know a few words, choose the answer that contains s restatement

·        If you didn’t understand anything at all in the second line, choose the answer that sounds the most different from what you heard.

·        Never choose an answer because it sounds like what you heard in the conversation

1. Keep in mind that these questions generally progress from easy to difficult.
2. Read the answers and choose the best answer to each question.
3. Even if you do not understand the complete conversation, you can find the correct answer.

Example : 
He                   : hi, how are you today ?                                                                                 

She                : i’m fine                                                                                                     
 Narrator          : what does she feel today in dialogue ?

                A.    Sad

                B.    Angry

                C.    Good

                D.    Hungry 

You only need to remember the word "today" and "fine". Questions were asked only a restatement. So you will understand the purpose of the second speaker that she feel today is fine good. So you choose the answer (C).

Part B: LONGER CONVERSATION

There are two long conversation, each of them following by some question. So, in one conversation contain the information to answers some question( 2 or 3) question.

STRATEGIES FOR THE LISTENING PART B QUESTIONS

    1.     If you have time, preview the answers to the Listening Part B questions. While you are looking at the answers, you should try to do the following:

·       Anticipate the topics of the conversations you will hear.

·       Anticipate the questions for each of the groups of answers.

   2.     Listen carefully to the first line of the conversation. The first line of the conversation often contains the main idea, subject, or topic of the conversation, and you will often be asked to answer such questions.

   3.     As you listen to the conversation, draw conclusions about the situation of the conversation: who is talking, where the conversation takes place, or when it takes place. You will often be asked to make such inferences about the conversation.

  4.     As you listen to the conversation, follow along with the answers in your test book and try to determine the correct answers. Detail questions are generally answered in order in the conversation, and the answers often sound the same as what is said in the recording program.

   5.     You should guess even if you are not sure. Never leave any answers blank.

   6.     Use any remaining time to look ahead at the answers to the questions that follow.

Example          :
Narrator          :           Question 1 through 3. Listen to a conversation between two people.       
A                :           welcome in anna shoes store, may i help you ?                                    
 B                     :           i will buy a shoes                                                                                
 A                     :           let’s go to the corner. You can see our newest collections               
 B                     :           i choose this shoes, how much is it ?                                                 
 A                     :           thirty five dollars, madame                                                                
 B                     :           right, i buy this shoes in cash                                                             
 A                     :           thank you, madame

The questions :

    1.     Narrator          :           what does she buy ?

Answer options :

A.    Cake

B.    Bag

C.    Shoes

D.    Clothes

   2.     Narrator          :           what the name of the store in dialogue ?

Answer options :

A.    Anna shoes store

B.    Shoes store

C.    Cake store

D.    Bags

   3.     Narrator          :           what the price of shoes ?

Answer options :

A.    Twenty five dollars

B.    Thirty five dollars

C.    One hundred dollars

D.    Two hundred dollars

Part C: Talks

consists of three talks, each followed by a number of questions. You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your test book.

ANTICIPATE THE TOPIC

It is very helpful to your overall comprehension if you know what topics to expect in Listening Part C. You should therefore try to anticipate the topic that you will be hearing. (as you did in Listening Part B). For example, are the talks about American history, or literature, or some aspect of school life? A helpful strategy is therefore to look briefly at the answers in the test book, before you actually to hear the talks on the tape, and try to determine the topics of the talks that you will hear.

ANTICIPATE THE QUESTIONS       

It is very helpful to your ability to answer individual questions in Listening Part C if you can anticipate what the questions will be and listen specifically for the answer to those questions (as you did in Listening Part B).

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