Strategies on Listening Comprehension in Toefl (Part 2)

LONG CONVERSATIONS

Two long conversations, each followed by a number of multiple-choice questions, appear in Part B of the Listening Comprehension section of the paper TOEFL test. You will hear the conversations and the questions on a recording; they are not written in your test book. You must choose the best answer to each multiple-choice question from the four choices that are written in your test book.

The conversations are often about some aspect of school life (how difficult a class is, how to write a research paper, how to register for a course). The conversations can also be about topics currently in the news in the United States (desalination of the water supply, recycling of used products, damage from a storm or some other type of natural phenomenon)

PROCEDURES FOR THE LONG CONVERSATIONS 

1. If you have time, preview the answers to the questions. While you are looking at the answers, you should try to do the following: Anticipate the topics of the conversations you will hear. and 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 on the recording.
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.

BEFORE LISTENING

SKILL 18: ANTICIPATING THE TOPICS

It is very helpful to your overall comprehension if you know what topics to expect in the long conversations. You should therefore try to anticipate the topics you will be hearing. For example, are the conversations about some aspect of school life, or some type of social issue, or a trip someone is planning? A helpful strategy is therefore to look briefly at the answers in the test book, before you actually hear the conversations on the recording, and try to determine the topics of the conversations that you will hear.

SKILL 19: ANTICIPATE THE QUESTIONS

It is very helpful to your ability to answer individual questions with the long conversations if you can anticipate what the questions will be and listen specifically for the answers to those questions.

WHILE LISTENING

SKILL 20: DETERMINE THE TOPIC

As you listen to each long conversation, you should be thinking about the topic (subject) or main idea for each conversation. Since the first one or two sentences generally give the topic, you should be asking yourself what the topic is while you are listening carefully to the first part of the conversation.

Skill 21: DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE

As you listen to each long conversation, you should be trying to set the situation in your mind. You should be thinking the following thoughts:

1. Who is talking?
2. When does the conversation probably take place?
3. Where does the conversation probably take place?
4. What is the source of information for the conversation ?

SKILL 22: LISTEN FOR ANSWERS IN ORDER

There are two possible methods to use while you listen to a long conversation:

1. You can just listen to the conversation (and ignore the answers).
2. You can follow along with the answers while you listen.

Some students prefer to just listen to the conversation while it is being spoken, and if that method works well for you, then that is what you should do. Other students find that they can answer more questions correctly if they read along with the answers while the conver¬sation is being spoken. Because the detail questions are answered in order, it is possible to read along while you listen to the conversation on the recording.

LONG TALKS

Three talks, each followed by a number of multiple-choice questions, appear in Part C of the Listening Comprehension section of the paper TOEFL test. You will hear the talks and the questions on a recording; they are not written in your test book. You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices that are written in your test book. Like the conversations in Part B, the talks are often about some aspect of school life or topics currently in the news. It is also very common for the talks to be shortened versions of lec¬tures from courses taught in American colleges and universities.

 PROCEDURES FOR THE LONG TALKS

1.  If you have time, preview the answers to the questions. While you are looking at the answers, you should try to do the following: Anticipate the topics of the talks you will hear. And Anticipate the questions for each of the groups of answers. 
2. Listen carefully to the first line of the talk. The first line of the talk often contains the main idea, subject, or topic of the talk, and you will often be asked this type of question. 
3. As you listen to the talk, draw conclusions about the situation of the talk: who is talking, where or when the talk takes place, which course this lecture might be given in. You will often be asked to make such inferences about the talk.
4. As you listen to the talk, 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 talk, and the answers often sound the same as what is said on the recording. 
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.

 

BEFORE LISTENING

SKILL 23: ANTICIPATE THE TOPICS

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

SKILL 24: ANTICIPATE THE QUESTIONS

It is very helpful to your ability to answer individual questions with the long talks if you can anticipate what the questions will be and listen specifically for the answers to those ques¬tions (as you did with the long conversations).

 WHILE LISTENING

SKILL 25: DETERMINE THE TOPIC

As you listen to each long talk, you should be thinking about the topic (subject) or main idea for the talk (as you did with the long conversations). Since the first sentence is gener¬ally a topic sentence, you should be asking yourself what the topic is while you are listening carefully to the first part of the talk.

Skill 26: DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE

As you listen to each talk, you should be trying to set the situation in your mind (as you did with the long conversations). You should be thinking the following thoughts:

1. Who is talking?
2. When does the talk probably take place?
3. Where does the talk probably take place?
4. What course is the talk concerned with ?
5. What is the source of information for the talk ?

SKILL 27: LISTEN FOR ANSWERS IN ORDER

There are two possible methods to use while you listen to the talks.

1. You can just listen to the talk (and ignore the answers).
2. You can follow along with the answers while you listen.

Some students prefer to just listen to the talk while it is being spoken, and if that method works well for you, then that is what you should do. Other students find that they can answer more questions correctly if they read along with the answers while the talk is being given. Because the detail questions are answered in order, it is possible to read along while you listen to the talk on the recording.

Reference

 Phillips, Deborah. 2001.  Longman Complete Course for the TOEF Test: Preparation for the Computer and Paper Tests