The TOEFL listening section starts right after the reading task. The content of the task is again more academic and scientific. The topics are anywhere from history to astronomy. So the topics are vast but again requires no prior information or background related with the topics.
However, it is importance to note that the vocabulary related to the topic of the listening should be known beforehand. Otherwise, it will be a huge challenge to understand the listening part. Learning vocabulary related with the topics will help you understand the context which in return help you improve your score. There will also be daily conversations which are relatively easier to understand. For example, conversation between professor and student.
The listening parts are recorded in a way that they are easier to understand. The voice is clear and without any disruptions.
TOEFL Listening Question Types
The question types in the listening section are like in the following:
- Detail
- Main idea
- Function
- Attitude
- Inference
- Organization
- Categories
TOEFL Listening Tips
It is important to know that writing down notes is the key to success on this section and we should be doing it while we are listening the audio. We should then take notes in a way that we can both listen and write down the important parts.
We do not have to write everything down on the paper. What is important is to know that the details are generally emphasized during the lectures or conversations. In the lecture part we should structure our notes in a way that when we answer the questions we can find them in our notes. My recommendation is to write down dates and important terms as a headline to structure the note. We are not directly going to be asked something about the specific date but it will help us structure our note.
We will have 30 seconds to answer each question. Unlike other sections in the listening section time is not a concern that we need to pay attention. There is not much to thing. Almost all the time answer is right there on our sheet or we could be able to retain some of the information so that we can directly answer without even looking the notes.
You can also check out my Youtube channel where I present the strategies or view them here to tackle the listening questions
Check out ETS website for more information on getting your scores.