Tips and Trick Listening Toefl

TOEFL Listening Tips

Now, let’s take a look at our best TOEFL strategies for the Listening section.

#1: Watch and Listen to English News

One great way to improve your listening skills is to watch English-language news stations, such as CNN and BBC.

If these stations are too difficult for you, though, you can instead start with English news websites geared toward English-language learners. One solid option is VOA Learning English, which provides news audio clips at a slightly slower pace.

BBC Learning English is another helpful resource that breaks down news stories into clear stepsand offers audio clips as well as definitions of relevant vocabulary words.

#2: Listen to English Podcasts

Another way to hone your listening skills is to listen to English podcasts. Podcasts allow you to hear how native speakers talk in English. They’re especially helpful because they don’t use videos or transcripts to guide you, meaning you must rely entirely on your listening skills in order to understand what’s being said.

Many podcasts are available through iTunes and various websites. Language-learning website FluentU offers a useful list of English podcasts you can incorporate into your TOEFL prep.

#3: Be Able to Understand Different English Accents

On TOEFL Listening, most speakers will have a North American accent, but you will also hear at least one non-North American accent, which could be a UK, Australian, or New Zealand accent.

If you primarily studied American English, you won’t need to worry too much about this. But you should still expose yourself to non-American accents. The best way to prepare is to speak with native English speakers who are not from North America. Additionally, you can try listening to non-American news stations and podcasts (see #22 and #23).

On the other hand, if you studied UK, Australian, New Zealand, or a different (non-American) form of English, you’ll definitely need to familiarize yourself with the North American accent. One easy way to do this is to watch movies and TV shows from the US and Canada. You can also listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos, or chat with native English speakers from North America.

#4: Pay Close Attention to Replayed Audio Clips

On Listening, sometimes a small clip from a lecture or conversation you listened to will be replayed before you answer a particular question. In these cases, always pay close attention to the replayed clip. This is because the clip will for sure contain the answer to the question that comes after it.

Even if you’ve already taken detailed notes on the full audio clip, listen closely to the replayed clip—you might catch something important you didn’t hear the first time around! 

Source: https://www.prepscholar.com/toefl/blog/toefl-tips-strategies/