Social Diary: Maret 2015

TOEFL Strategies for Listening Section

3/10/2015 06:35:00 AM

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.

Requirements for TOEFL Listening Strategy

Listening strategies for TOEFL aims at providing each and every minute detail that are required to respond to all the questions within the given time in this section. Responding to the questions in time is very important because, it will help TOEFL candidates to save time, which they might spend on, one specific part of the test section.

There are certain steps in strategies that would help in managing time in each part of listening test section (recordings). There are some basic requirements for listening skills which serves the steps in TOEFL listening strategies as detailed below:

§ Basic Comprehension

When students listen to a recorded lecture or a conversation, they should understand the central or main idea in it. Then they should skim the recording for key points, important facts, purpose and the relevant details that connects the key points.

§ Practical Understanding

It may also be called as “pragmatic understanding” where the meaning of a word should be taken, according to the context. Students are needed to find the intended meaning of the speaker i.e. from his point of view. A wide range of vocabulary is necessary for this process because, the recordings in listening test are usually from academic background. Practical understanding also becomes a must to find the purpose of a lecture or a conversation.

§ Relate Ideas given in multiple information sources

Relating ideas is the final state where the key points and the important facts are compared to find the relationship between them. This method would initially lead to construct an argument. Then a string of supportive and non supportive elements are categorized and as a result the causes for the events are traced. This is where a student would end up identifying the conclusion which is expressed indirectly.

§ Inference

Inference is to find the implied conclusion in recordings from the author’s point of view. The conclusion might be implied or expressed indirectly anywhere in the passage.

These are the basic requirements necessary, in each part of the strategy of listening section, which consists of two recorded lectures and one long conversation. These fundamentals are to be followed, in the following few preparatory steps.

Strategies in Preparation

§ Spoken English From Various Sources And Accents

There are variations between the accents of English. It is the best to listen to English from various sources like television, music, radio etc. And also it is good to listen to the native speakers of English with different pronunciation and dialect. By doing this students would be able to improve their listening skills and also they will get used to different kinds of accents. It will be helpful very much if they listen to academic passages or conversations.

§ Making Notes

While you're listening, you'll also be taking notes. You'll be able to use these notes as you answer the questions. Here's how to take notes effectively:

- Don't write down every word. Your pencil is not as fast as the speakers. You'll just end up falling behind and writing down one part of the passage while you're listening to another, which can be confusing. Instead?

- Write down key names, places, events, and main points. Write only as much as you need to jog your memory later. For example, if a person in the dialog spends three or four sentences talking about how furious she is that she got a C on her paper, you could just write down 'student - angry - C.'

- For multiple people, try a column chart. If you have a lecture passage with multiple speakers, it helps to make a chart that looks something like this.

Then, you can write down what each person says or other important details about them in an appropriate column. Just from reading this chart, you can almost reconstruct the whole conversation in just a few words and symbols of notes.

Write your notes however you like. It's perfectly fine to use smiley faces, abbreviations, diagrams, text speak, pictures, or slang in your notes; you won't be graded on the notes and nobody else will ever see them. They're only there to help you, so write down the information in a way that makes sense to you.

§ Main Idea

The main idea of a passage should be identified in a recording, as a first task while taking notes. Main idea of a lecture is usually given in the introductory part. The other details would be given in the rest of a lecture. Once the main idea is found it becomes a lighter task to find the purpose of the speaker.

§ Pointer Words, Important Facts And Relationship Between The Facts

The pointer words may be defined as signal words or clues, given by the speaker. These keywords should be collected along with important facts and events. This should be done in order to compare them and identify the relationship between them. In turn this would give you the cause of the events.

§ Summary of Observation

Give a summary of the recording which was listened, using the notes that are taken down. During this process, only important facts, relevant details, main idea and the key facts are covered. This is a good time saving technique, to prevent going through the notes again and again.

§ Building your Vocabulary

Above all it is also important to build a student’s vocabulary, to find the meaning of a word, according to the context of the speaker. Students should get familiar with the words which they consider as new ones and practice them in their everyday life.

The steps and the requirements in TOEFL strategies for listening section, which are elaborated above should be followed and practiced to manage time while taking up the test. The most important part in listening section is to concentrate on the subject of the speaker, and a student does not have to be distracted by the accent.

Question types:

Understanding Gist

What is the main topic of the lecture
What are the speakers mainly discussing
What is the lecture mainly about...
Why does the professor ask...
Why is the student talking to...
Why does the professor discuss...

Understanding the Gist questions test your ability to understand the main idea and purpose of what you have heard. These questions are not about specific details. Some Gist questions focus on the purpose while others focus on the content.

Detail

According to the professor, what is the problem with...
What does the student say about...
What caused...

You will likely need your notes to help you answer the detail questions. Remember to take down important facts as you listen. Examples and support for the main idea are often the subject of detail questions. You will not be asked questions about minor details. Make sure not to pick an answer choice just because you heard a word from the lecture. It is common to find these words in the incorrect choices.

Understanding Attitude

What is the student's impression of...
How does the professor feel about...
What does the professor mean when she says...(listen again)

Listen to the sound of the speakers' voices for hints about their attitudes and opinions about the topic.

Understanding Function

What does the student imply when she says this...(listen again)
What is the purpose of the professor's response...(listen again)

Part of the listening passage will often be replayed in these questions. Make sure that you are listening for function of what is being said.

Organization

How is the lecture organized?
Why does the speaker mention/discuss...

These questions are most commonly paired with lectures. As you listen, take note of how each lecture is organized (chronologically/compare and contrast) in case you get one of these questions.

Making Connections

What does the speaker imply about...
What does the professor imply when he says...(listen again)
Organize...in a chart...
Place the following sequence of events in order

These questions require you to draw conclusions, understand relationships, and make inferences. You may have to fill out a chart or match terms with definitions.

Try the following Listening examples. Remember that in the real test you will hearthese parts. You will not see them, but you will be allowed to take down any notes while you listen. You will hear each section once only.

Example 1: Casual conversation

Now get ready to answer the questions.

1. What are the speakers mainly discussing?

A) Their plans for next semester
B) Why the woman can't go to the concert
C) Their favorite band
D) Finding a tutor

Explanation:

Choice A is incorrect because they are discussing the woman's plans, not the man's.
Choice C is incorrect because the man suggests it is supposed to be "the best show," but does not say it is his favorite band.
Choice D repeats the word tutor, which is related to tutorial leader, but neither of the speakers are looking for one. Again, it is not the main idea.