LISTENING

SKILLS
TOEFL Preparation
Erna Wati, M.St

QUESTION TYPES
Part A: Mini Dialogues (30 questions)
- Choose the correct printed answer to a spoken question based on a

very short spoken dialogue.

Part B: Longer Conversation (7-8 questions)

-Choose the correct printed answer to a series of question about a

longer spoken dialogue between two people.

Part C: Talks (12-13 questions)

- Choose the correct printed answer to a series of questions about

talk given by one speaker.

PART A: MINI
DIALOGUES

EXAMPLE
You will hear:
(Man)

: This view is really something else!

(Woman)) : Ill say!

(Question): What does the woman mean?

A. She has something to say

C. Se wants to see something

B. She agrees with the man

D. She thinks its time to

else

review something

else

MINI DIALOGUE STRATEGIES

1. Be careful of vocabulary.
2. Be careful of sounds.
3. Listen carefully to the intonation and stress of each spoken sentence.
4. Be careful of spoken structures.
5. Listen carefully to the second speaker.
6. Determine the situation in the dialogue.
7. Determine the topic of the dialogue.
8. Determine the language functions in the dialogue.
9. Guess if you dont know the answer to a question
10. Use extra time between questions to look ahead at the answer choices.

1. KEY WORDS AND KEY WORD SYNONYMS

1. I will make a cake for supper.
I will bake a cake for dinner

2. The laboratory is closed this evening

3. I didnt really understand the lecture

2. IDIOMS
You will hear
M: Look, what youve done?
W: Wait a minute! Jane had a hand in this mess, too!
Q: What does the woman say about Jane?

A. Janes job is messy

C. Jane put her hand in the dirt

B. Jane is partly responsible for this situation D. Jane applauded

2. IDIOMS CONTD (IDENTIFY THE IDIOM)

1. Jane always seems happy. She really knows how to look on the

bright side of things.

2. There was a big scratch on the side of his new car

3. I thought Jake was serious, but he was only pulling my leg.
4. The airplane couldnt get off the ground because of the bad

weather

5. Peter is areal ball of fire

3. CHECK WORDS WITH MANY MEANINGS

You will hear
M: Jacks been very busy lately, hasnt he?
W: Yes. Hes running his fathers office!
Q: What does the woman mean?

A. Jack runs to his fathers office

office

C. Jack manages his fathers

B. Jacks father is running for a public office D. Jack is running away

from his

fathers office

3. CHECK WORDS WITH MANY MEANINGS

CONTD
1. Clear

A. Cloudless

B. Obvious

C. Approve D. Intelligible
2. Park
A. Garden

B. Playground

C. Live in a place
D. Boulevard

4. CHECK SOUND ALIKE

You will hear
M: What are Jane Smiths children up to these days?
W: Her daughter is in Tennessee. Her thirty-year-old son is living with his father.
Q: What does the woman say about Jane Smiths son?

A. Her son, who is thirteen years old, is leaving his fathers.

B. Her son, who is thirty years old, stay with his dad
C. Her thirty year old son will go a little farther
D. Her third son lives with his father

5. CHECK EXCLAMATIONS
Exclamations: express strong emotion, such as pleasure, disbelief,

excitement, anticipation, enthusiasm and displeasure.

1. What (+adjective) + noun (+subject + verb)!

What a beautiful

day

it

is

What a day
2. How + adjective / adverb (+ subject + verb)!

How

beautiful

How beautiful!

it

is

6. CHECK QUESTION INTONATION

You will hear
M: A strange man answered the telephone at Anns house

W: She has a brother, doesnt she?

(rising question intonation)

Q: What does the woman mean?

A. I dont think Ann has a brother

B. Doesnt Ann have a brother?
C. I am quite sure that Ann has a brother
D. What do you think of Anns brother?

7. CHECK NEGATIVES
1. Negative Words: Never, Nobody, No, None, No one, Nothing, Nowhere
-John is not here today
- None of that soup has been eaten
2. Negative Prefixes : de-, dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, non-, un -Illogical (not logical)
-impossible (not possible)
3. Almost Negative expression: barely, hardly, scarcely (which describe how much)

and rarely, seldom (which describe how often).

We barely/hardly/scarcely had enough money to pay for the concert

We rarely/seldom go to the concerts

8. CHECK TIME
You will hear
M: Is Andrew still looking for a new car?
W: He bought one last week
Q: What does the man mean?

A. Andrew is buying a new car this week

B. Andrews new car lasted only a week
C. Andrew has borrowed my new car for the week
D. Andrew purchased a new car a week ago

9. CHECK CONDITIONS, WISHES AND

CAUSES
You will hear
M: Surprise! I thought Id take a chance and see if you were home.
W: Please come in! If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake!
Q: What does the woman mean?

A. She will bake a cake for the man as soon as possible

B. She knew that the man was coming, so he baked a cake
C. She didnt know the woman was coming, so she didnt bake a cake
D. Les bake a cake when the man comes.

10. CHECK WHO DOES WHAT

Causative Sentence: Have, Let, Make, Get
1. Peter gave Mary a ring
Who gave the ring

Peter

2. This ring was given to Mary by Peter. (Passive Sentence)

Who gave the ring

Peter

3. Peter got Joe to give Mary a ring. (Causative construction)

Who gave the ring? Joe

You will hear:

M: Who can help us clean the room?
W: Ill have Janice do it.
Q: What does the woman mean?

A. Janice will clean the room for her

B. Janice is out f the room
C. She will clean the room for Janice
D. Janice cleaned for her

11. CHECK THE SITUATION

Who is the woman/man?,

have?,

What job does the woman/man probably

Where does this conversation probably take place?

You will hear

M: I should be able to perform your surgery tomorrow morning
W: Ill be glad when its over
Q: What job does the man probably have?

A. Doctor
B. Performer
C. Lawyer
D. Plumber

12. CHECK THE TOPIC

You will hear
M: Today is my birthday
W: Really? How old are you?
Q: What does the woman want to know about the man?

A. What he does for a living

B. How many days he will be staying in town
C. His age
D. His name

13. CHECK LANGUAGE FUNCTION

Requesting Permission

Do you mind if I use your pen?

Requesting information

Do you know where the library is?

Requesting that someone to do something

Would you mind open the window?

Requesting advice or an opinion

What do you think of this dress?

Giving advice or opinion

Why not do your homework now?

Suggesting speaker and listener do

Why dont we go the concert tonight?

something together

Offering to do something

Would you like another cup of tea?

Agreeing with suggestion, advice etc

Sure / Ill say / Great idea/ Sounds

Disagreeing with suggestion, advice,

opinion

Refusing offers ad requests

good

No thanks, I dont need it now

You must be kidding! / Not likely!

13. CHECK LANGUAGE FUNCTION

(CONTD)
You will hear
M: Do you mind if I turn down the stereo?
W: The volume is already quite low.
Q: What can be inferred from the womans response?

A. She is feeling low

B. The man should not turn down the music
C. The stereo is broken
D. The man should listen to the stereo with her

14. CHECK AHEAD TO PREDICT QUESTION

See the handout

PRACTICE
POINT 1 TO 14

PART B &C:
LONGER
CONVERSATION &
SHORT TALKS

STRATEGIES
Do not turn the pages while the instructions for part B or part C are being read
Listen carefully to the short introductory statement given before each passage.
Quickly determine the situation and the topic passage
Listen carefully for facts and details.
Questions about facts and details occur in the same order that you hear them

in the passage.

Guess if you dont know the answer to a question. Part B and C different have

different strategy from part A in this point. Choose the answer that the MOST
like in the passage.

Use extra time between questions to look ahead at the answers

CHECKPOINTS
1. Check ahead to predict topics and questions
2. Check the first lines of each passage
3. Check to answer fact and inference questions

PRACTICE