TOEFL STUDY GUIDE

PART 2

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Test Design Features
Length: 40-60 minutes (15-25 minutes are actually for response
time; the time spent listening to the stimuli is not counted).
Number of Questions: 30-50 questions
m Dialogues: 11 - 17 with 1 item each
m Short conversations: 2 - 3 sets with 2-3 questions per set
m Mini-lectures/academic discussions: up to 2.5 minutes in
length, 4 -6 sets with 3 - 6 questions per set.
Headphones with adjustable volume control
Examinees will both see and hear the questions before the answer
choices appear.
This section is computer-adaptive.
Types of Listening Material
Dialogues and short conversations (traditional multiple-choice
questions only)
Segments of classroom lectures on academic topics (traditional and
new question types)
Segments of academic discussions on academic topics involving
multiple speakers (traditional and new question types)
Types of Listening Questions
Mostly traditional multiple-choice questions (1 stem and 4 options)
Some new question types that are not single-selection multiple
choice:
m Clicking on a picture or parts of a picture: not very different
from traditional multiple-choice

time management. (With the paper TOEFL the pace of the questions
was determined by the tape recording; examinees had 11 seconds to
respond to each question.)
Notetaking
You are not allowed to take notes or have any notes at their
computer. (NOTE: Research we have conducted indicates that you
do not perform any better when allowed to take notes. In fact, some
may perform worse because they may focus on taking notes or
specific details rather than listening for an overall understanding of
the stimulus.)

Listening Section Tips 18 - 25
Listening Section Tip 18
In the Listening Section of the computer-based exam, it is important
NOT to GUESS the answers! Do not try to fill in the answers if you
run out of time. It will not make a difference in your score if you
guess on the other sections of the exam.
Tip 19
For Listening, you must answer and confirm each question before
going on. In these sections they should use effective guessing
strategies:
1. If you get stuck on a difficult question, you should eliminate
as many answer choices as possible and then select and
confirm the answer you think is best.
2. If you find that they are running out of time at the end of a
section, you should NOT randomly guess, because it can
lower your score.
Listening Section Tip 20
Pace yourself - answer as many questions as you can.
The question types in the Listening section include: