How can I raise my Listening score quickly???
- for many people, Listening Section is the hardest part of the test to improve on quickly. - best way to improve ones listening is to practice over time. watching TV shows or movies in English/ listening to songs in English, talking to native speakers, live in a country in which the predominant language is English.
- Use TOEFL listening books or listen to American news reports. Longman
(all of the books are a little bit easier than the real TOEFL)
- something harder than the real TOEFL: watch American documentaries or news programs, such as CNN and 60 Minutes. NPR (many of its reports are about the same length as those on the TOEFL & very interesting)
- Transcribe real TOEFL tests
Finally, a method that some of my hardest working and most successful students have used is this: They listen to a TOEFL tape and transcribe (write down everything said on the tape) it. Then, they compare what they wrote with the script in the back of the book (most official TOEFL books come with scripts). This takes a long, long time, it could take several hours just for one test, but it is a great method because when you compare, you can see the kinds of mistakes that you are making. For example, you might not hear words that are run together, you might miss some important words, or you might misunderstand some very important words. One of my long-term students, for example, thought one of the speakers in the talk was going to a coffee shop, but when she read the script, she realized it was actually a copy shop.
Its tough to do all these things, but its possible to improve! Just like everything else in life, anything good or worthwhile will take a lot of effort!!
LISTENING MATERIALS
- First, of course the best thing for TOEFL prep is real TOEFL questions. There are many differences between TOEFL material and other listening materials/sources.
- try lots of TOEFL practice!! Listening is kind of like playing soccer, u can study it forever, but the only way to be good is to just practice, practice, practice!!!
SOURCES
- Commercial broadcasts + advertisements: they must appeal to audiences & get their message across quickly and painlessly.
- Various broadcasts:
+ BBC uses British English à not be nearly as helpful as broadcasts .
+ Discovery is great for TOEFL listening.
+ CNN is closer to TOEFL English, but still quite differentreports are relatively short & often not scripted.
+ NPR is a bit more similar to TOEFLreports are more in-depth and are scripted, but higher level of English.
- movies may have the most realistic portrayal of how we really speak, but of course are one of the most difficult things to understand. I dont think movies are nearly as helpful as are these other broadcasts Ive mentioned, at least for people who want to focus directly on listening similar to that on the TOEFL
- one thing about the TOEFL is that u hear the voice from nowhere. à no TV picture or person to look at for help in understanding the meaning.
à listen to the radio, because then u only have the aural information.
Links:
BOOKS
- Barrons is quite sufficient
OVERALL TIPS
- watch movies without subtitles
- listen to online radio stations
- Practice note taking.
- better use CD-ROM than to listen to Audio-CDs
TEST TIPS
- TAKE NOTES. Make use of ur scrap paper (20). Listening > 10-12 sheets.
- Some questions will focus on details à need ur notes for this.
- Be prepared for THE LONGER VERSION.
On my actual toefl, 3 conversations & 6 lectures à Very tiring.
- lectures extend beyond ur normal attention spanà Concentration. Make sure ur mind does not wander
- IGNORE PICTURES. Some came from ETS Official Guide & TOEFL Sampler
- FOCUS on urself & urself only. Whatever it takes for u to concentrate on ur own work, DO IT
nguon:us-guide
