4 Tips to Succeed in TOEIC Listening Section!
Tip 1: Keep up with the soundtrack pace.
The test is long and the types of questions are very much in the same format. It is difficult
to concentrate on them. On the other hand, you will often have doubts between several
answer choices and run out of time to answer. When a new question is announced and
you haven't answered the previous question yet, answer randomly and focus on the next
question. Don't try to go back.
Don’t forget to answer all questions even if you must answer randomly. You do not lose
any points in case of a wrong answer. You just don’t earn any.
Tip 2: Get ahead of the soundtrack and anticipate possible answers.
While the narrator repeats the instructions for one part, you should concentrate on the
question ahead. As soon as you have answered a question, you can prepare for the next
one.
For Part 1, you can look at the pictures and imagine sentences describing the images.
This will make it easier to identify the correct answer. For parts 3 and 4, reading the
questions before listening to the dialogue or monologue is very helpful. It gives you
information about the context, which makes it easier to understand the passage. In
addition, it allows you to focus on the details of the soundtrack that you will need to
answer the questions correctly.
Tip 3: Improve your TOEIC vocabulary.
For part 1, you must master:
The prepositions of place
Verbs of movement (they will be used in continuous form "be + -ing")
For parts 3 and 4, some themes are recurring like:
Making an appointment
Weather reports
Business trips for a seminar or a conference
Communication in business
Trade
Tip 4: Get to know the typical questions of part 2.
Part 2 is not difficult to study, there is a limited number of concepts tested and the same
tricks come up several times during the same test.
Yes / No questions . These are closed questions that await an affirmative or
negative answer.
Open questions . These are questions starting with an interrogative pronoun like
"what / where / when / how long / how many / how much ...". You have to focus
on the first word of the question which tells you if the answer is a thing, a place, a
date, etc...