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TOEFL iBT Listening Practice: Top 5 Tips To Gain Admission To Your Dream College”

The TOEFL iBT listening exam can pass you by in a blur. You can only listen to each passage once, and you have to answer many difficult listening comprehension questions.
  • What if you can’t remember details of the lecture?
  • What if you miss important passages because you are fumbling with your notes?
  • What if you can’t figure out the main topic of a lecture or conversation?
These TOEFL preparation mistakes could cost you points and force you to retake the test. But you can avoid these pitfalls and succeed the first time if you follow these 5 TOEFL Listening Practice tips.

A recent peer-reviewed, academic study at The University Kebangsaan Malaysia discovered that English learners who use meta-cognitive listening strategies are statistically more likely to score high on English tests like the TOEFL listening test. [1]

Leveraging a meta-cognitive strategy for TOEFL listening practice requires taking full responsibility for your learning by being proactive. First they set a learning goal, plan according to a defined schedule and implements the learning plan. The person using a meta-cognitive strategy reviews results their getting with their current plan. If the study and preparation regime is succeeding, he or she continues using what is working. If he or she is not achieving the learning objective fast enough they change their plan accordingly until they find what works best.

So how can you do this?…

…It’s very easy. Keep reading for the best 5 free practice methods for the TOEFL iBT Listening section.
  1. Practice For Difficult TOEFL iBT Listening Lectures With Free Samples

    There are many free online TOEFL listening practice resources with lessons and sample questions just like the real test. These resources are valuable practice test tools. Here we have created a list of the top websites:
    • Official ETS TOEFL Preparation
    • English-Test.net
    • Voice of America Learning English News

  2. Build Your English Vocabulary… By Being Lazy!

    The TOEFL iBT listening section has 2 types of passages: lectures and casual conversations. Although you may need to study lecture vocabulary carefully, you can improve your conversational listening skills by watching television. Television shows like sitcoms and news are packed full of short conversations, and you can build your vocabulary just by listening and looking for visual clues.

    To get the best test preparation and score results write out a brief summary of the dialogue during each commercial for listening practice. This will also improve your skills for the writing section.

  3. Improve Your TOEFL iBT Listening Score By Finding The Main Idea

    Many test-takers struggle to find the main idea of lectures or casual conversations. With lectures, listen carefully at the very beginning. Usually, that is when the lecturer states his topic, and the details come afterward. Also, listen for phrases like “Today we are going to talk about…” or “Today we will discuss…” On the other hand, with casual conversations, listen for phrases like “What can I help you with?” or “We need to talk about…” These phrases usually introduce what the main idea.

    Links To TOEFL Practice Tools And Tactics


    This is very important to get at the beginning because knowing the subject introduced will build a context from which you can comprehend much easier.

  4. Learn Critical TOEFL iBT Listening Test Note-Taking Skills

    ETS allows you to take notes during all sections of the test, including the TOEFL iBT listening test. But you need to be smart about your notes, or you will become overwhelmed. Do not try to write everything you hear! Instead, focus on main ideas, information you hear repeatedly, and words or phrases that are emphasized by the speaker’s voice or body movements. Additionally, use abbreviations, symbols, and simple diagrams to take more useful and faster notes. And remember that you can take notes in your native language if it is easier for you.

  5. Put It All Together With The P.S.A. TOEFL Listening Practice Strategy

    Now that you have created real world TOEFL listening practice tests and you know key skills to study, you can put it all together with the P.S.A. strategy. It is an easy and helpful meta-cognitive TOEFL iBT listening strategy, scientifically proven to help you succeed.

    P.S.A. means is that you are Purposeful and Self-Aware. How do you do it?

    • To be Purposeful, you need to have a clear goal every time you practice TOEFL iBT listening. Decide ONE skill that you will FOCUS on. It could be note taking, finding the main idea, or something else. The important thing is to pick ONE helpful skill and FOCUS on it.
    • To be Self-Aware, you must evaluate yourself on that skill after every review session. Ask yourself: What did I do well? What am I still struggling with? For example, am I still tempted to write everything I hear instead of just the important words? Then, practice again and FOCUS on your weaknesses until you have mastered the skill.
You could take the first step right now by clicking one of the links above and doing a TOEFL iBT listening practice test questions. Take 100% responsibility for the exam score you get by being a conscientious test prep planner and proactive test preparer. To do that, try out the P.S.A. method immediately without delay. If you do, you’ll systematically destroy your testing weaknesses and be prepare for your exam date.

Sources cited

[1]http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/9703/6940

Others read but not cited

http://gmatclub.com/forum/writing-notes-strategy-on-the-listening-part-114688.html
http://my.englishclub.com/group/toefl/forum/topics/toefl-listening-help
http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl/5804-listening-section-toefl.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/just-finished-my-toefl/53177-about-listening-section.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl-listening/125416-what-should-be-strategy.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl-listening/95116-how-can-i-take-note.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl-listening/95777-scientific-lectures-how-deal-them.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl-listening/96227-what-lecture-mainly-about-pff.html
http://gmatclub.com/forum/best-resources-to-tackle-each-section-of-the-toefl-ibt-144802.html
http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-listening.htm
http://i-courses.org/listening-tips
http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/toefl_listening_tips
http://home.soka.ac.jp/~alex/sokhome06b/lrtips/listip1.html
http://www.manhattanreview.com/blog/five-tips-to-improve-your-toefl-listening-score/

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