What Factors Should You Keep In Mind When Attempting The Listening Section Of The TOEIC Test?

The listening section of the TOEIC test is an important aspect that can add significant points to your overall TOEIC score. For non-native speakers of English, the listening section seems to be especially challenging, and they often worry about taking these types of questions since the sentences are spoken very quickly.

In the TOEIC test, there are many kinds of questions in the listening section such as Photographs based questions, Questions and Responses, Short Conversations and Short Talks. Here are some tips that will support you to complete the listening section of the test successfully.

Do not get distracted by the environment.
Most likely, you will have to take the TOEIC test in a big hall with many candidates. In this situation, it is important that you maintain your concentration and not let other things in the exam hall distract you. Take a deep breath, be calm, and listen attentively to the questions because you will hear a question only one time.

Expect to hear English conversations in different accents.
In the new TOEIC test, the speakers come from various English speaking countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Although the English accents of these speakers might be different, try to focus on the vocabulary rather than their voice tones.

Try to grasp the key information

In the short conversations and short talks, try to be attentive to the most important factors such as: Who is speaking? What is the purpose? Where is the conversation taking place? And what will they do next? Thereafter, listen to the question, and select the most suitable answer.

Understand the relationship between the two speakers
Usually, in the short conversations part in the TOEIC test, you will hear two people talking with each other. Initially, try to grasp whether they are a superior and subordinate, husband and wife, co-workers in a company, or business executives of two different companies. This will enable you to gain a better insight to the nature of the conversation and to select the correct answer.

Identify where the conversation or short talk is being performed
In the TOEIC test, you should expect to hear many conversations in different work environments, such as a sales company, factory, bank or travel agency. When you hear the talks, it would be helpful to analyze where the conversation is taking place from key words. For example, words like "foreign travel", "ticket reservation" or "flight departure time" can be related to a travel agency or airport. After acquiring this information, you will be able to select the most suitable answer for the questions.

Of course, before taking the listening section of the TOEIC test, it is recommended to listen to English conversation CDs and attempt many practice tests under time restrictions. At the test, even if you were unable to grasp the sense of one listening question, do not worry about it. Try to concentrate more and attempt the next question positively. Practicing many TOEIC sample questions can help you to be more familiar with the type of questions in the listening section.