Tài liệu TOEFL STUDY GUIDE PART 2 LISTENING COMPREHENSION docx

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 no

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

m Clicking on two choices: testing main reasons or supporting

details; similar to traditional multiple choice but with two

correct answers (usually four options total)

Matching/ordering objects or text: testing comprehension of a

process, understanding of a categorization of groups

We do not specify that a certain number of these types of questions

be used; one type is not necessarily more difficult than the others;

each type can range from easy to difficult

Use of visuals

Can take advantage of the multimedia capability of the computer by

using photos and graphics to create context and support the content

of the lectures, and more closely approximate "real world" situations

(in which we don't just listen to voices)

Use of visuals in two ways:

1 Context - photos of the speaker or speakers that provide

setting for the stimulus (e.g., photos of lecturer, photo of

speakers conversing); every set has a context-setting visual

2 Content - reinforces what the stimulus is about; visuals are

authentic to lectures (e.g., diagram of a cell or key terms from

lecture written on the board); half of the sets in the pool have

a content-related visual; the visuals are used only if they fit

well with the lecture

Some pictures are associated with more than one dialogue of short

conversation, but because of selection rules it is unlikely that

examinees will encounter this It is possible to have the same people

in different pictures Examinees should concentrate on listening to

the dialogue or short conversation and not focus on the visuals

Pacing

Examinee-controlled pace; you control the pace of how soon the

next question is presented; however, now test takers need to exercise

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:

m Main ideas (including the order of a process and categorizing

topics/objects)

m Supporting ideas

m Important details

m Inferences

Listening Section Tip 21

For the computer-based test, you will not see the answer choices

before you hear the question

Listening Section Tip 22

A trap answer choice is one that means the opposite of the right

answer choice

Listening Section Tip 23

A trap answer choice is one that uses some of the same sounds and

words as those in the stem (ex: Some day sounds like Sunday)

Listening Section Tip 24

Guess the question (answer choices: meaning, circumstance, action)

1 MEANING: subject and a verb in each answer choice

(example: what does the man/woman imply, suggest, infer,

conclude);

2 CIRCUMSTANCE: do not have a subject or a verb in each

answer choice (place, name or detail);

3 ACTION: have a verb in each answer choice (verb

examples; go, do, stay, save, wait)

Listening Section Tip 25

Three ways to find the right answer:

1 OPPOSITES: if there is one pair of opposites in the answer,

one of them is likely to be the right answer;

2 COMMON SENSE: too extreme, wrong topics, silly;

3 SOUND-ALIKES: an incorrect answer choice often contains

words that sound like the words in the stem