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I think some people who are studying TOEIC want to improve their listening score but don't know how to study. I used to be one of them. However, as a result of repeated training with appropriate learning methods, I was able to improve my essential listening skills. In addition, I learned the tips and techniques of TOEIC listening and was able to get a perfect score. Therefore, in this article, I will explain the study methods and tips for getting a high score in TOEIC listening. If you are struggling to listen, please refer to it!
Overview of TOEIC listening
Before you start preparing for TOEIC listening, let's check the question format. The TOEIC listening section has 100 questions in total and takes 45 minutes. There is no description problem, and all are in mark sheet format. There is no break on the way, so let's finish the toilet first. The features of each part are as follows.
Part 1
Part 1 is the photo description problem. There are four explanations about the photo, so choose the one that best describes it. The description is not printed and only flows once, so you need to focus on listening. The number of questions is 6, and the time required is about 3 minutes.
part 2
Part 2 is a response problem. At the beginning, one question or sentence will be played only once. After that, there will be three responses, so select and mark the most appropriate one. The question sheet does not have any questions or answers printed on it. The number of questions is 25, and the time required is about 9 minutes.
Part 3
Part 3 is a conversation problem. There is only one conversation between two or three people. Look at the questions and choices printed on the answer sheet and select and mark the most appropriate choice. The English text will be longer than in parts 1 and 2, so the difficulty level will be higher. The number of questions is 39, and the time required is about 17 minutes.
Part 4
Part 4 is a descriptive question. The English text read by one speaker, such as meeting excerpts and answering machine messages, will be played only once. Look at the questions and choices printed on the answer sheet and select and mark the most appropriate choice. As with Part 3, it will be a long English sentence, so high listening skills are required. The number of questions is 30 and the time required is about 16 minutes.
Why can't I hear TOEIC listening?
Many people who do not improve their TOEIC listening score may be worried that they cannot hear English easily. Why can't I hear English? If you know the reason why you cannot hear it, you can take appropriate measures. Let's see why.
Insufficient knowledge of words and grammar
One of the reasons I can't hear English is because I don't have enough knowledge of words and grammar. Obviously, even if you hear a word that you have never seen, you will never hear it. Also, even if you understand a word, you cannot understand its meaning without knowledge of grammar.
Not recognizing the correct sound
Even if you know the words and grammar, you cannot hear English unless you can recognize the correct sounds of English. For example, you wouldn't hear the phrase check it out as "check it out." Because native speakers pronounce check it out as "checker". You will not be able to hear it until you can correctly recognize the sound as "check it out".
Can't keep up with speed
Even if you can hear it as a sound, the speed of understanding may not catch up. While listening, I don't have time to think, "What does this word mean?" Or "Which is a relative pronoun?" While thinking about these things, the following voice will be heard. To keep up with the native speed, you need to understand English as it is and improve your ability to process English quickly.
Study method to be able to hear TOEIC listening
Now that you know why you can't hear English, let's look at how to study to be able to hear English. The following training will make it easier to hear English.
Dictation
The first is dictation. Dictation is the training of listening to the voice and writing it down exactly as you hear it. Let's start with the short sentences in Parts 1 and 2. First of all, please concentrate on listening and write it down. If you can't hear it, you can listen to it again. After writing, look at the script and match the answers.
If you couldn't write it, find out why you couldn't write it. There must be a reason, such as not understanding the word or the sound being recognized.
By doing this training, you can crush the inaudible sounds one by one. It's a steady process, but the learning effect is high, so please try it.
Shadowing
The next thing I would like to recommend is shadowing. Shadowing is training in which you hear and say what you hear. Let's do shadowing using a little long English sentence of parts 3 and 4.
First, listen to the voice and check the script for words you don't understand or parts you can't hear. When everything is clear, try pronouncing after the voice. When pronouncing, try to imitate the intonation and rhythm of the voice as much as possible.
If you find it difficult, you can slow down or do it sentence by sentence. Shadowing will speed up the processing of English.
Tips for getting a high score in TOEIC listening
There are some tips for getting a high score in TOEIC listening. Of course, improving your essential listening skills is the first priority, but just knowing the tips can increase your score. From here, I will introduce the tips for each score.
Part 1
Part 1 is the question of choosing the most appropriate description by looking at the pictures, and it is a relatively easy part compared to other parts, so I would like to aim for a perfect score. One thing to watch out for in Part 1 is similar pronunciation. Similar pronunciations are words with similar sounds, such as "coffee copy" and "floor flower".
These similar words are often used as a trigger. For example, in a photo showing coffee, if you have an option like He is fixing a copy machine., It's likely that you've used a similar pronunciation. Be careful not to choose such a trigger option.
Also, in Part 1, there are words that you wouldn't normally encounter, such as wheelbarrow, awning, and lawnmower, so solve the exercises and increase your vocabulary. Let's go.
Part 2
Part 2 is the question of asking a question or sentence first and then choosing the best answer. In Part 2, focus on listening to the first word. Because in Part 2, there are many questions that start with the WH interrogative words (When, Where, Who, What, Why, How). Therefore, there are many questions that can be answered as long as you can hear the first word. For example, a question that starts with where will be answered by a place such as a Meeting room or Next to the door.
If you can't hear the first word, you won't be able to answer it, so make sure you don't miss the first word. Also, in Part 2, it's important not to give up, even if you don't hear one option. If you don't rush to listen to other options and answer with elimination, there is a great chance that you will get the answer right.
Part 3 & 4
Part 3 and 4 are questions that ask questions by listening to longer English sentences. The most important techniques in Parts 3 and 4 are question and choice look-ahead. When you listen to the audio, you have to remember everything, without looking ahead to the questions and options.
On the other hand, if you look ahead to the questions and options, you will be able to listen while keeping in mind what is being asked, so you do not have to remember everything.
If you don't have time to look ahead to your options, just ask a question. Let's practice to solve it to the end so as not to break the rhythm of look-ahead.
Conclusion
This time, I explained the outline of TOEIC listening, study method, tips on how to solve it, and so on. What did you think. If you didn't know how to study TOEIC listening, please refer to this article and work on dictation and shadowing. Also, when solving a problem, please try to solve it while being aware of the tips introduced this time!
