The TOEIC Listening section lasts 45 minutes without interruption: you cannot pause the audio or go back. It is a dreaded test that requires strong concentration. Here are 5 tips to maximize your score.
1. Keep up with the pace and stay focused
The questions come in quick succession, and there is little variety in the question types, so it is easy to lose focus. When a new question is announced while you have not yet answered the previous one, guess and immediately focus on the next one without going back. Answer every question: there is no penalty for wrong answers, and leaving blanks could also throw off your answer sheet.
2. Anticipate by reading the questions before the audio
While the narrator repeats the instructions (which are always the same from one test to another), focus on the upcoming question. For Part 1, look at the photo and imagine sentences describing it. For Parts 3 and 4, read the questions before listening: this gives you context and lets you focus your attention on the right information. For example, if you are asked “what time does the train leave?”, you will listen out for that specific information.
3. Master TOEIC-specific vocabulary
The TOEIC is a repetitive test that always uses the same types of vocabulary. For Part 1, focus in particular on prepositions of place and verbs of movement (often in the continuous form, “be + -ing”). For Parts 3 and 4, certain topics come up again and again: making appointments, weather reports, business trips, workplace communication, and commerce. This professional vocabulary will also be useful in your working life.
4. Learn the common question types in Part 2
Part 2 is easy to cram for: the number of concepts is limited, and the same traps keep coming up.
- “Yes / No” questions: closed questions, but the answer does not always contain “Yes” or “No” (you could answer “I dropped off the package this morning”). Watch out for trick answers.
- Open questions: they begin with an interrogative pronoun (what, where, when, how long…). Focus on this first word, which indicates whether the answer is a thing, a place, a date, etc.
- Tag questions: (…, isn't it? didn't he?). Choose the only grammatically correct answer, with the right tense agreement and pronoun.
- Statements: handle them like “Yes / No” questions.
5. Train your ear
To understand English, you first need to listen to it. Watch your TV series and movies in English without subtitles: this forces you to use your ear and the context to guess unfamiliar words. The first few hours can be frustrating, but progress comes quickly.
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