Tips to avoid common traps in the TOEIC listening test

Tips to avoid common traps in the TOEIC listening test

TOEIC is a test that is no longer strange to anyone, but don't be subjective in how you take the test! Especially the listening test with many unexpected "traps".

As you know, the TOEIC listening test has a total of 100 questions divided into 4 parts: Part 1 (Pictures), Part 2 (Question-response), Part 3 (Short conversations), Part 4 (Short talks). You know that, but do you have a specific strategy for each section to get the highest score possible for this listening category? If not, EnglishTop We will note some traps you should avoid in the listening section of the TOEIC test below!

Part 1 (Pictures): 

includes 10 sentences, each sentence is a picture and 4 sentences describe that picture

This part is considered the easiest in the listening test because the descriptive sentences are short and easy to listen to. However, do not underestimate it because it is often intentionally confusing at some point.

For example, in the picture there are 4 people sitting together and there is a general sentence like "They are having a meeting" or "they are discussing a problem" but in reality in the picture each person looks in the same direction and there is nothing. Looks like there's no meeting at all. Finally, it gives a sentence "Three of them are wearing glasses" and it is true that 3 of them wear glasses and 1 person does not wear glasses. So this sentence best describes the content of the painting...

Obviously it's very confusing. This is an extremely common trap in competitive exams. To overcome this problem, you must pay attention to observe the entire picture and quickly imagine the sentences describing that picture, pay attention to every small detail on the picture, and listen correctly to avoid being confused. Confusing words that sound similar.

Part 2 (Question-response): 

30 questions in the style of one person reading the questions and one person reading the 3 answers

You must choose one correct answer for that question. This part is said to have the most traps, but is also the part with the easiest score in the exam. Because although there are many traps, the traps here are very easy to recognize. If you listen carefully, the answer will be very quick. Eg:

Question: When did your flight take off?
A. I fired it yesterday.
B. It was flying in the air three days ago.
C. It took off at 3:00 last Sunday.

So you were fooled by “fired” and “flying” because it sounds “similar” to “flight” in the question, while the third correct sentence sounds unrelated because “take” is divided into the past simple “took” and also has the time 3:00, which sounds complicated and probably isn’t right. So you choose sentence 1 or 2, which is of course the wrong answer.

In part 2, the "similar sounds" trap is used at full capacity. To avoid this trap, you need to pay close attention to sounds that are homophonic, have different meanings, or sounds that have similar pronunciation because the possibility of mistakes in these sentences is relatively large. Additionally, note that in part 2, if the same words are repeated in the question and answer, the possibility of that answer being wrong is very high. You need to concentrate to have a basis to determine that the answer is wrong.

Tips to avoid common traps in the TOEIC listening test

Listen carefully and choose correctly!

Part 3 (Short conversations):

Includes 30 questions: listen to a conversation and then answer questions like the TOEFL exam

This part is a bit more "potato" than the previous two parts. To do this part well, you must quickly read the question of that conversation and pay attention to the content from beginning to end, trying not to miss any words because in reality, the words that are pronounced in passing are the answers. give that answer. This part requires logical thinking as well. For example, in the following conversation:

“…….
A: When will the meeting be taken place?
B: It was planned to be on Friday, but as Mr John’s flight was delayed we changed it to Monday next week.
A: When will Mr John arrive?
B: He said to me that he will arrive on Sunday.
…..”

And the question for you is: “When will Mr John have a meeting?”

With 4 answers:

A. On Friday
B. On Monday
C. On Sunday
D. Next week

So if you don't hear clearly "but as Mr John's flight was delayed we changed it to Monday" then you will be confused. Obviously, you hear all the dates in the conversation but don't know which date is correct. You have to think a little and listen attentively to answer correctly at the right time.

Note that in part 3, the order of questions may be slightly disturbed compared to the content of the conversation, for example, the answer to question 1 is in the middle, but the answer to question 2 is in the middle. the first part of the conversation. If you don't pay attention at this point, it's easy to give the wrong answer or skip details that give the correct answer.

Part 4 (Short talks): 

includes 20 questions for about 7 to 9 passages, each passage will have at least 2 questions

This part is the most difficult part of the listening test, but it is the least deceptive and confusing part, it only requires your ability to quickly memorize information. To do well in this section you need to quickly skim the questions (as mentioned above).... You also need to practice listening to the passage regularly to get used to how to note the main information, because the questions in the exam often focus on asking the main issues, and by listening regularly you will be less stressed, not more information is missed.

Epilogue: Graduation day for 3rd and 4th year students is approaching. EnglishTop know you are trying to complete all procedures to graduate on time and the TOEIC certificate is one of them. This paragraph, EnglishTop hope it will help you have the best exam!

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