Preparing for the listening section of the IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC exam might feel like the easiest part, since it’s a receptive skill that you automatically use. But, there is a difference between being an active listener, instead of someone who passively listens for information.
Table of Contents
Phrasal Verbs
Learning phrasal verbs is crucial for improving English listening skills because these multi-word expressions are commonly used in both informal and formal contexts. Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and one or more particles (prepositions or adverbs) that completely change the meaning of the main verb.
Examples include bring up – which means to mention or raise a topic or call off, to cancel or terminate something.
Phrasal verbs are an integral part of everyday English conversation. Native speakers frequently use phrasal verbs in their speech, and being familiar with these expressions allows learners to understand and participate in conversations more effectively.
Understand the phrasal verbs in context by examining example sentences. Observe how the phrasal verb changes the overall meaning of the sentence and identify any patterns in usage.
Example: “I turned up at the party and surprised everyone.”
Engage in listening exercises that focus on phrasal verbs. Listen to dialogues or conversations where phrasal verbs are used, and try to identify and understand them. Repeat the exercise multiple times to reinforce comprehension.
Example: Listen to a dialogue where one person says, “Can you turn up the music, please?” The learner should recognize that “turn up” means to increase the volume.
Expose yourself to authentic English listening materials, such as podcasts, movies, TV shows, or radio programs. Pay close attention to the usage of phrasal verbs and try to understand their meaning in context.
By consistently practicing and familiarizing yourself with phrasal verbs, you can improve your English listening skills and enhance your overall comprehension of spoken English.
Listening Study Schedule
Time management doesn’t just apply to taking the test, it starts the moment you start studying for it.
Maximize your listening growth in the least amount of time with a test study schedule.
Creating a study schedule for IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC tests is the most powerful way to improve your score.
Here’s an example:
Mon 9-10am Do the listening section of Test #13
Tues 9-10am Review the answers from the day before. Identify wrong choices and understand why they were incorrect.
Wednesday – Transcribe one passage from test #13. Identify 5 words, phrases or sentences that you have trouble understanding.
And so on.
By planning your listening practice, you are consciously putting effort into winning, which means that you are more likely to succeed if it’s written down rather than passively trying to achieve it.
At the start of each week, create your weekly schedule. Write down what you will study and that focus will help you improve much faster.
Notetaking
You have to train yourself to take notes during the test on the most important content.
You shouldn’t worry about listening for new information and remembering it, so during the listening phase, write down keywords, important vocabulary, proper nouns and what you think main idea is.
Since time is of the essence, you should practice only writing down content words, only write down the consonants (this takes practice) and core symbols.
Content words are meaningful words that contain significance, such as people or places, actions, and descriptions.
Vowels are so common that you could write a word without any of its vowels and still understand the meaning.
sleep → slp
symptoms → smptms
depression → dprsn
Symbol Meaning
+ benefit, positive, also, as well, together, combined
Ø not, no, negative, stop
? I’m not sure, lecturer not sure, question
↑ rising, increase, improve, positive, beneficial
↓ going down, decreasing, problematic, hurting
→ leads to, results in, follows
= is equal to, the same as, something is like/similar to
≠ not equal to, not the same as, dissimilar
/ and, connected to
Symbols are important. Not only do they save time, but also increase the amount of information you write down about the listening passages.
But if you are new to using symbols, do NOT try to incorporate all nine of these symbols in your notes at once.
The key is to keep it simple. Start with just two or three. I suggest the arrows since they are the easiest to understand.
As you start to feel more comfortable, incorporate more of these symbols in your note taking listening exercises. Remember, it’s hard to change a habit. You have been taking notes your own way for years. It will take some time to get used to all of this information, so take it slow.
You have to be succinct, if you spend time writing down unnecessary information, you will miss important content.
Question Types
Although the reading and listening sections are similar, the question types in the listening section are slightly different.
There are 7 main question types in a listening test:
Content – What is the topic of the discussion? What is the professor mainly discussing?
Purpose – Why does the student visit the professor? Why does the professor mention?
Detail – What is stated in the passage? According to the speaker?
Speaker’s Attitude – What is the professor’s opinion of? What can be inferred about the student?
Function – What does the speaker mean when he says…? Why does the professor say this…?
Inferences – What can be inferred about? What does the speaker imply about?
Organization – How does the professor organize the information about…?
While it’s important to know the different question types, it’s even more important for students to know how to answer each type. Make sure to practice identifying and answering these different question types.
Passage Structure
When you understand the structure of a conversation or lecture, you can anticipate what will be said and which information is important.
Most listening conversation passages have a fairly simple structure:
First a problem is presented by a student
Next, someone offers a solution
Finally, someone describes the steps needed to take to solve the problem.
Academic lectures are typically organized based on 6 different structures:
Cause and Effect
Historical Narrative
Problem and Solution
Sequence of Steps
Compare and Contrast
Category with Specific Examples
Practice examples of these questions so that you can understand these structures and what is required of them to answer correctly.
Focus on the Main Idea
Don’t try to understand everything in the listening section.
Think of the lectures and conversations as stories, the same way as when you would watch a movie. You may not understand every word, what is most important is that you understand what is happening and the context.
There are 2 priorities for you to identify:
• The main idea of the topic – How the professor illustrates, expands on, or explains the main idea.
What does the professor want me know?
• Related ideas and relationships within a lecture
reasons — because, since
results — as a result, so, therefore, thus, consequently
examples — for example, such as
comparisons — in contrast, than
an opposing idea — on the other hand, however
another idea — furthermore, moreover, besides
a similar idea — similarly, likewise
restatements of information — in other words, that is
conclusions — in conclusion, in summary
Active Listener
A definition of active listening is that it requires feedback from the listener.
When you are having a conversation with someone, you naturally listen in an active manner because you need to respond.
Most students listen to listening passages passively because they are taking notes on what they hear and trying to understand everything.
Passive listening – Trying to understand every detail
Active listening – Trying to understand enough to respond
Listen actively. Try to answer the following questions:
who
what
when
where
why
how
To practice this, listen to a passage, and then try to explain it as if you were explaining it to a 6-year-old.
Listening Tips
Here are some quickfire listening tips:
Focus on the second speaker. In a conversation between 2 people, the answer is often (but not always) said by the second speaker.
Answer the question as you listen. The recording is only played once, so a suggestion is to answer the question right after it is asked to make sure you don’t forget it.
Pay attention to answers that are synonyms among the options.
Pay attention to the structure.
Lectures or presentations have an introduction, body and conclusion
Narrative stories have a beginning, middle and end
Pay attention to body language or listen for intonation patterns used to express different emotions.
Words or phrases that are said louder, clearer or are stressed.
Listen for pauses between important points.
Listen for numbers you might hear in prices, times or addresses.
Listen for verbs and other expressions that show if an event is happening in the past, present or future.
Pay attention to similar sounds
There are often trick questions where some answers sound similar but have very different meanings to the question asked. Don’t fall into this trap!
For example: What is the keyword in the second line 2?
It might look something like this.
A locked
B looked
C leaked
D lacked
If the keyword in the second line is “lacked”.
It’s clear that “locked” (answer A), “looked” (answer B) and “leaked” (answer C) are all decoy answers.
Contractions
In the English language, contractions are the shortened form of a word (cannot = can’t) or a group of words (he is = he’s) that omit certain letters or sounds. These missing letters are indicated with an apostrophe. The most common forms are made up of verbs, auxiliaries or modals, along with other words. Some of the most common ones in the English language include the following:
He would = He’d.
I have = I’ve.
They are = They’re.
Cannot = Can’t.
Listen to Different Accents
Listening tests sometimes include accents besides the common American one. We should expose ourselves to different English accents.
Unsurprisingly, the best tip is for you to listen to English regularly. Actively listen to news clips, songs, watch videos and movies, but also include different accents to become familiar with them.