1. TOEFL iBT Listening OverviewTOEFL iBT Listening Overview
SectionSection ContentContent TimeTime ScoreScore
Listening 4 6 lectures─
(5 minutes)
6 questions
each
2 3─
conversations
(3 minutes)
5 questions
each
60 90 minutes─
(in total)
35 seconds to
answer each
question
/30
2. 2. Language Level2. Language Level
• More informal language than in Reading section
based on speech samples from North American colleges and
universities
• Easier than Reading section
lectures: 8th
grade difficulty level
conversations: 4th
or 5th
grade difficulty level
• Lectures
more difficult than conversations because of academic
content
3. 3. Types of Listening Passages3. Types of Listening Passages
• Lectures
professor speaks all or most of the time
• Classroom discussions
professor and students discuss an academic topic
• Conversations
office hours with a student visit to a professor
service encounters with support staff
• Taking notes is allowed and encouraged.
4. 4. Lecture Visuals4. Lecture Visuals
• Screen with course name
• Context visual: professor in class
with students
• Types of graphic screens
content image: explains content
with photograph or illustration
blackboard image with key
terminology
5. 5. Conversation Visuals5. Conversation Visuals
• Context visual sets the scene.
• Visual appears when narrator introduces the
conversation.
6. 6. Question Sets6. Question Sets
• Each set
two lectures and one conversation
each set of passages has 17 questions
• Time
10 minutes to answer 17 questions
• Lecture questions are more difficult than
conversation questions.
four minutes for questions on each lecture and two minutes
for the conversation questions
• Question order usually follows order of
information in passage.
7. 7. Listening Toolbar7. Listening Toolbar
• NEXT to see the next question.
• OK to confirm the answer.
After clicking OK, you cannot change your answer.
• VOLUME to increase or decrease volume.
8. 8. Multiple Choice Questions8. Multiple Choice Questions
• Most have four choices and one correct answer
• Gist: purpose for a conversation
• Inference: draw conclusion from stated facts
• Detail: main supporting details
may have two or three correct answers
if two correct answers, then four answer choices; if three correct
answers, then five answer choices.
• Organization: underlying organization of lecture or
relationships between two parts
9. 9. Connecting Content Questions9. Connecting Content Questions
• Drag and drop answer choices to the correct category.
• Place checkmarks in the correct boxes.
10. 10. Replay Questions10. Replay Questions
• Attitude
ask about speaker’s feelings,
opinion, or certainty
• Function
ask about meaning behind
speaker’s words
• Include headphone icon
Listen again to portion of lecture
or conversation.
11. 11. Common Distractors11. Common Distractors
• Common distractors (incorrect answers) in the
Listening section:
repeat words and phrases from passage, but incorrectly answer
the question
contain similar sounding words
do not answer the question
are not mentioned in the passage
contradict passage
• Gist Questions
Incorrect answers may be too broad or too narrow.
12. 12. Helpful Tips12. Helpful Tips
• Correct answers are usually restatements of
information from the listening passage.
• Guess if you’re unsure of an answer
Eliminate the definitely wrong answers.
Choose the answer that is most consistent with the main
idea.
13. 13. More Helpful Tips13. More Helpful Tips
• Work quickly.
You only have 35 seconds to answer each question.
Maintain a balance between speed and accuracy.
• If time is running out,
guess the answers to the remaining questions.
• You do not lose points for incorrect answers.