TOEFL Ready
Login
TOEFL iBT 2026 · Listening task guide

TOEFL Listen and Choose a Response: how it works and how to do well

Listen and Choose a Response plays one short question or statement, and you choose the best reply from four written choices. It’s one of four Listening tasks on the TOEFL iBT since January 2026, and it checks whether you understand what a speaker means, not just the words they use.

Questions in a test
15–19
Replies to choose from
4
You hear each line
Once
For each question
1 point

How Listen and Choose a Response works

You hear one person say something short: the kind of thing a classmate, a teacher or someone at a campus office might say to you. It’s the first half of a two-line exchange. You hear it once, and it’s never written on the screen. Only the four replies are.

You then read four replies and choose the one that fits best, as if you were answering the speaker yourself. To choose well, you need to:

  • know common everyday phrases, like “Do you mind if…?” or “How about…?”
  • notice what kind of line it is: a yes-or-no question, a “where” or “when” question, or a statement that isn’t a question at all
  • hear the meaning in the speaker’s voice, like surprise, a polite request or a complaint
  • work out what the speaker means but doesn’t say, and who they might be
  • pick the reply a person would actually give

A picture of the speaker is shown while they talk. Voices come from North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

There are 15 to 19 of these in the Listening section, more than any other Listening task, and they appear in both modules. You can take notes, and you can’t go back to the first module once you’re in the second.

How it’s scored. Each question is worth one point, right or wrong. A wrong answer costs you nothing more than that point, so always choose an answer.

Worked example

These were written for this guide in the same format as the real task. Play each line once, as you would on the test, then choose a reply. On the test you never see the words, but here they’re behind a toggle if you need them.

  1. Question 1

    You hear · Woman

    Show the words

    “Do you know if the campus pool is open during the break?”

    Choose the best response.

    • A. I think so, but only in the mornings.
    • B. I haven’t been swimming since I was a kid.
    • C. It’s right behind the main gym.
    • D. The break starts on the twentieth.
    Show the answer

    A. I think so, but only in the mornings.. She asks whether the pool is open, and A answers that, with a useful detail. B and D pick up words you heard (“pool”, “break”) but answer questions she didn’t ask, and C says where the pool is.

  2. Question 2

    You hear · Man

    Show the words

    “I can’t believe the coffee machine took my coins again.”

    Choose the best response.

    • A. Yes, I believe it’s new.
    • B. The café across the hall takes cards.
    • C. I usually drink tea in the morning.
    • D. It costs two dollars a cup.
    Show the answer

    B. The café across the hall takes cards.. It isn’t a question: it’s a complaint, and the most natural reply helps him. A takes “I can’t believe” literally, which nobody would say. C and D talk about drinks but don’t respond to his problem.

  3. Question 3

    You hear · Woman, surprised

    Show the words

    “Wait, weren’t you in my photography class last spring?”

    Choose the best response.

    • A. Yes, I’m planning to take it next spring.
    • B. That’s right. You sat by the window, didn’t you?
    • C. No, I left my camera at home.
    • D. The class meets in the art building.
    Show the answer

    B. That’s right. You sat by the window, didn’t you?. “Weren’t you…?” checks something she already half believes, and B confirms it naturally. A talks about the future when she asked about the past, C answers a different question, and D only repeats a word from hers.

How to do well

  1. Decide what kind of line it is. A question wants an answer, an offer wants a yes or a no, and a complaint or a piece of news wants a reaction. Name it to yourself as the speaker finishes.

  2. Hold on to the meaning, not the words. You can’t hear the line again, so keep its point in mind: who wants what. A two-word note, like “pool – open?”, is enough.

  3. Be wary of repeated words. Wrong replies often reuse a word you just heard, or one that sounds like it. The right reply answers the idea, often in different words.

  4. Pick what a person would really say, then move on. The best reply can be indirect: “I think so, but…” is a real answer. Treat each choice as final before you go to the next one.

Try Listen and Choose a Response in a real-format test

Listening Practice Test 1 has all four Listening tasks, timed and scored on the 1.0–6.0 band scale, with every recording played once. Free, with no account needed. Headphones help.

Start Listening Practice Test 1