TOEFL Listen to a Conversation: how it works and how to do well

You hear two people talking for a short while, often on or around a campus, about everyday things. ETS lists topics such as dining, social activities, education, entertainment, services, health, hobbies, home, shopping, communications and travel. You hear the conversation once, with a picture of each speaker on screen, and the words aren’t shown.

Then you answer two questions, one at a time. They can ask you to:

• say what the conversation is mainly about
• pick out an important detail
• understand informal phrases and idioms, like “I’m swamped” or “it slipped my mind”
• work out something a speaker suggests but doesn’t say
• explain why a speaker says something
• predict what a speaker will probably do next
• follow how one person’s reply connects to what the other said

Every Listening test has 10 of these questions, from five conversations. Voices come from North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. 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.

1. Question 1

   Why does the man mention his soccer game?

   • AA. To explain when he is free to help
   • BB. To invite the woman to watch it
   • CC. To say he can’t help this weekend
   • DD. To ask the woman to change her plans
   Show the answerHide

   A. To explain when he is free to help. He says he’s around, then mentions the game so she knows Saturday morning won’t work. When she says any time is fine, he offers to come after the game, so he is helping, just not in the morning.

2. Question 2

   What will the man probably do on Saturday?

   • AA. Get a key from Linda and feed the cat
   • BB. Visit the woman’s parents
   • CC. Buy food for the cat
   • DD. Miss his soccer game
   Show the answerHide

   A. Get a key from Linda and feed the cat. He says he’ll stop by after the game, and she says the key will be with Linda. Put together, that’s his plan, even though nobody says it in one sentence. The food is already in the cupboard.

1. 1

   Find the problem or the plan. Most conversations turn on one thing: a problem to solve, a plan to make or a favor to ask. Spot it early and every detail has a place to go.

2. 2

   Note who says what. Two quick columns, one for each speaker, keep you from mixing them up. Questions often ask what one particular speaker wants, suggests or will do.

3. 3

   Listen for the meaning behind the words. People rarely say things directly. “I’m here, but I have a soccer game on Saturday morning” is a yes with a limit, even though he never says “I can’t come in the morning”.

4. 4

   Catch the ending. The last lines usually settle what happens next, which is exactly what a “What will the man probably do?” question asks. Keep listening until the very end.