LESSON 1: RULES OF THE GAME

The Listening Section tests your comprehension of English statements, questions, conversations and talks.
There are four parts to this section. You will choose the best descriptions of photos and the best responses to
questions, and you will answer comprehension questions about conversations and talks.

The Listening Section of the TOEIC takes a total of ______ minutes. After you hear each question, you will
have a short time to choose your answer. Then you will hear the next question. You have _____ seconds to
choose each answer in Part 1 and Part 2 and _____ seconds to choose each answer in Part 3 and Part 4. No
part of the audio will be repeated. You cannot control the audio and you must keep pace with the audio.

Let’s try an example of part 1?

You will see photographs and hear statements about them. You have to choose the statement that best
describes the photo. Neither the questions nor the answers will be written on the test!

Now let’s move to part 2:

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You will hear questions and statements and possible responses to them. You have to choose the most
appropriate response to the question or statement. Neither the questions nor the answers will be written on
the test!

How about trying part 3 now?

You will hear conversations and answer comprehension questions about them.

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Last, but not least, part 4!

You will hear talks and answer comprehension questions about them.

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 LESSON 2: PART 1 - STRATEGIES
On Part 1 of the TOEIC Listening test, you will see _______ photos. They may be photos of indoor or outdoor
scenes, with or without people. For each photo, you will hear ____ statements about that photo. The
statements may be about people, objects, activities or locations. You will need to identify which one of the
four statements correctly describes the photo.

You have only five seconds between each set of statements! You must make your decision and be ready to
listen for the next answer options at this time.

The statements are not written on the test. You have to mark your answer on the answer sheet.

In Part 1 of the Listening test, you will hear several different statement types that describe the photos you
see, including statements about activities, condition or location.

Activities

These statements often use the present continuous tense: _________________________________.

When you first look at the photo, quickly identify any activities you see. Then when you hear the statements,
listen carefully for the present continuous forms of the verbs that correctly describe these activities.

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Look at the photos. Think of verbs that describe the activity you see. Then choose a verb from the box to
complete each statement so that it correctly describes the photo. There are three extra verbs.

CHECKING – CLIMBING – DIALING – PULLING – PUSHING - TALKING

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 Condition

Some statements in Part 1 describe the condition of objects in the scene – what they are, where they are, or
what they are like. These statements may use the expression there is / there are or the verbs is / are or has /
have.

When you first look at the photo, quickly identify any objects you see. Think of sentences that could describe
the object’s condition. Then when you hear the audio statements, listen carefully for the names of the
objects.

Look at each photo and the list of words next to it. Circle the words for the objects that you see in the photo.
Then listen to two statements. Mark the letter of the statement that correctly describes the photo.

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 Location

Some statements in Part 1 describe the location of objects or people in the photograph. These statements
use prepositions of place, such as in, on, under, over, above, next to, beside, between, behind, and in front of.

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When you first look at the photo, quickly identify where any objects or people are located. Then you can
listen for prepositions that correctly describe the location. This will help you choose the correct answer.

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Complete each sentence with a preposition that correctly describes the photo. The preposition may be a
phrase, and there may be more than one correct answer.

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 PART 1 –
LESSON 3:

WATCH OUT!
In Part 1 of the Listening test, only one of the statements you hear correctly describes the photo. You
must learn to listen for the most common types of distracters, or incorrect answers.

Incorrect Information

A statement may correctly identify a person or an object in the photo, but the statement does not match the
details in the photo. Statements with some correct information along with some incorrect information are
among the most common distracter types in Part 1.Here are some examples:

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Let’s try a TOEIC question:

A) B) C) D)

Now read the answer options and write what the problem is for each of the three incorrect options.

Similar-Sounding Words

In Part 1 of the Listening test, a distractor may use a word that sounds like, but is not exactly the same
as, a word that would correctly describe the photo. These distractors are often words that rhyme or
contain some similar sounds. Here are some examples of common-sounding words that you may hear in
Part 1.

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Listen to each statement. Circle the word that you hear.

Similar-Sounding Words with Incorrect Meanings

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 LESSON 4: PART 2 - STRATEGIES
Part 2 of the TOEIC Listening test consists of 30 questions or statements. Each question or statement is
followed by three possible responses. You will choose the most appropriate response. Everything is spoken;
there will be nothing for you to read on the page. The questions or statements are things you might hear in a
conversation among colleagues, customers, clients, friends, or relatives. Questions might be requests for
information or for assistance, and statements might be about needs, plans, or feelings. Let’s study the most
common question and statement types for this part.

Information Questions

Information questions are also called wh- questions. These are the questions that begin with question words
(or phrases), such as Who, Whose, What, When, Where, Which, Why, and How. Each different question word
asks for a different type of information.

Let’s try one TOEIC listening question of this type.

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 Yes/No Questions

In Part 2, some of the questions will be yes-no questions. Yes-no questions begin with auxiliary verbs, such as
is/are, was/were, do/does, did, have/has, or will. They might also begin with negative forms of auxiliaries,
such as wasn’t, didn’t, or won’t. The correct response usually begins with yes or no, but watch out!
Sometimes the response will be a direct answer to the question, without yes or no.

Embedded Questions

Some yes-no questions contain embedded questions—a question within a question. For example: Can you
tell me where the meeting is? Do you know when he arrived? This type of question begins with a yes-no
question but contains an embedded question in subject-verb order. Although the first part of the question
could be answered with yes or no, the answer to the embedded question is what the speaker really asks for.
The correct response must answer that part of the question.

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 Polite requests

Polite requests are another type of yes-no question. Although they are structured like yes-no questions, they
usually aren’t answered with yes or no. Instead, the responses contain polite phrases, such as Of course,
Certainly, I ’d be glad to, I’d be happy to, I’m sorry, or I wish I could. Responses may consist of or include an
explanation of when or how the request will be met, or an excuse for not fulfilling the request.

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 Questions with ‘or’

Just like simple yes-no questions, questions with or begin with auxiliary verbs. However, these questions
cannot be answered with yes or no. A question with or is about a choice, and the response must indicate the
speaker’s choice. Here are some sample questions and responses.

Question tag

Tag questions are like yes-no questions, but the yes or no option is at the end of the sentence. In a tag
question, an auxiliary verb and a pronoun are attached to the end of a statement. If the statement is
affirmative, the tag will be negative. If the statement is negative, the tag will be affirmative. The responses
for these can be either yes, no, or something addressing the statement. Here are some sample tag questions
and responses.

Statement

In addition to questions, you will hear some statements in Part 2 of the Listening test. A statement may be
about an opinion or a problem. The response may agree or disagree with an opinion or suggest a solution to
a problem. Here are some sample statements and responses.

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 PART 2 –
LESSON 5:

WATCH OUT!
Similar-Sounding Words

Beware of similar-sounding words in incorrect answer options. Just as in Part 1, an incorrect response in Part
2 may use a word that sounds like, but is not exactly the same as, a word used in the question. Here are
some examples of similar-sounding words you may hear in Part 2 of the TOEIC Listening test.

Homonyms and multiple-meaning words

Be careful about homonyms and multiple-meaning words. Be especially aware of distracters that
have homonyms, or words that are spelled differently and have different meanings but that sound the
same. A word like weak might be used as an adjective in a question or statement and the noun form
used as a distracter in a response. Also watch out for distracters with the exact same word as the
question but with a different meaning. A word like room can mean space, or it can mean a part of a
building. Though the two meanings are close, they are not the same, and this is probably a distracter.
Here are some examples of homonyms and multiple-meaning words you may hear in Part 2 of the
Listening test.

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 Repeated Words

An incorrect response may repeat a word used in the question or statement but in the wrong context. In the
example below, responses A and B repeat the word lunch but do not answer the question.

Where did you have lunch?

(A) It was a delicious lunch.
(B) I always have a sandwich for lunch.
(C) At the cafeteria downstairs.

Related Words

An incorrect response may use a word associated with something in the question or statement but in
the wrong context. In the example below, responses B and C use words associated with the word bus—
fare and driver— but are not appropriate responses.

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Do you take the bus to work?
(A) No. I always drive my car.
(B) The fare is two dollars.
(C) Yes. He was a very good driver.

Yes-No Answers to Information Questions

Information questions cannot be answered with yes or no. In the example below, responses A and B
cannot be correct because they begin with yes and no.

What time does the movie start?

(A) Yes, I like movies.
(B) No. It wasn’t early.
(C) At 5:00.

Wrong Verb Tense

An incorrect response may use the wrong verb tense. In the example below, responses A and C use
verb tenses that are not logical in this context.

Did you play golf last weekend?

(A) Yes, I’ll play golf with you.
(B) Yes, I played at the club.
(C) Yes, I do.

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LESSON 6: PART 3 – STRATEGIES I
Part 3 of the TOEIC Listening test features ten conversations. Each conversation is followed by three
questions that you will hear and see on the page. The conversations are quite short and last only about
twenty-five seconds. The subject matter of these conversations can cover a range of topics, from standard
business interactions to personal topics. Let’s study the most common question types for this part.

Topic / Main Idea Questions

Topic / main idea questions require you to look at the details and context of the conversation
to find the main theme the speakers are talking about.

✓ Pay attention to the beginning of the conversation. Listen carefully to the information given early in
the conversation. These requests or pieces of information often give clues to the main idea. You can
then look for answer options that have the same information or requests that match the context of
the conversation.

✓ Speakers will not directly say the main idea. Instead, they will often use words associated with a
specific context to talk about the situation or problem. You must use this information to decide what
they are discussing. Listen for vocabulary clues like the ones in the chart to help you determine what
the speakers are talking about. Use a dictionary to look up any words you don't know.

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 Detail Questions

Detail questions require you to listen carefully for key items in a conversation. You will need to answer
questions about specific—not general —information. Anything discussed in a conversation can be the basis
of a detail question, including time, reasons, plans, problems, suggestions, opinions, and other items.

✓ Learn to recognize common expressions and paraphrases for plans, problems, requests, or
suggestions. The correct answers for detail questions will usually be phrased in a different way from
the conversation. This is called paraphrasing. Listen for common expressions like the ones below.
This will help you recognize key information for suggestions, requests, problems, and plans. You can
then more easily identify which answer options paraphrase the key related points.

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 ✓ Watch for the correct speaker in the answer options. Incorrect answer options may include correct
information from the conversation but will apply it to the wrong speaker. Determining whether the
question is about the man or the woman will help you identify the correct answer.

Detail Questions About Causes and Effects

Questions about causes and effects require you to identify why something happened or how an event
changed a situation. These questions test your understanding of why a speaker is addressing the other
person, why a change occurred, or why a request was made.

✓ Look for infinitives (to + verb) when pre-reading to recognize cause and effect questions. As you pre-
read the questions, look in the answer options for to + verb (e.g., to leave, to increase). This may
signal that the question is asking for the reason someone did something. When you see to + verb, be
sure to listen carefully for reasons and explanations.

✓ Listen for words and expressions about causes and effects. Some words and phrases introduce the
effects of an action. Others introduce the causes of something. Listen carefully for expressions like
the bold ones below to find the answers to cause and effect questions.

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LESSON 7: PART 3 – STRATEGIES II
Detail Questions About Duration, Frequency, or Quantity

These types of questions ask you to find key details about how long something lasts (duration),
how often something happens (frequency), or the amount of something (quantity). These questions
usually require that you listen carefully for numbers, times, or details relating to days or dates.

✓ Learn to identify conversation distracters about duration, frequency, or quantity. The

incorrect answer options for duration, frequency, or quantity questions can be difficult to determine.
For example, if the speakers discuss the length of a store sale, you will likely hear several different
time, day, or number references. Notice the bold distracters (irrelevant information) in the sample
statement.
The sale was supposed to go for the first three weeks of August. However, sales in the first week
of the month were stronger than we expected, and we reached our goal in just seven days. So we
decided to end it after just two weeks.

✓ To help identify the correct answer, listen for transition words like the underlined word above.
Transition
words often signal a complete change in what a speaker is talking about or planning, so pay careful
attention to the information that follows these words. This will help you identify the key point of the
Exchange.

Learn to identify paraphrases for questions about duration, frequency, or quantity.

Paraphrases of duration, frequency, or quantity can be very tricky because they make the words in the
answer options different from the words in the conversation. Look at the examples in the chart.

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 Detail Questions About Time

Questions about time require you to recall when a certain event occurred in the past or when it will
occur in the future. The answer options can include specific times of day, as well as longer time
periods, such as hours, days, weeks, or months.

✓ Eliminate answer options that do not relate to the question. Pre-read the questions to
determine what event they are asking about. This is important because the conversation may include
times for other events. When you know which event the questions are about, you can eliminate
unrelated times.

✓ Learn to understand paraphrases for questions about time. Paraphrases of time can be
very tricky because they make the words in the answer options quite different from the words in the
conversation.

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 Detail Questions About Identifying People or Places

Questions about identifying people require you to figure out several things. You must sometimes
find out which person or group will do a task, caused an event, or is talked about in a conversation.
The correct answer can be one of the speakers, or it can be another person or group the speakers
talk about. This question type usually begins with Who.
Questions about places require you to identify what location a speaker is going to or came from.
These questions may also be about the location where an event occurred or will occur in the
future. This question type usually begins with Where.

✓ Identify the event or action in the question during pre-reading. After you have done this, listen for
information about that event or action in the conversation. You will usually hear the person or
group associated with the event or action just before or after it is mentioned. This will help you
identify the people involved.
✓ Learn to identify conversational distracters about other people or groups. Conversations in
this part of the test often include several names or group references. This can be confusing when you
are trying to identify who did something.
✓ For questions about places using Where, carefully pre-read to recognize what the question
relates to. This can help you decide which person or thing the question is asking about. Notice how
similar the two questions with Where are below. In this case, being certain about the person or thing
to listen for will help you identify the correct answer.
✓ Learn to identify conversational distracters about other places. Conversations in Part 3 often
include several locations. Try to quickly identify where someone is going or where something
happened

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 Inference Questions

Inference questions require you to gather clues in order to make a conclusion about something. One type of
inference question asks you to make inferences about who a person is. A second type asks you to make
inferences about where someone is. Some inference questions ask how a person might feel. Remember! The
correct answer to an inference question is NOT stated directly. You must decide what the answer is based
indirectly on information in the conversation.

✓ Pay attention to details given about location or speakers. A place or an occupation may not be stated
directly in the conversation, but the speakers will give clues. These clues are found throughout the
conversation and are phrases or requests that are common in certain locations or occupations. Listen
for these clues to determine where or who the speakers are.
✓ Pre-read questions and answer options to predict key words to listen for. When you preread the
question and answer options, think about the kinds of words that you might associate with each
answer option. Then listen for those key words in the conversation.

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LESSON 8: PART 4 – STRATEGIES I
Part 4 of the TOEIC Listening test is very similar to Part 3. The main difference is that Part 4 features ten talks
by a single speaker instead of conversations between two or more speakers. Each talk is followed by three
questions that you will look at on the page as you listen. The talks are quite short and often last less than a
minute each. Knowing what type of talk you are listening to will help you identify the information you need.
Read the chart below to familiarize yourself with the types of talks you might hear in Part 4, along with a
description of each type and sample audio and questions.

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Listen to parts of eight talks and scan the information about talks. In the chart, write the number of each talk
next to the correct type of talk.

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LESSON 9: PART 4 – STRATEGIES II
Topic / Main Idea Questions

As in Part 3, topic / main idea questions in Part 4 of the Listening test require you to look at the details and
context of the talk to find the main theme the speaker is talking about.

✓ Learn key words that may give clues to topics and main ideas. Some other topics often found in Part
4 of the TOEIC test are weather, sports events, news, prices, and business. Keep a list of the types of
words associated with these topics. Then use a thesaurus to learn common synonyms for words
related to those topics.

Detail Questions

As in Part 3, Part 4 of the Listening test detail questions require you to listen carefully for key information in a
talk. These questions are about specific rather than general information. Anything mentioned in a talk can be
the basis of a detail question, including suggestions, instructions, times, quantities, and other items. The
answer information is usually clearly stated in the talk.

Detail Questions About Suggestions, Advice, Instructions, or Requests

A speaker may instructor advise listeners to do something, or the speaker may make a specific suggestion or
request. Detail questions may ask about this type of information.

✓ Recognize words and expressions used for suggestions, advice, instructions, or requests.
Certain words and expressions are used to give advice and instructions or to make suggestions and
requests. For example, the word please is often used with requests and instructions. Listen for words
and expressions such as these as they may help you recognize key information.

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Detail Questions About Duration, Frequency, Quantity, or Time

These types of questions ask when, what time, how many, how much, how often, or how long.
When you see these kinds of questions, you need to listen carefully for numbers, times, or other
key details. As in Part 3, the information needed to answer these questions in Part 4 may be
paraphrased or restated in different ways.

✓ Learn to distinguish between similar-sounding numbers and words. Incorrect answer options
may include numbers, days, quantity expressions, or time expressions that sound similar to the
correct
answer. Watch out for them! Here are some examples of commonly confused quantity and time
words.

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 Inference Questions

Like Part 3, Part 4 of the Listening test has inference questions. This type of question asks you to make a
conclusion based on facts and details from the talk. Inference questions often ask you to infer who a person
is, where the speaker might be, or what might happen next. As in Part 3, the answers to these questions are
usually not stated directly. You have to listen and choose the best answer using the information given.

✓ Use vocabulary clues from the answer options and the audio to find the correct answer. Before you
listen, pre-read the questions and answer options and think about the kinds of vocabulary you might
hear for each option. Then listen carefully to the talk. Pay attention to the vocabulary clues given in
the talk to help you answer inference questions. Remember, words can be used in more than one
context. See pages 45,46, and 69 for more information about topic-related vocabulary clues.

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