Written ByRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
TOEFL Listening topics are essential to practice as the TOEFL listening section is important to get admission in abroad colleges and universities. Listening is considered a significant skill required to study or work abroad. The TOEFL is an important English language proficiency test taken by candidates planning for higher studies and job opportunities in foreign countries.
The TOEFL exam pattern test includes a combination of tasks:
- Reading, listening, and then speaking to give your response
- Listening and then speaking to answer a question
- Reading, listening and then writing the answer to a question
For candidates of non-English speaking countries, TOEFL listening section practice is required to understand the different accents in the listening tasks. Plus, the TOEFL topics for listening are diverse which makes the test even more difficult. Here, a detailed discussion will be done on the TOEFL listening topics so that you can handle this test easily.
Also check: TOEFL listening score
Structure of TOEFL Listening section
The Listening section consists of three to four academic lectures and two or three conversations that focus on university life in the United States.The TOEFL listening section lasts from 41 to 57 minutes. The main motive of the TOEFL listening section format is presenting topics that are already relevant to the candidate’s program, thereby getting an idea of their knowledge. For your help, there are TOEFL listening practice test free download mp3 available online.
| Types of Audio | Tracks and questions | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 3-4 tracks 6 questions per track | 35 seconds per question |
| Conversation | 2-3 tracks 5 questions per track | 35 seconds per question |
| Both types(standard section) | 5 tracks 28 questions | 41 minutes total |
| Both types(experimental section) | 7 tracks 39 questions | 57 minutes total |
Question Types for TOEFL Listening
There are 7 general question types in TOEFL Listening:
- Detail (understanding the factual information)
- Main Idea (identifying the primary purpose)
- Inference (recognizing implied information)
- Organization (recognizing the relationship between different pieces of information)
- Attitude (inferring the speaker’s attitude or opinion)
- Function (understanding the reason)
- Categorizing (arranging ideas from the audio into categories based on their similarities and differences)
TOEFL Listening Topics
The TOEFL listening section format includes three types of audio.
- Audio of conversation between a university student and professor
- Lecture in a class with interruptions
- Lecture in a class without interruptions
Generally , there are 7 types of TOEFL listening questions in the TOEFL Listening test. The exact topics of the TOEFL listening section are really unpredictable, but the possible genres of the conversation and the lecture can be given based on the papers of previous years.
The conversations usually depict common academic topics between a student and a university staff member, a professor, or a librarian. The lectures are on common subjects taught in a university class. Each lecture contains 5-6 questions. TOEFL listening practice helps you understand the English spoken in several accents.
Subject-wise list of topics for the TOEFL Listening Practice:
| Science | Arts |
|---|---|
| Physics | Sociology |
| Life Science | Poetry |
| Social Science | Historical Architecture |
| Weather Science | Literature |
| Geographical areas and their theory | Biography |
| Pollution | Books |
| Solar energy | Current happenings from journals, magazines, and newspapers |
| Planets, astronomy, and cosmology | Music and theory |
| Light, sound, and radiation | Art (cave, folk and tribal art) |
| Particle physics | Photography |
| Hardware technology | Architecture and design |
| Math | History |
| Chemistry of inorganic things | Anthropology |
| Computer science | Linguistics |
| Seasonal Migration | Anthropology |
| Seismology | Education |
| Physiology | Child development and pedagogy |
| Evolution theory | Communication |
| Fishery science | Business management |
| Bacteria and Viruses | Leadership |
| Medical techniques | The Internet and the music industry |
| Physiology | History of Film |
| Bees | Iroquois and Huron peoples |
| Biochemistry | - |
| Animal and plants behavior | - |
| Nutrition and public health | - |
| Animal communication | - |
| Accounting | - |
| Ball Lightning | - |
| Green Marketing | - |
TOEFL Listening Tips and Tricks
- Take notes while listening
It is very important to understand whatever you listen to. Try and make a habit of note-taking. Focus writing down :the main topic, and the main point or points the speakers make. If you take notes in too much detail, then you won’t be able to understand. Just write the key points.
- Focus on the accent
In TOEFL iBT, most of the candidates struggle to understand the accent of the speaker as a result they often misinterpret what the speaker actually wants to say. Hence try to focus while listening.
- Missed a word, move on
If while giving the test you are unable to understand something, don’t waste time on it. Move on to the next what you hear.
- Practice more
There would be quite a few unfamiliar words, hence practice more. Take the practice tests that match the level of difficulty as the final TOEFL exam.TOEFL listening practice also ensures an excellent grip over the language irrespective of the topic. TOEFL listening preparation is important for you to get a good idea about the accents of the lectures.
Also check: sample question paper
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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