{"id":174,"date":"2013-12-31T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-31T17:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=174"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:47:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:47:29","slug":"the-toefl-listening-section","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/","title":{"rendered":"The TOEFL Listening Section"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The listening section of the TOEFL is similar to the reading section in format and question type. The major difference is that while the reading section dealt only with expository texts on academic topics, the listening section will include a mixture of lectures and conversations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>General content questions<\/h2>\n<p>General content questions ask you to identify the main idea of a passage.\u00a0 Regardless of whether the sample is a lecture or a conversation, the answer to this question will almost certainly be at the beginning. General content questions generally begin with \u201cWhat\u2019s the main idea of\u2026\u201d or, in a conversation, \u201cWhat\u2019s ______\u2019s problem?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>General purpose questions<\/h2>\n<p>Nine times out of ten, general purpose questions will be asked about conversations. These questions require you to identify the reason that one of the interlocutors is having the conversation. \u201cWhy does the professor want to talk to the student?\u201d and \u201cWhat information does the student need?\u201d are examples of general purpose questions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Specific content questions<\/h2>\n<p>You may also be asked about specific details in the passage. These are the first of several question types where <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-best-tips-for-note-taking-on-the-toefl\/\">note-taking<\/a> will be essential. They will often ask about some key term that was explained in the lecture or mentioned in the conversation. So if you hear any technical vocabulary or specific offices\/places mentioned, be sure to write them down!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Function questions<\/h2>\n<p>Function questions are pretty easy to recognize, as they generally begin, \u201cWhat is the function of\u2026\u201d followed by a sound clip. The purpose of these questions is to testy our ability to recognize the purpose of a particular phrase, usually some sort of rhetorical device that shows the speaker\u2019s attitude or approach to the subject at hand.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Attitude questions<\/h2>\n<p>Given my above explanation of function questions, attitude questions may seem superfluous. They are, indeed, very similar to function questions, with one major difference: function questions almost always deal with a very specific part of the text not more than a few words in length. Attitude questions will ask about the speaker\u2019s attitude towards a wider issue (perhaps, but not necessarily, towards the main topic of the lecture).\u00a0 It\u2019s important when answering attitude and function questions not to limit yourself to what the speaker actually says, as the correct answer will be implicit rather than explicit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Inference questions<\/h2>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b>Inference questions generally are one of two types: either they ask \u201cwhat can be inferred about ___\u201d, or they ask what will happen immediately after a given excerpt. By definition, of course, inference questions will not be directly stated in the passage. You will often have to synthesize information from several parts of the sample to reach the correct answer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Organization questions<\/h2>\n<p>Organization questions are less common than other questions types. They\u2019ll ask you to comment on the overall organization of a lecture by asking questions like \u201cHow does the professor structure his\/her argument?\u201d and \u201cHow is the information in the lecture organized?\u201d These questions are not usually asked about conversation excerpts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Synthesis questions<\/h2>\n<p>To answer a synthesis question, you will have to take information from different parts of the lecture and organize it in a new way to reveal patterns. These questions can involve tables, comparisons, and relationships between different topics mentioned in the lecture.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The listening section of the TOEFL is similar to the reading section in format and question type. The major difference is that while the reading section dealt only with expository texts on academic topics, the listening section will include a mixture of lectures and conversations. &nbsp; General content questions General content questions ask you to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13616],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13632],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listening"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The TOEFL Listening Section - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The TOEFL Listening Section\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The listening section of the TOEFL is similar to the reading section in format and question type. The major difference is that while the reading section dealt only with expository texts on academic topics, the listening section will include a mixture of lectures and conversations. &nbsp; General content questions General content questions ask you to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-31T17:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:47:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/\",\"name\":\"The TOEFL Listening Section - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-31T17:00:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The TOEFL Listening Section\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\",\"name\":\"Kate Hardin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate Hardin\"},\"description\":\"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The TOEFL Listening Section - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The TOEFL Listening Section","og_description":"The listening section of the TOEFL is similar to the reading section in format and question type. The major difference is that while the reading section dealt only with expository texts on academic topics, the listening section will include a mixture of lectures and conversations. &nbsp; General content questions General content questions ask you to [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL","article_published_time":"2013-12-31T17:00:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-10T21:47:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kate Hardin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_site":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Hardin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/","name":"The TOEFL Listening Section - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-31T17:00:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-toefl-listening-section\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The TOEFL Listening Section"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Online TOEFL Preparation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318","name":"Kate Hardin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate Hardin"},"description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13632,"user_id":47,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kate","display_name":"Kate Hardin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Hardin","first_name":"Kate","description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+KateHardin123?rel=author\">Kate on Google+<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}