How many of you are studying for the TOEIC or IELTS test? What test-taking strategies do you have for the listening sections?
Yumi, one of my clients, wrote the following advice for the listening section of the TOEIC test. However, I think her advice could be helpful for all tests. I was surprised by this advice because I’ve never heard it before and it makes perfect sense. How can her advice help you get a better score?
Yumi writes:
The Listening Section
These include 4 sections.
You can answer Parts 1 and 2 without listening to the instructions. Parts 3 and 4 are more difficult for us to answer because we have to understand long conversations or long explanations. So if possible, you should read the questions and answers of Part 3 during the instruction of Parts 1, 2, and 3. For Parts 3 and 4, don’t read too far ahead because you will forget what you read.
Additionally, you should not fill in the answers completely on your answer sheet, just make a small mark or a little point that you can recognize. After finishing the listening section, go back to No.1 questions of Part 3 and fill them in completely within 2 or 3 minutes. (・) -> (●)
The Reading Section
These also includes 4 sections.
The Reading section also has a lot of questions, so you need to take a lot of time to answer them! If you can’t understand the contents of questions, you should not spend too much time on them and just go to the next question. You must not think too much about them, Feel it! It is better to stop thinking about the questions quickly because you won’t be able to find the correct answers no matter how long you think about them.
(Actually, I have no tips to get higher scores in this section. I believe that the only way to get a higher score is through studying vocabulary and grammar and getting used to reading long sentences quickly.)
What is it about listening that makes her advice so great?
Well, when you know the context, listening becomes much easier. Even in your first language, if you enter a conversation midway, you’ll have to listen for a few minutes until you know the context. Then, everything after will be much easier to understand.
What test-taking or learning advice do you have to share with everyone?
Please tell us in the comments section below.
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