Always Missing TOEFL Listening Detail Questions? Here's What to Do

#Free TOEFL open class info at the end of this post

Hi everyone,

I'm Rosa from SK2.

Lately a lot of students have asked me, “Sometimes the listening detail questions are really specific. What should I do?”

I believe detail questions are one of the most common difficulties students run into on TOEFL Listening.

In fact, I think the reason students often feel the real TOEFL is harder than past practice tests is usually that they missed the details.

So today I'd like to talk with you about listening.

First, let's look at some common wrong mindsets.

Myth 1: Detail questions test tiny details, so I need to listen even more closely.

This is the most common blind spot for most students. When doing TPO, students notice they often miss one or two questions, and at that point

, they think, “I have to catch even more detail to get everything right.” As a result, their notes often end up too long and too fragmented

, and because they focus so hard on catching details, they miss the main idea and structure of the whole passage and can't connect the

information across paragraphs. I'd advise you not to lose the whole forest over one or two trees. TOEFL questions are occasionally quite

detailed, so I suggest setting a goal of missing 0–1 questions per lecture and 0 per conversation. That means there's still a little

room for error. When you really hit a very detailed question, just do your best. If you get it wrong, let that point go. TOEFL Listening uses scaled scores,

so if a question is hard and everyone gets it wrong, you can still reach 29 or 30 even if you miss one or two. You won't

hurt your overall score by missing one or two very detailed questions. On the other hand, if you're used to listening for every tiny detail, you often

can't see how the paragraphs connect or what the information is for, and that's where you lose points.

Myth 2: If I understand everything, I'll get it right.

Most students hold this mindset subconsciously, and that is exactly the problem. When you focus on understanding everything

in the recording, you naturally can't filter information and think about what matters and what doesn't need to be written down. So

TOEFL Listening naturally feels full of messy details, hard to understand, and hard to predict what will or won't be tested. In fact,

TOEFL detail questions are like every other question type: they come with clear signal words. For example, suppose TOEFL Listening

wants to test you on a comparison of two planets in astronomy, as a multiple-answer question. At the start of that section, some signal words will appear

, such as major differences, which hint that you should focus on what comes next. And when the speaker compares the two

planets' features, they usually emphasize the important details through repetition, stress, transition words and so on

. Once you understand that TOEFL isn't testing whether you can understand everything but whether you can catch the key points, you'll naturally

start focusing on the important details.

Next, here's my advice for students who keep missing detail questions.

1. Learn to tell details from noise

TOEFL Listening is really testing your ability to catch key points, which includes telling the main idea, important details and noise apart.

Picture a 40-second to one-minute segment: as much as 30 seconds of it may be noise or content that has already been repeated several times

. The key is whether you can catch the main idea and the important details on the first listen. I suggest

listening carefully to how the speaker sounds when giving noise versus important details, and writing those differences down. Usually, noise

isn't emphasized with any signal words and gets passed over quickly. If what the speaker is describing is an important detail, they will

definitely use several signal words to emphasize it. Generally there are about three signal words around an important piece of information.

Not sure what TOEFL Listening's signal words are?

You're welcome to try a listening class in SK2 TOEFL's intensive course and learn the eight key listening points. Just fill out the form to sign up.

2. When a question is hard, solve it from the big picture

As I said earlier, TOEFL Listening occasionally does ask quite detailed questions. But as long as your error rate isn't too high, it's

still acceptable: a lecture has six questions, so you have room for one mistake. So what do you do when you hit a detail question you don't remember

? It's simple. I suggest solving it from the big picture. More specifically, answer based on the main idea and purpose of the whole segment, and eliminate

options that are too detailed or irrelevant. You can also look at the order of your notes and eliminate information from other paragraphs. Trust that if you

understood 60% of the passage and grasped its main idea, purpose and gist, you can use what you already

know to work out what you didn't hear. Have a little more confidence in your listening, and trust that you really did understand

the passage. Detailed questions still can't beat you; just use the process of elimination. And if one really does stump you, every other

student in the world got stumped too! Just do your best.

3. Review detail questions carefully

Whenever you're unsure about a detail question, review it carefully whether or not you got it right. For example, if I notice I often miss detail

questions, I review them with the following steps. Here I'll use Lecture 1 of TPO 66 as an example.

Now, some fish are so fast, they're not good at stopping even with their

fins. Requiem sharks, for example. Well, you know, how sharks are built for

speed. But these requiem sharks have difficulty stopping. They're unable to

brake themselves efficiently, so they must take sharp turns in order to slow

down or stop. Because of this brake problem, requiem sharks avoid swimming

into coral reefs. Carl reefs are usually crowded, don't allow a lot of space

for large fed to take sharp turns. So these sharks roar around the outside of

the coral reefs.

2. According to the professor, what problem do requiem sharks have

when swimming?

A. Their large fins cause decreased buoyancy.

B. Their fins do not function well as brakes.

C. They cannot make sharp turns.

D. They are unable to accelerate rapidly.

(The answer is B.)

STEP 1: Replay the audio and note the signal words

First, when reviewing, I suggest carefully finding and writing down the signal words around the detail question.

On a second listen, I found that this segment has a proper noun (Requiem sharks), but, difficulty, so, because of,

and other signal words.

STEP 2: Echo the whole segment

Next, echo whole sentences or even the whole segment to get used to how signal words sound. The goal is that next time, on the first listen, you notice

the signal words in the moment and so remember the important details. Here I echo sentence by sentence until I've echoed the whole segment.

Recommended reading, by my colleague Li-Yi: The key to a speaking breakthrough: practicing the ECHO method more thoroughly

STEP 3: Redo your notes

Redoing your notes for this segment builds your organizing skills, so the next time a similar question comes up you can

organize it the clearest way right away. Here I make sure there are no unnecessary notes: my notes are the amount I consider

ideal, and they genuinely help me filter and remember the key points.

Sample notes

STEP 4: Actively predict your weak question types

Last and most important, when you listen to the next recording, actively predict the detail questions. Don't underestimate this crucial

step.

I'll tell you this: it's the key to a high TOEFL Listening score. Whether you can go from the low 20s to 29 or 30 depends on

whether you can get into an active flow while listening. For example, when I start the next astronomy passage,

I first remind myself that it will have detail questions, and while listening I pick out the places where a detail question is likely

. Actively hunting for questions is a bit like reading “Where’s Wally?”: every time you turn

a page, you actively look for Wally. In the same way, in every conversation and lecture, I actively look for detail questions.

4. Build confidence in your listening

Confidence matters a lot. Know this: the parts you don't understand on the test, I might not understand at first either

. The key difference between us is confidence. I look for the main idea and purpose of the information, and if I miss a detail, I focus

on the conclusion. I also often work to catch the explanation that follows, using the simpler explanation after a point to understand abstract concepts

or complicated process details. ETS doesn't design the TOEFL to trip you up and make you lose the motivation and confidence to study

abroad; it wants to test your ability to understand the key points. Think about it: why is there a TOEFL Listening section at all?

It's testing the abilities you need to study abroad. So imagine that during a professor's lecture you miss

a detail. What then? You'd feel it doesn't matter, because you understood the purpose behind the detail and knew what the professor wanted

to emphasize, and that's enough. Confidence in your listening really is the key to a perfect listening score! You might say, “Exactly,

I just don't have confidence in my listening.” Then I'd suggest building a listening habit. When you can watch American TV shows with the subtitles

off and still follow, listen to podcasts every day to learn new things, and even follow the key points of professors' lectures on Coursera

, I don't believe a mere 5–6 minutes of TOEFL Listening can beat you. Even if the questions get more detailed, you'll be fine:

based on the key points you already have, you can absolutely get them right!

Finally, detail questions really aren't that hard, and TOEFL Listening isn't as complicated as you think. Once you understand what abilities TOEFL

Listening tests, you can face the exam with ease, and you may even find that the listening passages are full of interesting knowledge and actually

quite fun. I hope that while preparing for the TOEFL you build the abilities you'll need to study abroad, and grow more and more confident in your

listening!

Warm Regards,

SK2 Rosa ^_______^

＊＊＊

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