達特豪's TOEFL Listening Tips

TOEFL score 106 (R29 L28 S23 W26)

Listening 3-4 lectures, 6 questions each; 2-3 conversations, 5 questions each; 41-57 minutes to answer

The biggest difference between TOEFL listening and the listening tests we're used to is the note-taking. The listening we knew before used simple words and fairly uniform accents, but TOEFL passages are long. They might be academic lectures or casual conversations, on topics like school policies, dorm changes and so on.

Next, I'm used to writing the whole lecture down on paper like this. Since I don't know what they'll ask, having this is like having the lecture script for me, so I just go back to my notes to find the answer. It can really boost your accuracy!

Practice lots of different accents. Some people may not be used to British accents, so pay attention to that.

On the replay questions, also watch for changes in tone or the meaning behind what's said, and think it through logically before answering.

Another thing that comes down to luck: the person sitting next to you might answer faster, which means they reach the speaking section while you're still on listening…… you know what that means, right! And if you get someone who likes to talk really loudly, you won't be able to hear what the hell the recording is saying, so it really comes down to luck!

Prep tips:

The biggest difference between TOEFL listening and the listening tests we're used to is the note-taking. Your notes only need to make sense to you. For example, write school as schl or even scl, and people as ppl. You probably get my principle. Of course this takes a long time to practice, or you'll often end up in the awkward spot where you can't read what you just wrote XD

Try to practice until you can reconstruct 100% of the audio from your notes, and then you've made it!!

Final thoughts:
Listening is a weak spot for a lot of people. If you haven't found the trick yet and you're stuck under 20, want to know how to improve a lot? In this episode I'll tell you everything I know❕❕

For the conversations, some people may not need notes and can answer from memory. I'm on the cautious side and try to write down every keyword I hear. If you carry that principle over to the lecture questions, your accuracy will go way up, because it's like answering with the lecture script in hand. How could you get it wrong (?
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A side note: I also had someone next to me who finished listening super fast, so while I was still on listening they were already doing speaking. You all know people usually talk really loudly in speaking, afraid the mic won't pick them up, so they drowned out several of my questions😡 Watch out for this
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Finally, the extra section might be added to reading or listening, purely down to your luck. I think it's better in listening, because with more questions, each one actually counts for less