Translated by OfferLand from the original Traditional Chinese post. View original
SK2 TOEFL 共同創辦人David
Updated Feb 14
Missed Something in Your Listening Notes and Unsure Which Option to Pick? Here's What to Do
"Teacher, I can't catch the keywords in listening, I didn't get them in my notes, and when I answer I'm unsure about the options. What should I do?"
I'm David from SK2 TOEFL, with a perfect 6.0/6.0 on the new TOEFL both at home and at a test center.
A lot of students notice their listening notes are sparse, get worried, and come ask me: "Teacher, do I need to memorize more vocabulary?" "How do I practice intensive listening?" "Is my listening hopeless?"
Actually, there's no need to rush into "practicing listening."
The process should be:
1. Check "whether the correct answer option has a word you don't understand" →
2. Check "whether that word is in your notes" →
3. "Go back to the listening transcript and confirm the word (or a paraphrase of it) is in the audio" →
4. Listen to that sentence over and over and decide whether you "heard it but didn't think it was important" or "didn't hear it at all"
Maybe your notes are sparse but everything that gets tested is in them, in which case you don't need intensive listening practice. As everyone knows, choosing well matters more than working hard. Knowing how to judge what will be tested matters more than understanding and writing down everything.
When should you practice intensive listening? When "you know this will be tested, but you can't understand what's being tested." Then intensive listening is your only option. For most students, before rushing into "intensive listening," it's more important to review carefully and figure out why you got it wrong.
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