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8 Top TOEFL Listening Practice

Resources to Help You Study

Christine Sarikas / April 2, 2017 / TOEFL Listening / studying for toe , toe practice

Getting good TOEFL Listening practice in can be di cult because a lot of practice

questions and quizzes aren’t high quality. The questions they ask aren’t similar to
what you’ll see on the TOEFL, the conversations and lectures don’t follow the same
format as the real exam, and some don’t even include audio recordings, which is
pretty much the entire point.

Not to fear though, we’ve combed through TOEFL Listening practice materials
and compiled all the best options for you. Read this guide to learn what you
should be using to prepare as well as the tips you need to follow in order to get the
most out of your studying.

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Overview of the TOEFL Listening Section

Listening is the second of four sections on the TOEFL. The entire section lasts 60 to
90 minutes and includes four to six lectures and two to three
conversations. Each lecture lasts about three to ve minutes and is followed by six
questions, and each conversation lasts about three minutes and is followed by ve
questions.

The variation in time and length is due to the fact that some test takers will have un-
scored experimental questions in their TOEFL Listening section, making it extra long,
while others will have experimental questions during their Reading instead. You
won’t know which questions are experimental and which are graded, so try not to
worry about it too much.

The lectures and conversations will be similar to those you’ll likely hear as a
student. They may be a conversation between a student and teacher, a class
discussion, a lecture by a professor, or a similar scenario. There will be pictures on
the computer screen to give you an idea of how many people will be speaking and
what anarkan setting will be.

What You’ll Need to Be Prepared for TOEFL Listening

In order to succeed on TOEFL Listening, you’ll need strong listening, writing, and
reading skills in order to listen to the audio recordings, take notes, and answer
questions correctly. TOEFL Listening requires multiple skills, you’ll need multiple
TOEFL Listening exercises to be completely prepared. Some of the main things
you’ll need for your TOEFL Listening exercises include:

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Complete TOEFL Listening practice tests

Individual TOEFL Listening practice questions

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Opportunities to practice your listening skills

Opportunities to practice your note-taking skills

In the next section, we’ll discuss the best resources for TOEFL Listening practice.

The Best TOEFL Listening Practice Tests

In this section are all the best TOEFL Listening study materials, organized into three
groups. Use these resources to be prepared and con dent on test day.

O cial Prep Materials

O cial resources are the best to use during your TOEFL Listening exercises since
they are often very similar to the real test, particularly if they include audio
recordings. In this section we discuss all the TOEFL Listening practice materials
available, both free and paid. ETS doesn’t provide just Listening questions, so each of
the resources listed below includes practice material for the other TOEFL sections. Be
sure to use at least some of these resources during your studying.

TOEFL iBT Sampler

The TOEFL iBT Sampler is a program you can download with o cial practice
questions. It’s a high-quality free and o cial resource to use. It includes a
full practice exam, including a complete TOEFL Listening practice test with
audio recordings. However, the Sampler only works with Windows, so you can’t
download it if you use a Mac.

TOEFL iBT Quick Prep

Quick Prep is another free resource which contains four volumes of practice
questions. Each volume includes a PDF of practice questions that covers all sections
of the TOEFL, including TOEFL Listening. Two volumes also include audio recordings
of Listening questions to go with the PDF. Volumes 1 and 2 only include transcripts of
the audio recordings for the Listening section, but Volumes 3 and 4 include both
transcripts and audio les, so they are closer to the actual TOEFL Listening section.

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TOEFL iBT Sample Questions

This PDF is another free and o cial resource. It’s not the best o cial resource to use
since it has no audio recordings, only transcripts of conversations, and it pretty short
(just two conversations), so it isn’t that close to the format of the real TOEFL Listening.
However, the questions themselves are still high-quality, and studying them can give
you a better idea of what questions will look like on TOEFL Listening.

TOEFL Practice Online (TPO) Tests

TPO tests are retired TOEFL exams now sold to people studying for the TOEFL. They
give the closest experience to the real TOEFL, and include a complete TOEFL and
audio recordings for each Listening conversation. You’ll have to pay $45 for each
complete TOEFL you buy (you can’t just buy individual Listening sections). Your exam
will be automatically graded after you nish it.

This is a useful resource, but if you don’t want to spend that much money on a TOEFL
listening practice test, it’s perfectly possible to do well just using the above practice
resources.

O cial TOEFL Prep Books

ETS sells several o cial TOEFL prep books. The O cial Guide to the TOEFL Test, in
addition to explaining the types of questions on the test, contains numerous practice
questions and three full-length exams. There’s also the O cial TOEFL iBT Tests
Volumes 1 and 2. Each of these books contains ve unique practice tests, available on
paper and the computer. Audio recordings for the Listening section are included
either on a CD or with an online access code you receive with the book.

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Uno cial Prep Materials

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of high-quality, uno cial practice tests out there for
TOEFL Listening. Many resources use transcripts instead of audio recordings
and/or have recordings and questions that are very di erent from what you’ll
see on the TOEFL. This means that those materials won’t be giving you a great idea
of what the real TOEFL will look like. Below are some of the better uno cial TOEFL
Listening practice tests out there, as well as information on TOEFL prep books.

PrepScholar

At PrepScholar, we’ve created a full-length TOEFL Listening test with the same format,
language and time limits you’ll see on the real TOEFL. In my opinion, it’s the most
accurate uno cial TOEFL Listening practice test.

You can access this practice test for free via PrepScholar TOEFL’s YouTube channel or
click below to play. tThe answer keys to this practice test can be accessed in the

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description of the video’s YouTube page.

TOEFL Listening Practice Test - full test with answers

Registration Open for our Most Popular TOEFL Course VIEW COURSE

Exam English

This site has ve recordings of Listening lectures and three conversations, each
followed by about ve to ten questions. They aren’t an exact replica of the real TOEFL
Listening section, but they do a decent job of simulating TOEFL recordings and
Listening questions.

Magoosh

Magoosh has a PDF and audio recordings you can download that include one lecture
and one conversation, along with questions for each. There’s not a lot of practice
material here, but the audio recordings and questions are high-quality, and they
come with in-depth answer explanations which can help if you’re struggling to
understand why a particular answer is correct.

Uno cial Prep Books

Prep books, even uno cial ones, are usually a great resource for practice questions.
Most books include sample Listening questions with audio as well as one or more
complete practice TOEFLs at the end of the book. You can learn all about the best
TOEFL prep books by reading our guide. 
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Other TOEFL Listening Study Resources

Your preparation shouldn’t only consist of answering practice Listening questions;

just getting regular exposure to hearing English spoken will help you improve the
skills you need to do well on this section. Below are some of the best ways to hear
more spoken English.

TED Talks

During a TED Talk a speaker talks about an issue they feel strongly about for about 10
to 20 minutes. The speech can be about pretty much anything, from technology, sea
animals, how to tell when someone is lying, and more. The speaker is often an expert
in the eld they are discussing. These are a great option for listening to spoken
English since they’re fairly short and often very engaging. Also, there are so many
talks available (over 2000 on their website), that you can be sure to nd a topic that
interests you.

Podcasts

Podcasts are another great listening resource since they cover a variety of topics to
suit your interests and can be listened to almost anywhere. You can choose a
podcast based on your interests or look for ones speci cally designed for
English learners.

Google “ESL podcasts” for some ideas. Popular options include BBC’s The English We
Speak and Breaking News English. Both are geared towards English learners.

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News Stations

News stations are also a great way to hear English. Newscasters often speak more
clearly than the average person, so if you’re still working on your listening skills, you
may nd them easier to understand. Many major news networks will post short clips
on their website or YouTube which recap news stories.

In-Person Conversations

A nal way to boost your listening skills is to have a conversation with a real live
person in English. This can be done through an English club or just with a friend who
speaks English or is also learning. By conversing with them, you’ll improve your
listening skills as well as your speaking skills, which can help you on the Speaking
section of the TOEFL as well! Try to talk about di erent topics each time you
meet up to broaden your vocabulary and make you more con dent in a variety
of speaking and listening situations.

How to Get the Most Out of Your TOEFL Listening

Practice

Once you know which resources to use to prepare for TOEFL Listening, it’s time to
focus on how to use those materials in the most e ective way. Below are three tips to
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help you get the most out of your studying.

Take Complete Listening Practice Tests

The TOEFL Listening section can be challenging because you spend it going back and
forth between listening to recordings and answering questions. After a few
recordings, you may get tired and your attention may start to lag on later parts of the
test. This can really hurt your score if you miss important information in the audio
recording, so you want to take steps to avoid this, and one of the best ways to do
that is to take complete practice Listening sections.

A full Listening section is four lectures and two conversations. While you’re studying,
set aside time regularly to take complete practice Listening sections with no breaks
and no distractions, just like on the real TOEFL. Doing this will help you become
familiar with the length and pacing of the Listening section before test day.

O cial resources are often the best to use for this since most have enough questions
for at least one complete Listening section.

Practice Taking Good Notes

You should take notes on every lecture or conversation you hear during the Listening
section. Don’t trust your memory; these recordings are each several minutes long
and can contain a lot of information. Get into the habit early by taking notes during
every practice recording you listen to. While taking notes keep these tips in mind:

Write while the recording is playing (not after) to lessen your chances of
forgetting something and running out of time between the end of the recording
and the beginning of the questions.

Focus on main ideas while taking notes. Don’t worry about getting every word
down; most questions won’t focus on minor details. Concentrate mainly on why
each speaker is talking, what their motive is, and the main points they make.

It can also help to make a separate column in your notes for each speaker and
write the main points of what they say under the appropriate column to make it
easier to recall who said what.

Become Comfortable With Background Noise

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The audio recordings in the TOEFL Listening section purposely include background
noise in order to more accurately recreate classroom and academic situations you’ll
often nd yourself in. While the main speaker is talking, there may be construction
going on in the background, students having side conversations, music playing, or
something similar. You’ll still be able to hear the speaker(s) clearly, but these
background sounds can be distracting if you aren’t used to them and make it harder
for you to understand what is being said.

The best way to avoid being distracted is to get used to hearing English with
background noise. News casters will often do some stories outside, and these often
include other noise (tra c, wind, people talking in the background). Other good
options include speeches given to large crowds, such as graduation speeches, which
often have guests murmuring in the background.

Review: TOEFL Listening Exercises

It’s important to use high-quality study materials when doing your TOEFL Listening
practice in order to get the most accurate idea of what to expect on exam day. Use a
combination of o cial, uno cial, and listening resources in order to be well
prepared.

While studying, you should also be sure to keep these tips in mind:

Take complete TOEFL Listening practice tests

Practice taking good notes
Become comfortable with background noise

What’s Next?

Looking for more information on the TOEFL Listening section? Learn all the tips
you need to know in order to ace TOEFL Listening!

What score should you be aiming to get on the TOEFL? Learn what a good TOEFL
score is based on the schools you’re interested in attending.

Want more resources to help you prepare for the TOEFL? Prep books are one of
the best ways to raise your score. Read about the ve best TOEFL prep books and
learn how to choose the best one for you.

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Author: Christine Sarikas

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology
and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in
the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught
English and biology in several countries. View all posts by Christine Sarikas

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