TOEFL

LISTENING:
QUESTION
TYPES
Why to know question types?

 Learning question types will help you see the tricks

that the test is trying to use to confuse you.
 You don’t have to memorize them. All you have to do
is practice them a lot.
 When you practice and analyze one question type long
enough you will start seeing the whole structure
around which the question is based on.
1. Gist content- Main Idea

◦ These types of questions contain phrases like “mainly

about” and “mainly discussing”
◦ Always the first question if it is present
◦ Sometimes it can be asked of you to choose 2 option
◦ Sometimes the topic is mentioned at the very
beginning, sometimes it is not mentioned and you
have to figure it out by yourself.
◦ Eliminate the choices that refer to small portions of
the listening
2. Gist purpose – Main Reason

• These types of questions ask you about why did the

student come to the professor (or someone else)
• Always the first question if it is present
• Sometimes it can be asked of you to choose 2 options
• The purpose of a student coming to that person is
usually mentioned at the very beginning of the
conversations.
3. Detail Question (the most common)

◦ These types of questions include phrases like

“according to”, “what is”, “who is”
◦ The question is not about a minor detail
◦ Answer is clearly stated in the listening
◦ Listen for key terms
◦ Do not choose an answer just because it contains
some words that were used in the listening
4. Understanding the speaker’s attitude

◦ Asks about understanding the speaker’s feelings

◦ They include phrases like “what is the professor’s
attitude…”, “what does the student think about…”
and etc.
◦ Listen for the tone of the speaker
◦ Ask yourself what emotion does the tone indicate
5. Understanding the function

◦ Asks you to identify the meaning of a statement in a

given context
◦ They include phrases like “what does the professor
mean when he says…”, “why does the student say…”
◦ Always answer to the question based on the context in
which they are placed
◦ When you are listening to the passage, ask yourself
why something is being mentioned
6. Making inferences

• Asks you about meaning of something that is

not stated directly
• Include phrases such as: “What does the
professor imply when he says…”, “What can
be inferred…” and etc.
 What is Inference?
 a conclusion or opinion that is formed because of known
facts or evidence. Example:
 He did not come to school today. He might be sick.
 In 19th century women in USA started to fight for their
right to vote inference: in 19th century, in USA women did
not have the right to vote.
 Despite a lot of researches, scientists still could not find
the cure for the disease inference: All of the researches
were useless.
7. Understanding organization

◦ Asks you about the relation between two portions of

the passage
◦ Include phrases such as “why does the professor
mention”, “why does the professor discuss”.
◦ Mostly asks about why an example was provided by
the professor
◦ Listen for the transition words such as, “for
example”, “next”, “as a result” and etc.
8. Connecting content

◦ Asks about relationships among ideas in the

lecture
◦ May require you to fill in a chart or a table
◦ Sometimes can ask you to choose more than 2
answers