In the article that I have read, there are some skills necessary to
follow the toefl listening test :
·
Basic Comprehension
When students listen to a recorded lecture or a
conversation, they should understand the central or main idea in it. Then they
should skim the recording for key points, important facts, purpose and the
relevant details that connects the key points.
·
Practical Understanding
It may also be called as “pragmatic understanding”
where the meaning of a word should be taken, according to the context. Students
are needed to find the intended meaning of the speaker i.e. from his point of
view. A wide range of vocabulary is necessary for this process because, the
recordings in listening test are usually from academic background. Practical
understanding also becomes a must to find the purpose of a lecture or a conversation.
·
Relate Ideas given in multiple information sources
Relating
ideas is the final state where the key points and the important facts are
compared to find the relationship between them. This method would initially
lead to construct an argument. Then a string of supportive and non supportive
elements are categorized and as a result the causes for the events are traced.
This is where a student would end up identifying the conclusion which is
expressed indirectly.
·
Inference
Inference is
to find the implied conclusion in recordings from the author’s point of view.
The conclusion might be implied or expressed indirectly anywhere in the
passage.
These are the basic requirements necessary, in each part of the strategy of
listening section, which consists of two recorded lectures and one long
conversation. These fundamentals are to be followed, in the following few
preparatory steps.
Strategies in Preparation
Besides setting up skill, in listening toefl there are several strategies
that you can learn. These strategies are as follows:
·
Spoken English From Various Sources And Accents
There are
variations between the accents of English. It is the best to listen to English
from various sources like television, music, radio etc. And also it is good to
listen to the native speakers of English with different pronunciation and
dialect. By doing this students would be able to improve their listening skills
and also they will get used to different kinds of accents. It will be helpful
very much if they listen to academic passages or conversations.
·
Making Notes
While
listening to a recording, notes should be jot down. These notes would help you
to remember the important points given by speaker. The reason is also that,
during the test you will be given only one chance to listen to a passage. Note
making will help you to remember the details and the clues effectively.
·
Main Idea
The main
idea of a passage should be identified in a recording, as a first task while
taking notes. Main idea of a lecture is usually given in the introductory part.
The other details would be given in the rest of a lecture. Once the main idea
is found it becomes a lighter task to find the purpose of the speaker.
·
Pointer Words, Important Facts And Relationship Between The Facts
The pointer
words may be defined as signal words or clues, given by the speaker. These
keywords should be collected along with important facts and events. This should
be done in order to compare them and identify the relationship between them. In
turn this would give you the cause of the events.
·
Summary of Observation
Give a
summary of the recording which was listened, using the notes that are taken
down. During this process, only important facts, relevant details, main idea
and the key facts are covered. This is a good time saving technique, to prevent
going through the notes again and again.
·
Building your Vocabulary
Above all it
is also important to build a student’s vocabulary, to find the meaning of a
word, according to the context of the speaker. Students should get familiar
with the words which they consider as new ones and practice them in their
everyday life.
Referensi:
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