TOEIC Day 15 - Listening 4 (Short talk) เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน

เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน
TOEIC Day 15 - Listening 4 (Short talk)

   Part 4 of listening test is called short talk because it's a talk by one person on a very specific matter. It's shorter than a lecture talk but it's definitely longer than Part 3 conversation, approximately 1 minute long.

   The subject covers various contexts; office announcement, advertisement, commercial, giving information about insurance plan, or a voice mail message. You have to answer three questions, and again, they will be in the same order with the audio. Like Part 3, READ THE QUESTIONS BEFORE THE AUDIO BEGINS and highlight the keywords.

   Since it's longer than the conversation part, there will be more details in it. Some may be asked about, some may not. So, I suggest you should answer the questions simultaneously. And be prepared for confusing information such as names, place, dates, these kinds of information may be mentioned several times during the talk. It's very important to listen carefully in order to get the right answer. This time it will be much harder to guess if you don't listen well.

   Here are some examples of possible misheard or misunderstanding.

Example 1 You will hear 'Hi, this is Adam Swanson calling for Ron Jaworski.'

        You will read 'Who is the message for?'

   There are two names mentioned in this sentence and to others mentioned later in the talk. In order to it right, you have to listen to it properly and understand what you're listening to, and you'll know that the message is for Ron. Adam is the one who's speaking. In case your listening skill is not good enough, then you should improve it or this part will be extremely difficult for you.

   There is also irrelevant information such as date and time, place, and phone number. That's why reading the questions first is crucial. It will help you know the specific information you're waiting for and ignore other that's unnecessary.

   Besides the listening practice, you should also practice yourself to stay focused under disturbing environment. More exercises can be found here.


Check this out :

http://www.english-test.net/toeic/listening/Talks.html#list

http://www.yeuanhvan.com/part-4-talks

Here are some tips from my own experience.

• Don't worry about the impact. The exam may be very important to your life but it's better to be focused on the exam in front of you rather than worrying about your future.
• Don't waste your time mourning over the previous questions. There are other questions waiting for you, meaning more points are waiting to be collected.
• Make sure you answer all questions. If you leave it blank, there is 0 percent chance that you get the point. If you choose one, the probability is higher to 25 percent.
• Check and recheck that you fill out the right circle. It sounds like a ridiculous mistake but let's make sure that doesn't happen.
• Don't stay up late the previous night because there's nothing else you can do at that point. You better get enough sleep.
• I usually don't review anything during the waiting time. No more books. No more exercises. Because, seriously, neither my listening nor reading skill will be significantly improved within 1 hour. I use that gap time stay as relaxed as possible. 

This article was originally published on chulatutor

TOEIC Day 11 - Listening 3 (Short Conversations) เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน

เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน
TOEIC Day 11 - Listening 3 (Short Conversations)

   In this part, you will hear two people having a conversation and answer three questions based on what you hear. Now, the conversation has a very specific purpose. So, every line matters. Typically, the choices are clear. If you can catch up with the audio, then you have a good chance to get the right answer.

   It's more difficult than the first two parts because the audio is longer. The very first thing that you have to do is READ THE QUESTIONS BEFORE THE AUDIO BEGINS and highlight the keywords. You won't be able to do this if you're still filling out the answers of previous questions. That was my mistake during the first time I took the test. So, the second time, I just marked the circles with dots and went back to fill them out during the gap time between the two tests and the beginning of the reading test. You may waste five minutes of the second part, but trust me, reading the questions first is significantly helpful.

   Then, there are two ways to tackle this part. I want you to try both techniques when you practice and find out what suits you the best.

   ONE. Pay attention to the audio from the beginning to the end, and then answer the questions. When I do this I usually close my eyes so I can focus on the sound and imagine that I'm listening to two of my friends talking. It's a very short and easy conversation. So, with your normal ability of comprehension, you should be able to answer the questions.

   For example, you're listening to two friends talking about a party. What is the important information? It's simply who, what, when, where, why. 

   TWO. For those who have bad memory or easily distracted, I suggest you listen to the audio and answer the questions simultaneously. This is very easy because the questions are in the same sequence as the story from the audio. Don't fill out the circles in the answer sheet right away. Just make a mark. Reading the questions first is highly useful for this strategy.

   I don't know which strategy will be the right one for you. So, try them yourself with these 200 sample tests.

Check this out  :  http://www.english-test.net/toeic/listening/short_business_conversations.html

   I'll show you how to identify keywords and how to rule out the wrong answers by this example.

Talking about self-employed

   Here are the questions and the underlined are the keywords. Remark! The questions usually don't mention the name directly but rather using descriptive nouns such as man, woman, customer, client, interviewer, interviewee, or shop owner.

      1). What are the speakers talking about?
      2). How many clients does the woman have?
      3). What does the woman say about self employment?

   Then you'll hear this conversation.

The man:	Hey, Cindy. How are you doing with your new business?
The woman:	Hey, Greg. It's going well. I signed up two new clients last week,
	and now I have five total.
The man:	Wow, five already. That's great! How do you like being self-employed?
The woman:	Oh it's wonderful. I can work from home, and even from the coffee shop.
	And I can set my own hours. I did a conference call last week while
	I was wearing my night gown and bathrobe.

   As you can see that the subjects in the conversation are in the same order with the questions; the new business in general, the numbers of clients, and thought about self-employed.

1). What are the speakers talking about?
a. The man's job	b. The man's salary	c. The woman's business	d. The woman's clients

   You can rule out the first two choices because the man is the one who's asking the questions. Now, you can judge from the very first line of the conversation that they are talking about the woman's business. The numbers of client is just minor detail.

2). How many clients does the woman have?
a. Two	b. Three	c. Four	d. Five

   There are only two numbers mentioned in the audio; Two and Five. Now if you can't catch what she is saying exactly, there's a fifty-fifty percent chance that you'll get the right answer. The word 'total' at the end of the line is the indicator. Five is the correct answer.

3). What does the woman say about self employment?
a. She loves it.	b. She has mixed feelings.
c. She can sleep until noon.	d. She cannot set her own hours.

   Since her answer is quite long, even if I have no idea of what she said, I'll go with choice a. because the first sentence suggests positive opinion. In case your listening skill is well enough, you know that she didn't mention anything about sleep time or other negative comments. So, a. is the correct answer.

   You can find more practice exercise here.

Check this out : http://www.toeic-online-test.com/free-toeic-tests/short-conversations/index.htm

This article was originally published on chulatutor

TOEIC Day 7 - Listening 2 (Question-response) (เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน)

เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน

TOEIC Day 7 - Listening 2 (Question-response) 

Part II of Listening test is called question-response. From the audio, you hear a question and three responses. You basically have to choose the response that conforms to the question. This part truly tests your listening skill because the answers are quite explicit. If you hear the audio correctly, there's a good chance that you'll get the answer correctly.

There are two strategies to handle this part; get used to the test and improve your listening skill.

Get used to the test. The questions are to be found in working environment and general situation. The choices may not be the answer but an appropriate response. For example:

1). Isn't this the train to Albuquerque?

   (A) No, we're headed for Santa Fe.

   (B) No, I usually take a taxi.

   (C) Yes, the training began last week.

This conversation likely takes place on a train. One passenger asks Isn't this the train to Albuquerque?. So, the appropriate response should be whether or not the train is heading Albuquerque or where is this train going. The correct answer is (A) because Sante Fe is a place. (B) is irrelevant. And (C) is far more irrelevant because it's talking about a training, not a train. 

2). Why don't you send an e-mail to the CEO?

   (A) The mail hasn't come yet.

   (B) Good idea. I think I will.

   (C) Yes, I have an appointment.

An office is the place where you most likely find this conversation. From the question, you may be expecting a reason why the person didn't send an e-mail, to which (A) and (C) are not appropriate. (B), while it doesn't seem like a reason, is the correct answer because Why-don't-you question is, in another aspect, a suggestion.


Doing a lot of exercise will finally give you the idea of potential response. At least you'll know how to rule out obviously wrong choices. For example, when the question asks for a location, anything about time or date is supposedly not the answer. Here are links to more than 200 exercises.


Check this out :

http://www.toeic-online-test.com/free-toeic-tests/questions-responses/index.htm

http://www.english-test.net/toeic/listening/Question-Response.html

Improve your listening skill. There are many sources where you can practice listening skill, for instance, movie, news report, or lecture tape. Since the nature of TOEIC is to test English usage in everyday life and working environment, I suggest you should practice with naturally-spoken English. There's a better chance to catch the words and phrases that could appear in TOEIC test. Here are the links. For someone who has serious problem with listening skill, you may want to start with the easier levels first.


Check this out :

http://www.manythings.org/elllo/

https://www.englishlistening.com/index.php/listen-to-passages/


Remember, if you can do it, you'll want to do it more. When you do it more, you'll get better. So, don't push yourself too hard. It's a long-term process which means consistency is the most important matter.


This article was originally published on chulatutor

TOEIC Day 3 - Listening 1 (Photographs) (เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน)

เทคนิคการเตรียมตัวสอบ toeic ภายใน 16 วัน
TOEIC Day 3 - Listening 1 (Photographs)

The first part of TOEIC Listening test is photographs. 10 photographs will be given. You'll hear 4 sentences from the audio. Pick the one that best describe or in accordance with the photograph. The photos portray general situation in daily life. They may include everything we see every day, people, animals, or places. Here is what you should bear in mind.

• The choices you'll hear are not always the description of the photo but they may be facts and false that can be drawn from the photo.
• The choices will come in a form of a full sentence, one simple sentence. Make sure you pay attention to the whole sentence, not just first few words. Perceive it as a sentence, not each word separately.

There are two useful techniques. The first one is pay good attention to the audio. Don't try to pre-identify the possible keywords because there are too many possibilities. You'll get panic when you don't hear the words you though you would hear. This will only distract you from the audio. Here are some examples.

The keywords you might be thinking of.

• Cars
• Buildings
• Skyscrapers
• River
• Boats

   The choices are

   (A) There are more craft on the water than there are cars on the road.

   (B) This photo shows us a busy rush hour scene.

   (C) Most of the buildings in the picture are typical domestic residences.

   (D) There is no evidence of any people walking in the photo.

As you can see, the choices are something that you can't guess. So, don't guess. However, when you listen to the audio, try to locate the KEYWORDS in the choices and look at the specific part of the photo regarding them. The underlined ones are the keywords.

The second technique is eliminating the wrong answers. Rather than choosing the right answer, try to identify the wrong answers instead. 

(A) There are more craft on the water than there are cars on the road.

Wrong. There are less craft on the water than there are cars on the road. At this point, even though you don't know what craft means, you know that there is barely nothing on the water.

(B) This photo shows us a busy rush hour scene.

Possible. The traffic seems to be really bad. So, it could be rush hour.

(C) Most of the buildings in the picture are typical domestic residences.

Wrong. The buildings are skyscrapers. They are definitely not typical residences.

(D) There is no evidence of any people walking in the photo.

Wrong. You can see people walking along the river.

   Now you know that B is the right answer. Now, if it appears to you that there are more than one possible answers. Try your best guess and move on to the next question.

   Here is the website where you will find more than 600 photos to practice on.

Check this out  :  http://www.english-test.net/toeic/listening/#photographs

This article was originally published on chulatutor