Strategies

Testing Materials

At a test center, you will be provided with scratch paper and pencils. Personal scratch paper, pens, and pencils are not permitted in the testing room.

For the Home Edition, you must use an erasable marker and write on either a whiteboard or a blank sheet of paper placed inside a transparent sheet protector.

The TOEFL iBT Listening section includes the following tasks:

🎧 Listen and Choose a Response

This task presents short dialogues on everyday topics, followed by a spoken question or statement. You must choose the most appropriate response. The question or statement is heard only; it does not appear on screen.

🎧 Listen to a Conversation

This task involves listening to a short conversation between two speakers on an everyday topic. You must answer two questions about the conversation.

🎧 Listen to an Announcement

This task is designed to resemble what you would hear in an academic context, such as in a classroom or at a school-related event. You must answer X questions about each announcement.

🎧 Listen to an Academic Talk

This task involves listening to a short (100–250 word) academic talk. Topics are drawn from fields such as history, art and music, life science, physical science, business and economics, and social science. You must answer four questions about the talk.