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TOEFL iBT® Test

The premier test of academic English communication

Learn more by selecting any step in your TOEFL iBT® journey.

 

TOEFL iBT Listening Section

The TOEFL iBT Listening section is designed to measure your ability to understand conversations and lectures in English. It includes listening for:

  • basic comprehension
  • understanding the speaker's attitude and degree of certainty
  • connecting information

Listening questions

You’ll hear lectures and conversations in this section. Both use language you would hear on a university campus.

  • 3 lectures, 3-5 minutes each, some with classroom discussion; 6 questions per lecture
  • 2 conversations, 3 minutes each; 5 questions per conversation

You can take notes on any audio item throughout the test to help you answer questions.

Test time: It should take about 36 minutes to complete the Listening section.

 

Listening videos

Watch these videos to learn about the types of questions in the Listening section, plus helpful tips.

 

Play video button Video About Gist-Content and Gist-Purpose

Gist-Content and Gist-Purpose

 

Identify the main point or purpose of the conversation or lecture.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Detail Question

Detail

 

Identify specific facts from the conversation or lecture.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Listening Function

Function

 

Understand why a speaker said something.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Listening Attitude

Attitude

 

Recognize how a speaker feels about something.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Listening Organization

Organization

 

Understand why the lecture is structured the way it is.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Listening Connecting Content

Connecting Content

 

Predict an outcome, draw a conclusion or understand a cause-and-effect relationship.

View Transcript

Play video button Video About Listening Inference

Inference

 

Recognize information that is implied but not directly stated.

View Transcript

Accents

The Listening section includes native-speaker English accents from North America, the U.K., New Zealand or Australia to better reflect the variety of accents you might encounter while studying abroad. For example, listen to this talk about the greenhouse effect (MP3). The lecturer is from the U.K.