Intro part 4.
- 1. TOEIC LISTENING TEST PART 4. SHORT TALKS
- 2. PART 4. SHORT TALKS This part of the TOEIC test consists of ten short talks. Each short talk has three questions, and there are four answer choices for each question. The short talks are all given by a single speaker, either a man or a woman. They are longer than the conversations you hear in Part 3, so concentration is vital in this section.
- 3. topics The talks cover a variety of different types, such as: business talks, recorded announcements, advertisements, public announcements, news bulletins, weather forecasts, and traffic reports.
- 4. QUICK CHECK • How many short talks are there in this part of the TOEIC test? • How many speakers are there in each short talk? • How many questions are there in each short talk? • How many answer choices are there for each question? • How are these talks different from the conversations in part 3?
- 5. KEY SKILLS- Listening for main ideas -In part 4, you need to show that you can understand the main ideas in the short talks you listen to. Questions that test your ability to understand main ideas in a short talk may ask about the speaker, the topic, the audience, the location, and the purpose of the talk. • Common questions include Who is the speaker? What is the message mainly about? Who is the audience for this talk? Where is this announcement being made? What is the purpose of this talk?
- 6. • As you listen, ask yourself: Who is the speaker? What is the speaker talking about? Who is the speaker talking to? Where is this taking place? What is the aim of the talk? • Don’t worry about words you miss. You do not need to understand every single word in a short talk in order to understand the main ideas.
- 7. Listening for Details Listening for details is also an important skill that is tested in Part 4. You need to show that you can identify and understand important points in the short talks you listen to. Questions that test your ability to understand details in a short talk may ask about numbers, dates, times reasons, requests, people, places, problems, suggestions, plans, and sequences.
- 8. • Look for Wh- questions (e.g., questions beginning with What, When, Why, How, etc.). • Before you listen, make sure you know what information you need to listen for. • Listen to the statement at the beginning of each short talk. This tells you what kind of short talk you will hear (an advertisement, an announcement, etc.). • As you listen, identify ant key words or phrases related to the information you need. • Focus on the information you need to answer each question.
- 9. Making Inferences You also need to show that you can understand things that are not directly stated in the short talks you hear. Questions that test your ability to make inferences in a short talk may ask about the speaker’s attitude, or ask to make deductions based on what you hear. • Look for questions such as What does the speaker imply about..? Which of these statements is probably true? How does the woman probably feel about..?
- 10. • As you listen, think about the speaker’s attitude and notice the stress and intonation. The way a word or phrase is spoken can tell you a lot about the speaker’s mood. • Try also to think “behind” the words and draw conclusions from what you hear. • Always listen to the whole conversation before making any inferences.