TOEFL Booster / But anyway, watch for digressions
In the listening section of the Internet-based TOEFL (iBT), the lectures are meant to sound like spoken English, not like written English. They are not simply passages read aloud. In an effort to make them sound like actual lectures in a real classroom, the Educational Testing Service has built lifelike features into them, such as hesitations, backtracking and digressions.
A hesitation is a point in spoken language where the speaker stops briefly, thinking a little bit before going on. Sometimes, these are indicated with some little hesitation marker, like "uh." At other times, they might be marked by repetition that simply wastes time while the speaker decides what to say next. At still other times, they might simply be pauses.
When a speaker backtracks, he or she goes back to correct a fact, or a mispronunciation, or a few words and phrases.
In a digression, a speaker briefly leaves the main topic and talks about something that is not really important. Of course, digressions are not important to the actual lecture, so students don't have to take notes on them. Recognizing them, however, is important. Focusing on something that is really a digression will draw your attention from what you should understand.
To get some idea of how hesitations, backtracking, and digressions work, look at this sample from a lecture about hurricanes.
Back in August 1960...uh..1969, Hurricane Camille hit land in southeast Louisiana. I think we all know about hurricanes hitting this area and doing a lot of damage. That's New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River, of course. But anyway, of all hurricanes to hit the United States since 1900--and that includes Hurricane Katrina in 2005--Camille had the highest recorded sustained winds at landfall. They were clocked at 172 miles per hour, if you can believe it. By the way, that's not very much less than the wind speeds in a small tornado. Camille was also one of only three Category 5 hurricanes--the strongest type--to hit the U.S. since 1900. Hurricane Katrina, by comparison, was a Category 4 storm.
Notice that near the beginning of the lecture, the speaker says, "Back in August 1960...uh..1969." This could be backtracking or hesitation. It's hard to tell, but then it doesn't really matter. Your task as the listener is simply to recognize that 1969 is the year to remember, not 1960.
The statement, "I think we all know about hurricanes hitting this area and doing a lot of damage. That's New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River, of course," is a very short digression.
Notice also that the speaker says, "but anyway" right after this digression. This is one of many possible signals for returning to the main topic. Others are, "but never mind," "to get back on track" and "but that's beside the point." Speakers say things like this when they realize they've strayed from what they meant to lecture about.
Notice that the speaker uses "by the way" to introduce a later digression about winds.
The people who write listening questions for the iBT are eager to see whether a test-taker can deal with such natural-seeming speech. A question based on the passage above might, for example, be something like this.
Listen again to part of the lecture:
They were clocked at 172 miles per hour, if you can believe it. By the way, that's not very much less than the wind speeds in a small tornado.
Question: Why does the speaker say, "by the way"?
a. Because the winds were very strong
b. Because Hurricane Camille caused tornadoes
c. Because the information about tornadoes is not important
d. Because the winds blew trees onto the roads
The correct answer is "c."
Questions about backtracking and digressions are much more likely than questions about hesitations. The exception to this rule might involve hesitations that convey the speaker's feelings or attitudes. For example, the hesitation in the following is meaningful.
The trenches of Europe during the First World War are often thought of as battlefields but, to be honest, they were really more like...uh, like...well, open graves.
A question might relate to this hesitation because it shows the speaker's reluctance to use a very disturbing image.
Here is another passage from the lecture about hurricanes. Following it are a few questions. Use your awareness of hesitations, backtracking, and digressions to answer them.
This question relates to backtracking. The correct answer is "b."
On the oil platforms offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, where every one of the thousands of workers was taken off in a timely manner, there were no fatalities during Hurricane Camille at all. That figures, doesn't it? If you've got the wealth of an oil company protecting you, you're probably going to survive. But if you're just an average guy...Well, forget about that for now. Back to business. In Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, where virtually everybody evacuated the lower peninsula, there were only...uh, I think, six--no, make that seven deads. I mean, deaths. That's less than one fatality per twenty-five hundred residents. In Nelson County, Virginia, however, there were no evacuation warnings. Guess what? The death rate from Camille exceeded one fatality per one hundred county residents.
The obvious lesson is uh, obvious. Clear. Lives indeed are saved when local officials and at-risk residents have time to prepare. But you know, that might not happen now. Look at what's happening to our basic governmental services. No money. Bare-bones staffing. Don't get me started. Adequate preparation. Right. Some communities in coastal Mississippi were evacuated before Camille mostly because private citizens worked out a plan.
Question 1: How many people died during Camille in Plaquemines Parish?
a. 6 b. 7
c. 100 d. 2,500
Question 2: Why does the speaker say, "Don't get me started"?
a. The lecture cannot yet begin
b. He wanted to correct an earlier mistake
c. He was talking about something other than the main topic
d. He needed to think more about what to say
This is a question about a digression. The correct answer is "c."
Next month's TOEFL Booster will look again at the features that make for good independent speaking responses.
Zwier teaches at Michigan State University and is an author of The Michigan Guide to Academic Success and Better Scores.