TOEIC Booster / 'Wh-' questions end better
Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz Special to The Daily Yomiuri
In the last column (June 1), we looked at the TOEFL test. This week, we turn to the TOEIC test. We will look at wh-questions in Part III of the test, Short Conversations. In particular, we will examine how specific wh-questions lead to predictable types of content in the conversations. We will study how test-takers can focus their reading and listening to increase their chances of choosing the correct response.
In the TOEIC Short Conversations, test-takers hear a brief dialog between two speakers. Then they read three questions about the dialog and answer them.
Let's look at a sample Short Conversation question from the new TOEIC.
You hear on the tape recording:
Man: I'm still looking for somebody to develop the Web page. I'm thinking we're going to have to outsource it, either to India or China.
Woman: I keep saying that we ought to do our Web page here in the States. If we don't want to put a full-timer on it, we could hire some local freelancer, or maybe even a college student. They could probably do it in 100 hours or so.
Man: With tech work, the cheapest rate we can get is 40 dollars an hour. These days, students with tech skills can charge a lot, because there is so much work for them.
Woman: That's ridiculous. There are kids at my son's high school who've developed their own Web pages, and they mow lawns for ten bucks an hour. We could hire one of them, easy.
You read in your test book (and hear parts on the tape recording):
1. Who does the woman want to hire to do the Web page?
(A) A full-timer
(B) A freelancer
(C) A tech company
(D) A teacher at a high school or college
2. How much do tech workers charge per hour?
(A) 100 dollars
(B) 40 dollars
(C) 30 dollars
(D) 10 dollars
3. Why is tech work so expensive?
(A) Technology in India and China is expensive.
(B) U.S. schools don't graduate many competitive workers.
(C) Little of it is outsourced.
(D) There is a lot of demand for such work.
The correct responses to Example 1 are (B), (B) and (D).
In the example, the questions ask who, how much and why. Other questions that are typical in the Short Conversation part of the test include what, when, where and how.
The regularity of these wh-questions leads to a similarly regular pattern in the content of the Short Conversations. That is, the Short Conversations often contain several possible responses to any given wh-question. So, for example, if a question asks who, you can be certain that the conversation will also contain references to several different whos.
Let's look at an example of this in the sample conversation. Question 1 asks who the woman wants to hire to do the Web page. Considering this, it is completely predictable that the short conversation will contain several references to people. Indeed, if we look, we find the names of three people (a full-timer, a freelancer, and students). This is no coincidence. The offering of several apparently reasonably answers in the short conversation is exactly what makes the test question challenging.
Such multiple, possible attractive responses to any given test question are called "distractors" in the testing world, and test-takers should be aware of their existence so that they can adopt a proactive approach to avoiding them. In the case of the Short Conversation section of the test, the most common piece of advice given in this regard is that test-takers should try to read the questions before they listen to the short conversation. By reading the questions first, test-takers can know exactly what information to listen for in the conversation.
There's a second less common, but even more import!ant, piece of advice related to this suggestion to pre-read. That is, test-takers must integrate the whole test question. More specifically, they must read it completely. While this may seem self-evident, some test-takers may fail to make this their practice. Under test pressure, they may face the temptation to read just the first couple of words in the question, thinking that this is a good enough way to get the gist.
This is a very dangerous way to cut corners on the TOEIC Short Conversations. As we have seen, wh-question words occur frequently at the beginning of test questions, and the short conversations are specifically constructed to offer multiple possible answers to any of them. So, as it turns out, what's more import!ant than the general wh-part of the question, is its specifics.
Understanding this, we can see that a test-taker who simply scans a test question's start will likely miss its more substantive part. And this part is frequently the second half of the question. In the example, for instance, the meat of the questions lies in their second halves. In question #1, the operative part is arguably "... woman want to hire to do the Web page." In question #2, it is, "... tech workers charge per hour." one may even argue that the who and the how much are virtually immaterial, considering that all of the answer options, by default, will address these question words.
To summarize, the frequency of wh-questions in the Short Conversation part of the TOEIC test leads to a fairly predictable pattern in the contents of the short conversations.
Test-takers who are aware of this can avoid the simple pitfall of choosing the first or most prominent wh-answer they hear. Instead, they must listen for the exact wh-response to the specific wh-question that was posed in the first place. The best way to do this is to read the questions, in their entirety, before listening to the conversation.
The next Booster column will feature the TOEFL test. If you have questions or comments about the TOEIC test, or about this column, please e-mail Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz at dy-edu@yomiuri.com.
@: Stafford-Yilmaz is a former TOEIC test-question writer. She has taught TOEIC courses in Japan and in the United States. She is also the author of several English textbooks.
(Jun. 15, 2007)
Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz Special to The Daily Yomiuri
In the last column (June 1), we looked at the TOEFL test. This week, we turn to the TOEIC test. We will look at wh-questions in Part III of the test, Short Conversations. In particular, we will examine how specific wh-questions lead to predictable types of content in the conversations. We will study how test-takers can focus their reading and listening to increase their chances of choosing the correct response.
In the TOEIC Short Conversations, test-takers hear a brief dialog between two speakers. Then they read three questions about the dialog and answer them.
Let's look at a sample Short Conversation question from the new TOEIC.
You hear on the tape recording:
Man: I'm still looking for somebody to develop the Web page. I'm thinking we're going to have to outsource it, either to India or China.
Woman: I keep saying that we ought to do our Web page here in the States. If we don't want to put a full-timer on it, we could hire some local freelancer, or maybe even a college student. They could probably do it in 100 hours or so.
Man: With tech work, the cheapest rate we can get is 40 dollars an hour. These days, students with tech skills can charge a lot, because there is so much work for them.
Woman: That's ridiculous. There are kids at my son's high school who've developed their own Web pages, and they mow lawns for ten bucks an hour. We could hire one of them, easy.
You read in your test book (and hear parts on the tape recording):
1. Who does the woman want to hire to do the Web page?
(A) A full-timer
(B) A freelancer
(C) A tech company
(D) A teacher at a high school or college
2. How much do tech workers charge per hour?
(A) 100 dollars
(B) 40 dollars
(C) 30 dollars
(D) 10 dollars
3. Why is tech work so expensive?
(A) Technology in India and China is expensive.
(B) U.S. schools don't graduate many competitive workers.
(C) Little of it is outsourced.
(D) There is a lot of demand for such work.
The correct responses to Example 1 are (B), (B) and (D).
In the example, the questions ask who, how much and why. Other questions that are typical in the Short Conversation part of the test include what, when, where and how.
The regularity of these wh-questions leads to a similarly regular pattern in the content of the Short Conversations. That is, the Short Conversations often contain several possible responses to any given wh-question. So, for example, if a question asks who, you can be certain that the conversation will also contain references to several different whos.
Let's look at an example of this in the sample conversation. Question 1 asks who the woman wants to hire to do the Web page. Considering this, it is completely predictable that the short conversation will contain several references to people. Indeed, if we look, we find the names of three people (a full-timer, a freelancer, and students). This is no coincidence. The offering of several apparently reasonably answers in the short conversation is exactly what makes the test question challenging.
Such multiple, possible attractive responses to any given test question are called "distractors" in the testing world, and test-takers should be aware of their existence so that they can adopt a proactive approach to avoiding them. In the case of the Short Conversation section of the test, the most common piece of advice given in this regard is that test-takers should try to read the questions before they listen to the short conversation. By reading the questions first, test-takers can know exactly what information to listen for in the conversation.
There's a second less common, but even more import!ant, piece of advice related to this suggestion to pre-read. That is, test-takers must integrate the whole test question. More specifically, they must read it completely. While this may seem self-evident, some test-takers may fail to make this their practice. Under test pressure, they may face the temptation to read just the first couple of words in the question, thinking that this is a good enough way to get the gist.
This is a very dangerous way to cut corners on the TOEIC Short Conversations. As we have seen, wh-question words occur frequently at the beginning of test questions, and the short conversations are specifically constructed to offer multiple possible answers to any of them. So, as it turns out, what's more import!ant than the general wh-part of the question, is its specifics.
Understanding this, we can see that a test-taker who simply scans a test question's start will likely miss its more substantive part. And this part is frequently the second half of the question. In the example, for instance, the meat of the questions lies in their second halves. In question #1, the operative part is arguably "... woman want to hire to do the Web page." In question #2, it is, "... tech workers charge per hour." one may even argue that the who and the how much are virtually immaterial, considering that all of the answer options, by default, will address these question words.
To summarize, the frequency of wh-questions in the Short Conversation part of the TOEIC test leads to a fairly predictable pattern in the contents of the short conversations.
Test-takers who are aware of this can avoid the simple pitfall of choosing the first or most prominent wh-answer they hear. Instead, they must listen for the exact wh-response to the specific wh-question that was posed in the first place. The best way to do this is to read the questions, in their entirety, before listening to the conversation.
The next Booster column will feature the TOEFL test. If you have questions or comments about the TOEIC test, or about this column, please e-mail Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz at dy-edu@yomiuri.com.
@: Stafford-Yilmaz is a former TOEIC test-question writer. She has taught TOEIC courses in Japan and in the United States. She is also the author of several English textbooks.
(Jun. 15, 2007)