TOEFL Booster / Listening between the lines
Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz Special to The Daily Yomiuri
In our last TOEFL Booster, we looked at the scoring of speaking responses on the TOEFL iBT. In particular, we looked at how syntactic variety and range factor into one's score. This month, we turn to the listening part of the TOEFL test. We will look at how the meaning of a listening passage depends not only on words, but also on context, focus and intonation.
Listening passages in the TOEFL test present most of their meaning through words and grammar. Listeners who understand the words and grammar will readily understand most of what the speaker is saying. Likewise, they will be able to answer most of the test questions about the listening.
However, not all listening comprehension questions are this direct, relating literally to what has been stated. Instead, many questions relate to more subtle features in the listening passage.
As a simple example of this, let's imagine the following excerpt from a TOEFL-like listening passage.
Example
Papers are due in my office on the sixth--Thursday--at five o'clock. So you can fix up your fonts and make a fancy cover and print at 4:45 if you want, but that paper is due at five sharp, to me. No excuses. That's the last day of a long quarter--the end of a long day for me. If your paper is late, it won't be pretty. You can read about it in the grading sheet.
One likely TOEFL-type question that would accompany this passage could ask literally about the specific details of the passage. Let's look at an example.
1. What time are papers due?
(A) 4:45
(B) 5:00
(C) 5:15
(D) 6:00
This is a straightforward question with a simple answer (B) that hinges solely on understanding the right words and grammar in the sentence, "Papers are due in my office on Thursday at five o'clock."
However, in a slightly more challenging twist, this TOEFL-like listening passage could equally likely lead to an altogether different type of TOEFL question. This type rests not only on the words that are used, but it also taps into other types of information.
2. What does the professor mean when she says "it won't be pretty"?
(A) Being late is unattractive.
(B) Late work will be scored lower.
(C) The professor looks tired later in the day.
(D) Last-minute formatting won't improve your paper.
This second test question requires a much deeper understanding of the listening passage. It hangs not only on the sentence's grammar and vocabulary, but also on the context, focus, and intonation of the speaker. It requires that test-takers listen more globally, focusing on the overall meaning rather than on discrete words in the sentence.
Listening for global meaning may be challenging for test-takers who are accustomed to tests that focus on more cut-and-dried information. Indeed, standardized tests have traditionally focused on factual details, rather than allowing for the speaker's intended or underlying meaning. However, on the TOEFL iBT, such focus can be too limiting.
For example, let us imagine that a test-taker listens solely to the vocabulary and the grammar in the example listening passage. This approach could possibly justify any of the three incorrect answer options, (A), (C), or (D), as "It won't be pretty" could relate to the appearance of an event, a person, or a paper itself.
Instead, the correct response is (B), "Late work will be scored lower." Test-takers can know that this is the answer from listening to the overall gist of the passage. In its global meaning, this listening passage contains a variety of clues to the correct response.
The main clue is the speaker's reference to the grading sheet, which occurs directly after the statement, "It won't be pretty." This mention directly ties his comment about prettiness to the grading criteria for the paper. There are other clues that also make answer (B) the best option. The content of the speaker's talk indicates his frustration with late papers. He names the due time twice, five o'clock and five sharp. He even advises students who waste time using fancy fonts not to later try to use this as an excuse for their lateness.
We can also assume that the intonation of the speaker's voice would reveal his frustration. It's as if this speaker has received too many late papers from students in the past, and he won't tolerate it any more.
In sum, the overall content of this listening passage, together with the speaker's intonation, and finally with his crowning sentence, makes it clear that his comment about prettiness is actually a warning to students about the consequences of lateness. Answer (B) remains the only viable answer to this TOEFL-like question.
Test questions that force examinees to "listen between the lines" on the TOEFL test are common. In order to answer these questions, simply following the grammar and vocabulary of the listing passage is not enough. Instead, such questions ask about implied meaning, which requires a much more global understanding of the listening passage and of the speaker's intended meaning. This requires listening for context, focus, and intonation. (In the real world, facial ｅxpression!s and body language would play a key role in conveying such meaning, but for obvious reasons, these features cannot easily be tested on standardized tests like the TOEFL.)
TOEFL-takers who are aware of these more subtle elements in listening can increase their odds of answering these questions correctly. Rather than focusing too heavily on details, facts, names and numbers, they can broaden their listening in anticipation of the wide variety of questions they will find on the iBT TOEFL.
Stafford-Yilmaz is a guest writer standing in for Lawrence J. Zwier. She will also contribute the next two TOEFL Booster columns. Stafford-Yilmaz teaches at Bellevue Community College and is a co-author of The Michigan Guide to Academic Success and Better TOEFL Scores.
(Jul. 27, 2007)
Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz Special to The Daily Yomiuri
In our last TOEFL Booster, we looked at the scoring of speaking responses on the TOEFL iBT. In particular, we looked at how syntactic variety and range factor into one's score. This month, we turn to the listening part of the TOEFL test. We will look at how the meaning of a listening passage depends not only on words, but also on context, focus and intonation.
Listening passages in the TOEFL test present most of their meaning through words and grammar. Listeners who understand the words and grammar will readily understand most of what the speaker is saying. Likewise, they will be able to answer most of the test questions about the listening.
However, not all listening comprehension questions are this direct, relating literally to what has been stated. Instead, many questions relate to more subtle features in the listening passage.
As a simple example of this, let's imagine the following excerpt from a TOEFL-like listening passage.
Example
Papers are due in my office on the sixth--Thursday--at five o'clock. So you can fix up your fonts and make a fancy cover and print at 4:45 if you want, but that paper is due at five sharp, to me. No excuses. That's the last day of a long quarter--the end of a long day for me. If your paper is late, it won't be pretty. You can read about it in the grading sheet.
One likely TOEFL-type question that would accompany this passage could ask literally about the specific details of the passage. Let's look at an example.
1. What time are papers due?
(A) 4:45
(B) 5:00
(C) 5:15
(D) 6:00
This is a straightforward question with a simple answer (B) that hinges solely on understanding the right words and grammar in the sentence, "Papers are due in my office on Thursday at five o'clock."
However, in a slightly more challenging twist, this TOEFL-like listening passage could equally likely lead to an altogether different type of TOEFL question. This type rests not only on the words that are used, but it also taps into other types of information.
2. What does the professor mean when she says "it won't be pretty"?
(A) Being late is unattractive.
(B) Late work will be scored lower.
(C) The professor looks tired later in the day.
(D) Last-minute formatting won't improve your paper.
This second test question requires a much deeper understanding of the listening passage. It hangs not only on the sentence's grammar and vocabulary, but also on the context, focus, and intonation of the speaker. It requires that test-takers listen more globally, focusing on the overall meaning rather than on discrete words in the sentence.
Listening for global meaning may be challenging for test-takers who are accustomed to tests that focus on more cut-and-dried information. Indeed, standardized tests have traditionally focused on factual details, rather than allowing for the speaker's intended or underlying meaning. However, on the TOEFL iBT, such focus can be too limiting.
For example, let us imagine that a test-taker listens solely to the vocabulary and the grammar in the example listening passage. This approach could possibly justify any of the three incorrect answer options, (A), (C), or (D), as "It won't be pretty" could relate to the appearance of an event, a person, or a paper itself.
Instead, the correct response is (B), "Late work will be scored lower." Test-takers can know that this is the answer from listening to the overall gist of the passage. In its global meaning, this listening passage contains a variety of clues to the correct response.
The main clue is the speaker's reference to the grading sheet, which occurs directly after the statement, "It won't be pretty." This mention directly ties his comment about prettiness to the grading criteria for the paper. There are other clues that also make answer (B) the best option. The content of the speaker's talk indicates his frustration with late papers. He names the due time twice, five o'clock and five sharp. He even advises students who waste time using fancy fonts not to later try to use this as an excuse for their lateness.
We can also assume that the intonation of the speaker's voice would reveal his frustration. It's as if this speaker has received too many late papers from students in the past, and he won't tolerate it any more.
In sum, the overall content of this listening passage, together with the speaker's intonation, and finally with his crowning sentence, makes it clear that his comment about prettiness is actually a warning to students about the consequences of lateness. Answer (B) remains the only viable answer to this TOEFL-like question.
Test questions that force examinees to "listen between the lines" on the TOEFL test are common. In order to answer these questions, simply following the grammar and vocabulary of the listing passage is not enough. Instead, such questions ask about implied meaning, which requires a much more global understanding of the listening passage and of the speaker's intended meaning. This requires listening for context, focus, and intonation. (In the real world, facial ｅxpression!s and body language would play a key role in conveying such meaning, but for obvious reasons, these features cannot easily be tested on standardized tests like the TOEFL.)
TOEFL-takers who are aware of these more subtle elements in listening can increase their odds of answering these questions correctly. Rather than focusing too heavily on details, facts, names and numbers, they can broaden their listening in anticipation of the wide variety of questions they will find on the iBT TOEFL.
Stafford-Yilmaz is a guest writer standing in for Lawrence J. Zwier. She will also contribute the next two TOEFL Booster columns. Stafford-Yilmaz teaches at Bellevue Community College and is a co-author of The Michigan Guide to Academic Success and Better TOEFL Scores.
(Jul. 27, 2007)