The importance of note-taking during the TOEFL listening section

The Test of English as a Foreign Language, written in short as the TOEFL exam, is an English aptitude test to study, work or immigrate abroad. This exam has four sections: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Getting a good score in the English test TOEFL listening section might be easy if you make notes while listening to lectures or conversations. We will cover how to make notes to get a good score. 

Info about the TOEFL listening section

In the listening section, you will get 3 to 4 lectures on specific topics, from which six questions will be asked, and 2 to 3 conversations, from which five questions will be asked. So, in total, there will be 28 to 39 questions in this section, which must be completed in 41 to 57 minutes.

In this section, the advanced score range is 22 to 30, the high-intermediate score range is 17 to 21, the low-intermediate score range is 9 to 16, and the below-low-intermediate score range is 0 to 8. In the TOEFL listening section, making notes is very important to enter the advanced scores range.

Ways to make notes for the TOEFL listening test

1. Understand the emotion of the conversation

When making notes for the conversation, you should first understand the emotion or tone to get an idea of whether it is a serious topic or a general one. This helps in attempting the questions by reading between the lines from the conversations of the speakers. 

2. Write only the relevant information.

The second most important way to make effective notes for TOEFL listening practice or final test is to include only relevant information. This relevant information could be anything important you find, for example, the topic, key pointers, reasons, examples, phrases, opinions, reactions, solutions, and the decision.

3. Use different symbols to save time.

Making your symbols for certain words or following some set ideas can be very helpful in the TOEFL listening comprehension test because you don’t have the leverage to write the complete phrase or sentence. Here are some common ways to use symbols while making notes:

• + for benefit, and, combined, together, also
• > for greater than, higher than, better than
• < for smaller than, lesser than, worse than
• ↑ for rising, increasing, higher
• ↓ for falling, decreasing, lower
• ✔ for yes, ok, good, correct, agreed
• X for no, refused, bad, wrong

4. Make the T-format table

For writing conversations between the two speakers, you can make the T-format a two-column table to write one-to-one discussions in each section. This will help in writing accurate and correct information for each speaker, which does not get mix-matched.

5. Do not stop writing.

You should not stop writing even if you miss some lines or sentences because if somehow you miss some conversation, then you can get the hint from the already available notes.

6. Try to write in the exam language only.

As this exam is for testing your English aptitude, you should make notes in English only. This is because you won’t understand it later if your native language’s symbols or words differ significantly from English.

7. Skip some words

Write down only nouns, verbs, and adjectives such as places, people, actions, and descriptions. To save time, you can skip writing articles and modal verbs such as a, an, the, may, could, etc.

8. Write the words in a short way.

You can write any particular word in a short way by writing only the consonants and skipping the vowels, which are a, e, i, o, and u. Suppose you want to write the word “shifting”, then you can write “shftng” which can be easily understood if you have practiced it.

9. Take the TOEFL listening practice test.

Practice is the only mantra to excel in any field or exam, and this is very important in the TOEFL listening section. You should have a listening habit and should practice to accurately understand the conversation or lecture, similar to the real exam.

Conclusion

Note-taking is important to get a good score in the TOEFL listening section or in any other listening test. You should take the TOEFL listening practice test in order to increase the efficiency of listening and writing at the same time. You should not lose your focus while writing and must be present at the moment while attempting such tests.

Found this article helpful! Learn more about the TOEFL test! All about the TOEFL exam | Sample test, exam pattern & more!

Key takeaways

• Note-taking during the TOEFL listening section is very important to attempt the related question with the most accurate information in hand.
• The TOEFL exam has a listening section that provides lectures and conversations and asks questions related to them.
• Some helpful ways to make good notes are using different symbols for situations, writing only relevant information, and taking the TOEFL listening practice test.

Liked this article? Read next: 5 useful tips on how to prepare for TOEFL with detailed study plans.

FAQs

Ques 1 – Should you take notes during TOEFL listening? 

Yes, you should take notes during TOEFL listening because after listening, you must attempt the questions related to lectures and conversations. If you have the complete information, you can accurately attempt the questions.

Ques 2 – How do you take notes in the listening section?

You can take notes in the listening section using self-made symbols to write sentences concisely. You should also write only relevant information such as places, persons, descriptions, or conclusions.

Ques 3 – Why is listening important in TOEFL?

Listening is essential in the TOEFL exam because it has a complete section that contains around 28 to 39 questions from the lectures and conversations. You can get an advanced score in the range of 22 to 30 by fully listening and making notes from it.