19f3f7d3da7e1aeeb217ca034457ca73.webp

In TOEFL, reading and listening sections measure the skills such as the ability to understand texts and conversations, to identify the main ideas and supporting details, to make interferences and understand the vocabulary in context.

Why Focus on Reading and Listening?

The reading and listening sections are essential because they test your academic comprehension skills—the same skills you will use in real university classrooms. Strong reading skills help you quickly grasp academic texts, while good listening skills allow you to understand lectures, discussions, and instructions.

TOEFL Reading Strategies

  1.  Don’t read the whole passage first: Instead skim the passage for keywords and the main idea.
  2. Skim for keywords: Use keywords from the questions to find relevant information in the passage quickly.
  3. Practice eliminating choices: Instead of finding the right answer immediately, identify why otherchoicesae wrong.
  4. Familiarize yourself with question types: Learn the different types of questions and you will be able to analyze the questions type.

TOEFL Listening Strategies

  1. Take notes while listening: Taking notes on the content can help you remember key details.
  2. Understand question types: Familiarize yourself with the types of questions asked in the listening section to anticipate what information you need to listen for.
  3. Pay attention to tone and Intonation: Recognize how tone changes as it can reveal the speaker’s attitude which is often tested in questions.
  4. Look for signal words and transitions: Words like while, also, however, as a result are helpful to identify important information and exact answer. 

Success in TOEFL reading and listening isn’t just about practicing more—it’s about practicing smart. By skimming for keywords, recognizing question types, taking effective notes, and paying attention to tone and transitions, you can save time and improve accuracy. With consistent practice and these strategies, achieving your target TOEFL score becomes much easier. If you are also preparing for IELTS, practicing IELTS Writing Task 2 can further improve your academic writing and critical thinking skills.