Maria -- Tutoring 4 (TOEFL preparation)

Today we are dealing with questions 5 and 6 of the speaking section of the TOEFL. These are the hardest questions in the set, as they don't have a written component to prepare the testee to the topic s/he will hear discussed on the tape. However, like questions 3 and 4, the topics of these questions are also college related. Question 5 deals with an "administrative" issue (first day attendance, compulsory discussion sections, and the like) and question 6 is a snippet of a lecture on any academic subject (psychology, economics, engineering, etc.).

Since Lu's main difficulty is in listening comprehension, these questions are the hardest for her. She is a good student and an ambitious one too, but it is obvious more than once that she is pretty much ready to give up on these. "I cannot follow half of what they're saying," she complains. With only two days to go to the exam, there is not much time for real improvement. So, to try to help her feel more in control, I suggest we analyze the structure of these conversations/lecture snippets, since they are all quite similar. For instance, question 5 usually follows this pattern: 1) the issue at hand is introduced (for ex. mandatory first-day class attendance) 2) two students (or a student and an administrator) discuss how this affects them (or the student) 3) a couple (up to three) suggestions are given to solve the problem one of the students (or the student) has.

I ask Lu to take notes while she is listening to the recording, in order to jot down what the issue is, what kind of problem it is causing the student complaining about it, and what suggestions are given to solve it. Usually this is the point of the question, with the testee being asked to comment on which solution s/he would choose and why. Lu can take surprisingly long notes given how little she seems to understand about the issue or topic discussed -- but her notes are of random complete sentences, rather than of the key concepts expressed in the recording. She is trying to comprehend full thoughts, one at a time, instead of trying to catch the gist of what is being said. No wonder she is getting lost in the process. We listen to the recording again. It is a slow process, also because Lu is not convinced that this is of any use toward the exam. "At the exam I won't be able to listen to the recording again," she moans. But now you do :) I counter, so let's take advantage of that in order to try to improve your listening comprehension effectiveness in this specific type of question (talk about learning for the test!). Lu smiles amused and tackles the recording one more time.