Contoh Makalah TOEFL Preparation

SECTION ONE: LISTENING COMPREHENSION

The first section of the TOEFL test is the Listening Comprehension section. This section consists of fifty questions (some tests may be longer). You will listen to recorded materials and respond to questions about the material. You must listen carefully, because you will hear the recording program one time only, and the material on the recording is not written in your test book.

There are three parts in the Listening Comprehension section of the TOEFL test:

1.       Part A consists of thirty short conversations, each followed by a question. You must
choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your test book.

2.       Part B consists of two long conversations, each followed by a number of questions.
You must choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your
test book.

3.       Part C consists of three talks, each followed by a number of questions. You must
choose the best answer to each question from the four choices in your test book.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

1.       Be familiar with the directions. The directions on every TOEFL test are the same, so it is not necessary to listen carefully to them each time. You should be completely familiar with the directions before the day of the test.

2.       Listen carefully to the conversations and talks. You should concentrate fully on what the speakers are saying in the recording program, because you will hear it one time only.

3.       Know where the easier and more difficult questions are generally found. Within
each part of the Listening Comprehension section, the questions generally progress from easy to difficult.

4.       Never leave any answers blank on your answer sheet. Even if you are unsure of the correct response, you should answer each question. There is no penalty for guessing.

5.       Use any remaining time to look ahead at the answers to the questions that
follow. When you finish with one question, you may have time to look ahead at the answers to the next question.

THE LISTENING PART A QUESTIONS

For each of the thirty questions in Part A of the Listening Comprehension section of the
TOEFL test, you will hear a short conversation between two speakers followed by a question. After you listen to the conversation and question, you must choose the best answer to the question from your test book.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

     (man)  I need a car to drive to Arizona, and I don’t have one.

(woman)  Why not rent one?

(narrator)  What does the woman suggest?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  Getting a red car.

(B)   Renting an apartment in Arizona.

(C)   Not driving to Arizona.

(D)  Renting a car for the trip.

Answer (D) is the best answer to the question. Why not rent one? Is a suggestion that he rent a car for his trip to Arizona.

STRATEGIES FOR THE LISTENING PART A QUESTIONS

1.       As you listen to each short conversation, focus on the second line of the
conversation. The answer to the question is generally found in the second line.

2.       Keep in mind that the correct answer is probably a restatement of a key word or
Idea in the second line of the conversation. Think of possible restatements.

3.       Keep in mind that certain structures and expressions are tested regularly in
Listening Part A. Listen for these structures and expressions:

-          structures (passives, negatives, wishes, conditions)

-          functional expressions (agreement, uncertainty, suggestion, surprise)

-          idiomatic expressions (two-part verbs, three-part verbs, idioms)

4.       Keep in mind that these questions generally progress from easy to difficult. This
means that questions I through S will be the easiest, and questions 26 through 30 will be the hardest.

5.       Read the answers and choose the best answer to each question. Remember to
answer each question even if you are not sure of the correct response. Never leave any answers blank.

6.       Even if you do not understand the complete conversation, you can find the
correct answer.

·         If you only understood a few words or ideas in the second line, choose the answer that contains a restatement of those words or ideas.

·         If you did not understand anything at all in the second line of the conversation, choose the answer that sounds the most different from what you heard.

·         Never choose an answer because it sounds like what you heard in the conversation.

The following skills will help you to implement these strategies in the Listening Part A section of the TOEFL test.

Skill 1: RESTATEMENTS

Often the correct answer in Listening Part A is an answer that contains arestatement of the ideas in the second line of the conversation.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

(Woman)    :  Steve, is something the matter? You don’t look very good.

(Man)         :  Oh, I’m feeling a little sick today.

(Narrator)   :  What does the man mean?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  He’s not very good-looking.

(B)   He’s a bit ill.

(C)   He looks worse than he feels.

(D)  His feet are a little thick.

In this conversation, sick means ill, and a little means a bit. The best answer to this question is therefore answer (B) because answer (B) restates the idea in the second line of the dialogue. Please note that answer (D) is definitely not a correct answer because it contains feet instead of feel and thick instead of sick. These words are similar in sound but not in meaning to the words that you hear on the recording.

The best strategy: choose answers with restatements

1.      As you listen to the second line of the conversation, you should focus on the key idea(s) in that line.

2.      If you see a restatement of the key idea(s) in a particular answer, then you have probably found the correct answer.

3.      Do not choose answers with words that sound similar to the words on the recording.

Skill 2: NEGATIVES

Negative expressions are very common in listening section. The most common kind of correct response to a negative statement is a positive statement containing a word with an opposite meaning. 

Example:
On the recording, you hear:

(woman) Did you get a lot of work done at the library today?

(man) I couldn’t. It wasn’t very quiet there

(narrator) What does the man mean?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  The library was noisy

(B)  He got a lot done

(C)  He couldn’t quite get to the library today

(D)  The library’s a good place to work because it’s quite

The correct answer is answer (A). If it was not quiet in the library, this means that it was noisy. Notice that the correct answer uses noisy, the opposite of quiet.

The following chart shows how negatives can be tested on the TOEFL test.

TYPES OF NEGATIVE EXPRESSIONS
Expression	Example	Correct Answer
Regular negative: not or n’t	Tom is not sad about the results.	not sad = happy
Other negatives: nobody, none, nothing, never	Nobody arrived on time. Sal never works hard.	nobody …. on time = late never works hard = lazy
Negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-	The patient was insane.	insane = not sane = crazy

Skill 3: SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions are common in Listening Part A, so you should become familiar with them. The following example shows an expression of a suggestion.

Example :

On the recording, you hear:

(man) I haven’t talked with my parents in a while

(woman) Why don’t you call them now?

(narrator) What does the woman suggest?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  Calling off his visit

(B)  Talking about his parents

(C)  Calling his parents in a while

(D)  Phoning his family

In this example, the expression why don’t is an expression of suggestion, so the woman’s suggestion is to call them. This means that the woman suggests phoning his family. The best answer is therefore answer (D).

Skill 4: PASSIVES

It is sometimes difficult to understand who or what is doing the action in a passive sentence. This problem is often tested in Listening Part A.

Example:

On the recording, you hear:

(man) Is that a new chair?

(woman) Yes, we just bought it last night

(Narrator) What does the woman mean?

In this test book, you read:

(A)  She brought the chair with her

(B)  The chair was lost for a week

(C)  The chair was purchased recently

(D)  She bought the last chair from the store

In this conversation, the woman uses an active idea, we. . . bought it [ the chair]. The correct answer uses the passive idea the chair was purchased. Therefore, the best answer to the question above is answer (C).

PASSIVE STATEMENTS

1. If the conversation contains a passive statement, the answer to the question is often an active statement.

2. If the conversation contains an active statement, the answer to the question is often a passive statement

Skill 5: WHO AND WHERE

Both are often used in a brief dialogue with the purpose of attracting the kind of conclusion. In this case the answer is not clearly stated, but must be inferred based on the clauses given in the dialogue. One common type of conclusion in this test section is asking you to determine who the speaker was, by clause in the dialogue.

 1.      WHO 

One kind of conclusion that is common in this part of the test is to ask you to determine who the speaker is, based on clues given in the conversation.

Example 1:

On the recording, you hear:

(man) What do you do during your performance?

(woman) I play the piano and sing

(narrator) Who is the woman most likely to be?

In your test book, you hear:

(A)  An athlete

(B)   A member of the audience

(C)   A clerk in a music store

(D)  A musician

The clues performances, piano, and sing in the conversation tell you that the woman is probably a musician. Answer (D) is therefore the correct answer.

 2.      WHERE

Another type of conclusion that is common in Listening Part A is to determine where the conversation probably takes place, based on clues given in the conversation.

Example 2:

On the recording, you hear:

(man) I’d like to open an account, please

(woman) What type of account would you like, a checking or savings account?
(narrator) Where does the conversation probably take place?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  In a accounting class

(B)   In a bank

(C)   At a service station

(D)  In a market

Skill 6: AGREEMENT

Example
On the recording, you hear:

(man)       : I thought that the meal was overpriced. 

(woman)  :  Me, too

(narrator) : What does the woman mean?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  There were too many spices in the meat.

(B)   She has the same opinion of the meal as the man.

(C)   She wants to share the man’s meal.

(D)  The price of the meal was great.

The Expression me, too shows agreement with a positive statement, so the woman means that she has the same opinion as the man. The best answer is therefore answer (B)

EXPRESSIONS OF AGREEMENT

So do I.             I’ll say.              Me too.                        You can say that again.

THE LISTENING PART B QUESTIONS

Example

On the recording, you hear:

(narrator) Questions 1 through 4. Listen to a conversation between two people who are decorating an apartment.

(woman)   :  Hey, Walt. Do you think you could help me hang these pictures on  the wall?
                     There are only two of them.

(man)       :  Sure, Monica. Where do you want them to go?

(woman)  :  I’d like the picture of the mountains over the fireplace, and I’d like  the
                    picture of my family over the sofa What do you think?

(man)      :  I think they’ll look fine there. How about if you hold the pictures  while I
                    hammer the nails into the wall?

(woman)  :  Okay. Let’s start with the picture of my family.

Questions:

1.       On the recording, you hear:

(narrator) What are the man and woman discussing?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  Taking some pictures.

(B)  Hanging some plants.

(C)  Taking a trip to the mountains.

(D)  Putting some pictures on the wall

2.       On the recording, you hear:

(narrator) How many pictures are there?
 In your test book, you read:

(A)  One.

(B)  Two.

(C)  Three.

(D)  Four.
  

3.       On the recording, you sear:

(narrator) Where is the picture of the woman’s family going?

In your test book, you read:

(A)  In the fireplace.

(B)  Above the sofa

(C)  Home with Walt.

(D)  To the top of the mountain.

4.       On the recording, you hear:
(narrator) What is Walt probably going to do next?
In your test book, you read:

(A)  Sit on the sofa.

(B)  Photograph Monica’s family.

(C)  Hammer the nails into the wall

(D)  Climb the walls.

Skill 7: THE QUESTIONS

Example:

In your test book, you read:

(A)  On Monday

(B)  Next week

(C)  Tomorrow

(D)  After class

You try to anticipate the question:

·         When will something happen?

Skill 8 THE TOPIC

As you listen to each conversation in Listening Part B, you should be thinking about the topic (subject) or main idea for each conversation. Since the first one or two sentences generally give the topic, you should be asking yourself what the topic is while you are listening carefully to the first part of the conversation.

Example

One the recording, you hear:

(narrator) Listen to the conversation between two students.

(man)      What did you think of that history exam?

(woman)  That was the hardest exam I’ve ever seen

(man)      And it wasn’t just hard! It was long, too.

You think:

The topic of conversation is a very long and difficult history exam

THE LISTENING PART B QUESTIONS

Skill 10: THE QUESTIONS

It is very helpful to your ability to answer individual questions in Listening Part C if you can anticipate what the questions will be and listen specifically for the answers to those questions (as you did in Listening Part B).

Example

In your test book, you read:

(A)  For a weeks.

(B)   Since yesterday

(C)   For two days.

(D)  Since 10:00 this morning.

You try to anticipate the question:

How long has (something) been going on?

In this example, you can be quite certain that one of the questions will be about how long something lasts. Since you are sure that this is one of the questions, you can listen carefully for clues that will give you the answer. This example shows that a helpful strategy is therefore to look briefly at the answers in the test book, before you actually hear the talks on the recording, and try to determine the questions that you will be asked to answer.

REFERENCES

Books:

Companies, The McGraw-Hill. Interactions 1 Reading (4th Edition). New York –

             America: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Companies, Inc. 2002.

Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan R. Cohesion in English. London: Longman. 1976.