5 TOEFL ITP Listening Part B & C Strategies

Do you tend to zone out halfway through a long conversation or a lecture in TOEFL® Listening? That’s normal. In Parts B and C you listen to much longer audio than in Part A, with no transcript and no note-taking allowed.

But once you know how the questions are built, the load gets much lighter. This article covers 5 strategies that keep you one step ahead of the audio. (The slides below are in Indonesian.)

First, Know Parts B & C

Section 1 Listening of the TOEFL ITP has 50 questions in about 35 minutes, split into three parts:

Part	Numbers	Questions	Audio
Part A	1–30	30	Short dialogues
Part B	31–38	8	Longer conversations (usually 2)
Part C	39–50	12	Talks or lectures (usually 3)

So Parts B and C account for 20 of 50 questions, or 40% of your Listening score. Each audio is usually followed by about 4 questions. The questions are spoken after the audio ends, while your test book only shows options A to D.

That detail matters, because all five strategies below build on it.

Strategy 1: Preview the Options Before the Audio

Before each conversation there are spoken directions and a short pause. Don’t spend that time listening to directions that never change. Use it to skim the answer options of the upcoming questions.

The options alone often reveal what will be asked:

Options are places (In a biology lab, At the campus bookstore) → probably a location question.
Options are times or numbers → get ready for a numeric detail.
Options are verb phrases (To ask for an extension) → probably a purpose or plan question.

This turns passive listening into active listening. Your ears automatically filter for what matters.

Strategy 2: Lock In the First Two Sentences

The first question about each audio is almost always about the main topic or purpose:

What is the main topic of the lecture?
What are the speakers mainly discussing?

And the topic is almost always stated at the start. Lecturers open with “Today we will examine…” or “Let’s continue our discussion of…”. Students open with “Did you hear about the new dormitory regulation?”.

The fatal mistake is tuning in only after 30 seconds. You end up remembering the examples from the middle and choosing an option that is too narrow, which is exactly the trap the test writers set.

Strategy 3: Follow the Chronological Order

Questions in Parts B and C follow the order of information in the audio:

First question → the beginning (topic)
Second and third questions → the middle (details)
Last question → the end (conclusion, plan, or next assignment)

Use this with a dual reading technique: keep your eyes on the options of two questions at once. As soon as you hear the answer to the first, move your focus to the next one.

If you miss a detail, let it go. The audio won’t wait for you. Losing one question is better than losing three because you got stuck on one that’s already gone.

Strategy 4: Catch the Signal Words

Academic speakers give “cues” before an important point:

Contrast: however, but, surprisingly, in fact, in contrast
Cause and effect: because, as a result, consequently, therefore
Emphasis: most importantly, the main reason is, keep in mind

Contrast words are the most common source of questions. For example:

Lecturer: Early historians believed the empire fell because of drought. However, new excavations reveal that civil war was the main factor.

Q: According to the speaker, what was the main cause of the empire’s fall?

❌ Drought (the old view) ✅ Civil war (the new finding after however)

Information before however can still be tested (for example “What did early historians believe?”), so listen to both sides. But when the question asks for the speaker’s view or the latest finding, the answer comes after the contrast word.

Strategy 5: Beware of Exact Word Matches

Just like in Part A, an option that repeats words from the audio is often a distractor with a twisted meaning.

Audio: The committee decided to postpone the event.

❌ They cancelled the event. (same word event, different meaning) ✅ The gathering was put off until later. (gathering = event, put off = postpone)

Postpone means delay, not cancel. The correct answer in TOEFL Listening is almost always a paraphrase. Don’t choose an option just because it sounds familiar. Choose the one that means the same thing.

The 5 Strategies at a Glance

No	Strategy	When to use it	Key idea
1	Preview options	During directions and pauses	Guess the question from the options
2	Lock in the opening	First seconds of the audio	The main topic comes first
3	Follow the order	Throughout the audio	Questions follow the flow, watch 2 at once
4	Signal words	On however, therefore, etc.	The key point comes right after
5	Avoid exact matches	When choosing the answer	Look for the paraphrase

Quick Quiz

The next options read: (A) In a laboratory (B) In a library (C) At a museum (D) At a bookstore. What will probably be asked?
A lecturer says: “Many people think bats are blind. In fact, most bats can see quite well.” According to the lecturer, what is true about bats?
Audio: “The professor extended the deadline.” Which option is correct: (A) The professor ended the deadline. (B) Students were given more time.

Answers:

The location of the conversation or event.
Most bats can see quite well (the information after in fact).
(B). Option A reuses deadline but gets the meaning wrong.

Practice Parts B & C for Real

These strategies pay off only when you train them on real audio, especially to build focus for long recordings.

Kawan EPT (formerly Kawan TOEFL) has 1,600 Listening questions with audio and an explanation for every answer option, Listening Strategies lessons (7 topics, with audio), 3-in-1 quick practice, and a full 140-question simulation with a score estimate from 310 to 677. Free on Google Play Store.

Still working on short dialogues? Start with TOEFL ITP Listening Part A Patterns & Traps, or get the full picture of the test in the TOEFL ITP Guide.