3 Tips for Better Listening Notes
One of the most challenging aspects of the TOEFL, and one of the most important, is taking good notes. Students who struggle with taking notes will struggle not only with the Listening section but also with the Speaking and Writing sections.
As a result, the three suggestions below are quite important. If you haven’t previously done so, they can have a significant impact on your TOEFL test result.
Tip 1: Only the Main Ideas, Examples, and Reasons
It’s not necessary to write down everything you hear. You should concentrate on listening rather than writing. That is, you should only write the most important points and details. Examples and reasons are the most typical sorts of crucial details.
So, if a professor is discussing the various sorts of clouds, make a mental note of the names and definitions of each form of a cloud. You’ll want to know what the lecturer says about clouds and what they seem to like when he discusses them. However, when the lecturer specifies how many miles above the ground a particular cloud type generally appears, that’s probably not crucial information. Numbers are specifics, not the kinds of large details you should pay attention to.
Tip 2: Listen Then Write
That is not to say that you should listen to the entire lecture or conversation before taking notes. You should, of course, take notes while you’re listening! However, after hearing them, you reflect on a listening score chart and put down the important concepts that would be useful for the score chart. You won’t be able to decide what’s relevant if you try to write what the professor or students say while they’re talking. That implies everything you take note of will be something that was mentioned in a moment in the past, rather than heard at that exact moment.
Tip 3: Shorten Everything!
You’re the only one who needs to know what’s in your notes, and you only need to know it for a few minutes. That means they can be really difficult to comprehend, which is perfectly OK! Every word should be shortened. Write “student” or just “S” instead of “student.” Make use of symbols as well. Draw a little downward arrow instead of the word “down.” Relationships should be depicted using lines and arrows rather than words. If you’re short on time, make little, uncomplicated drawings. Everything should be kept as brief and concise as possible; trust your memory to help you understand it afterward, and never rectify a mistake by erasing or rewriting it.
While you struggle to take notes on what you’ve listened to, Global Reach: An education consultancy in Bhutan has been training students who are dealing with identical challenges. So, instead of wasting valuable time pondering how to take notes while listening, get taught by Global Reach’s professionals.
