How do I prepare for the TOEFL listening test?

What you'll practice

An informational segment that explains how a TV news story is made step by step, good for following a process and catching signpost words like first and then.

What you'll practice

A campus segment about a student meditation lab where you can follow people explaining how group meditation helps with stress, useful for catching the main idea of a short informational talk.

What you'll practice

A walking tour of Sofia that explains the city's socialist history and main sights, good for following a guide and picking up history and culture words.

What you'll practice

A news report explains a school gang prevention program, so you practice following an informational segment and catching cause and effect language about how it works.

What you'll practice

A clear talk on how stress and habits affect sleep, useful for following cause-and-effect language and advice on a general academic health topic.

What you'll practice

A short film about Malaysian shadow puppetry mixed with Star Wars, where you practice catching the main idea and comparing two cultural stories that share a theme.

What you'll practice

A short documentary on a traditional tattoo artist in the Philippines lets you catch the main idea of a culture talk and hear how a craft is passed down.

What you'll practice

A travel explainer about a Tahitian island with history and nature, useful for following descriptive facts and dates in a short informational talk.

What you'll practice

A dog trainer explains three tips for managing prey drive, so you can practice following a numbered list and signpost words like first and second.

What you'll practice

An explainer about making friends as an adult, good for following advice step by step and catching signpost words like first and finally.

What you'll practice

A high school student tells how he joined the marching band, so you practice following a short personal story and listening for how one fact leads to another.

What you'll practice

A guide to places in Kuala Lumpur, where you practice following a list of locations and catching signpost words like however and for example.

What you'll practice

A British speaker explains why she loves learning languages, so you practice following reasons and examples in clear, steady speech at a natural pace.

What you'll practice

A human interest news report about a determined graduate, useful for following a told story with details about time, place and reasons.

What you'll practice

A news segment about a state visit and a historic garden lets you follow a short informational talk and pick up words about history and place.

What you'll practice

A local news interview announcing a kids theater camp, where you can practice catching key details like dates, ages, and how to sign up, much like a TOEFL announcement.

What you'll practice

A how to guide for making coffee in a French press, useful for following a process explained step by step with sequence words like first and then.

What you'll practice

A news report on a fast food chain opening, useful for following an informational segment with quotes and getting the main idea from short interviews.

What you'll practice

A local news feature about a family Thai restaurant, useful for catching details about food and place while listening to mixed speakers.

What you'll practice

A news report on students graduating after a hard start to high school, where you practice catching facts and numbers in a short informational segment.

What you'll practice

A practical talk about car tire care that explains checks step by step, useful for following instructions and the cause and effect language behind them.

What you'll practice

A news report about a student accepted to many colleges, useful for catching key numbers and the main idea of a short informational segment in clear speech.

What you'll practice

A clear how to guide for a card game where you can practice following rules and steps explained in order with sequencing words.

What you'll practice

A journalist shares his reaction to a TEDx event, so you can practice catching opinions and feelings in spoken English and follow how someone explains what moved them.

What you'll practice

A casual campus question and answer with a theatre student, useful for practising quick spoken exchanges, though the chat is light and not very academic.

What you'll practice

A one minute book review of Atomic Habits, where you practice following an opinion and catching language used to describe and recommend a text.

What you'll practice

Advice on building confidence for solo travel in clear North American speech, useful for following a step by step explanation in everyday English.

What you'll practice

A personal video update about illness and a schedule change, useful for catching the main point of an announcement and reasons given, though the style is casual.

What you'll practice

This self-help talk gives five tips for relationships, so you can practice following a numbered list, though the topic is more personal than academic.

What you'll practice

A book review where the speaker explains a novel and gives an opinion, so you can practice following a clear talk and catching reasons for a judgment.

What you'll practice

A short money talk about ways to earn income, you can practice listing language like firstly and secondly, but the topic and style are quite casual.

What you'll practice

A short money talk using a Warren Buffett story about paper losses, but the casual style and folksy phrasing make it less like academic TOEFL listening.

What you'll practice

A budgeting talk about cutting household costs that is fast and very casual, so it is less like the standard academic speech TOEFL listening uses.

What you'll practice

A documentary about early human culture in an African cave, great for following an academic explanation and learning words about history and human evolution.

What you'll practice

A clear narrated Taino myth about the origin of the sea, good for following a story in order and learning words for myths and cultures.

What you'll practice

An academic explainer on how black holes change time, where you follow a clear science explanation and compare the view from inside and outside.

What you'll practice

An explainer on gender stereotypes in school and careers, where you can practice following cause-and-effect and catching academic vocabulary about social ideas.

What you'll practice

An animated science talk on sleep and the brain, perfect for following a process explained step by step with academic words on the topic.

What you'll practice

This TED-Ed lesson traces the history of hats from ancient symbols to status markers, so you can practice following a timeline and academic vocabulary.

What you'll practice

A TEDx talk on cutting food waste, where you can practice following a problem and solution structure and catching statistics and academic words about the environment.

What you'll practice

An explainer on inherited wealth and inequality in China, where you practice following a clear argument with dates, figures and cause-and-effect language.

What you'll practice

An expert explains the history and restoration of a Rembrandt painting, good for following a detailed account and learning art and history vocabulary.

What you'll practice

This TED-Ed lesson explains how the herpes virus infects the body step by step, so you can practice following a process and science vocabulary.

What you'll practice

A TEDx talk about valuing places before they are gone, good for following a longer argument and the cause and effect language a speaker uses to make a point.

What you'll practice

A researcher explains a study on movies and marriage, so you can practice following an academic talk and catching cause and effect language.

What you'll practice

A short history of Southern cafeterias in America, great for following a timeline and catching cause-and-effect language on a culture topic.

What you'll practice

This talk questions our obsession with perfect sleep and names two flaws in common advice, so you can practice following a clear argument with evidence.

What you'll practice

A clear mini-lecture on whether we are made to nap, so you can follow an explanation and catch signpost words like however and in other words.

What you'll practice

An explainer covers what science says about meditation and the brain, so you practice following evidence from studies and catching academic words about health.

What you'll practice

An academic talk on why a therapy beats sleeping pills for insomnia, where you can practice following comparisons and signpost words like 'however' and 'thankfully'.

What you'll practice

A clear talk comparing two ways to take lottery winnings, so you can practice following an explanation and catching language that compares two choices.

What you'll practice

A documentary about older people taking up figure skating, where you practice following personal stories and catching the main idea across several speakers.

What you'll practice

A linguistics explainer on why some English words sound beautiful, where you follow research findings and pick up academic vocabulary about sounds.

What you'll practice

This talk explains how a coffee brand helps protect gorillas and local farmers, so you can practice following an idea that solves two problems at once.

What you'll practice

An explainer about online education and how it could change learning, useful for following an argument and catching the main idea of a short academic talk.

What you'll practice

A clear news explainer on why Geneva is paying for a summit, where you can practice following cause-and-effect reasoning and catching the main idea of an informational segment.

What you'll practice

In this North American interview with a doctor about renaming a health condition you will practice academic vocabulary and following an expert explanation.

What you'll practice

A news segment on a carmaker dropping gas muscle cars for electric ones, useful for following an announcement and hearing cause and effect with dates.

What you'll practice

A British segment on why pubs have odd names, so you can hear a clear cause-and-effect explanation and practice listening to a standard British accent.

What you'll practice

A talk about children's healthcare and the medical home model, good for practicing main-idea listening and following statistics that support a speaker's argument.

What you'll practice

A psychology major describes her studies and campus roles, so you practice following a campus talk and catching academic words about majors and careers.

What you'll practice

A doctor tells how he went from child soldier to founding a health charity in South Sudan, good for following a personal account and cause and effect language.

What you'll practice

Experts explain common home renovation mistakes with clear figures and advice, useful for catching main points and numbers in a short talk.

What you'll practice

A report on women in sports media, useful for practicing main-idea listening and catching how the speaker uses figures and quotes to explain a social change.

What you'll practice

A report on eating local food to cut your carbon footprint, where you practice following figures and cause-and-effect language about the environment.

What you'll practice

A news report on driverless trucks coming to local roads, good for following an informational segment and catching how a technology works.

What you'll practice

A report on why European tech startups lag behind the US, useful for following cause-and-effect reasons and comparing two regions with numbers.

What you'll practice

A news report on politics in Hungary where you can practice following an informational segment and academic words about democracy and reform.

What you'll practice

A clear explainer about personal boundaries, useful for following a definition and example language like for example in a short academic style talk.

What you'll practice

This short documentary on sustainable design and water harvesting lets you practice catching the main idea and following cause-and-effect in spoken explanations.

What you'll practice

This news report on toxic chemicals in cheap clothing lets you practice catching key facts and following cause and effect about health and safety.

What you'll practice

An academic explainer on changing careers and the job investment trap, where you follow reasoning and catch how an example supports the main point.

What you'll practice

A short academic talk on how meditation affects the brain, where you can practice following an explanation backed by research and catching academic words on health.

What you'll practice

A reporter and anchor discuss newly released UFO files, so you practice following a two-person informational exchange and catching the main points of a news story.

What you'll practice

A news report and expert interview on the renewed search for flight MH370, where you can practice catching facts and figures and following an expert explanation.

What you'll practice

A story about Jane Goodall and a rescued chimpanzee, where you practice following a narrative and catching academic words about animals and behaviour.

What you'll practice

An interview about choosing company culture over money in a first job, good for following a personal story and reasons behind a decision.

What you'll practice

This talk explains the difference between being seen and being truly heard, so you can practice following a contrast and catching the statistics used as support.

What you'll practice

A tattoo artist explains the difference between technique and art, useful for following an opinion and comparing two ideas in a short talk.

What you'll practice

An informational talk on how to succeed in your first week at work, useful for following advice given step by step and the questions used to learn from people.

What you'll practice

A therapist explains steps for finding yourself after a breakup, where you practice following advice given as a numbered list at a fast pace.

What you'll practice

A nursing student explains why she changed careers, where you can practice following a personal account and catching the reasons behind a decision in clear speech.

What you'll practice

A short talk argues that ideas only matter when shared, so you practice catching the main idea and following an argument that moves from one point to another.

What you'll practice

An expert explains the dangers of climbing Everest and how altitude affects the body, excellent for following a clear talk with academic words.

What you'll practice

A historian explains Napoleon's battle tactics across several campaigns, so you can practice following a chronological account and catching how each strategy worked.

What you'll practice

A science explainer on how dual-sex animals develop, useful for following a process explained step by step with academic words about cells and chromosomes.

What you'll practice

This linguistics explainer on sound symbolism uses clear examples like buzz and kiki, so you can practice following an argument and catching example signposts.

What you'll practice

A TED talk on how carbon markets can drive climate action, where you can practice following an argument with figures and catching academic words about the environment.

What you'll practice

An academic explains whether virtual reality could replace commuting, where you practice following an argument with reasons, examples and technical terms.

What you'll practice

This explainer on how we perceive time lets you practice following two contrasting ideas and catching signpost words like "first" and "but".

What you'll practice

A documentary on the Battle of the Coral Sea, where you can practice following a sequence of historical events and catching academic vocabulary about wartime strategy.

What you'll practice

This explainer looks at what separates a dialect from a language, so you can practice following definitions, examples, and the reasoning behind a claim.

What you'll practice

This explainer walks through how quantum tunneling could let a hand pass through a table, so you can practice following a step by step science explanation.

What you'll practice

This explainer on the risks of leaving the WHO lets you practice following cause-and-effect and academic vocabulary about global health and disease.

What you'll practice

An explainer on how Temu sells so cheaply, where you follow a business model explained step by step and notice cause and effect about pricing.

What you'll practice

An anchor and reporter discuss a ceasefire and a key shipping strait, so you practice following a two-person news exchange with numbers and cause and effect language.

What you'll practice

In this interview experts discuss studying UAPs as a science question, so you can practice following an argument and academic vocabulary in a spoken discussion.

What you'll practice

A reporter explains the plans for a state visit between two leaders, useful for practicing main-idea listening and catching the topics they will discuss.

What you'll practice

A news report on a Senate funding block, where you follow how a legislative process works and catch academic words like "reconciliation" and "filibuster".

What you'll practice

A press question-and-answer about a US-Iran deal, where you practice following spoken answers, though some replies are loose and hard to track.