Which TOEIC test do you need?
Listening and Reading is the most widely used TOEIC test; in the separate Speaking and Writing tests you give your own answers instead of choosing them. Before you buy a book, read your requirement again: which test does it name, and is there a minimum score? TOEIC has no pass mark, so the organisation asking for it sets the number.
Your work then tells you what to practise first: a supplier’s voicemail, a client email and a phone call about a schedule need different skills. The Listening and Reading test has seven parts:
- Listening: photographs, question-response, conversations and short talks.
- Reading: incomplete sentences, text completion and reading comprehension with one or more texts.
Listening try: what has changed?
Many listening questions turn on one detail: a new place, a later time, an extra condition. The trap is hearing one change and assuming everything has changed. Listen once without the transcript, answer, then replay it with the transcript.
Speaker This is a reminder for tomorrow’s community poster workshop. Please arrive at the rear entrance at ten rather than the main door. The main foyer is being cleaned, but the workshop time has not changed. Bring one small item you would like to design a poster for. We provide paper and markers. If you need step-free access, reply to this message today and a volunteer will meet you at the side gate.
Speaking try: three short answers
If you need TOEIC Speaking, answer these with a timer: three seconds to prepare, then 15, 15 and 30 seconds (practice timings). Record yourself and check: did you answer the question, give a reason and add an example? A memorised opening only wastes time. Change one thing and answer again.
- “How do you usually learn a practical skill?”
- “How often do you practise with another person?”
- “What would help you improve a skill you need, and why?”
Writing try: does your email answer every point?
A polite email can still be incomplete. Take about seven minutes: two for a first draft, then check and revise. A complete reply has a greeting, a clear offer and one relevant question; many first drafts forget the question.
If your first language has no articles or uses them differently, check them too: “one question about the session”, not “about session”.
The request and a complete reply:
- “Our community workshop is planning a volunteer introduction. Please tell us which practical skill you would like to help with and ask one question about the session.”
- “Hi, I’d like to help with simple bike repairs. Will there be tools at the session, or should I bring my own? Best wishes, Sam.”
A first week you can finish
Write your two priorities as tasks you can check, such as “match each instruction to the person it applies to” or “answer every point in a request email”. About 20 minutes, three or four times a week, is enough:
- Day 1: short listening messages; note what changed and what stayed the same.
- Day 2: 15 sentence-completion questions; label each mistake as word form, tense or vocabulary.
- Day 4: one request email; tick off every requested point before you finish.
- Day 6: replay the reminder without the transcript and compare it with your first notes.
Typical mistakes at the start
These cost weeks, not single marks:
- Preparing for the wrong test, such as Speaking and Writing when only Listening and Reading is required.
- Treating a few minutes of practice as a score prediction.
- Hearing one change and changing every detail in your notes.
- Planning two hours a day and stopping after three days.
Next step
Practise one test part at a time, starting with your weakest: listening to messages if you missed the change, complete replies if your email skipped a point, sentence completion if grammar slowed you down.