Listening

TOEFL Listen to an Announcement

One of the 4 task types in the Listening section. 53 practice questions in the bank, across 13 sets.

In short

Listen to an Announcement plays a single speaker delivering practical information — a change of room, a new deadline, a service interruption. Announcements exist to change something, and the question is usually about what changed and what you must now do.

What it looks like

A real item from the practice bank:

A real question from the bank

What are drivers advised to do?

  1. APark on the street instead
  2. BLeave home earlier, because Lot D fills up quicklycorrect
  3. CRemove their Lot B permit from the dashboard
  4. DCall the parking office before Monday

*Explanations in the PrepScore bank are written for a Chinese-speaking audience, so the reasoning on this page is ours rather than a translation of the bank’s.*

How to approach it

  • Listen for what is different from normal: a time, a place, a requirement.
  • Note exceptions. Announcements almost always carry one, and it is often the answer.
  • Do not assume the usual arrangement still applies.

How much practice there is

The bank holds 53 questions of this type across 13 sets, 53 of them with audio. 58% sit in the basic layer and the rest in the advanced layer, which unlocks once your basic-layer accuracy passes 60% — the same two-stage shape the real test uses in Reading and Listening.

Practise Listen to an Announcement free

Ten questions a day at no cost, with the reasoning on every answer.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a TOEFL announcement?

A short monologue delivering practical information — a schedule change, a closure, a new requirement — of the kind a student would actually need to act on.

What is the most common mistake?

Missing the exception. The announcement states a general rule and then names what it does not apply to, and the question is about the exception.

By PrepScore · Last reviewed · Editorial standards