IBT Listening Section: Note Taking Strategy Do you take notes in English on the iBT TOEFL test? Or are you writing notes in your own language? Obviously, one can write whatever they want but beware! Students who write notes in their own language during the test tend to be slower than students who just write in English. If you write in your own language, it might seem faster while you’re listening, but when it comes time to find information in order to answer the question, then the student who wrote in their own language will be busy translating their notes whereas the other student will simply try to find the actual words in English in their notes. This might seem obvious to some, but it is important to get into a certain mindset while taking the test. If you’re training yourself to only think in English, you’re preparing yourself for every aspect of this test. Take notes only in English and by the time you finish the listening section and move on to the speaking section, you will be ready to give those speaking responses in English only. For many of the listening section questions, you need to find the synonyms of words and this will become even harder if your notes do not have the words that were spoken. POSTED BY TOEFL TIGER AT 8:41 AM LINKS TO THIS POST LABELS: IBT LISTENING SECTION: NOTE TAKING STRATEGY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007