TOEFL iBT® Listen to an Announcement: how it works, with examples

• What you hear: one speaker giving a short announcement in an academic setting, such as a classroom or a school event, in person or over a speaker system. It is about 40 to 85 words long, so it usually lasts well under half a minute.
• What it is about: schedules, directions, rules and regulations, or student achievements.
• What you see: a picture of the speaker. The recording plays once, and you can take notes.
• What you do: answer questions with four options each. Prepiva’s practice tests ask two questions per announcement.
• How much it counts: in ETS’s 2026 blueprint, announcements provide 6 to 10 of the 47 Listening items.
• Scoring: one point for each correct answer.

Most announcements have four parts, and each part answers one kind of question:

1. The topic, in the first sentence: a change, an event, a rule or some news.
2. The details: day, time, place and who is affected.
3. A change or an exception, often after “but”, “however”, “instead” or “not … as I said”.
4. An instruction at the end: “Please make sure…”, “If you…, come and see me”.

Listen hardest at the start and at the end.

In the test you only hear the announcement. Here the script is printed so that you can study it. If the page has audio, listen first, answer the questions, and read the script afterwards.

Five or six words are enough: the topic, the day and time, the place, any change (“Tue → Thu”) and the final instruction. If a detail is replaced, cross out the first one at once. ETS allows note-taking: scratch paper at a test center, a whiteboard or paper in a transparent sheet protector at home.

• The old plan instead of the new one. Announcements often correct something said earlier.
• An instruction meant for a different group. “If you have another class…” applies only to those students.
• An answer that is true in general but was not said, such as “tryouts” in announcement 4.

• Listen to real announcements: at stations and airports, on campus, or at the start of podcasts and events.
• Write two lines after each one: the purpose, and what listeners must do.
• Make your own: take a notice from your school or office and say it aloud as a 30-second announcement.

Each of Prepiva’s three Listening practice sets includes an announcement with its own recording and questions. The sets are free with a Prepiva account, and after each one you can review your answers. Then take the full practice test to get a band for all four sections, or learn the other Listening tasks: Listen to a Conversation, Listen and Choose a Response and Listen to an Academic Talk.