How long is an announcement?

Short and single-speaker. Because there is no second voice to repeat the point, one unfamiliar word can cost the detail — which is what makes this vocabulary worth pre-learning.

What kind of announcements appear?

Campus and everyday contexts: schedule changes, facility notices, procedures and requirements.

Listening: Listen to an Announcement

Listening: Listen to an Announcement is part of the Listening section of the TOEFL Essentials test. You get 2 questions and 2 minutes. It is scored by the number of correct answers.

Questions: 2
Time: 2 minutes
Prompts here: 8 published

Learn the vocabulary of notices and announcements — changes, deadlines, requirements and instructions — which is where the answerable detail in this task always sits.

An announcement exists to change what you do. Listen for the words that mark a change, a condition or a deadline; those are the ones the question asks about.

TOEFL Essentials · Listening

Announcement — Printing system

One of 8 published prompts · free, no account

Listen to an announcement in a university library.

Audio transcript

In the real test you hear this once and cannot replay it.

Librarian: Good afternoon, everyone. A quick note about printing. From Monday the library is moving to a new print system, and the old printing credit will not transfer automatically. If you have money left on your account, come to the help desk before Friday and we'll move it across for you. After Friday the balance stays on the old system, and the old system is being switched off at the end of the month. The new printers will also require you to tap your student card at the machine — sending a job from your laptop won't be enough on its own. There will be someone at the desk all week if you'd like to try it before term gets busy.

Questions & answer key2 questions

Listening is scored by the number of correct answers. The audio plays once, so the skill being tested is holding detail while the next sentence arrives.

1What is the main purpose of the announcement?
1. ATo explain that printing will no longer be free.
2. ✓To warn that unused credit must be transferred before a deadline.
3. CTo announce that the library will close at the end of the month.
4. DTo ask students to print less during busy periods.
Answer
B
The central instruction is to visit the help desk before Friday so the balance moves across.
2What will students need to do differently at the new printers?
1. ASend jobs only from library computers.
2. BPay at the help desk each time.
3. ✓Tap their student card at the machine.
4. DCollect printouts within the same day.
Answer
C
The speaker says sending a job from a laptop is not enough on its own — the card must be tapped at the machine.

Now do it yourself and find out where you land

You can check right and wrong on this page. What a page cannot do is tell you which question types you keep losing, under real timing.

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Questions people ask

How long is an announcement?: Short and single-speaker. Because there is no second voice to repeat the point, one unfamiliar word can cost the detail — which is what makes this vocabulary worth pre-learning.
What kind of announcements appear?: Campus and everyday contexts: schedule changes, facility notices, procedures and requirements.

The other 7 Announcement prompts7 free

·Announcement — Campus shuttlefree
·Announcement — Submission systemfree
·Announcement — Library opening hours
·Announcement — Chemistry lab closurefree
·Announcement — Careers fairfree
·Announcement — Wi-Fi maintenancefree
·Announcement — Exam regulationsfree

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