托福听力要做到字面理解，就必须具备一定的语音知识、一定的词汇知识和一定的语法知识。而要做到深层理解，就要了解与托福听力材料有关的背景知识、对话和文章的话题知识、托福听力的策略知识以及托福听力测试的命题规律等知识。下面我们就来看看提高听力成绩的两大方法。
托福听力第一步： 语言在听力中的运用
听力理解可分为字面理解和深层理解。要做到字面理解，就必须具备一定的语音知识、一定的词汇知识和一定的语法知识。也只有在理解字面意思的基础上才有可能对听力材料进行深层次的理解，所以语言因素是听力理解的基础。我们常提到的语言因素包括：
1、语音知识
听力不同于阅读，要求同学们必须具备准确辨音的能力，这是口头交际的基础。在正确掌握每个单词的发音的同时，必须注意以下几个方面：
(1)英语中最小对立体的发音，如ship---sheep, cheap ---- chip, pig ---peg, sack ---sock等，有针对性地进行发音训练，比如绕口令之类的练习，如She sells sea cells by the seashore. If she sells sea cells by the seashore, then she sells seashore cells，适当加强一些针对性的听力练习。
(2)重读与弱读：汉语是一个汉字一个音节，而英语中的一个单词可能就有好多音节，这就造成了英汉节奏的差别。而英语中的一些虚词一般要弱读，这有可能会给听力造成一定的困难。对此也应该进行专项训练。如：What''s the time? Sing us a song. I''ve eaten them all. He has already visited a great number of different places in Australia.(红体部分的音节重读)
(3)连读：连读时语速加快，连读的单词之间没有了间隔，会给理解带来困难。如：
in ˇor ˇout, yearˇ in and year ˇout, for ˇan ˇhour?
(4)意群：听力时不能一个单词一个单词地去理解，应该注意意群，因为意群之间间隔之处正是停顿之处，注意下列语句朗读时停顿的差别：
John said, " My father is here."
"John," said my father, "is here."
She likes pineapples.
She likes pie and apples.
He sold his houseboat and trailer.
He sold his house, boat, and trailer.
(5)注意同音字：有些单词发音相同，也可能给听力理解带来困难，如：
What is black and white, and read (red) all over?
这里在听的时候，很难分请是read还是red。
(6)语调：语调是说话者表达情感的一种手段，同样一个句子如果语调不同，则意思就有可能发生变化，如：Open the door, will you?↗
Open the door, won''t you?↘
用声调表示一种请求，用降调表示命令。
What? ↗What?↘↗升调表示疑问，降升表示吃惊和不相信。
测试中同样有可能考查语调的作用，如：
① W: Where do you want to eat?
M: Is there anything wrong with the↘ coffee shop?
Q: What does the man mean?
A. He wonders if anything happened at the coffee shop.
B. He doesn''t know why the coffee tastes bad.
C. He only wants coffee because he isn''t happy.
D. He thinks that they ought to go to the coffee shop.
一般疑问句，却用了降调，表示出说话者愿意去咖啡馆的肯定态度，答案应是D。
② M: I''m terribly sorry I''m late, but I just couldn''t help it.
I got there as soon as I could.
W: Well, it''s not soon enough, ↘is it?
Q: What does the woman mean?
A. It''s soon enough to get here.
B. It''s not soon enough to get here.
C. It''s not late to get here.
D. It''s early enough to get here.
降调的使用,说明说话人坚信第一部分说的是事实，由此可以判断答案为B。
2、词汇和语法
(1)注意扩充词汇量：研究发现，词汇量是影响听力的主要因素之一，词汇量的匮乏往往是造成听力能力提高的首要因素。因此，同学们在训练听力技巧的同时，应注意词汇量的扩充。
(2)加强同义表达方式的听力训练：在听力选择中，相当一部分情况下，答案就是对话信息的同义表达方式。如：
①
W: The speech the blind girl gave this evening was extremely touching.?
M: I think everybody felt the same.
Q: How did the man feel about the girl''s speech?
A. It was boring. B. It was entertaining.
C. It was moving. D. It was encouraging.
Moving与touching意思相近，答案为C。再如：
②
M: Nancy, why were you late today?
W: I overslept and missed the bus.
Q: Why was Nancy late?
A. She got up later than usual.
B. The bus was late.
C. She forgot she had classes.
D. Her clock was slow.
Overslept 也就是got up later than usual。
(3)加强语法概念的单句理解练习：听力测试中有相当一部分情况下，有对语法结构表意功能的考查，如虚拟语气的含义，建议的表达方式等。如：
W: We do need another bookshelf in this room. But the problem is the space for it.
M: How about moving the old dining table to the kitchen?
Q: What does the man suggest they should do?
A. Finding a larger room.
B. Sell the old table.
C. Buy two bookshelves.
D. Rearrange some furniture.
如果考生清楚How about用来提出建议，就可以根据moving the old dining table判断答案为D。再如：
W: The movie starts in 5 minutes and there is bound to be a long line.
M: Why don''t we come back for the next show? I''m sure it would be less crowded.
Q: What is the man suggesting?
A. Coming back for a later shouw.
B. Waiting in a queue.
C. Coming back in five minutes.
D. Not going to the movie today.
Why don''t 表示建议，由此可以判断答案为A。
M: What do you think of my paper?
W: The ideas are good. If I were you, though, I''d rewrite the last two paragraphs to make it better.
Q: What is the woman''s comment on the man''s paper?
A. The ideas of the paper are not convincing.
B. Some parts of the paper are not well written.
C. The handwriting of the paper is not good.
D. The paper is not complete.
本题考查的是同学们对虚拟语气句子的理解，答案是B。
托福听力第二步：知识在语言中的运用
1、背景知识
对听力材料的背景知识的了解有助于听力材料的理解，而缺乏应有的背景知识常常是造成理解失败的原因。听力对话和听力短文所涉及的领域广泛，要求同学们注意积累有关文化、历史、地理、宗教、政治、风俗、生活等各方面的知识，正是Rich experiences are the facilitator of listening comprehension.
2、话题知识
无论是对话还是短文，都有其所涉及的话题，所要说明的主题，而材料中的一切又都是为了这一主题服务，表现同一主题，或同一话题又有与其同现的词汇。同学们可以通过这些词汇推测文章的话题，然后通过文章的主题，预测文章的大体内容，从而对短文进行整体的理解。同学们同样可以通过同现的词汇推测对话发生的地点，会话人之间的关系，各自的身份等。
(1)利用词汇的同现判断对话发生的地点以及会话人之间的关系和身份、职业等。如：
①
M: The Golden Lion sounds like a nice place to eat.
W: Ok, let''s go there. I hear that they have a complete menu and a warm atmosphere.
Q: Where are the man and the woman going?
A. To the beach.
B. To a play.
C. To a movie theater
D. To a restaurant.
从menu一词结合a nice place to eat，同学们便可轻松判断答案D。
②
M: How about the food I ordered? I''ve been waiting for 20 minutes.?
W: I''m very sorry, sir. I''ll be back with your order in a minute.
Q: Who is the man most probably speaking to?
A. A shop assistant.
B. A telephone operator.
C. A waitress
D. A clerk.
从order的使用可以判断答案为C。
③
M: Why didn''t you stop when we first signaled?
W: I''m sorry. Will I have to pay a fine?
Q: What is the probable relationship between the man and the woman?
A. Policeman and driver.
B. Policeman and thief.
C. Teacher and pupil.
D. Director and actress.
从signal, stop, pay a fine可以看出，说话者之间的关系为警察和司机的关系。答案为A。
(2) 利用话题和主题知识把握全文：
文章的主题一般出现在文章的首句，在听时一定要注意首句的理解，然后根据首句推测文章可能会包括的内容，在听的过程注意用来说明主题的信息，进行前后的连贯思索，就可以轻松地理解全文。事实上听力中也有对文章主题的考查。如：
There are many reasons why family life in Britain has changed so much in the last 50 years. The liberation of women in the early part of 20th century and social and economic effects of the World War Two had a great impact on the traditional family life. Women became essential to industry and professions. During the war, they had worked in factories and proved their worth. Now with the loss of millions of man their service was indispensable to the nation. More recently great advances in scientific knowledge, and particularly in medicine have had enormous social consequences. Children are better cared for and are far healthier. Infant death rate was low. Above all, parents now can plan the size of their family if they wish to more effective means of birth control. Different attitudes to religion, authority and tradition generally have also contributed to changes in family life. But these developments have effected all aspects of society. It is particularly interesting to know that the concept of the family as a social unit has survived all these changes.
Q: What is the passage mainly about?
A. The liberation movement of British woman.
B. Rapid economic development in Britain.
C. Changing attitudes to family life.
D. Reasons for changes in family life in Britain.
通过对短文首句的理解，可以判断答案是D。
3、策略知识
除具备以上知识以外，为了保证听力的质量，同学们，还必须了解一些策略知识，包括听力策略和听力应试策略。
1) 听力策略
听力策略是听力质量的保证。一般情况下，同学们应掌握的听力策略有：
(1)有目的地去听：听要有目的，是要了解大意还是具体的细节，什么细节，在听之前应该首先确定听的目的。
(2)听大意：听大意的方式与阅读中的览读技巧相同，要求同学们在听的时候将注意力集中在话题上，和要表达的主题上，抓主要的东西，而不是具体的细节。
(3)听具体信息：与"听大意"不同，该听力技巧要求同学们在听的时候只注意相关具体细节就可，如文中的具体任务，具体事件，事件发生的具体地点，时间，原因等。
(4)记笔记：在听的过程中，同学们有必要对重要信息做一下记录，以帮助对听力材料的记忆，也便于随后的推理和判断。
(5)预测：在听的过程中对下文进行预测是整体理解的保证，预测愈是准确，理解也愈是简单。