Toefl, listening, have problem with taking notes , help.

Question

I'm preparing for toefl and my english is Ok.

When i try to take notes in listening section i just loose the track of the conversation which i listen to. I have a feeling that i do even better when i do it without taking notes.

Please answer those with experience, or these things are in his/her area of study.

What should i do ?

Should i force myself to it untill i learn how to?

Or i can't just make my brain work this way and not to take the advantage of taking notes?

Answer 1

i never take notes... i just listen and remember

Answer 2

It sounds like you and I have the same problem. For a long time it was usually better for me to concentrate on the listening instead of taking notes.

If you look at many TOEFL books, they give you examples of how to take notes. I hate looking at these examples because the notes look so perfect!  In reality, nobody can ever quickly write down notes and organize them as well as they are presented in these books. This is especially true when the clock is ticking.

It's difficult to learn to take notes and listen at the same time. However, it is an important skill.  One thing that might help is this: write down only a few key words or details. For example, if I took notes on the question you asked, I might write:

notes?

experience

force  

When I look at these words, they help me to remember the most important details: you have questions about taking notes, you only want answers from people with experience, you want to know if you should force yourself to learn.

You don't need to write down sentences or phrases. Just write down a few words to help you remember.

Hope this has helped!

William

P.S., If you ever need help or practice with TOEFL writing, you can visit my website here: http://www.cz-training.com/toefl/