Listening Test Strategy, Tips and Trick in TOEIC® and VIERA: Analyzing Pictures

In TOEIC®, VIERA test and UAN (Ujian Akhir Nasional), the Final Test taken by third year students of SMA and SMK, there is a section called Analyzing Pictures. In this section, the examinee has to choose one statement or sentence which best matches the picture shown. Skills development in analyzing both pictures and answer choices are needed to improve TOEIC® and UAN score.

Here are the strategies which can help improve your skills in analyzing pictures in TOEIC® and UAN test.

Strategies in TOEIC® Test - Part 1; Analyzing Pictures

Make Assumptions

When you listen to the TOEIC® test Part 1, you often have to make assumptions based on what you see in the picture. You have to determine which of the four statements is true or might be true.

Problem:
More than one answers may seem true.
Solution:
Listen carefully to the whole sentence and choose the answer that best matches the picture.

Look at the following picture and learn how you can make assumptions from it.




What is the person (probably) doing?
Possible answers:
The passenger is looking out the window.
He is holding a book.
The man is sitting next to the window.
The man is smiling.
The man is traveling.

Where is it? What can you infer about the place?
The man is on the bus.
The man is on a train.
The window is open.

Identify People

You often have to identify the people you see in a picture. You may identify them by number, gender, location, description, activity, or occupation.

Problem:
The people may be incorrectly identified.
Solution:Determine the number, gender, location, description, activity, and occupation of the people as best as you can.

Look at the following picture and learn how to identify people.



Who are they? What are they doing? Where?
Possible answers:
There are four people at the table.
There are two men and two women at the table.
The people are in a restaurant.
The guests are sitting at a table.
The customers are going to order their meal.
The waitress is standing next to the table.

What are they wearing?
Possible answer:
The waiter is wearing an apron.

Identify Things

You often have to identify things in a picture. You should try to name everything you see. However, you are not required to know words or terms specific to one particular occupation. Instead, you should know the general word or term of the things in the picture.

Problem:
You may not know the words needed to identify the things in the picture.
Solution:
Use the context of the picture to help you identify the things.

Look at the following picture and learn how to identify things.



What and where is it?
Possible answers:
The ship is mooring in the harbor.
The tanker is docking.
The ship is loading.
The ship is being refueled.
The ship is at the dock.

Related words: Ship, tanker, cargoship, cargo, gas, dock, moor, anchor, harbor, port, load, unload, refuel, fuel.

Identify Actions

You often have to identify the actions in a picture, i.e. what the people are doing. You should try to analyze the time sequence of the actions.

Problem:
You may not understand what is happening in the picture.
Solution:
Use the context of the picture to help you make assumptions about what happened before, during, and after the action.

Look at the following picture and learn how to identify things.

What are the persons doing? Who and where are they?
Possible answers:
The people are going to board the plane.
They are going to travel by plane.
The family is waiting to board the plane.
The man and the woman are looking at the girl.
The man is standing behind the girl.
They will go through the boarding pass.
They are standing in a queue.

See more information and strategies for TOEIC® Test.


More to Prepare You

📘 TOEIC® Practice: Verb Forms, Word Families, Comparisons 📘 What is TOEIC®? 📘 VIERA & TOEIC® Preparation Test
Reference: Lougheed L. How to Prepare for the TOEIC® Test, 3rd Edition. Ciputat, Binarupa Aksara, 2004.