To [test:'toefl-sample-test' ace the TOEFL] you’ll need to sharpen a number of your skills, but make sure you take the time to honed your listening skills as quickly as possible. Listening skills are not only necessary for the test section, but they’ll also help your study in general by improving your pronunciation, sentence structure
When Listening to English:
1. Listen for basic information and comprehension. To do this ask yourself these questions: What is the main idea? How many major points where mentioned? What were they? Can I recall any specific details?
2. Listen for “pragmatic” understanding. Pragmatic means practical and refers to what the speaker is telling us without his words. Can you determine the speaker’s attitude? Why are they talking?
3. Listen for connecting and synthesizing. What relationships can be drawn between ideas? How do the main points compare or contrast? What do you suppose might happen after this speech?
Read the full article: Top Tips to Improve your Listening