TOEIC Listening Part 1: Photographs — Expert Guide
Welcome to the ultimate guide to mastering Part 1 of the TOEIC Listening Test. This section focuses on your ability to connect spoken English with visual information. Below is a comprehensive guide complete with FAQs, expert strategies, typical traps, and practical tips. Sakura, our TOEIC expert chatbot, is ready to help you understand, practice, and perfect this part of the test.
What is TOEIC Part 1?
In Part 1, you will see six black-and-white photographs. For each photo, you hear four short statements. Your task is to choose the statement that best matches the image. The statements are only played once.
Common Features of Part 1
• Simple grammar (present simple and present continuous)
• Most sentences follow the Subject-Verb-Object pattern
• Common phrases: 'A man is...', 'There are...', 'People are...'
• Focuses on actions, locations, or descriptions
Common Challenges
• Longer, more complex sentences
• Passive voice usage
• Unusual vocabulary
• Similar-sounding distractors (e.g. eating vs. meeting)
• Statements only played once – no second chance
How to Preview Photos Effectively
During the short pause before audio:
For photos with people:
- Where are they?
- What are they doing?
- What is their relationship?
For scenes:
- What kind of place is it?
- What’s in the foreground/background?
For objects:
- What is it?
- What’s it made of/used for?
How to Spot Distractors
1. Incorrect interpretation (wrong action or meaning)
2. Partially true (1 word wrong — e.g., preposition)
3. Similar-sounding words (e.g., eating vs. meeting)
Step-by-Step Strategy
1. Preview the photo
2. Listen carefully to all 4 statements
3. Eliminate incorrect ones
4. Choose the best answer
5. Move on quickly
Test Tips
• Focus on key nouns and verbs
• Predict likely descriptions
• Echo sentences silently to match with photo
• Watch out for tricky prepositions
• Use pencil to mark answers while listening
• Learn typical S-V-O sentence structures