TOEFL · Guides · October 30, 2026 · 7 min read
TOEFL Listen to an Announcement (2026): campus announcement practice and question types
Listen to an Announcement is one of the four task types in the TOEFL iBT Listening section since January 2026. You hear one speaker make a short announcement of roughly 35 to 100 words, such as a teacher changing a quiz date, a librarian explaining new hours or a club leader describing an event, and then answer a few multiple-choice questions. The audio plays once. The questions ask why the announcement is made, what the key details are (dates, places, conditions) and what listeners should do. It is the shortest and most predictable of the longer Listening tasks, which makes it a good place to collect points if you listen for the change and the instruction rather than every word.
How the task works
| Listen to an Announcement | |
|---|---|
| Section | Listening, about 29 minutes in total, two-stage adaptive |
| Audio | one speaker, about 35–100 words, played once |
| Typical speakers | professors and teachers, library or housing staff, club and event organisers, campus services |
| Questions | a few per announcement, four options each |
| Notes | allowed |
| Other Listening tasks | Listen and Choose a Response, Listen to a Conversation, Listen to an Academic Talk |
The Listening section has about 47 items in about 29 minutes and adapts after the first stage. ETS uses a mix of AI-generated audio and voice actors with several English accents, so expect more than one English accent.
Announcements share the section with Listen and Choose a Response, where you hear one line and pick the best reply. Both reward quick, accurate understanding of everyday spoken English; if announcements feel fast, short daily sets of Listen and Choose a Response help.
The shape of an announcement
Almost every announcement has four parts, often in this order:
- Who and where. “Good morning, everyone, this is a reminder from the housing office.”
- The news or the change. “The laundry room on the ground floor will be closed this weekend.”
- The reason. “…because new machines are being installed.”
- The instruction. “Until Monday, please use the laundry room in Building C, and bring your own detergent.”
Some add a fifth part, an exception or an extra: “If you have a laundry card, it will work in Building C too.” Questions are written around these parts, so listening for them is listening for the answers.
What the questions ask
| Question type | Typical wording | Part of the announcement |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Why is the speaker making this announcement? | the news or the change |
| Detail | When will the new schedule start? Where should students go? | dates, places, numbers |
| Reason | Why is the event being moved? | the sentence with because, since, due to |
| Next action | What are students asked to do? | the instruction, often at the end |
| Inference | What can be inferred about the speaker’s class? | two details together |
The purpose question is the one most people get wrong, because every option names something that is mentioned. The purpose is the reason the speaker opened their mouth: usually the change, not the background and not the extra detail at the end.
A note-taking grid
Announcements are short, so notes can be very small. Four lines are enough:
| Notes | |
|---|---|
| What changes | career fair Hall A → Sports Centre |
| Why | Hall A flooded |
| Details | same day, 11–3; 40 companies |
| Do | bring CV printed; register on app |
Write the change as an arrow from old to new. Most wrong options use the old value: the old day, the old room, the old price. If your notes show both with an arrow, those options are easy to cross out.
Two sample announcements
These announcements and questions were written for this guide. Read each once, cover it, and answer from memory.
Sample 1: a library announcement
Narrator: Listen to an announcement at the university library.
Speaker: Hi, everyone. Just a quick note about the group study rooms. Starting next Monday, you’ll need to book them online instead of signing the sheet at the front desk. Bookings open one week ahead, and each group can have a room for up to two hours a day. The printed sheet will be removed on Friday. If you have trouble with the online system, come to the help desk on the first floor and we’ll book it for you.
1. What is the main purpose of the announcement? A. To tell students that the study rooms will close B. To explain a new way of reserving study rooms C. To ask students to return library books by Friday D. To advertise the help desk on the first floor
Answer: B. The change is from a paper sheet to online booking. A is not said; D is only the extra at the end.
2. How long can one group use a room each day? A. One hour B. Two hours C. Until the library closes D. One week
Answer: B. “Up to two hours a day.” D is a trap built from “one week ahead”, which is about when bookings open.
3. What should students do if they cannot book online? A. Sign the printed sheet at the front desk B. Send an email to the library C. Go to the help desk for assistance D. Wait until next Monday
Answer: C. The speaker says to come to the help desk. A is the old system, which will be removed.
Sample 2: a club announcement
Narrator: Listen to an announcement at the start of a photography club meeting.
Speaker: Before we start, a change to Saturday’s photo walk. Because of the rain forecast, we’re not going to the botanical garden. Instead, we’ll meet at the city museum, which has free entry for students that day. Same time, ten o’clock, but at the museum’s main entrance. Bring your student card, and please leave tripods at home. The museum doesn’t allow them.
1. Why has the plan for Saturday changed? A. The botanical garden is closed for the season. B. The weather is expected to be bad. C. The museum offered the club a special tour. D. Too few members signed up.
Answer: B. “Because of the rain forecast.” C is an attractive extra: free entry is a detail about the new place, not the reason for the change.
2. What does the speaker imply about tripods? A. Members should buy smaller ones. B. They are not needed for indoor photos. C. Members would not be able to use them at the museum. D. The club will provide them.
Answer: C. The speaker says to leave them at home because the museum does not allow them. That is an inference from two connected sentences.
Common traps
- The old value. The day, room or price that has been replaced is mentioned first and is often an option.
- The extra as the purpose. A help desk, a free entry, a reminder at the end: these are details, not the reason for the announcement.
- Numbers that belong to something else. Two hours, one week, ten o’clock: check what each number describes.
- Instructions in negative form. “Please don’t bring…”, “You no longer need to…”: a missed not reverses the answer.
- Polite openings. “Hi everyone, thanks for coming” carries nothing. Save your attention for the sentence after it.
How to practise
Real announcements are everywhere: airport and train station recordings, university YouTube channels, podcast intros with housekeeping notes. After listening once, say the four parts aloud: what changes, why, the details, what to do. Then do test-format sets with audio that plays once, and check which part your mistakes come from. Most people find the trouble is in details with numbers, which a quick arrow in the notes fixes.
The other Listening guides are Listen to a Conversation and Listen to an Academic Talk. The written cousin of this task is a notice in Read in Daily Life, and the short campus sentences of Listen and Repeat train the same memory. For the big picture, see the TOEFL iBT format, TOEFL scores, how to prepare for TOEFL and TOEFL sample questions.
Practise announcements in the Nomto room
The Listen to an Announcement practice in the Nomto TOEFL room plays campus announcements once, with the test timing. Answers are checked instantly, with an explanation for every question in English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Turkish or Indonesian. A free account includes 10 Reading and Listening items, Listen and Choose a Response among them. For the adaptive section as a whole, take a Listening or full mock test, which reports your band on the 1–6 scale and the comparable 0–120 total.
Common questions
How long is a TOEFL announcement? About 35 to 100 words, which is well under a minute of speech.
Is this the same as the old TOEFL “campus announcement”? No. On the old test, a campus announcement was a reading used in a speaking task. In the 2026 test, Listen to an Announcement is a Listening task: you hear it and answer multiple-choice questions.
Who gives the announcements? Teachers, campus staff and student organisers, in classrooms, libraries, dorms and events, with a range of English accents.
What is the most common mistake? Choosing the old date or place. Write changes as an arrow from old to new.
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