Listening Tips
TOEFL 2026 — the most practiced Listening questions, October 2026
How this list was measured
Every entry below is ranked by the number of different Reach120 learners who submitted an answer to it during October 2026 — not by how often the question was shown, and not by anything anyone chose to feature. One learner practicing the same question repeatedly counts once.
A question needs at least 3 different learners to appear at all, a task type needs at least 5 such questions before it is ranked, and Listening needs at least 10 learners in the month before this post is generated.
At most 8 questions per task type are listed.
Two things are removed before anything is counted, so that nothing in this order was put there by us: Reach120's own accounts — staff, test users and the internal harnesses that exercise the product — and the fallback questions the app hands out when there is no question bank to draw from, which measure our own placement rather than anybody's choice.
The exact learner counts are deliberately not published — the order is the finding, the headcount is not. This ranking measures practice, not opinion: it is not a vote and it is not a quality judgement by us or by ETS. Where a question has separately been rated by enough learners or tutors to carry a verification mark, that mark is shown next to it and explained at the end.
Try it — one real Listening item
This recording and question come from the same bank Reach120 learners practice against. Read the transcript or play the audio, then answer — Listening is free and unlimited on every account.
Apology for a Mix-Up
Show the transcript
Sorry, I grabbed your umbrella by mistake; here it is back.
Why A is the answer: This directly and appropriately responds to what the speaker said (apology).
- B. This reply does not acknowledge the mix-up, so it is not a natural response.
- C. This reply does not acknowledge the mix-up, so it is not a natural response.
- D. This reply does not acknowledge the mix-up, so it is not a natural response.
Listening stimuli
1. Invitation to Study Group
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: We're meeting to study for the exam tonight, want to join us?
2. Offering to Save a Seat
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: I can save you a seat up front if you're running late.
3. Apology for Being Late
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: I'm really sorry I'm late; the shuttle got stuck in traffic.
4. Printer Out of Toner
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: The printer on the second floor is out of toner again.
5. Offering a Ride Home
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: I'm driving past your dorm later if you want a ride home.
6. Warning About Wet Floor
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: Careful, the floor by the entrance is still wet from mopping.
7. Warning About a Deadline
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: Just so you know, the scholarship application closes at midnight tonight.
8. Help Carrying Boxes
Kind: choose_response
Subject area: campus daily life
How it opens: Could you help me carry these boxes up to the third-floor office?
Practice Listening stimuli on Reach120
About the verification marks
No question in this list carries a verification mark yet. A mark is earned from learner and tutor ratings, which are still accumulating, so an unmarked question here means "not yet rated enough" — not "rated badly".
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