Library orientation14 wordshard

TOEFL Listen and Repeat sampleThe audio-visual center is on the fifth floor along with the study rooms.

Attempts387
Avg score2.88 / 5
Avg pauses1.1
Reproduction60.4%

The most glaring number here is audio's 53.2% drop rate — a hyphenated compound sounds like one long stretch, so speakers often grab visual (32.0%) and lose audio entirely. This 14-word line brings back an average 60.4% and scores 2.88/5 (387 attempts), with the add-on along (25.1%) frequently going too.

Library orientation

Context cue

What is happening in this scene?

This is a longer locating line: the audio-visual center is on the fifth floor, along with the study rooms. What, which floor, and what's next to it.

Which words go missing?

Each word is shaded by how often it was dropped across 387 attempts. Hover for the exact rate. This sentence is one case in the Listen and Repeat research across 23,000+ sessions — where endings and late words drop most.

the10.6%audio53.2%visual32.0%center9.6%is3.9%on7.5%the7.2%fifth8.0%floor6.5%along25.1%with21.2%the13.2%study19.6%rooms11.6%
Dropped:<8%8–15%15–25%25–35%35%+

The three most fragile words here are audio (53.2%), visual (32.0%), along (25.1%) — when you record your own version, check first that each of these survives.

Which sounds deserve attention?

These are sounds with substantial measurements in this sentence, not a generic pronunciation list. Automatic assessment places /ɹ/ lowest among the sounds shown.

SoundMeasurementsAvg accuracyBelow 60
/ɹ/60666.7/10036.1%
/θ/22175.5/10018.1%
/f/55982.3/10016.5%

Why are these words fragile?

Omission rates show the pattern, not its cause. Position, word length, and endings still give us specific practice hypotheses to test.

audio

53.2% omitted

Audio is the first half of the compound audio-visual, yet it is the most-dropped word — a hyphenated compound sounds like one long stretch, so speakers keep visual and lose audio.

Practice: Say audio–visual slowly with both halves clear before speeding up; check that audio is not swallowed.

visual

32.0% omitted

Visual is the second half of the compound, competing with audio for memory, so often only one of the two survives.

Practice: Practise audio-visual as one whole compound, both halves present.

along

25.1% omitted

Along is the preposition introducing the extra information; unstressed and late, it drops, and with it the 'along with the study rooms' idea.

Practice: Keep along with so the additional information comes back.

How should you chunk it?

Place splits between complete meaning groups, following the chunking method. The slashes are memory boundaries for practice, not mandatory audible pauses.

The audio-visual center is/on the fifth floor/along with the study rooms
Speakers paused beforeShare of pausesPlacement
along14.5%Natural split
is11.6%Mid-phrase
on7.0%Natural split
study5.7%Mid-phrase

How should you practise this sample?

  1. 01

    Build the information skeleton

    Three blocks: The audio-visual center is / on the fifth floor / along with the study rooms.

  2. 02

    Restore high-omission words

    Say both halves of the compound audio-visual — not just visual — slow first, then faster.

  3. 03

    Reconnect the sentence

    Keep along with so the 'next to the study rooms' idea is carried back.

When are you ready for the next sentence?

Do not rely on a vague feeling of success. Meet all four checks twice in a row before increasing sentence length.

  • Both halves of the compound, audio and visual, are present
  • The floor fifth floor is complete
  • along with the study rooms is kept
  • Short pauses at the three block edges; each block linked

Try this sentence yourself

Record it once and see your own version of the heat map above — which words you dropped and where your pauses landed.

Practise Listen and Repeat

More sentences like this

Questions about this Listen and Repeat sample

How should I chunk this TOEFL Listen and Repeat sentence?

Use 3 meaning groups: The audio-visual center is / on the fifth floor / along with the study rooms. Preserve the information skeleton first, then check the final words and endings.

Which words are most often omitted in this sentence?

audio (53.2%), visual (32.0%), along (25.1%) have the highest omission rates among the 387 attempts summarized here.

Where should I pause in Listen and Repeat?

Pause between complete meaning groups rather than inside a noun or verb phrase. Use pauses as a memory scaffold, then work toward a connected delivery.