Soal Listening TOEFL: Materi Perkuliahan dari Dosen

Tes TOEFL dipersiapkan salah satunya bagi mereka yang akan melanjutkan sekolah ke jenjang lebih tinggi. Kamu dituntut untuk siap berkomunikasi dalam lingkungan akademis yang berbahasa Inggris.

Itu sebabnya salah satu materi listening tes TOEFL adalah materi perkuliahan dari dosen. Berikut ini contoh soal listening tentang materi perkuliahan dari seorang profesor perempuan yang bisa kamu jadikan materi latihan:

Female Professor:

As you all know, psychological trauma has lasting and very damaging effects on a person. People who have survived abuse or neglect from a very young age, soldiers coming back from a war, and other kinds of people too are all at risk for…for the disabling symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, for years and years. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, has the promise to do something unique. EMDR allows the BODY to feel safe again and to learn that a new life is possible. It is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches… and it has helped millions of people of all ages find RELIEF from many types of psychological stress. It is somewhat unconventional approach, in which patients follow a beam of light back and forth with their eyes as they work with their therapists.

The big goal of EMDR therapy is to understand completely the experiences that are causing problems, and to include new ones that are needed for full health. To PROCESS these experiences does not mean just to describe them and talk about them. Instead, it means setting up a state of mind that will allow these experiences to be understood in a healthy way. In other words, the big, b emotional reaction will become much smaller over time. The inappropriate emotions, beliefs, and body sensations will be removed.

In EMDR, the patient sits in a chair and is taught to think about a memory that is very painful. Then, with the guidance of the therapist, the patient thinks about this memory while following a light moving from side to side with his eyes. This causes his eyes to move from one side of his head to the other. The movement of the eyes stimulates the brain in a way that helps the person feel better. Although EMDR may produce results more quickly than previous forms of therapy, speed is not the issue, and it is important to remember that every client has different needs. For instance, one client may take weeks to feel safe enough with the therapist to be able to do the work that is required by the treatment.

Another reason why EMDR may not be very fast in the eyes of many psychologists…why it sometimes has that reputation… is that some patients have layers of long-term trauma, so that when one issue is resolved, another one comes up. Sometimes, the next issue may even more important. Also, treatment is not complete until EMDR therapy has focused on the past memories that are contributing to the problem, the present situations that are disturbing to the patient, and what skills the client may need for the future. All three elements need to be addressed – past, present and future. The good news is that this treatment works and people really do get better… a lot better.

Materi listening di atas adalah subjek yang sangat spesifik seputar terapi untuk menangani orang yang mengalami trauma masa lalu. Dibahas tuntas tentang dampak dari tiap terapi lengkap dengan contohnya.

Berikut ini contoh pertanyaan yang mengikuti:

1. Question: According to the professor, what does “processing” mean?

(A) Explaining the complicated way that EMDR works

(B) Mentally revisiting a traumatic event

(C) Understanding an experience via a healthy state of mind

(D) Talking about a painful experience through EMDR

Analisis: Kata kunci untuk memahami pertanyaan di atas ada pada kalimat “To PROCESS these experiences does not mean just to describe them and talk about them. Instead, it means setting up a state of mind that will allow these experiences to be understood in a healthy way.” Dengan demikian jawaban yang tepat adalah (C).

2. Question: What is the speaker’s attitude toward EMDR?

(A) She believes it is a unique form of therapy with a proven track record and promising future

(B) She thinks it will require time before EMDR’s benefits can be fully understood by psychologists

(C) She is unsure of whether or not the results achieved by the method are long-term

(D) She thinks EMDR is the best form of therapy and helpful for most victims

Analisis: Pertanyaan attitude artinya kamu harus menyimpulkan pendapat speaker terhadap materi yang ada. Sepanjang materi, profesor menjelaskan tentang fungsi EMDR. Kalimat kunci ada pada “The good news is that this treatment works and people really do get better… a lot better.” Artinya, profesor yakin EMDR sangat menjanjikan sehingga jawaban yang tepat adalah (A).

Dua pertanyaan di atas adalah contoh materi listening yang sangat spesifik sama halnya seperti materi kuliah di kampus. Banyak detil yang harus diingat dan dicatat sebagai panduan saat menjawab. Menjaga konsentrasi adalah kuncinya agar bisa merangkum intisari dari mata kuliah yang disampaikan.