1. Focus on the Whole Picture First

•Before the recording starts, look at the photo carefully.

•Notice the main action, location, objects, and people’s positions.

=>This helps you predict possible vocabulary.

2. Pay Attention to Verbs

•TOEIC often tests subtle differences between actions.

“A man is sitting at the desk.” vs. “A man is standing near the desk.”

•Listen for verb forms like sitting, standing, holding, pointing, looking at, reaching for.

3. Watch Out for Distractors

•TOEIC recordings often use words that sound similar but are not correct.

Photo: A man is holding a book.

Distractor: “He is folding a book.”

=> Train your ear to catch small sound differences.

4. Notice Prepositions and Positions

•Prepositions are important: on, at, near, in front of, behind.

•Example:

Correct: “The chair is next to the desk.”

Wrong: “The chair is in front of the desk.”

5. Distinguish Singular and Plural

•TOEIC often tricks with numbers:

“Some people are sitting at the table.” vs. “One person is sitting at the table.”

=>Count quickly before the recording starts.

6. Build Common Vocabulary

•Learn frequent TOEIC picture words:

Actions: holding, arranging, carrying, pointing, loading, reaching for, operating.

Places: desk, counter, shelf, sidewalk, construction site.

Objects: document, briefcase, railing, ladder, microphone.

7. Use Elimination Strategy

•Even if you don’t know the answer, eliminate options that clearly don’t match.

=> Often 2 choices are obviously wrong, 1 is a distractor, and 1 is correct.

8. Practice with Real Speed

•Listen to practice TOEIC Part 1 audios without pausing.

•Train yourself to catch the key words the first time, since TOEIC doesn’t repeat.

9. Improve Your “Picture Vocabulary”

•Use flashcards with photos + English captions.

•Describe the photo in your own words before listening to the answer.

=> This makes you faster in recognizing correct descriptions.

10. Stay Calm & Don’t Overthink

•If you’re unsure, go with the answer that most directly matches the picture.

•Don’t choose something that seems “possible” but isn’t visible. TOEIC always tests what you see, not what you imagine.