What do you do if you miss the first TOEFL Listen and Repeat sentence?

What does the Listen and Repeat task ask you to do?

In Listen and Repeat, you hear seven sentences set in an academic or campus-life scene, one at a time, and repeat each one exactly as you heard it. Page 17 of ETS's "Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview" (the Test Overview, no publication date, cover © 2026, checked 2026-10-30) states that there is a brief pause after each sentence, and the test taker then repeats what they heard word for word. The scene gives a reason to listen and repeat, and the scene image on screen moves to a related spot each time a new sentence begins. The directions in the example on the same page say to repeat "only once".

The sentences get longer and more complex as the scene goes on (Test Overview, page 17). Page 17 of the Specifications Document says this progression can start from short sentences with a single independent clause and move to longer sentences containing compound verbs, subordinate clauses, relative clauses and complex noun phrases. Going by the Test Overview's description, the first sentence is one of the shorter of the seven. To look at both tasks, including Take an Interview, at once, read "How do I prepare for TOEFL Speaking: Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview?" first.

How many seconds and points does each sentence get?

You have up to 8 to 12 seconds to record each sentence, and each sentence is worth up to 5 points. The time comes from page 17 of the Test Overview, and the points from page 18 of the Specifications Document (up to 5 points per item for Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview). The figures for the two Speaking tasks are below.

Sources: item counts and points come from pages 7 and 18 of the Specifications Document and Table 2 on page 30 of ETS's "TOEFL iBT Technical Manual" (the Technical Manual, ETS Research Report RR-25-12, October 2025, checked 2026-10-30); times come from pages 17 and 19 of the Test Overview. Speaking has 11 items in all, with a standard time of about 8 minutes (Test Overview, page 4). The Specifications Document places all 11 Speaking items under AI scoring (a method that rates features such as fluency, coherence and grammar using natural language processing and machine learning). Page 35 of the Technical Manual states that all Speaking tasks are scored by a combination of ETS's AI scoring engine and human raters, and page 39 states that human raters score responses where the AI scoring has low confidence or that are difficult. Table 1 on page 21 of the Test Overview gives the Speaking raw score (the score before conversion to a band) range as 0 to 55, of which 35 points belong to Listen and Repeat (7 items × 5 points, our calculation). The short first sentence is worth the same maximum of 5 points as the long last sentence.

All scores in this article are on the 0 to 5 point scale for a single sentence. This is a different scale from the Speaking 1 to 6 bands on your score report; how to read the bands is covered in "How do TOEFL 1 to 6 scores compare with 0 to 120 scores?". Time for the other sections is covered in "How long is the 2026 TOEFL iBT?".

Which scoring criteria level does a missed sentence fall into?

A sentence where you said nothing falls into the 0-point level. The Listen and Repeat scoring criteria on page 27 of the Test Overview describe 0 points as no response, a response that is entirely unintelligible, a response with no English, or a response unrelated to the sentence. A response that repeats only part of the sentence matches the wording of the 1-point or 2-point level.

The sentence and repetitions below are an example the Unlock Prep (unlockprep.com) editorial team wrote for illustration. We did not copy any ETS item. The score levels are our judgment, matched against the wording of the scoring criteria on pages 26 to 27 of the Test Overview, and no scores were assigned by ETS. Table 5 on page 38 of the Technical Manual gives speaking rate, length of uninterrupted speech, pauses and hesitations, pronunciation, words repeated correctly and similarity to the sentence heard as examples of features the scoring engine looks at in this task. Function words are grammar words such as the, a, can and be; content words are words that carry meaning, such as rooms, floor and reserved.

Our sentence (a long sentence from later in the scene): The study rooms on the third floor can be reserved online up to a week in advance.

Repetition A (Our view: close to the 4-point level)

• What was said: The study rooms on third floor can be reserved online up to week in advance.
• Where it differs: two function words, the and a, are missing. The meaning is unchanged.
• Matching wording: the 4-point level's "small changes in words or grammar that do not substantially change the meaning" and its example "one or two function words omitted or changed". The 5-point level is a response that repeats the sentence heard exactly.

Repetition B (Our view: close to the 3-point level)

• What was said: The study rooms on the third floor are reserved online in a week.
• Where it differs: can be became are, up to was dropped, and the content word advance was dropped, so "within a week, in advance" now reads as "a week from now". It is a complete sentence and most of the content words remain.
• Matching wording: the 3-point level's "nearly complete but does not accurately convey the original meaning", "several function words changed or omitted, and one or more content words omitted or changed in meaning" and "a complete sentence".

Repetition C (Our view: close to the 2-point level)

• What was said: The study rooms on the third floor ... um ... in advance.
• Where it differs: the speaker repeated the beginning, stopped, and tacked on only the last two words. The middle part, "can be reserved online", is missing entirely.
• Matching wording: the 2-point level's "repeats the beginning and then stops or fills in with incorrect content, sometimes adding the last few words" and "not a standalone sentence, and the meaning is fragmented".

Repetition D (Our view: close to the 1-point level)

• What was said: Study rooms ... online.
• Where it differs: only a few words remain.
• Matching wording: the 1-point level's "a response of only a few words, with most of the sentence missing".

In our view, C is the pattern you are most likely to fall into after missing the first sentence. While you are still going back over the missed sentence, the start of the second sentence may reach your ears, but if you let the middle slip, only the beginning and the final words remain. Because the sentences get longer as they go, this pattern costs more words the later the sentence comes.

If you miss one sentence, does it affect the score for the next one?

ETS documents do not say whether missing one sentence affects the score for the next sentence. What we could confirm goes only as far as each sentence being scored separately. The Specifications Document counts Listen and Repeat as seven separate items with up to 5 points each, and the example on page 18 of the Test Overview gives a score to each of the seven sentences. The Specifications Document describes Speaking as linear (a format in which all test takers who receive the same test form get the same tasks), so the next sentence does not change depending on your answer to the previous one. Page 30 of the Technical Manual states that the Speaking score is based on overall performance across all tasks, and does not say how the scores for individual sentences relate to one another.

Page 35 of the Technical Manual explains how the 0 to 55 raw score is converted to the Speaking 1 to 6 bands. The conversion uses weighted equipercentile linking, which adjusts for small differences in difficulty between test forms. The conversion table is not included in the ETS documents we checked.

The FAQ section of ETS's "TOEFL iBT Test Content" states that if you do not complete at least one question in Reading and Listening and at least one task in Speaking and Writing, the test as a whole will not be scored (no publication date, checked 2026-10-30). This statement covers skipping a whole section and does not separately address missing a single sentence.

We did not find the following in the Test Overview, the Specifications Document, the Technical Manual, the 2026-27 Information Bulletin or the ets.org Speaking pages (checked 2026-10-30).

• Whether missing one sentence separately affects how the next sentence is scored or how the Speaking score is calculated
• The rule that decides whether a sentence gets 8 seconds or 12 seconds (the Test Overview gives only the range)
• How long the pause after each sentence lasts
• Whether a sentence can be replayed or re-recorded (the example directions only say to repeat it "only once")

We found no figures that differ between ETS documents. Seven sentences, 5 points per item and the Speaking raw score of 0 to 55 match across the Test Overview, the Specifications Document and the Technical Manual (Table 2 on page 30 and Table 8 on page 41), and 11 Speaking items and about 8 minutes match across the Test Overview and ETS's "TOEFL iBT Test Content". We did not compare against company or blog posts. The Specifications Document still includes a note that minor revisions may be made before launch.

What should you do after missing the first sentence?

In our view, if recording time remains, say only the words you heard, and once the next sentence starts playing, let go of the previous one.

1. If recording time remains, say the beginning or the final words you remember. Going by the wording of the scoring criteria, a response that repeats part of the sentence falls into the 1-point or 2-point level, and a sentence with no response falls into the 0-point level. Do not make up the parts you did not hear. The 2-point level also lists responses filled in with incorrect content.
2. For the next sentence, focus your listening on the first word. If you miss the beginning, you can easily slide into pattern C.
3. If you get a word wrong while speaking, correct it and finish the sentence. The 4-point level's wording covers responses that self-correct and then finish, while the 2-point level covers responses that stop partway.
4. In practice recordings, do all seven sentences in a row without stopping. Mix in rounds where you deliberately skip one sentence and then carry on with the next, and try to finish each sentence within 8 seconds, the short end of the range.