Lesson 12 of 41 in the Test Ninjas TOEFL course: Listen and Choose a Response, Listening. This lesson teaches the wh- questions: who, whose, which, what, where, when, why, how come and the how family.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026
Lesson at a glance
Detail
This lesson
Module
Listen and Choose a Response (Listening)
English focus
Wh- question forms, what each one asks for, and falling intonation
Task skill
Choosing a reply that answers the real question; ignoring sound-alikes
This lesson teaches the wh- questions: who, whose, which, what, where, when, why, how come and the how family.
You’ll learn what kind of information each one asks for, how to hear them in fast, contracted speech, and how to tell a normal question from an echo question.
Then you’ll use all of that in Listen and Choose a Response, where the right reply often answers indirectly and the wrong replies are built from the question’s own words.
By the end of the lesson, you can
Say what each wh- form asks for (who, whose, which + noun, what time, where, when, why, how come, how long, how often, how far, how many) and give a reply that supplies it.
Hear wh- questions in fast, contracted speech (Who’s / Whose, Where’d, Why’s, How long’s), and tell a normal wh- question from an echo question that asks you to repeat something, using word order as well as the tune.
In Listen and Choose a Response, choose the reply that answers the real question, including one that answers it indirectly, and reject replies that answer another question word or echo a sound.
What’s inside
Around the 3 teaching cycles below, the lesson opens with a quick check and closes with applied practice, a Check and a debrief. How every course lesson is built.
Teaching cycles in lesson 12
Cycle
Focus
What it teaches
Drills
Cycle 1
English
What each wh- word asks for
7
Cycle 2
English
Hearing wh- questions in fast speech
7
Cycle 3
Task skill
Answering the real question
7
Word bank
The 10 words and phrases this lesson teaches. They come from the real course questions you practice on in the Apply step, so you meet each one again in context.
sign up phrasal verb
to add your name to a list to join something
You can sign up for the pottery workshop at the front desk.
Goes with:
sign up for a class
Word family:
sign-up (noun): the sign-up sheet; sign (verb)
registration noun
the process of officially signing up for something
Registration for spring classes opens on Monday morning.
Goes with:
online registration
Word family:
register (verb); registrar (noun: the office that keeps student records)
cover verb
to do someone else’s work while they are away
Can you cover my shift at the library on Saturday?
Goes with:
cover a shift
Word family:
cover for someone (verb phrase): find someone to cover a shift; coverage (noun)
lock up phrasal verb
to lock the doors of a building when you leave
The last person to leave the lab has to lock up.
Goes with:
lock up for the night
Word family:
lock (verb); locked (adjective)
turn noun
a person’s chance or duty to do something in order
It’s Hassan’s turn to bring snacks to the study group.
Goes with:
It’s your turn to…
Word family:
take turns (phrase); turn (verb): turn left
rope off phrasal verb
to close an area off with a rope
Staff roped off the front steps while the paint dried.
Goes with:
rope off an area
Word family:
rope (noun); cordon off (phrasal verb, similar meaning)
wing noun
a part of a building that extends from the main part
The new science wing has six labs and a study lounge.
Goes with:
the east wing
Word family:
east wing, west wing (collocations); winged (adjective)
plenty of quantifier
a lot of; more than enough
Don’t rush. We have plenty of time before the bus leaves.