Lesson 34 of 41 in the Test Ninjas TOEFL course: Listen and Repeat, Speaking. In Listen and Repeat you hear a sentence once and say it back exactly.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026
Lesson at a glance
Detail
This lesson
Module
Listen and Repeat (Speaking)
English focus
Thought groups; content words and function words
Task skill
Hearing a sentence as meaningful chunks
Time
About 50 minutes
Access
Included in the TOEFL plan
What this lesson teaches
In Listen and Repeat you hear a sentence once and say it back exactly. Holding twelve or twenty separate words is almost impossible, but holding three or four meaningful chunks is easy.
This lesson teaches you to hear English in thought groups, to keep the short grammar words that live inside each group, and to give the groups back in the order you heard them.
By the end of the lesson, you can
Divide a spoken sentence into thought groups (one idea each) and keep each group together when you say it.
Tell content words (which carry the meaning) from function words (which carry the grammar), and hear short, unstressed words such as the, a, of, at, is and has instead of dropping them.
In Listen and Repeat, hold a sentence of up to about 20 words as three to five chunks, and repeat every chunk in the order you heard it, with no preparation time.
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 34
Cycle
Focus
What it teaches
Drills
Cycle 1
English
Thought groups
7
Cycle 2
English
Content words and function words
7
Cycle 3
Task skill
Repeating in chunks
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.
capture verb
to record an image or moment; also, to hold attention
The camera captures one frame every second.
Goes with:
capture a moment / capture attention
Word family:
capture (noun); captive (adjective)
sequence noun
an order in which things happen or are done
Number the lab steps so everyone follows them in sequence.
Goes with:
in sequence
Word family:
sequential (adjective); sequence (verb)
position noun
the place where something is or should be
Please put the chairs back in position before you leave.
Goes with:
in position / a fixed position
Word family:
positional (adjective); position (verb)
preview noun / verb
a chance to see something before it is available
The bookstore lets you preview the first chapter before you buy.
Goes with:
a preview of; a sneak preview
Word family:
preview (verb)
smooth adjective
even, with no jerks or rough spots; also, going without problems
Thanks to good planning, the move to the new building was smooth.
Goes with:
smooth movement / a smooth surface
Word family:
smoothly (adverb); smooth (verb)
frame noun
one picture in a film or animation; also, a border around a picture
The animation plays twelve frames every second.
Goes with:
each frame / a window frame / a time frame
Word family:
framework (noun); frame (verb)
distance noun
the amount of space between two places
The dorms are a short distance from the main library.
Goes with:
a short distance
Word family:
distant (adjective); distantly (adverb)
appear verb
to seem
The new tutor appeared nervous at first but relaxed quickly.
Goes with:
appear calm
Word family:
appearance (noun); disappear (verb)
face verb
to point or look toward something
Our dorm room faces the soccer field, so it’s noisy on weekends.
Goes with:
face the park
Word family:
face (noun); face up to (phrasal verb)
view noun
what you can see from a place
Room 12 has a great view of the lake.
Goes with:
a view of
Word family:
viewer (noun); view (verb)
The takeaway: Listen for three or four thought groups, not a dozen words, and give them back in the same order.
In the full course
Hearing sentences in thought groups is part of the full TOEFL course
Unlock all 41 lessons with the TOEFL plan, or try one of the free lessons first.
✓All 3 teaching cycles of this lesson, with 21 drills and feedback on every answer
✓The 10-word bank, each word with a recall drill
✓A walk-through, guided practice and a Check on Listen and Repeat