TV shows for TOEIC listening: workplace series and films

TOEIC tests workplace English: meetings, booking rooms, handling orders, airport and store announcements, emails, and notices. So the most useful shows for TOEIC are workplace shows, not campus or romance dramas. Listening is half the score, and the task types are very fixed, so shows help that half the most. The reading section depends mainly on grammar and practice, and shows help little there.

The short answer: the main listening list is The Office, Superstore, and Abbott Elementary. The film to watch is The Intern. For business negotiation and numbers, watch Shark Tank. For British and other accents, add Ted Lasso.

What TOEIC tests, and where shows help

The most common TOEIC is the Listening and Reading test, with 100 questions in each section.

• Listening part one: look at a photo and choose the best description.
• Listening part two: hear a question or statement and choose the best response.
• Listening part three: hear a workplace conversation between two or three people and answer questions.
• Listening part four: hear a talk by one speaker, such as a phone message, an announcement, a meeting update, or a guide's introduction.
• Reading: sentence and text completion, plus reading emails, ads, chat messages, and similar texts.

Listening recordings use American, British, Canadian, and Australian accents. There is also a separate Speaking and Writing test. If you take it, shows also help with describing a picture and answering questions.

The main list: workplace shows

1. The Office (US). Daily life at a paper company: meetings, sales calls, customer complaints, and planning events. The situations are almost the same as TOEIC part three. The speed is normal and there are many jokes, so you do not need to get every one on the first pass.
2. Superstore. Staff at a big store, with many in-store announcements, shift changes, stock transfers, and customer problems. It matches the announcements and notices in part four.
3. Abbott Elementary. Colleagues at a school making requests, arranging times, asking for funding, and solving problems. The speed is steadier than The Office.
4. Ted Lasso. Both British and American accents, with many meetings, team conversations, and feelings at work. Good for adding British accents.
5. Silicon Valley. Funding, product meetings, and negotiation at a startup. There are more tech terms, so it fits learners whose listening already has a base.

Films: The Intern is closest to TOEIC

The Intern is about a retired man who becomes an intern at an online fashion company. Meetings, interviews, reports, greeting colleagues, and booking travel are almost all standard workplace English, at moderate speed and with polite language. Split the film into five or six sittings and study one scene each time.

Others to add:

• The Devil Wears Prada: an assistant answering calls, managing a schedule, and handling urgent tasks. The pace is fast.
• The Pursuit of Happyness: job hunting, interviews, and sales calls.

Business negotiation and numbers: business reality TV

TOEIC listening often includes prices, dates, quantities, and times, which shows do not practice much.

• Shark Tank. Founders pitch products to investors and talk about prices, valuations, sales, and deal terms. Numbers and business language are everywhere.
• The Apprentice (UK). Teams complete business tasks, with British accents, meetings, task splits, and reports.

How to use them for each listening part

Part one: describe photos

Pause on an office, restaurant, or street scene, and say in English what is happening. TOEIC likes the passive continuous and perfect, such as Some boxes are being moved and The chairs have been arranged. Use these patterns on purpose when you describe.

Part two: understand indirect answers

The correct answer in part two often does not answer the question directly. For example, the question is When is the meeting?, and the answer is Didn't you get the email?. Sitcoms are full of exchanges like this.

How to practice: while watching The Office or Superstore, look out for exchanges where someone is asked A and answers B. Write them down and work out what the person really means. Once you have twenty or thirty, your reactions in part two will be much faster.

Part three: workplace conversations

After each meeting or office conversation, pause and answer three questions: What problem are they talking about? Who suggested what? What happens next? Almost every set of part three questions asks about these three things.

Part four: announcements and messages

Store announcements in Superstore, airport announcements in films, and phone messages are all part four material. Listen without watching, then say three things: who is speaking, what they announced, and what listeners need to do.

How to plan the prep period

More than two months before the exam:

• 20 to 30 minutes a day, mostly workplace shows, plus one scene of The Intern or one episode of Shark Tank a week.
• Collect a batch of part two style indirect answers every week.
• One listening section from a practice test a week, to get used to the task types and pace.

Within a month of the exam:

• Practice tests come first. Shows drop to 10 to 15 minutes a day as a listening warm-up.
• Keep only the workplace show you know best. Do not start new ones.
• When a practice test shows a weak situation, such as booking a meeting room or changing a delivery time, find a similar conversation in a show and listen again.

The reading section needs its own practice in grammar, vocabulary, and finding information fast. Shows cannot replace that.

How to watch one clip

1. First pass with no subtitles, to follow who is talking about what.
2. Second pass with English subtitles. Pick 3 to 5 common workplace expressions, such as lines for arranging times, making requests, and confirming details.
3. Third pass with subtitles off. Repeat them, then use them in a situation from your own work.

You do not need to study a whole episode. Two or three minutes of a meeting or office conversation through these three steps is enough.

Choices that don't fit TOEIC prep

• Friends and How I Met Your Mother: mostly friends and dating, with few workplace scenes.
• Suits and Grey's Anatomy: legal and medical terms are too specialized and the speed is fast. They are far from TOEIC's everyday business situations.
• Mad Men: lots of ad agency scenes, but the 1960s setting means the language differs from today's workplace. Better for relaxing.

FAQ

American or British shows for TOEIC?

Mostly American, plus one program with British or Australian accents. TOEIC listening uses several accents, so get used to more than American English.

Can watching shows raise my TOEIC reading score?

Not much. Reading tests grammar, vocabulary, and finding information fast, which need direct practice. Shows mainly improve listening.

Should subtitles be on?

Off for the first pass, to practice real listening. English subtitles on for the second pass, to catch expressions. First-language subtitles keep you at the level of following the plot, so they do not train listening.

I'm aiming for a high score. What should I watch?

Add more dense material like Shark Tank and Silicon Valley to practice numbers and business language. Collect part two indirect answers until you react instantly, and in part four, practice listening without watching and retelling right away.

Next step

Today, pick one episode of The Office. Watch the first ten minutes without subtitles and note three exchanges where someone is asked A and answers B. If you can catch them, make it your main show. If you can't, switch to the steadier Abbott Elementary first.