Do Not Miss WH-Questions ― What I Learned About the Importance of the First Word from a TOEIC Preparation Book 20 Years Ago ― ## Friday, July 17, 2026 (R8)

## Introduction

Today, I looked back at a textbook I used about 20 years ago when I was teaching TOEIC to high school students.

"New TOEIC Test: Last-Minute Techniques"  
(co-authored by Robert Hilke, Paul Warden, and Hiro Maeda)

The TOEIC format has probably changed since then. However, I felt that some of the skills needed for listening and the way of thinking during the test are still useful today.

The basic idea of this textbook was:

"People who have limited time should first study the areas where their scores are most likely to improve."

The first section introduced was Part 2.

## Part 2 Technique ― Do Not Miss the First Word

What I studied today was how to handle WH-questions.

In questions beginning with words such as:

Who, When, Where, Why, What, Which, Whose, and How,

the first question word is extremely important.

For example:

"What time does the meeting start tomorrow?"

If you catch the words What time, you immediately know that the answer should be about a time.

If the choices are:

"At room 543."  
"For about two hours."  
"At 4 o'clock sharp."

you can eliminate the choices about location and duration.

Rather than trying to understand every single word perfectly, it is important to determine the direction of the answer from the first word.

## Be Careful with Who, Where, and Indirect Questions

For example:

"Who's going to take care of booking Mr. James' hotel room?"

Because the question begins with Who, the answer should be a person or someone responsible for an action.

Also, because of the word booking (making a reservation), a choice containing book (a book) may appear as a trap.

In TOEIC, an answer is not necessarily correct just because it contains a word that you heard in the question.

Sometimes similar-sounding words are used to confuse test takers.

Another example is an indirect question:

"Would you happen to know where I can find Paula Dobson's office?"

Inside this polite expression is the original question:

"Where can I find ～?"

The important word is still where.

Therefore, the answer must be a location.

## Be Careful with Choices Beginning with Yes or No

For WH-questions, answers beginning with Yes or No are generally unnatural.

When people are nervous, they may choose an answer simply because they hear a familiar word.

However, by thinking about what information the question is asking for, we can reduce mistakes.

## Do Not Let One Difficult Question Affect the Next One

One thing I realized again today is that TOEIC requires the ability to quickly move on.

If you continue thinking about a previous question, you may miss the important first word of the next question.

When I was teaching high school students, I often told them:

"If you can answer, that is wonderful. But if you are unsure, choose one and move on rather than wasting time."

I believe this is still an important idea today.

## "Because" Is Not Always an Incorrect Choice

Finally, the textbook included an interesting note:

"Is because always the correct answer to Why questions?"

In older TOEIC questions, choices beginning with because were rarely correct answers for Why questions.

However, after 2005, examples where because was the correct answer increased.

The important point is not only the word because, but also the content that follows it.

Test questions are created by considering how test takers think and where they may make mistakes.

We should not simply decide,

"Because means it is wrong."

Instead, we need to judge the meaning of the entire answer.

## Conclusion

Looking back at a TOEIC textbook from 20 years ago, I realized that although the format and detailed trends may have changed, one basic skill remains the same:

"Quickly understand what information the question is asking for."

For people who are preparing for TOEIC, I hope they will use updated materials, solve many questions by themselves, and develop their own way of reading and listening.

A textbook can provide helpful hints.

However, the greatest strength comes from thinking for yourself and facing each question through your own experience.

#TOEIC  
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#EnglishEducation  
#FromShowaToReiwa