Sunday, January 8, 2012
Ten Tips for the TOEFL iBT!
- When you sit down at the computer to take the test, nothing should be a surprise. You should know every reading question, every listening question, every speaking task, and every writing task on the test. You should know exactly what you have to do to answer every question properly.
- You should also know the exact score you need to achieve for each university you want to apply to. (Some schools require just an overall TOEFL score, but some schools require specific scores in each section.) You should exactly what you need to do get the required score.
- Do not try to prepare for the test alone. At the very least, you need a textbook:
This is by far the best and most up-to-date textbook available. It thoroughly explains each section of the TOEFL and includes hundreds of practice questions and multiple quizzes. There are also 4 practice tests included in this book. (The CD needed for the listening, speaking and writing sections is also included.)
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- Even if you use a textbook, it’s really important to work with a teacher, either in a course or in private lessons. You need someone to help you with your pronunciation, and to assess how you’re doing in the speaking and writing sections. Talk to friends who have taken the TOEFL. Who did they study with? What score did they get? What would they have done differently? Check at a university or college near you. Do they offer a TOEFL course? There are also several TOEFL instructors online. Do you know anyone who has studied with them?
- The TOEFL has teamed up with a company called Lexile to help you find books at your reading level. If you have taken a TOEFL practice test or the actual TOEFL and you know your reading score, you can type in your score and Lexile will suggest books in the topic of your choice at your reading level.
- If you have just started studying for the TOEFL and you are not yet able to read (or listen to) some of the articles above without great difficulty, that’s OK! There are still lots of resources available to you:
- Here are some books you may find useful to help you build your vocabulary and improve your reading skills:
This is a great book! The 400 words are divided into 8 themes and 40 lessons. For example, in the ‘Money’ section, the lessons are: Financial Systems, Wealth and Social Class, Personal Property, Employment, International Trade. There are 10 words in each lesson, and each lesson contains definitions of each word, usage tips, and three exercises using the words. |
- Don’t try to write down anything and everything you hear. Don’t just write down words that you understand. Write down the essential information that you will need to understand the lecture later
- Use symbols and shorthand. Everybody develops their own system for this, but here are some suggestions: http://english-zone.com/study/symbols.html
- In tip #3 I told you about the resources available on the NPR and VOA websites. Those are great websites to use to practice note-taking as well. When you have finished listening, you can go back and compare your notes to the transcript.
- Another great resource you can use to practice listening and note-talking is Ted Talks. These are talks given on wide variety of topics from a wide range of speakers. They last anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes.
- If NPR, VOA and TED Talks are too long for you, practice note-taking with the shorter clips from Listen a Minute.
- How well you answer the question and complete the task
- The grammar and vocabulary you use
- How you sound
- You can hear yourself speak and evaluate your response
- You can get used to speaking to a computer! If you prepare for the test in a classroom or from a book, it may feel a bit strange talking to a computer.
The final section on the TOEFL is the writing section. You will need to use a QWERTY keyboard to type your responses into the computer. It’s called a QWERTY keyboard because the top row of letters starts from the left with the letters QWERTY. LOOK CAREFULLY!
Learn Touch Typing
- Learn the traditional form of an English essay
- When you start practicing this essay, don’t worry about time. Begin by taking as long as necessary to write a good essay.
- Once you are able to write a good essay, start timing yourself and getting faster at it, until writing a 300-word essay within 30 minutes doesn’t even worry you!
- Introduction – this introduces your essay, and tells the reader your opinion and what you are going to talk about in your essay
- Body – 2-3 paragraphs that support your opinion
- One paragraph = one thought; the first sentence of the paragraph explains what the paragraph is about, and the rest of the paragraph uses clear, specific examples to illustrate your opinion
- Conclusion – a paragraph that summarizes your essay
If you would like to practice on your own, the ETS website has a list of typical independent essay questions.
Here’s a video from ETS that explains a bit more about the TOEFL independent essay.
*I disagree with one thing in this video: don’t write your outline on paper! Type your outline directly into the space where you’re going to write your essay. You can build your essay around your outline.
Understanding the traditional English style of writing an essay will help you in almost every section of the TOEFL. If you know that one paragraph = one thought, you can understand the structure of the reading passages better. You will also need to state an opinion and support your opinion with clear, specific examples in the speaking section.
- Answer the question that’s being asked! Don’t try to change the question. If it asks you to make a choice, make a clear choice – don’t try to argue both positions. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. Your essay is scored on how well you answer the question.
- Type your outline in the essay space on the computer! You waste time if you write it by hand and then type it.
- Keep it simple and be specific!
- In the book I recommended in tip #2, there are 4 practice tests
- The same publisher has another book with 6 more practice tests:
- There are 4 practice tests available on the ETS TOEFL website (http://toeflpractice.ets.org/).Do at least one of these tests before you take the TOEFL so you can get used to taking the test on a computer
- If possible, visit the testing centre ahead of time. Make sure you know where you’re going and how long it’s going to take you to get there. The last thing you want to do is get lost or stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the test!
- Don’t try to ‘cram’ the day before the test. Just relax and rest.
- Get a good night’s sleep
The day of the test:
- Eat a good breakfast!
- Before you leave your house and on your way to the test, make sure you warm up your brain! Reading something in English for 30 minutes (something you have read before – no need to stress yourself out before the test!) and listen to English. Make sure your brain is thinking in English before you start the test!
During the test:
- Take deep breaths throughout the test. Make sure your breathing is normal.
- There is a 10-minute break between the listening and speaking sections. Use this time to use the bathroom if you need to, eat a snack, and do some stretching to relieve the tension in your back and shoulders!
- If you miss a question or you feel like you didn’t do well in a section. Don’t worry about it. Just go onto the next section like it’s a new test. This is where being prepared for the test helps. For example, if you know how many questions you need to answer correctly to get your required score in the reading section, then missing one question is not a problem.
- The test also goes by very, very fast!
- Some test centres are very large with lots of people taking the test at the same time. There is a lot of noise and a lot of distractions.
- Someone may have started the speaking section while you are still listening. You might be trying to write an essay while the person next to you is doing the speaking section.
- You may not be able to get the proctor’s attention to get more paper or to get help with your computer
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