WHAT
IS TOEFL?
If you are a interational
student looking to study in a university in an English speaking country, then
you may need to take a TOEFL test. TOEFL is an acronym of the Test of English
as a Foreign Language, which is the official name for the test. It assesses
your ability to both speak and understand English by analysing your English
ability in terms of reading, speaking, listening and writing. These are all
skills which will be needed to carry out your academic studies and the test is
used by institutions to ensure students are able to proceed and succeed on their
chosen course in a country where the curriculum is taught in English. The TOEFL
test is usually conducted in the form of an online test, but if the test centre
does not have an internet connection then a paper-based test can be offered.
WHO NEEDS TO TAKE A TOEFL TEST?
The TOEFL test has been taken by over 27 million people
worldwide to ensure their English ability is adequate. The test is often taken
by students who are planning to study at a university abroad and scholarship
candidates, along with students and workers who are applying for visas and
English-language learners tracking their English progress. Keep an eye out on
the requirements for university courses, as it will be stated there whether you
are required to take the TOEFL and the minimum grade required to apply for the
course.
WHY TAKE A TOEFL TEST?
Educational institutions and governmental agencies in
over 130 countries accept TOEFL scores when considering applications for
certain positions or courses. As an admission requirement, you may find that
some courses require a minimum TOEFL score which will allow you to proceed onto
the course alongside the regular course requirements. Minimum score
requirements can range between 61 and 100 depending on the institution and
course.
The result you receive in your TOEFL test will only be
valid for two years, after those two years they are no longer recorded, so if
you’re looking to apply to study abroad after this time, you will have to sit
the test again. It is important to ensure you take the test in time for your
application if the result is part of the requirements; if you are only studying
a course which lasts a year the same TOEFL results could be used to improve
your opportunities for work in a foreign country also.
If it is part of the
requirements for your admission then it is important to research in more depth
and be prepared for the different elements of the test. Here are the different
elements of each test:
FORMATS AND CONTENT
Internet test (TOEFL iBT)
·
A
reading section of between 60-100 minutes which involves reading 3-5 passages, containing
12-14 question in each
·
A
listening section of between 60-90 minutes which involves 6-9 passages,
containing 5-6 questions in each
·
A
speaking section which lasts 20 minutes and involves 6 spoken tasks
·
A
writing section which last 50 minutes and involves 2 tasks which need
completion
Paper-based test (TOEFL PBT)
·
A
listening section of between 30-40 minutes consisting of 3 parts
·
A
structure and written expression section lasting 25 minutes which includes 15
exercises of sentence completion and 25 examples for error identification
·
A
reading section which lasts 50 minutes and includes answering 50 questions
about passages
·
A
writing section which lasts 30 minutes, which involves one written essay
containing around 250-300 words
The main difference between the two formats is the spoken
section of the test which is replaced by structure and written expressions
section in the paper-based test.
HOW TO GET HIGH SCORE ON
TOEFL TEST
How to achieve a high score on these exams is always a
top priority for students. However in this article we will only talk about the
TOEFL. TOEFL, short for Test of English
as a Second Language is a world wide administered test for the sole purpose of
evaluating an individual’s ability to understand and use English.
What is a Good TOETL Score?
How
to Get a High Score on TOEFL is dependent on many factors. Different schools
have come up with their minimum performance in the TOEFL test in order to be considered
for a particular program. For instance, say you are applying to Columbia
University and require a TOEFL score of 80 for admittance to study your chosen
course. Any performance less that 80 would be consider by the university is a
bad score and therefore your admission rejected. However, this particular score
may be a “go” for another university – say University of Central Oklahoma .
Also note that this exam is a mandatory requirement in
others schools
A GOOD SCORE ACCORDING TO ETS
Even though, as mentioned
earlier, there is actually no overall good or bad score, there is a general
verdict on how good or bad a score is. This verdict is given by the company
responsible for making the TOEFL and is known as ETS. For the sake of
uniformity, they set an official level for performance of the TOEFL score: this
is usually stated in a document they call performance feedback. The feedback
that ETS gives is based on three levels of performance: high, intermediate and
low.
·
HIGH
When your performance falls
under the high level, there is a high chance that you are qualified to be
admitted by the best of schools. As long as the school accepts this exam, you
automatically meet their standard in that regard.
·
INTERMEDIATE
While falling under this
level may not qualify you for admission into all schools, you can be sure to
meet the requirement for most schools. They may not be your desired school, but
are definitely good ones.
·
LOW
This is the level you should never wish to
fall under. When your TOEFL scores are low, hardly any good school would want
to admit you. Very few institutions accept candidates that fall under this
category. It just might be as good as taking another test.
TIPS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR TOEFL TEST PERFORMANCE
1. Practice, Practice And Then Practice
Some More
·
Don’t
take the test too soon.
If you can afford to postpone the test for a few more months, you will gain
more time to prepare. Do not sign up until you feel 99% ready. This means you
will probably score higher. But be careful: You must make a commitment to
yourself to use the extra time to study intensively or you may forget what you
learned.
·
Make
a study plan and stick to it. See how many practice tests and resources
you can get access to and make a plan. You should regularly take practice
tests. Try to take one every week or every two weeks. Remember the questions
that you most often get wrong, and practice those areas of English. Spend the
rest of your time improving your general level of English. If you don’t have
access to as many practice tests as you’d like, you can create your
own.
·
Pretend
you are taking the exam. Save seven practice tests for the week before the
exam. Wake up every day like you would on the day of the actual exam and
pretend it’s the real thing. Take a full test every day, in exam conditions,
and try to imagine you are at the exam. No dictionary, no phone, no help. Time
yourself and stop when the time has ended. You will probably feel quite
nervous, but that is a good thing! Overcoming nerves is something you need to
do. Once you learn how to control your own level of stress, chances are good
that the actual exam will seem just like another practice session. You will
feel more familiar with the situation, and you will probably feel more
confident and prepared.
·
Have
a teacher or friend help with speaking and writing. You’ll probably be able to
do reading and listening practice by yourself, but you are going to need
someone to read your writing samples and listen to your speaking.
You need some feedback. Ideally, this person should be a teacher or native
speaker of English, but anyone who can speak really good English can help you.
2. Know All the Directions
All tests are
created equal in terms of difficulty and what you have to do. You are going to
read the same directions on every TOEFL test you take. These directions tell
you what task you have to do (reading, writing, answering questions) and how
much time you have to do that task.
3. Time Is Not the Enemy
Time is not the
enemy…if you know how to use it. Keep one eye on the title and directions on
your computer screen, but focus on the questions. Don’t waste time on minor issues,
like one specific word you don’t know or can’t remember. If this is just one
question, it is better to guess the answer than waste 5 valuable minutes
thinking about it.
Just think about
how many correct answers you can get in 5 minutes. You can go more quickly
through easier questions, gaining you more points.
4. Focus on Grammar and Vocabulary
Don’t forget that this is a
test of how much English you know. All languages are, in the end, about words
(vocabulary) and how you connect those words (grammar). You need to prove your
knowledge of English is at the right level for you to pass the test. How do you
that?
·
Learn a few new
words and expressions every day. Make your own sentences with them. If you just
try to memorize them without using them in context, your memorization won’t
work. You have to practice new words so they become a part of your active
vocabulary. Your active vocabulary are all the words you can remember and use
easily. This means you’ll be able to use them in speaking and writing without
thinking too much. Here are some really good resources to help you improve your
vocabulary and grammar.
·
Prove you learned
those words. Try to include them in your speaking and writing practice.
·
Only use the words
you know. On the exam, avoid using words and structures you are not sure about.
5. Take
Good Notes
Practice
note-taking when reading and listening in your spare time. You can do this
while relaxing with an article in your favorite magazine or a documentary. You
can also work with more exam-like texts and academic lectures. Write down
information using key words (the most important words) and symbols to save
time.
6.
Reading
And Listening
Practice
by reading academic texts and listening to lectures and by doing exam-like
practice tests. Look for the main ideas. They are usually signposted (marked)
with discourse markers. Click that link to learn more about discourse markers.
Basically, they are common phrases that introduce information. After you learn
what they look like, you will see them everywhere.
7.
Speaking
and Writing
To
practice speaking and writing you are going to need a partner to work with,
ideally a teacher or a friend with good English skills. But you don’t need a
partner to be there for you all the time. You can practice speaking by
recording yourself and then listening to yourself. You can read writing samples
to see how your writing compares.
8.
Work
on Your Attitude
Everybody
has exam nerves. Some level of stress is good because it can help you focus on
your goals and motivate you. But if you worry too much, you will not be able to
prove your real English skill level in the exam. You will answer questions
wrong or make mistakes because you are too nervous and not paying attention to
the exam. Remain calm and confident, and do not let that happen!
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