The TOEFL exam can be a fundamental part of getting into your desired university, which can make preparing for it a little nerve racking, but this article is here for all the people taking any upcoming TOEFL exams. The exam itself consists of four parts: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Preparing for every section of this exam has a different approach, and in this article we will discuss the various approaches that will enable all the people taking the TOEFL exams to be able to ace it.
Firstly, according to the TOEFL website, the reading section aims to assess how well a person can read and how well their understanding of the material used in an academic environment is, the reading section has about 4 to 5 passages, each one is about 700 words, each passage has 10 questions that should be answered, and the duration is between 54-72 minutes long. Thus, acing this section will need a focus on vocabulary, comprehension strategies, and being aware of your time. The academic vocabulary in the reading section can be advanced and is not used a lot in our daily lives, so to be able to understand such vocabulary one must develop their academic vocabulary by reading samples of the passages, and studying the academic word list; secondly, one must use comprehension strategies to able to understand advanced vocabulary or hard to get passages; for example, identifying the main idea, summarizing, making inferences, and predicting are common strategies that can help in such situations. Lastly, being aware of the time it takes to finish a passage is important, and this sense of time develops with practice, which is why solving practice tests is essential.
Secondly, the next section of the exam is the listening section, and according to the TOEFL website, this section’s intent is to measure one’s ability to listen to conversation and lectures in the English languages, and in that section, one gets to listen to 3 or 4 lectures, each is 3 to 5 minutes long, with 6 questions each; additionally, the exam takers also get to listen to 2 to 3 conversations with 2 speakers, each 3 minutes long, with 5 questions per conversation, and in both sections they are allowed to take notes to be able to answer the questions as it is not possible to replay the lectures or the conversations again. This whole section is required to be finished in 41 up to 57 minutes. In this section, the point of focus is practicing listening to different materials such as podcasts, online books, and tv channel that are in English, and to practice writing the important notes from what they are hearing, as that will help identifying the important points in the conversations and lectures easier the longer it is practiced. Another point to focus on is idioms, as they are not used a lot between non-native speakers and will be a part of the test.
The third section of the TOEFL exam is the speaking section, whose purpose, also according to the TOEFL website, is to measure one’s ability to speak English in an academic setting, and in this section one has to solve 4 tasks: question 1 is an independent speaking task which requires one to draw his/her own ideas, opinions, and experiences, question 2 to 3 are integrated speaking tasks, as in these questions one’s required to combine their listening and speaking, or listening, reading and speaking abilities. All the questions are answered after a preparation period of 15 to 30 seconds, and the answers are 45 to 60 seconds long. The speaking section is 17 minutes long. To develop a skill in section one it is recommended to listen to native English speakers and repeat after them, to choose a story and tell the story to several different people in English as a form of practice, and to summarize one’s day to themselves in English.
Finally, the last part of this exam is the writing section, and in the TOEFL website, this section is made to measure one’s ability to write in English in an academic setting, and one is expected to finish to two tasks: an integrated writing task which is reading a small passage and listening to a short lecture that are related to each other and writing a response to what was read and listened to, and an independent writing task which is writing an essay based on personal experience or opinion. The writing section is to be finished in 50 mins. To be able to develop skills that will enable one to pass in this section, one must focus on the English grammar by solving grammatical exercises, keeping a journal that you write in English as it will help you to keep practicing, and lastly, practice formal writing, as it is the required style of writing.
In conclusion, preparing for an exam such as the TOEFL can be a little stressful, as it is a very important part of one’s path to their desired university, but with enough practice and preparation, the TOEFL will feel like a piece of cake. Wishing good luck to all of the people partaking in the upcoming TOEFL exams.
How to Prepare for TOEFL
How to Prepare for TOEFL
The TOEFL exam can be one of the requirements of getting into the university you want. Click here to know more about the TOEFL exam and how to prepare for it.
The TOEFL exam can be a fundamental part of getting into your desired university, which can make preparing for it a little nerve racking, but this article is here for all the people taking any upcoming TOEFL exams. The exam itself consists of four parts: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Preparing for every section of this exam has a different approach, and in this article we will discuss the various approaches that will enable all the people taking the TOEFL exams to be able to ace it.Firstly, according to the TOEFL website, the reading section aims to assess how well a person can read and how well their understanding of the material used in an academic environment is, the reading section has about 4 to 5 passages, each one is about 700 words, each passage has 10 questions that should be answered, and the duration is between 54-72 minutes long. Thus, acing this section will need a focus on vocabulary, comprehension strategies, and being aware of your time. The academic vocabulary in the reading section can be advanced and is not used a lot in our daily lives, so to be able to understand such vocabulary one must develop their academic vocabulary by reading samples of the passages, and studying the academic word list; secondly, one must use comprehension strategies to able to understand advanced vocabulary or hard to get passages; for example, identifying the main idea, summarizing, making inferences, and predicting are common strategies that can help in such situations. Lastly, being aware of the time it takes to finish a passage is important, and this sense of time develops with practice, which is why solving practice tests is essential.Secondly, the next section of the exam is the listening section, and according to the TOEFL website, this section’s intent is to measure one’s ability to listen to conversation and lectures in the English languages, and in that section, one gets to listen to 3 or 4 lectures, each is 3 to 5 minutes long, with 6 questions each; additionally, the exam takers also get to listen to 2 to 3 conversations with 2 speakers, each 3 minutes long, with 5 questions per conversation, and in both sections they are allowed to take notes to be able to answer the questions as it is not possible to replay the lectures or the conversations again. This whole section is required to be finished in 41 up to 57 minutes. In this section, the point of focus is practicing listening to different materials such as podcasts, online books, and tv channel that are in English, and to practice writing the important notes from what they are hearing, as that will help identifying the important points in the conversations and lectures easier the longer it is practiced. Another point to focus on is idioms, as they are not used a lot between non-native speakers and will be a part of the test. The third section of the TOEFL exam is the speaking section, whose purpose, also according to the TOEFL website, is to measure one’s ability to speak English in an academic setting, and in this section one has to solve 4 tasks: question 1 is an independent speaking task which requires one to draw his/her own ideas, opinions, and experiences, question 2 to 3 are integrated speaking tasks, as in these questions one’s required to combine their listening and speaking, or listening, reading and speaking abilities. All the questions are answered after a preparation period of 15 to 30 seconds, and the answers are 45 to 60 seconds long. The speaking section is 17 minutes long. To develop a skill in section one it is recommended to listen to native English speakers and repeat after them, to choose a story and tell the story to several different people in English as a form of practice, and to summarize one’s day to themselves in English.Finally, the last part of this exam is the writing section, and in the TOEFL website, this section is made to measure one’s ability to write in English in an academic setting, and one is expected to finish to two tasks: an integrated writing task which is reading a small passage and listening to a short lecture that are related to each other and writing a response to what was read and listened to, and an independent writing task which is writing an essay based on personal experience or opinion. The writing section is to be finished in 50 mins. To be able to develop skills that will enable one to pass in this section, one must focus on the English grammar by solving grammatical exercises, keeping a journal that you write in English as it will help you to keep practicing, and lastly, practice formal writing, as it is the required style of writing.In conclusion, preparing for an exam such as the TOEFL can be a little stressful, as it is a very important part of one’s path to their desired university, but with enough practice and preparation, the TOEFL will feel like a piece of cake. Wishing good luck to all of the people partaking in the upcoming TOEFL exams.
