A blog about TOEFL

Hey everyone, hope you're doing well.

So, Speaking! Here we go.

The first speaking task is the Independent Speaking Question.This question asks you express and defend a personal choice from a given category. For example, important people, places, events or activities and etc.  It's my favorite question, because you can talk here about everything! Really. Any question (I mean any answer) you can connect to your favorite topics. How to do it - I'll explain a bit later.

For now, let's see how usually questions start:

- What do you think about...

- Talk about...

- Describe your favorite...

- What is your favorite...

By and large, they ask about a person, place, object, event which is familiar to you. And, I'll repeat myself that you have only 15 seconds for preparation and 45 seconds for response. You don't have time to write your answer. Use this time (15 sec) for creating a structure for your response. Let's deep into it.

Answering this type of question you need to describe an object, an event or a person and explain why the event was important, the person is great, the object is interesting, etc. For a high score you want to provide 2-3 reasons in your answer. And, you have to provide details and examples. Here how I'd use my 15 sec of preparation:

The task: What is your favorite [insertanyobjecthere]? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite [yourobject].

My notes:

Object name. Description. Place I discovered it.

Reason 1 - it is interesting, because ... An example.

Reason 2 - it is useful, because ... A detail of how I used it.

Conclusion:  Reason 1 + Reason 2 = my favorite object.

This is just a structure for my answer for a Speaking question 1 or 2.  Depends on your language speed you can shape the answer. I mean, if you speak quickly - you have an advantage to add a Reason 3, or more details and examples, or make very strong conclusion. If you speak slowly - you can have only 2 reasons, and only 1 example and detail per each reason. You can even skip the conclusion. It's nice to have it, but it won't affect your score if you skip it but well elaborate all reasons and provide examples.

Common mistakes: 1) spending a lot of your time on the reason 1 and skipping the reason 2 and 3; 2) missing structure. You can talk about anything you want, but you must provide reasons and details; 3) skipping examples of real-life experience. It doesn't matter how real it is, but you have to connect the object with your life; 4) missing description. You can name your favorite object as you want. However, if you say something like Mumuka, then you should clarify what it is: a name, a title, amulet, a street, a river, etc.

Hi everyone!

I was away for a long time, and didn't pay any attention to the blog.

Some folks are asking questions, so I was thinking that I could submit another post about Reading or Writing sections, or maybe I could answer some questions...

Don't be shy - ask anything you want!

So, here we go.

Whole speaking section is around 20 minutes. And, you have 6 tasks (questions).

This is the structure of the section:

1st and 2nd questions:

     - 15 seconds on preparation

     - 40 seconds on answer

3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th questions:

     - 30 seconds on preparation

     - 1 minute on answer

Each question you have to do separately. You can't change or substitute them. You see the question on the screen as well as instructions how to answer it. Also, you can see time there: how much time you have on preparation and on your answer, and how much time has passed. Once you have said your answer - you can't change it.

You can make notes. It helps to organize your answer or to create the structure of it. However, you have time to write down on the paper only key words.

There are no time between the questions. Once you've answered the first question - be ready for the next one, which starts immediately after the previous one. First you can see instructions, then the question. While you're reading instructions - take a deep breath. It helps to calm down. You will hear a beep. It is a signal; it means you can begin speaking. Also, you will hear the beep again, when your time has passed. 

This part of the test is the tough one for everyone.

First of all, I guess, it is psychologically. You have to TALK, and to talk to the computer, and do it in the foreign language, and do it quickly and correctly. And, there is nothing that you can do to help pass your message (except your excellent language): you can't smile to the person, and you can't make some gestures, there is no eye-contact... We don't notice all these things in our every-day life, but we do them a lot! And they help us communicate, and explain something in the foreign language. That's why the speaking section is really hard, because the TOEFL system records only your voice.

Another reason, this section is difficult in terms of energy. It's the third part of the test. You spent one hour on the Reading and another hour on the Listening. You're tired. And, you have to accumulate all your power and energy if you want to do your best. The good thing is that this section goes very quick, and it's just after your 10-min break. So, during your break try to rest, drink some water, and be ready to do your best. The whole Speaking section is about 20 minutes. The funny thing is that during there 20 minutes you spend more energy rather than reading or listening during two hours previous sections.

Listening and Reading sections are very heavy in preparation. For Writing and Speaking there are many ways how you can prepare yourself or improve your skills in a couple of months. It's easy; you can memorize some speaking patterns or some useful expressions. The same is with Writing. You can write daily essays or blogs. And again, to memorize some writing patterns.. Well, it's possible to improve your speaking and writing in two month or even in two weeks. However, there is nothing you can do with Listening or Reading in a short time.

Of course, you can learn a thousand new vocabularies, and it helps, but not so much. Yes, you can watch English movies, and it helps, but not so fast. In addition, the TOEFL is academic, so if you practice by watching "Friends" episodes or Hollywood something - you just waste your time. 

So, how to prepare yourself to the TOEFL listening:

1) Read my blog.

2) Watch everything with BBC or National Geographic

3) Learn to note (to write) fast. You can improve these skills with the TOEFL lectures on the YouTube:

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxk835u5o4

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r35zUyecJDM

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB3AdJuujMM&feature=related

There many of them on the YouTube.

4) Listen to the NPR.org (National Public Radio)

Many people used to tell me that the listening section is the easiest one. You need just listen carefully and take notes. Well, during my preparation I thought the same. And, on my first TOEFL I got only 17 score for the listening! On my next TOEFL I got 15! Yes, after a long half-year of preparation, after myriad watched English movies and a thousand new academic words I got even lower score for the listening! I was frustrated, because I believed my listening is good. However it was not.

My problem was different every time. Don't repeat my mistakes. Therefore, keep in mind some tips, which helped me to reach 28 score for the listening:

1) Take good notes. Learn how to write fast and concise. Get this skill. But don't be too excited. You don't need to write everything, just try to note only key words, important verbs, names, and dates. Note the structure of the lecture. I'm really good in the fast note taking, so I tried to write everything. It is possible, but unnecessary. You don't have time to review your notes. You don't have time to reread your notes. You have to be able to find (to see) the correct answer in your notes in the first 5 seconds! So, write down only important information. How to know what is important? See below.

2) You have to listen the lectures and the conversations with two ears: general ear and specific ear. It is important. The general ear: main idea of the lecture, main subject, the purpose of the lecture, the professor's/student's attitude to the problem/topic. The specific ear: names, dates, types, and examples. Try to note everything from specific ear.

3) While you're busy with listening and writing, don't forget to look on your monitor. There are tips for you just on the screen. During my first exam I didn't know about those pictures and missed almost all of them. If they give you a picture with some name or type of something - note it. It's extremely important. They will ask you about it. Be sure, two or more questions will be about the picture that you saw during the lecture.

4) Discussions are easier than lectures and conversations, because students usually repeat main ideas, ask questions about main points of the lecture. So, pay attention to the questions in the lecture.

5) The first part of the lecture is very important. Listen very carefully. Usually, they start like: "Yesterday, we talk about main reasons of animal substitution, but today we will discuss the possible results of these actions..." And, the first question on the test you see: "What is the lecture mainly about?" And the answers are: 1) reasons of animal substitution 2) types of the animal substitution 3) inevitable results of animal substitution 4) potential effects of animal substitution. Which is the correct answer? :)) It's a simple one, but clearly demonstrates how it works.

6) I used to have a problem with this case: for example, the lecture talks about a cave, where snakes used to live in the winter time, because the weather somewhere can be very cold for the snakes, which can survive only in that cave. (Crazy example, I know) And, the first question is: what is the lecture mainly about? And answers are: 1) cave 2) winter somewhere 3) snakes 4) how to survive in winter. What is the correct answer? :)) I had no idea what to answer in this situation, because professor talked a lot about everything. It could be frustrated, especially when you have a lot of everything in your notes (or have nothing). In this case, only go with your general ear. Only main idea of whole lecture and the main subject can help you. Usually, it is started in the first part of the lecture.

7) What to do if you missed some detail form the lecture, but the question asks about it. You have no idea what it is and you almost swear nothing like that was in the listening. Again, the general ear can help you here. Try to connect answer choices with general subject of the lecture. The most connected one should be the correct answer. I remember my first listening, I wrote very good notes and understood whole lecture, and it was easy and interesting. But then, all questions were not related to the lecture at all! I had the idea there was some technology mistake and I got questions from another lecture... I just missed main idea, I noted not important information, and as a result missed main points. I tried to memorize each detail, so I didn't pay attention to the main subject.

8) What to do if you are really bad in listening, in the note taking and can't get main ideas. Try to write down verbs from the lecture. They will help you to answer correctly.

9) Be careful with the type of questions where they ask you to listen again the part of the lecture or conversation. They will ask you something specifically from this small part (which usually differs from whole idea in the listening).

10) On my second test I was frustrated with the accent of the professor. I was not expected to listen strong Scottish (or maybe other) accent. The voice was quite (even though I adjusted the volume on max power) and muddy. Honestly, I couldn't understand his lecture at all! I couldn't understand mostly words! Unfortunately, it was my first task on the listening. I just freaked out and couldn't put myself together, and did very bad on other lectures and conversations. I was so upset because of the strong accent that I failed all my listening section. I remember, I did very badly also with a conversation, because I just couldn't find differences in the voices between the professor and the student! They both were young with exactly the same female voices. I didn't know who and when was talking. 

But don't worry; it's kind of odd. My friends told me I was not lucky that day.

To conclude, be ready for everything. Be familiar with the type of tasks. If you missed something or don't understand - don't worry, there are ways how to get the correct answer.

The TOEFL is an academic exam. Therefore, all topics are academic.

In the conversations usually some students ask advise from their professors, counselors or, sometimes, just friends. It could be anything. Usually, one conversation is about some campus situation, another - scientific research. In the last part of the listening section, a discussion, the conversation is between two or three students about their homework or some research.  

All lectures are strongly academic. As I mentioned in the reading section, their favorite topics are: Geology, Astronomy, History, Literature, Art, Archeology, Ecology, Chemistry, Physics, Genetics, Zoology, Biology, Mechanics, Aerodynamics, Political science, Law, etc. In the last part of the listening section there is a discussion between professor and students. Usually, it is a regular lecture, but the professor asks some questions or vice versa.

As I mentioned, there are 7 questions to the each task on the Listening section. Usually, there are 7. It could more or less than 7. All types of question are approximately the same:

Conversation:

-Why does the student go to see the professor?

- What are the students mainly discussing?

- According to the conversation, what is ... ?

- Listen again to part of the conversation. Then answer the question.

- Select the sentence that best expresses how the woman/man/student/professor probably feels.

- What will the woman/man/student/professor probably do?

- How does the woman/man/student/professor help the man/woman/students understand the meaning of ...?

- What solution does the professor offer to the student?

Lecture:

- What topic/topics does the professor discuss?

- According to the professor, what is ...?

- Why does the professor say this: ...?

- Why does the professor discuss ...?

- What does the professor imply about ...?

- What characterizes ...?

- Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.

- What is the professor's opinion of the ...?

- What does the professor mean when he/she says this: ...?

Each of these questions might have 2 answers. Read careful the questions. It tells you where you should pick 2 answers.

Listening is the second part of the TOEFL exam.

There are two lectures, two conversations and two discussions on the test. I used to divide this section on 3 parts. The first part: 1 conversation and 1 lecture. The second part is the same. The third part is 2 discussions. Usually, the first part is harder. 

You have 14 questions to the each part of this section. All these questions are the same (almost the same). And, you have 10 minutes per each part. I'll explain more how it goes:

1st part:

- 1 conversation

- 7 questions

- 1 lecture

- 7 questions

You have 10 min for all 14 questions. If you spend more time on the first 7 questions, than you have less time on the next 7 questions.

2nd part is exactly the same:

- 1 conversation

- 7 questions

- 1 lecture

- 7 questions

Again, you have 10 min for all 14 questions.

3rd part:

- 1 discussion (lecture)

- 7 questions

- 1 discussion (conversation)

- 7 questions

And again, 10 min for all 14 questions.

Sometimes, the lecture can be first. It doesn't matter.

The first part of the test is Reading.

It's the hardest part for me. I failed it so many times. And yet I love to read. A lot.

On the reading you will have 3-5 passages and around 60-100 minutes to answer all questions. Usually, they give you 3 or 4 passages, and you have 40-50 minutes for all of them. Each passage has 10-14 questions. It's hard to estimate how many minutes you have per question, because you never know how many questions will be at all. But, in general, be ready for 1-2 minutes per question. It's not enough time. Well… was for me.

For some questions you can spend more than 5 min, others - just a couple seconds. It depends on the type of question.

The passages on the TOEFL test are academic. Their favorite topics are: Geology, Astronomy, History, Archeology or Ecology. Be sure, at least two of these topics will be on your TOEFL. Sometimes, they give you: Chemistry, Physics, Genetics, Zoology, Biology, Mechanics, Aerodynamics, Political science or Law. As you see, they choose for you just everything that is relative to science or art. Sometimes the passages are really boring, sometimes - interesting. It depends on your major.

Also, all these passages are different by English level. One of them will be very long and hard, with difficult sentence structure and rare vocabulary. One of them will be easier than others. It means, on some passages you can spend more time, on others - save more time.

Now on your TOEFL test you have a new option - skipping. It's really cool, you can skip some questions and go to the next ones, and than come back. So, if you're stuck, my advice - just move on! You can save your time by doing the easier questions, and than come back to the heavy ones.

Later, I will describe types of questions and main strategy how to get correct answer, and how to prepare you to academic reading.

I hate this section, because it is very stressful (like everything else in this test). You have to focus all your attention on details under strict time pressure. You have to learn a thousand new academic vocabulary words (which is kinda hard), and still you will meet some new words on your exam, which you have never seen in your life before.

Which one? ;)

Hello, thank you for reading my posts!

You are asking about the Independent speaking question 1 or 2, where you have 15 sec for preparation and 45 for your answer. There are many ways how to prepare these type of questions. All students are different, so everyone chooses his/her own preparation technique.

As for me, the most hard part in speaking questions (for me) is to start talking. So, all my preparation time I used for preparing and creating a strong first sentence. When you've started, then it is more easier to continue speaking.

If you don't have a problem with starting speaking and you can create the first sentence in your head in the first 3-5 seconds, so I suggest to you (to learn) to make a list of choices during your 15 seconds.

For example, your question is: Tell about your friend with whom you like to pass your leisure time... So, by answering this question, you have to describe your friend (name&age&occupation) and explain why you like to spend time with him/her.

You don't really need to spend time during your exam on the first sentence here (to describe your friend (name&age&occupation)), because you can made up something during your answer. You have think about the second part of your answer: to explain why you like to spend time with him/her. So, during your 15 seconds you have to note the main points of your answer:

1) He/she is a very sophisticated person.

2) He/she is very supportive and helpful.

3) We have many memories from our childhood and like to look back or to reminisce them together.

Probably you will spend all your preparation seconds on this list. You can have only 2 points, it's totally ok. Don't make them more than 3. In general, you can speak here about anything, which answers the question: why you like to spend time with him/her.

So, the main skill here is to quickly find the points. And then - to extend them. If you can do it on your test (clear and correctly) - good, you have already score 4 (from 6). If you want to get the higher score, you must add examples and details which support your answer. In this case, your note-list looks like:

1) He/she is a very sophisticated person. Just a couple days ago she/he described to me a book/movie about..

2) He/she is very supportive and helpful. Last year when I had a problem with ..., she/he helped me with ...

3) We have many memories from our childhood and like to look back or to reminisce them together. My favorite memory is when we (did smthg funny/scary) together.

If you have a strong accent or just speaking isn't your best hip, my advise -  use only 2 points, but try to describe them well, with examples and details. You will receive the higher score by slow and clear answer, but never for the fast and unclear speech with 3 points. 

So your preparation is to learn to find main points to your question (but keep in mind that all of them MUST answer your main question), to find them fast and easy. And then - to extend them by making examples and adding details. Also, don't forget about the general structure of your answer: 

1. Introduction - your first sentence (My best friend is Bob, he is my classmate, I know him for ..)

2. Body (main points: 1,2)

3. Conclusion.

In the speaking section you can skip a conclusion, if you're out of time of course, you wouldn't lose any points. However, if you're able to make a conclusion just in last seconds of your answer - you can receive many extra points for it. 

Did I answer your question?

Before you start a long and painful happy preparation, as a reliable person, you want to find materials: books, videos, websites, articles, forums, blogs, etc. You will find myriad resources on the Internet, and all of them are useful and helpful. The problem is how to organize your preparation if you have a week/month/year.

So, first of all, main websites, where you can register for the test:

http://www.ets.org/toefl

http://www.toeflgoanywhere.org

I guess, there are many of them, I just used these ones..

Other sources, where you can find free samples of reading passages, essays or useful tips:

http://www.testmagic.com/toefl

http://www.4tests.com

http://www.testden.com

https://www.notefull.com

http://www.goodlucktoefl.com

http://www.engvid.com/english-exams/toefl

http://www.english-itutor.com

http://www.eng1on1.com

http://toeflintaiwan.50webs.com/index.html

There are also many videos on the YouTube. In my preparation I used only these ones:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NoteFulldotcom

http://www.youtube.com/user/TOEFLtv/videos

And, some blogs or articles, where crazy mind lucky people, who got 100 score or more, share their tips and describe their TOEFL experience:

http://www.serenadingserendipity.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-score-100-or-more-in-toefl.html

http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/toefl-ibt-test-score-100

http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/study-toefl-ibt-test

http://carnalmind.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/how-to-score-more-than-100-in-toefl-ibt-in-a-week

Finally, books... I worked with three different books: Longman, Delta and Cambridge. The first one is really old and kinda outdated book... Reading passages are very simple and short. The next one, Delta, is much better. However, some passages and lectures again are too simple. The Cambridge book is the closest one to the actual test, as for me. If you can do all reading passages from that book in time - you're ready for the test! Speaking questions and Writing strategies are the same in all 3 books.

The TOEFL test format:

Reading: 36-70 questions, 60-100 minutes

Listening: 34-51 questions, 60-90 minutes

10-minute break

Speaking: 6 tasks, 20 minutes

Writing: 2 tasks, 60 minutes

If you decided to choose the TOEFL test, the next thing for you will be to decide which one is better for you: ibt or pbt.

ibt - internet-based Test

pbt - paper-based Test

I suggest to you to choose the ibt Test, because:

I don't know if it's true, but from a summer 2012 only ibt test is offered.

If you're from those lucky countries where the pbt is still offered, keep in mind that it has only 6 dates. The ibt is offered 30 to 40 times per year!

Nowadays, only a few universities still accept the pbt test.

If you ok with everything and the pbt is still offered in your country, you can consider taking this type of test.

My blog is about the TOEFL ibt test. Another one has different format: Reading, Listening, Writing, and Structure and Written Expression. There is no Speaking section on the pbt. Another thing - the ibt takes about 4 hours to complete, the TOEFL pbt is about 3 hours. And, the pbt is cheaper.

If you decided to apply to a college/university, the next your question will be: which is better, the TOEFL or the IELTS test?

Both of them test all four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking in an academic setting. And both of them you can take everywhere, and they both cost approximately the same. So, what to chose?

Well, it depends on your personality and your English level. For some people it is much easier to take the TOEFL, for others - the IELTS. Nevertheless, there is a popular opinion that the latter test is easier. Let's review some differences:

The IELTS operates on a nine point band, the TOEFL (ibt) has 120 points.

The IELTS tends to use British English and the TOEFL uses American English. However, on the TOEFL test be ready to listen some lectures with Australian, New Zealand, Irish or Scottish accents too.

The TOEFL exam is more predictable: you know all instructions and questions types, you know how long the passage/lecture is. The IELTS has different instructions, which every time can be changed.

The IELTS has the individualized format of speaking section. It means, you have to answer all questions to the interviewer. On the TOEFL test you must do it with computer, which records your speech.

On the TOEFL test graders give you a score based on the overall quality of the essay, including vocabulary, logic, style, and grammar. It means, if you can write well but have a lot of small grammar mistakes, your TOEFL score still be quite good. On the IELTS test they score everything individually. So, you have a separate score for grammar, word choice, fluency, logic, cohesion, etc.

As you see, it's hard to tell which test is better for you. As for me, I have never took the IELTS before (maybe I will eventually), so I can't compare them "on the stage". However, all my friends, who took it, were happy with their score. And they keep telling me that the IELTS in general is more easier and not so stressful, because you have reading, listening and writing in the one day, and later (maybe in a week) you have an interview (it's your speaking section). And, you can make a good impression on the interviewer, and somehow it can make your score higher.. 

Another example, one of my friends took the TOEFL three times. She had to get at least 100 score, but she couldn't. She had around 82-90 score. So, she decided to take the IELTS. And, she got 7, and it was enough for her university. Interesting, because the IELTS band 7 is equal 94–101 the TOEFL score, and she was accepted!

I'm going to work with each section of the test separately.

Reading:

- kinds of questions

- how they score you

- how to attack the questions

- tips

- many (many!!!!) TOEFL vocabulary

Listening:

- types of listening

- types of questions

- tips

Speaking:

- types of questions

- the structure of your answer

- tips how to get the higher score

- useful vocabulary and expressions

Writing:

- types of tasks

- structure of your essay

- how they score your essays

- examples of high-scored essays

By and large, I'm going to write here everything that can help you to get correct answer or to save your time.