TOEFL preparation

Building your Academic Reading Skills

November 11, 2018 By Danijela Leave a Comment

Who should read this?

WARNING: there is no use reading this if you have only a couple of weeks to prepare for TOEFL and perfect your Academic Reading Skills.

I have had very few students who succeeded in getting a high Reading score with only a few weeks of preparation, and they had all had a VERY ADVANCED level of Academic English to start with.

This article is only for those who understand (or have learned the hard way) that preparing for the TOEFL Reading section can take a lot longer than preparing for other sections. It involves lots of “baby steps” that, over time, build up to the mastery of the Academic Reading Skills and comprehension of the Academic English content.

The ‘baby steps’

If you are lucky enough to have started learning English at an early age, chances are you have already acquired a decent amount of the General English vocabulary. You can probably understand the news, simple articles, and other everyday content. While that can be considered one of the first small steps towards the TOEFL Reading mastery, it is far from being enough. TOEFL Reading materials are a completely different beast. They rely on the Academic vocabulary and a certain structure.

What to read

You have probably been advised to read newspapers and books, in order to practice reading and enrich your vocabulary. Although reading any content in English is helpful, the best way to build the reading skills applicable to TOEFL and other Academic English Proficiency tests, is to use the reading resources designed for that. This could mean textbooks, professional magazines, or, increasingly popular blog posts. Of course, not all websites and blog posts are created equal. Some are written professionally, using the appropriate, formal language and proper grammar. Others are meant to entertain more than educate; they are not very useful.

So how do you choose a credible resource? If you are not sure, ask your TOEFL teacher.

My recommendation is:

‘DREAMREADER’

I have recommended this website to many of my former students. It is a free resource which offers reading practice compiled specifically for English learners. In addition to countless articles of various lengths and difficulty levels, this site offers short quizzes that are comprised of many types of reading questions found in the TOEFL Reading section.

The articles are grouped in five categories:

Easy English contains short articles and pictograms, which are accompanied by comprehension and vocabulary questions/quizzes.
Interesting English contains articles focused on different types of vocabulary. Some examples are: Weather Idioms, contronyms and synonyms. Other articles address grammar points, like Tag Questions.
Fun English contains short articles about places, people or events. They are followed by comprehension and fact/detail questions.
Practical English contains samples of forms, letters and invitations, followed by comprehension checking questions.
Academic English contains Academic articles of various lengths, followed by fact/details and academic vocabulary questions.

So, before you dive into TOEFL Reading strategies and start working with the full-length TOEFL practice materials, ease into it by checking out Dreamreader.

The many versions of TOEFL exam

May 26, 2018 By Danijela Leave a Comment

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the various versions of TOEFL exam. Let’s look at them chronologically.

TOEFL PBT

The Paper Based TOEFL exam is the oldest version of the test. It had served well for over 40 years, before being replaced by the newer versions (TOEFL CBT, iBT and ITP). Although ETS stopped administering TOEFL PBT, if you took this version of the test less than two years ago, your score might still be valid.

TOEFL PBT had the following sections: Reading, Listening, Structure (grammar) and optional Writing (known as TWE)

In my experience, a few non-English speaking countries have adapted parts of TOEFL PBT and used them for their own evaluation, in the recent past.

TOEFL CBT

The Computer Based TOEFL exam was a relatively short-lived version of the test. This was the first computerized TOEFL exam. It was used in the late 1990s and early 2000s, for the same purposes we use TOEFL iBT today.

TOEFL CBT had the following sections: Reading, Listening, Structure (the adaptive Grammar section) and Writing (independent essay only).

Not too many people know about this version of TOEFL (except for those who took it during its short life span, and those who used to teach test preparation)

TOEFL iBT

Most TOEFL takers today are required to take TOEFL iBT, if they are planning to study or work as Professionals, in North America and some English Speaking countries outside of North America

TOEFL iBT was introduced in 2005-2006. It was the first version of the TOEFL exam to contain the Speaking section and the mandatory, two-part, Writing section. Up until then, Speaking was not among the skills tested.

The need for assessing the Speaking and Writing skills was brought about by the rapid globalization of Higher Education and increased mobility of International Professionals.

After decades of research and thousands of ESL students who have ‘fallen through the cracks” of the North American Higher Education system, it became obvious that the older versions of TOEFL did not measure these productive skills. The passive skills ( Reading , Listening and Structure) were not enough, when students had to attend academic lectures, participate in projects and discussions , and produce academic papers. Thus TOEFL iBT was born. The universities and other academic institutions finally had a tool they could use to evaluate international students’ Functional Academic English.

From the technical standpoint, the spread of the Internet was definitely what contributed the most to establishing TOEFL iBT as we know it. It enabled the creation of standardized Official Testing Sites, all over the world, while keeping the scoring objective (not dependent on individual local examiners)

TOEFL ITP

Although it is, in essence, the revamped version of the PBT, this version of the TOEFL exam was based on the need to have a credible ESL assessment for Academic institutions in non-English speaking countries, where English has become the language of Academic studies. According to the ETS Official Site, it is mostly used for placement, progress monitoring, exit testing and admissions to certain programs in some non-English speaking countries. You can find more details here.

TOEFL ITP has the following sections: Listening Comprehension, Structure and Written Expression and Reading Comprehension. You can get more information on the content here.

This version of TOEFL is a traditional, paper-based, multiple choice test. Because it can be taken at schools and other institutions and administered by local staff, it is more affordable than TOEFL iBT. If you would like to learn more about the Administration and Scoring for the TOEFL ITP, read this.

Since this version of TOEFL relatively new, there are few preparation resources. You can find the list of available resources here.

TOEFL Paper-delivered Test

This is the latest revision of the pen-and-paper version of TOEFL exam. It is administered in parts of the world where testing via the Internet is not possible.

This version of TOEFL has the following sections: Reading, Listening and Writing. Yes, you read that right, no Speaking section. Other than that, it is very similar to TOEFL iBT. You can get more information about the TOEFL Paper-delivered Test here.

A Permanent Resident from Brazil

April 15, 2018 By Danijela Leave a Comment

“I came to Canada five years ago, with no English, and after a few months, learning the basics, I started taking classes with Danijela. At the time, I intended to go to university and return to Brazil when I finished. I went to university, but when I finished my studies, I did not want to go back. Today, I have a good job and I have been invited to stay in Canada as the Permanent Resident. The skills I learned in Danijela’s classes helped me to pass the TOFEL test and get into Douglas College, to maximize my points in my PR application when I took the CELPIP exam, and to communicate efficiently at work.”

Rodrigo Laia Manentti,

Assistant Manager for RW & Co.

TOEFL Independent Speaking

March 28, 2018 By Danijela 2 Comments

Do you dread the Independent Speaking question?

Let us guess:

You have taken the Official TOEFL exam more times than you can remember, and you still don’t have the required Speaking score;
You have seen all the templates and heard all the sample answers available online and offline;
You have taken TOEFL preparation courses, or had a private tutor, but none of it helped;
You’ve been practising TOEFL Independent Speaking questions with peers, but their English is not much better than yours;
You have managed to find a native English speaker, maybe even an ESL teacher to practise with, but s/he doesn’t specialize in test preparation, or has little experience in it;
When you hear other people answer Independent Speaking questions, you think to yourself: ‘That seems so easy for them!”;
But, when it’s your turn, you freeze, and can’t think of a single thing to say;
You can answer familiar TOEFL Independent Speaking questions, but, you are stunned by the unexpected ones….

If any, or all of the above sounds familiar, it might be time to try something else – our

TOEFL Independent Speaking Workshop

We apply proven TOEFL Speaking practice methods, developed over more than a decade of teaching TOEFL preparation courses;
We practice with 100+ realistic TOEFL Independent Speaking questions, which include the ones, recently introduced to the Official TOEFL exam;
A lot of our questions are new to you – you wouldn’t have seen them before, even if you have already covered a lot of practice materials;
The groups are limited to 6 participants per workshop; that way everyone gets exposed to a lot of questions;
Every participant has the opportunity to answer a number of questions and offer peer feedback to other participants;
In addition to hands-on, timed practice in answering the questions, participants also learn to analyze their own and their peers’ answers:
Our experienced TOEFL preparation specialist is always there to provide professional feedback, correction, evaluation and advice;
Most importantly, we nurture the atmosphere of mutual respect – we judge nobody and help everybody in the group.

Schedule Appointment

Are you an Internationally Trained Professional?

March 14, 2018 By Danijela Leave a Comment

The term “Internationally Trained Professionals” (also known as Foreign Professionals) is fairly new. It refers to Professionals with degrees from non-English speaking countries who wish to pursue their career in English Speaking counties. Many Internationally Trained Professionals are in the Medical field ; they might be physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, etc. Other typical professions include engineers, teachers, instructors, university lecturers, MBAs, etc.

English Proficiency requirements for Internationally Trained Professionals

In North America, most Internationally Trained Professionals are required to take an Academic English Proficiency test, so they can continue working in their field. Some of them have to take TOEFL or IELTS , even if they are already working in the field, in order to obtain or renew their Professional Licence. (This is a very common case with pharmacists) Finally, the third most common reason that some Internationally Trained Professionals need a particular TOEFL or IELTS score, is to apply for Graduate studies (Master’s Degree and Doctoral Degree programs).

Why are Internationally Trained Professionals different from other TOEFL takers?

Internationally Trained Professionals are adult test takers. They typically have very busy schedules and juggle multiple responsibilities: their families, jobs, education. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for test preparation, especially the one-size-fits-all kind of preparation. On the other hand, Internationally Trained Professionals already have extensive higher education (albeit, not in English). Unlike the high school students aiming at Undergraduate studies in the English speaking countries, these mature test takers have very specific needs. They require customized and personalized test preparation.

Test preparation courses vs custom TOEFL preparation

Most online and offline test preparation programs have the one-size-fits-all approach. They offer generic courses which expect the student to adjust to them (in terms of the skill focus, learning style, length of study, pacing, etc.) That might work for younger students who still have a lot of time to devote to their test preparation (and their parents who are willing to pay for multiple trendy courses). However, Internationally Trained Professionals know better; they understand that each test taker has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. They also know that those can be identified and addressed only through individual instruction.

Academic vocabulary and TOEFL

February 13, 2018 By Danijela Leave a Comment

In my many years of teaching TOEFL preparation courses, I found that there is one underlying skill that all my high-scoring students had in common – strong Academic vocabulary. Every section of the TOEFL test depends on it, directly or indirectly.

Academic vocabulary and TOEFL Reading

In the Reading section, you actually have to answer a number of questions directly related to vocabulary. You need to pick synonyms for particular words, in the given context. These questions make up more than 20% of all the questions in the Reading section.

Knowing the most common or most widely used meaning of the word is often not enough. You need to know more than that – other possible meanings, word forms and collocations. If you have done some TOEFL Reading practice , you’ve probably already discovered that the correct answer choice (for the vocabulary questions) is rarely the one that seems most obvious or most familiar.

Academic vocabulary and TOEFL Listening

When it comes to the Listening section, the stronger your Academic vocabulary, the easier time you’ll have following and understanding the lectures. These academic materials make up more than 1/2 half of the section; out of six listening materials scored for you, only two are campus related conversations; the remaining four are actual, grade 12 level, lectures. Consequently, it’s impossible to score more than ten out of thirty points without the knowledge of the key terms.

Academic vocabulary and TOEFL Speaking

As for the Integrated Speaking, you will not only better understand the reading and listening prompts, but you’ll also be able to produce a higher scoring answer, if you can use the appropriate Academic vocabulary in your speech.

Prior to August 2019, the Academic Speaking questions used to comprise one third of the Speaking section. A good command of the Academic Vocabulary often meant the difference between scoring in low twenties , and getting more that 24 or 26 iBT points, which is a requirement for many Professionals in the Medical, Legal and some other fields.

Now that the Academic Speaking questions make up 1/2 of the Speaking Section, it is crucial to have advanced knowledge of the Academic Vocabulary.

Academic vocabulary and TOEFL Writing

The same goes for the Integrated Writing. Remember that, although you do have access to the reading prompt the entire time you are writing your Integrated Essay, it’s not a good idea to copy directly. Instead, you are encouraged to paraphrase the key points from this prompt whenever possible.

The listening prompt is likely to be an even bigger challenge – you will only hear it once, and unless you can follow and take notes efficiently, as well as show your understanding of the key concepts in a well written Integrated Essay, it will be near impossible to score high in the Writing Section (as this essay counts for 1/2 of the section score)

Academic vocabulary – how to improve it

First of all, it’s important to understand that no vocabulary can be learned over night. It takes time, repetition and application to acquire new vocabulary. Unfortunately, this is not likely to happen if you rely on memorizing vocabulary lists or if you study using resources that don’t provide in-depth understanding of the Academic vocabulary and a lot of practice in applying the newly acquired vocabulary to your speaking and writing.

Learning vocabulary, especially Academic vocabulary, is a long process that requires a systematic approach, and that is something that a learner can do only with proper guidance. In other words, enlisting help from a qualified ESL teacher or tutor, will save you a lot of time, not to mention the frustration of trying out many books and sites (usually recommended by fellow test takers), only to find out that they don’t work for you.

Here is a site that offers some good practice for the Academic Vocabulary.

Professional ESL Test Prep also offers an offline ACADEMIC VOCABULARY MASTERCLASS. (follow the link to find out more)