Anyone who is going to take the TOEFL? Come here and discusss about TOEFL skills!

Dear You,
We are facing very difficult problems of a TOEFL test.
Let's discuss about sesions of it: Listening, Structure and Written, Reading and TWE. Hope that we can get better TOEFL score when joining this topic.
Good luck


Toi thich choi chung khoan[/size=12]

Today I would like to send some ideas I had when studying the Reading session (I think they are very important )
When finding the structure of the passage, follow the flow of ideas by paying attention to transitions and connectors.
Here are a list of transition words and connecting words:
Word that:
* qualify (hạn chế): but, however, although, yet, except for
* emphasize: surely, certainly, indeed, above all , most important
* illustrate: for example, next, for instance, thus, such, such as
* contrast: unlike, in contrast, whereas, on the other hand, instead
* concede (có ý thừa nhận, nhường): although, yet, nevertheless, of course, after all
* conclude: finally, in conclusion, at last, in summary, *****m up
(to be continued...)

Here are the rest of list:
Words that:
* add: in ad***ion, also, moreover, then, first, second(etc)
* compare similarly, like, in the same way, both, equally important,,,
* explain now, inad***ion, furthermore, in fact, in thies cse, at this point
* state a consequence (đưa ra một kết quả, hậu quả): therefore, as a result, consequently, accordingly, otherwise
I thinhk all the above categories help us to understand structure of the passages we read easily.
My next message will give you some TOEFL-like examples relating this kind of question.
Improve your English skills

Actually what you just wrote could be found easily in any book that preps for TOEFL. But I guess it's appreciated anyway. One thing I would like to say about TOEFL: it's not hard to get a high score in TOEFL, it's hard to become really good at English. I got a fairly decent score for TOEFL and I still think my English is by no means close to college level. By and large, I believe that if you take a lot of practice tests and just do a lot of drills, you will get a considerably high score for TOEFL.
Also, one small tip for the writing part is that you should use a lot of sophiscicated words and have a clear structure and you will get at least a 5 - 5.5

Into each life some rain must fall, some days be dark and dreary.

How you prepare for the TOEFL depends on your current English skill and your goal. One thing to remember: nothing is impossible. Generally speaking, the TOEFL is fairy easy.
First, go and buy a TOEFL preparation course. A grammar review section is the most important. Practice exercises and test can be found on CDs at good prices. I recommend the CD "Longman CBT TOEFL". Don't buy cassettes because their quality is hardly acceptable. An upper-intermediate level vocabulary builder and grammar book are also recommended.
Start with your grammar, read the book and do a lot of grammar exercises. Once you've mastered the grammar, it will be very easy to move on.
Now it's time to crack the test. Get familiar with it. And again, do a lot of practice. The more you practice, the better.
But don't just practice. Build your vocabulary as well. Use flashcards for every new words you come across. Write down one new word in one side of the card and its meaning on the other side. Review them once a day, in two ways (look at the word and try to recall its meaning, or vice versa). Put a V if you can remember the word, a X if you can't. If you get 5 Vs consecutively, remove the card from the stack. This tip is very very useful and works for SAT as well. Try to learn at least 5 words a day. Work on your vocabulary builder book.
To improve your listening skill, do a lot of practice (again, hence?). In ad***ion, listen to CNN, BBC or VOA. I know it's hard at first, but I guarantee you will see it's getting better each day. If you can listen to these programs well, it is "Mission accomplished" for your listening skill. One thing to remember: the speaking speed in the TOEFL is nothing compared to real-life speed.
One more thing about the TOEFL listening section: there are a lot of idioms. Buy a idiom workbook and don't let them trouble you any more.
If you've mastered the grammar, you will not have any trouble with the grammar section. Just get familiar with this section by practicing so you can stay away from traps.
For the reading comprehension section, remember it's not comprehension, it's just multiple-choice test, which the answers are provided right before your eyes. You don't need to understand the whole passage to be able to understand the questions. Just work on it and you'll see. But reading a lot is highly recommended. By reading, not only can you learn new words, but also your reading speed will increase. One tip : try not to move yỏu lips and tongue when reading. If you have trouble moving your lips and tongue, practice reading when holding your lips with a spoon !
The writing section will not be on the paper-based test, which is the only choice in Vietnam now. But if you have to take this test, remember to have a solid structure, some good examples for each of your points, some kinds of sentence(long and short) interwoven, and a few esoteric words.
I agree with Vicini about the TOEFL. It is nothing. Even if you get the maximum score, your English is just like native students at grade 6 or 7.

You might think that I'm going to fast;
But darling, don't worry if you can't.
Though slow down I will not,
I will wait for you at our destination
Forever.
​

Được classic_lover sửa chữa / chuyển vào 02:03 ngày 24/12/2002

Quên mất, đĩa practice CD tốt nhất cho paper-based là đĩa Langmaster TOEFL.

___________________
You might think that I'm going to fast;
But darling, don't worry if you can't.
Though slow down I will not,
I will wait for you at our destination
Forever.
​

I think TOEFL is not difficult to crack but the problem is how to get very high scores on it. To score fewer than 600 is, as I see it, within reach of anyone who devotes a lot of his efforts to preparing for the test.
However, I think IELTS is a lot tougher than TOEFL. I've done practice tests for both the exams and find that IELTS Reading is TWICE as difficult as that of TOEFL. In ad***ion, the former's Listening is also much harder as you have to listen very carefully AND give answers AT THE SAME TIME. Unlike TOEFL in which you still have fairly much time (30 seconds) to think, read and analyse before giving an answer, IELTS requires that you have to have a great ability to concentrate on listening or else you can easily lose answers to the questions that follow while listening for answers to the questions that come before.
I appreciate it very much if anyone can spread some tips or proper ways to tackle this kind of problems associated with Listening in IELTS

well, to be quite frank to you, judging from your writing, my biased opinion is that IELTS should be merely a little breeze
TOEFL, it is true, does not appear problematic to people with fairly good English background. yet for those who do not, scoring above 600 is certainly not easy at all. and unfortunately those who do not are quite superior in number compared to those who do.
and well, what the hell am I talking about? I have nothing new to contribute. Most of what needs be mentioned has already been posted by vicini and classic_lover. guess I'd better keep my fuking mouth shut
cheers to those who will soon be taking this test. dreaded it is, indeed. but as Vietnamese who fear no capitalist shi t, my trust is that you shall prevail, hêhhhêh.
here it goes, another useless post of mine. bored bored bored in the middle of the night.

Tiền bất kiến cổ nhân
Hậu bất kiến lai giả
Niệm thiên địa chi du du
Độc sảng nhiên nhi lệ hạ

Được longatum sửa chữa / chuyển vào 17:14 ngày 24/12/2002

CBT TOEFL Listening Section Insights

- Listening Section Composition
- Listening Section Type insights
- Listening Section Topic Insights

Listening Section Composition:
Here we summarize the composition of the listening section of the CBT TOEFL test as likely encountered today. This is the section that has changed most significantly in recent years and may change more drastically in coming years because of the development of computer technology. There are two parts within the listening section.
Listening Part A: short conversations
There are either 11 or 17 short conversations, of which mostly have a man and a woman speaking. In this part, the picture you see provides no useful information, serving only as a distracter; Therefore, avoid concentrating on this image.
Listening Part B: longer conversations, discussions, and lectures
You are given either 20 or 33 questions, meaning about 5 to 7 conversations, discussions and lectures: The speakers talk at natural speed, and the average length of each piece is 2 minutes.
Please note that, unlike with the short conversations, the pictures in Part B are of importance in understanding and answering questions about the lecture.
ETS is making only rare use of its complicated non-multiple choice questions, but there may be some use of Matching/Ordering and Click on Diagram questions.
Listening Section Type Insights
Most items in Part A make use of indirect answers, false questions, voice inflection, sound alike traps and phrasal verb expressions. They test your ability to understand and find out hidden meaning or implication.
On the other hand, most questions and answers in Part B are directly based on listening content. They test your ability to catch the main ideas as well as remember details after hearing a longer talk.
1. What the first person says usually does not contain the answer to the question, but what the second person says is the real key to the answer. Thus, pay more attention to the second person.
For example:
Female: Why are you leaving so early? The movie doesnõ?Tt start till seven.
Male: I donõ?Tt want to be at the traffic there. Itõ?Ts a nightmare on the expressway during rush hour.
Question: What does the man mean?

He wants to go early to avoid a traffic jam.



o He wants to leave the theater before the movie is over.
ẻ He doesn''t know the way to the theater.
ẻ He doesn''t usually get up at 7:00.
2. Listening for intonation is very important. A rising tone often indicates a question or disagreement, and a falling tone often indicated agreement.
For example:
a/
Female: Isnõ?Tt it great about Ruthõ?Ts community service award?
Male: She deserved it.
Question:What does the man mean?

Ruth earned the award.


ẻ Ruth helped plan the award ceremony.
ẻ Ruth should work more for the community.
ẻ Ruth served as chairperson of the committee.
b/
Female: Itõ?Ts a tra***ion. Every New Yearõ?Ts Day my sister and I go skating on the lake.
Male: Has it been cold enough this winter? Or will you go indoors?
Question:What does the man imply?
ẻ It''s been too cold to go skating this winter.
ẻ The woman can go indoors if she gets cold.

The lake may not have frozen.


ẻ He also likes to skate in the winter.
3. Pay attention to contrary conjunctions, like, but, however, etc. The content after ''but'' is usually *****ggest a contrary or negative way in light of the first clause, which is the vital part of the talk.
For example:
Female: Gee, Tom, I hear that you are working as a house painter this summer. It''s got to be awfully hot working up there on a ladder in the blazing sun all day.
Male: Well it''s hard work, but I get to be outdoors and the pay is decent.
Question:What does the man imply?
ẻ He makes more money than the woman.

He''s satisfied with his job.


ẻ He had trouble finding a job.
ẻ He doesn''t like working outdoors.
4. The first person uses one kind of interrogative sentences (yes-no questions). The answer of the second person is either yes or no. We review lots of the real test items and find out that more than 90% cases are with no-answer. Thus, if you totally have no idea about what the second person says, the good guess is to choose an answer that is opposed to the first person''s opinion.
For example,
Female Professor, have you graded my term paper yet?
Male To tell you the truth, Iõ?Tve been tied up in committee meetings all week.
Question: What can be inferred about the paper?
ẻ The committee is discussing it.
ẻ It received a low grade.

It hasn''t been graded.


ẻ The woman hasn''t submitted it.
5. Understand subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is quite simply a form of the verb when a person stops dealing with real things about which we can argue and starts dealing with uncertainties such as wishes, commands and unreal circumstances. The central point is unreal.
For example,
Male: I really enjoyed that TV special about whales last night. Did you get home in time to see it?
Female: Well, yes. But I wish I couldõ?Tve stayed awake long enough to see the whole thing.
Questions: What does the woman mean?

She fell asleep before the program ended.


ẻ She especially enjoyed the end of the program.
ẻ She missed the beginning of the program.
ẻ She wishes she had gone to sleep earlier.
6. Handle implication and inference. If the question is "What does the man/woman imply?" or "What can be inferred from the conversation?" and you don''t understand the conversation at all, one good guess is to eliminate choices that contain something you heard.
For example,
Male: I just found out I canõ?Tt renew my lease for the next school year.
Female: Well, donõ?Tt worry. There should be plenty of apartments freeing up after graduation.
Question: What does the woman imply?

(A) The man will easily find a place to live.


ẻ (B) Apartments will be less expensive next year before.
ẻ (C) The man should move graduation.
ẻ (D) Her lease ends after graduation.
For a better guess (if it is the only option), you can eliminate choice B because you clearly heard the word ''apartments'' in the conversation, and choice C as well as choice D because you also heard the word ''graduation''. The only remaining is choice A.
8. Understand commonly used idioms/phrases.
For example ''I could not feel better'' means ''I am feeling perfect'', etc.
(End of Part A - to be continued)
â2003 Computer Based Test. All rights reserved.
So close no matter how far... I have you in my heart and nothing else matters...

Listening Section Topic Insights
TOEFL listening conversations, discussions, and lectures could happen anywhere, but almost all of them surround a central point - student''s life. It definitely helps you to improve your English ability as well as your test scores if you are getting familiar with those topics: culture background, common knowledge, real-world language, frequently used words, etc. We give you a list of topics that frequently occur in real TOEFL tests.
Campus life: It covers a wide range of topics, like:
Daily life:
- Clothing (fashion, coat, pants, T-short, socket, jacket, suit, shirt, shoes, tailor, etc.);
- Shopping (various stuffs, store, mall, supermarket, department store, grocery store, drugstore, purchase, for sale, on sale, down payment, trade in, bargain, deal, price, expansive, discount, 20 percent off, etc.);
- Dining (restaurant, cafeteria, fast food, food court, café, snack bar, tip, bill, payment, drinking, cooking, on diet, food, rare, medium, well-done, overdone, burnt, go Dutch, split the bill, chef, etc.);
- Phone call (White Pages, Yellow Pages, long distance, operator, collect call, bill, get though, connected, disconnected, cut off, busy signal, etc.);
- Health (sick, symptom - toothache, stomachache, hurt, sore, sprain, indigestion, headache, broken, allergy, cough, pain, wound, cold, feverish; doctor''s office, clinic, health center, hospital, health service, medical center, doctor, dentist, surgeon, physician, dermatologist, orthopedic, nurse, medical, prescription, pill, insurance, etc.);
- Housing (house, apartment, rent, deposit, termination, notice, bill, utilities, roommate, dorm supervisor/superintendent, custodian, janitor, ...);
- Money (budget, expense, fund, check, cre*** card, cash, borrow, loan, lend, fee, buck, cost, can''t afford, broken, a hole in my pocket, ...);
- Time (watch, clock, busy, relax, different time expression, on time, on the dot, on the nail, sharp, ...);
- Haircut (hairdressing, barbershop, barber, hairdresser, beauty shop, various cut or beauty related actions ...);
- Car (driving, parking, pick-up, give a lift, traffic, repair, maintenance, car insurance, gas station, license, car dealer, mechanic, fare, tire, garage, wheel, ...);
- Vacation and travel (travel agency, airport, bus, cab, taxi, hotel, motel, train, book or reserve, passport, visa, trip, tour, ...);
- Using something (copy machine, camera, washing machine, dryer, machine, refrigerator, microwave, oven, air-con***ion, hardware, ...);
- Places (asking location, cap, police, locker room, gym, apartment, library, classroom, ...);
- Reading (newspaper, journal, text book, ...);
Mail (email, fax, fax machine, post office, stamps, postage, postal rate, ...);
- Exercise: gym, gymnasium, fitness center, physical con***ion, keep fit/in share, ...);
- Photo (picture, photograph, camera, album, film, develop film, ...);
- Weather (sunny, clear, cloudy, fair, overcast, humi***y, wet, damp, dry, moist, temperature, hot, cold, air-con***ioner, heating, ...);
- Social: club, student group, committee, organization, association, ...;
- Borrow or lend something;
- banking, romance, meeting, pet, politics, lost and found, etc.
Banking, for example, if you know all the following related issues, you should have no problem to understand a banking related conversation.
- People: customer, personal banker, bank officer, bank manager, teller or cashier.
- Location: bank branch, office (for personal banker, or bank officer, or bank manager), counter (for teller), ATM (banking machine), telephone banking, Internet banking.
- Activities: open an account, check balance, deposit or withdraw money, apply mortgage or loan, change currency, pay bills, get money order or certified check, cash a check, etc.
- Terms: check, check book, money order, debit (bank) card, cre*** card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express,...), cash, saving account, check account, bill, charge, banking fee, etc.
Entertainment:
- Sports: football, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, rock climbing, cycling, volleyball, swimming, ...,
- Movie: drama, horror, documentary, animation, action, romantic, ...;
- TV: channel, schedule, news remote control, digital channel, picture in picture, ...;
- Leisure: picnic, barbecue, exhibition, aquarium, chess, poker, bridge, party, theatre, concert, music, skating, etc.
(to be continued)
©2003 Computer Based Test. All rights reserved.
So close no matter how far... I have you in my heart and nothing else matters...