9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice

By Wiki Study in Exam tips, Listening 0 Comment
9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice

How do you start practicing for the TOEFL Listening section?

You start very, very early.

At least several months before the TOEFL is recommended.

Even earlier is better, since it takes time to build up understanding and work on vocabulary.

If you’re starting a little late, though, don’t panic! You can still use the time you have left wisely.

Listening is the second section on the TOEFL that you get to work on right after Reading. The TOEFL Listening tasks consist of short-to-medium-length audio clips from lectures, academic talks and more casual conversations and dialogues.

The section can be from 60 to 90 minutes long and have 34 to 51 questions. It is a very intensive part of the test, and many people find it the most difficult.

Listening can definitely be challenging: Understanding spoken language requires getting used to tone and speed of speech. There might even be slang used.

Also, most audio clips are played only once. This means there is no second opportunity to catch content, like during the Reading or Writing sections.

Having a good working vocabulary is also needed to do well at TOEFL Listening.

The good news is that listening practice can be fun. It doesn’t have to be serious or academic all the time, and it doesn’t have to be stressful. You can incorporate TOEFL Listening practice into your everyday activities and even hobbies!

In this post, we’ll look at some great listening resources you can use to prepare yourself for test day.

But before you start listening, let’s look at the basic skills you should focus on.

Skills You Will Need for TOEFL Listening

First things first, you need to know what to work on when preparing for the TOEFL Listening section. These are the skills that will help you to succeed:

  • The ability to understand what is being said or discussed.
  • Knowledge of single words and phrases (good vocabulary).
  • The ability to grasp general meaning quickly without getting stuck on parts you don’t understand.
  • Keeping up with different accents (American, British, Australian, New Zealand).
  • Knowing how to take effective notes (since most Listening tasks play out dialogues only once).

How to Prepare Yourself for TOEFL Listening Practice

Before you start having fun with practicing listening, you need to do some formal studying, either by yourself or in a study group. To do well on the test, you will need to know the specific format of tasks and get used to doing them.

Make use of the official sample questions and dialogues to study the types of questions that get asked on the TOEFL.

Also work on expanding your vocabulary, especially vocabulary used in casual conversations about university life. Be sure to test yourself on it.

Remember that the TOEFL focuses on lecture excerpts, political or scientific discussions and formal dialogues. So the best way to practice is to listen to lecture recordings, talks and podcasts.

There are some great resources to help you with this below.

9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice

9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice

9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice

Once you are familiar with how TOEFL Listening works, you can add some more fun ways to practice it!

While there are lots of things you can do to improve your listening skills in general (like watching movies in English, listening to English music and talking to native speakers), to do well on the TOEFL you need to improve your test-specific knowledge. However, this doesn’t mean all your studying has to be dull and formal.

Radio is a great alternative to formal studying. It can provide the challenge of listening to audio on specific topics while also being fun and interesting. One big advantage of radio is its wide availability from different countries, which gives you a great tool for working on your understanding of various accents.

Video can also provide motivation. Video can keep your attention even if you don’t feel like practicing listening. Even more formal lectures and talks can be more fun with visuals involved.

Here are some resources to get you started with all kinds of listening that will help you on the TOEFL.

1. ExamEnglish TOEFL Listening

This study guide provides you with more sample exercises (in addition to those you will find on the ETS official website). On this page, you can get a good idea of how the listening part of the TOEFL usually goes. Working through these exercises will help you understand where you need to focus in your listening preparation. For example, you may need to work on overall comprehension, better note-taking or paying more attention to details.

2. OpenCulture Online Courses

 

This is an enormous catalog of online courses, lectures and talks. Some of the links are videos, but most of them are audio files. You can choose from any academic subject that interests you and get access to hours of lecture material. There are lectures from prestigious universities like Harvard, UC Berkeley, MIT and many more. This site will give you exposure to the real-life classroom setting and prepare you for TOEFL tasks that feature real people speaking.

3. Stanford on iTunes

Stanford University on iTunes can be very helpful if you don’t feel like digging through lots of links for courses. You can go straight to this collection of lectures from one of the best universities in the world! Stanford offers so many lectures and talks from its top faculty, it’s enough to pass a hundred TOEFLs! All courses are free and get updated regularly.

4. Wiki-TOEFL

Wiki TOEFL is your best bet for handpicked English videos from all over the internet. Whether you’re looking for an educational clip, news, an inspiring talk or some conversation, you’ll find it here! With Wiki-TOEFL, you can listen to a variety of topics and get used to a variety of accents. Interactive captions make it easy to pause and explore words you don’t know, which means you can work on your listening skills and build your vocabulary at the same time. The short videos are great for trying to grasp an overall idea—a very necessary skill for the TOEFL! Wiki-TOEFL is suitable for all English levels and is available right on the website.

5. ManyThings.org

Students of all levels of English decide to take TOEFL. Not every test-taker is an advanced speaker. ManyThings caters to students at the beginner to intermediate levels by providing audio clips on various topics along with transcriptions. You can listen to the clip while following along with the transcription. Or you can listen first and check your understanding afterwards. This is a great resource for TOEFL listening practice directed at students with a lower intermediate level of English.

6. iHeartRadio

This website has tons of radio stations for you to choose and stream online. You can find a podcast or a radio program based on your hobbies and interests. Browse different categories or pick a radio genre: You’ll find comedy, sports, news, talk and even college radio. The stations are mostly USA-based, so they are useful for American English practice and understanding of slang.

7. BBC World Service

The BBC is a great tool for mastering your understanding of proper British English. The BBC makes its radio available to listeners worldwide (as opposed to its television programming, which is only accessible to viewers with UK IP addresses). This is a high-quality public radio station for news and discussions of current affairs. Tune in and get listening to British accents!

8. BBC Radio 4

If you feel like being entertained, BBC Radio 4 is a great resource for drama, comedy and educational programs. Listening to any of them will help you with overall understanding, catching the general meaning of dialogues and building your vocabulary—especially if you choose to listen to one of their educational shows. Try taking notes and seeing how effective they are for remembering the contents of the program.

9. TED Talks

TED Talks are lectures on a wide variety of engaging and sometimes bizarre topics, delivered by professionals and enthusiasts in their fields. TED Talks are available in both audio and video formats. They are useful for TOEFL practice because you can really narrow your search down to a specific area. Pick a language (that would be English, of course). Pick a topic. Pick a short talk, if you only have twenty minutes to spare, or pick an hour-long lecture. You can even pick a speaker! TED Talks are as close as it gets to listening to a lecture in a non-academic setting.

Now that you have these resources to make your TOEFL Listening practice not only effective, but also fun, it is time to begin studying!

Remember that good listening skills do not appear overnight. It is very important to give yourself enough time to build them up.

Have patience with yourself, go at a steady pace…and keep listening!

Click to rate this post!

How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5 Simple Steps

By Wiki Study in Exam tips, Vocab & Grammar 0 Comment
How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5 Simple Steps

“Slow and steady wins the race.”

This classic saying means that it is best to move toward your goals at a comfortable but persistent (regular or even) pace.

If you try to move too fast, or to do too much at once, you may actually make things harder for yourself.

This simple idea can help you score high on the TOEFL and master the English language.

But how?

Well, in order to do either of those things, you need to build your English vocabulary.

Sure, just a few simple words—along with hand and facial expressions—can get you understood in an English-speaking country.

You can find the bus to where you want to go or buy a loaf of bread.

But knowing only a few words and pointing with your index finger will not allow you to communicate complex ideas, and it most certainly won’t be enough to get a great score on the TOEFL.

The more words you know, the better—and the best way to learn more words is at a slow and steady pace.

Improving your vocabulary will help you to express yourself, to share your ideas and to understand others. It will also help you to reach your academic and professional dreams using English.

Learning new words in a foreign language can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be boring or frustrating.

By taking things slowly and using the proven techniques and steps below, memorizing essential words for the TOEFL will be easy and fun for you.

Let’s get started!

How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5 Simple Steps

It is easy to get lost among all the English words. Your thick dictionary has thousands of words, and even the TOEFL essential word lists have several hundreds of them. Are you supposed to learn all of them at once? Of course not!

How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5 Simple Steps

How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5 Simple Steps

It is important to progress slowly but steadily, at your own pace.

Aiming to learn five new words a day, five days a week, is a proven strategy I recommend to my friends.

5 words a day, or 25 words a week, may not seem like much. But if you think about it, that is about 100 new words a month, or 1200 words a year.

Since most essential TOEFL words lists and books include 4-500 words, this means that you can master all of them in 4-5 months.

In fact, it is highly likely that you already know many of them, and you will need less time to remember the rest.

Also, learning five words a day is only active learning, or making an actual effort to intentionally remember new words.

Simply using English for fun (through reading, writing, listening and speaking) will allow you to gain even more knowledge passively, or without any effort.

By reading magazines and books, watching movies or YouTube videos and chatting with others online, you will soak up new words just like a sponge.

But how can you effectively learn five new essential TOEFL words a day?

Here are five proven steps.

1. Create categories

Creating categories is important because it allows you to imagine your words in context.

This is how your brain already works: Words don’t appear by themselves in real life. You always organize your thoughts around different categories. You discuss ideas around various topics, for example. So it is useful to relate your vocabulary to categories as well.

This approach is generally helpful for studying for the TOEFL, as the reading, writing and listening sections are all related to specific categories.

Establish some basic categories

Make a list of specific categories that are relevant to your life and the TOEFL test. You may want to check with a TOEFL study guide for categories appearing on the test.

Your categories may include (but are not limited to):

  • Education
  • Career
  • Business
  • Relationships
  • Family
  • Sports
  • Religion
  • Politics
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Leisure

Remember, these are only examples. You may use any other categories that you can think of, and you do not have to focus on all of the examples above. It is up to you which categories you start with, but it is a good idea to focus on those that you are the least familiar with.

 

 

Break down your categories into sections

After you have your categories, create sections under each category.

These sections may include:

  • People
  • Groups
  • Places
  • Actions
  • Things
  • Feelings
  • Experiences
  • Personality
  • Descriptive Words
  • Relationships

Again, these are only examples. You do not have to use all of these sections, and feel free to add any other ones you find relevant. Which sections you end up using will depend on your categories and the specific vocabulary you are learning.

 

Fill your categories with existing vocabulary

Once you create a table for a category with relevant sections, fill out each section of each category with words (and phrases) you already know.

For example, let’s say you have the category “Education.”

Under the “People” section of the “Education” category, you may add these words:

teacher
professor
student

Under “Groups” in the same “Education” category, you may write:

class
choir
chess club

Let’s look at other words you might write under a few more sections in “Education.”

“Places”:

school
university
classroom

“Actions”:

to teach
to learn
to take an exam

“Things”:

notebook
laptop
pen

“Feelings”:

excitement
anticipation
anxiety

“Experiences”:

class trip
graduation
school dance

“Personality”:

lazy
studious
quiet

“Descriptive Words”:

smart
creative
challenging

“Relationships”:

friendships
classmates
boyfriend

Filling out your categories with your existing vocabulary is a true confidence booster. You know so much already!

Now it is time to add new words and to learn them.

 

2. Select your words

Choose a category for the week. For example, pick “Relationships” for this week.

Rotate your categories. Pick a new category every week or every two weeks. This will help to avoid boredom and to establish a diverse vocabulary.

Choose five words a day

For every day, choose five words related to your category that you don’t know. You may pick out all 25 words for the week ahead of time, scheduling five for each day. You may also pick your words daily.

It is your choice, but don’t try to memorize more than five words per day.

Also, do not add new words to your list over the weekend. Reserve weekend days for review and rest.

 

How to select your new words

There are a variety of ways you can select your words.

  • You can find words from a TOEFL essential word list or book.

This is a great approach, because you will increase your chances that these words will appear on your TOEFL test. It is helpful to use a list that breaks down words into categories. Open your book or scroll down on the webpage to your relevant category. If you don’t find your exact category, you may find something that is related to it. For example, if you are focusing on “Relationships” this week but this category is not on your list, you may want to look at “Family,” “Friendships” or “People.”

Once you have your category, cross out the words you already know. From the remaining ones, select five. You can do this alphabetically, or randomly.

  • You can select words from reading and listening practice material.

Find listening or reading practice material relevant to your category. If you have picked “Relationships” as your category, look for a reading that focuses on relationships. It can be about family, friendships, romantic relationships, relationships with coworkers or anything else that is relevant.

If you can’t find anything in a TOEFL practice book, you may look for a news article on Breaking News English. For example, this one called “Facebook ‘selfies’ can harm relationships.”

You may also read a chapter in a book in English related to relationships. For example, “Anne of Green Gables” is an adorable story of an orphan girl’s life that talks about her relationships with her adoptive parents, friends and love interest.

When reading your article or chapter, underline unknown words. Select five that are related to your topic.

To choose your words from listening materials, you can follow the same idea. You can use CDs from TOEFL practice books, or any other relevant material. For the “Relationships” category, you could watch an episode of the show “Friends” to find words relevant to friendships and love.

 

What your vocabulary for the week should look like

If you have selected “Relationships” as your category, your week may look like this:

  • Day 1: sibling, bond, complex, paternal, inheritance
  • Day 2: affection, passion, devotion, reciprocity, commitment
  • Day 3: clique, associate, coworker, acquaintance, exclusive
  • Day 4: solidarity, in common, loyal, vow, reception
  • Day 5: willing, obnoxious, humiliation, gentle, engaged

Organizing your vocabulary into sections may look like this:

Category: “Relationships”

Sections:

  • People: sibling
  • Group: clique
  • Relationship: sibling, bond, paternal, associate, coworker, acquaintance, exclusive, in common, engaged
  • Feeling: affection, passion, devotion, reciprocity, humiliation
  • Personality: loyal, gentle, obnoxious
  • Experience: solidarity
  • Descriptive Words: complex, exclusive, loyal, gentle, obnoxious, willing
  • Things: inheritance, vow, reception, commitment

3. Define your words

Once you have selected your words for the day, your next step is to define them.

Begin by trying to guess the meaning of each word. Then turn to your dictionary. Use a monolingual English (English-only) dictionary to get used to thinking in English. Only use a bilingual dictionary (to check the meaning in your native language) if it is absolutely necessary.

Create your own definition

Once you have found the dictionary definition, create your own definition.You may write an entire sentence as your definition, or if it helps, draw it.

In the context of relationships, a dictionary definition for engaged may be: “pledged to be married; betrothed.”

On your own, you may want to define engaged like this:

“When a person is engaged, he/she has promised his/her significant other to marry him/her, and is planning to be married in the foreseeable future.”

You may even draw a picture of an engaged couple.

 

Use your thesaurus

After you have defined your word, turn to your thesaurus to check for synonyms and antonyms. Synonyms are words with similar meaning to your original word while antonyms mean the opposite.

Synonyms of gentle include:

soft
calm
serene
tame

Antonyms include:

rough
hard
violent

Note that not all words have synonyms and/or antonyms.

Day 1 examples
Let’s look at Day 1 of your “Relationship” word list:

Day 1: sibling, bond, complex, paternal, inheritance

Sibling:

Definition: a brother or sister
Synonyms: brother, sister
Antonyms: none

 

Bond:

Definition: something that binds, holds together; firm assurance; agreement of friendship or relationship
Synonyms: relationship, alliance, tie, connection
Antonyms: none

 

Complex:

Definition: characterized by very complicated arrangements; composed of many interconnected parts; difficult to understand
Synonyms: complicated, difficult, knotty, tangled
Antonyms: easy, clear, simple

Paternal:

Definition: related on the father’s side; relating to a father; characteristic of a father; fatherly
Synonyms: fatherly, father-like, patriarchal
Antonyms: maternal

Inheritance:

Definition: something inherited; something passing at the owner’s death; legacy
Synonyms: legacy, estate, endowment, gift, heirloom, birthright
Antonyms: none

 

4. Review your words over the week

To remember your words, it is important to review as frequently as possible. During your week, it is best to schedule quick review sessions lasting 3-10 minutes each. Here are a few different ways you may choose to review your words.

How to review your words

  • Use flashcards

Write your word on one side of a card, and the definition on the other side. Read them on public transportation or when waiting in line. Run through them during your lunch break or any break you have. Run through your flashcards a minimum of three times a day.

  • Use sticky notes around the house

Post sticky notes in areas that you frequently pass by—the bathroom mirror, your dresser, your fridge, the door and so on. When you see a word, define it, repeat it three times and use it in a sentence. Of course, if you pass a certain sticky note 50 times a day, you don’t have to do the exercise every time. Just make sure to practice each word at least three times a day.

  • Set reminders on your phone several times a day

When the alarm goes off, run through your flashcards or write sentences with your words. You can even rotate your words, setting a reminder for a new word every hour. Aim for two or three alarms per word per day.

  • Use your words throughout the day

Use your words when interacting on social media, speaking with English speakers or attending an English class. There is no minimum or maximum for how many times you should do this. Use every opportunity and challenge yourself.

  • Use your words in your writing and speaking practice

When you are doing TOEFL specific writing and speaking exercises, make sure to include some of your new words in your essays or spoken answers. Don’t force it: You don’t have to use all of them, only when it makes sense to do so.

  • Ask someone to quiz you

It is best if they are English speakers or English learners, but non-English speakers can test your knowledge, too. If you can ask someone to quiz you daily, that is great. If not, try to do this 2-3 times per week or use your weekend for this.

If you feel confident that you know a word and your quiz results prove it, you may “retire” the word—remove it from your flashcards and sticky notes.

This way you can check your progress, and increase your confidence. But don’t worry if you still have all 25 words on sticky notes by the end of the week. It is not actually a race. Just take your time with memorizing, and go at your own pace.

How to use your words in sentences

Using your words in a sentence is possibly the best way to review them. Remember, words don’t stand alone. They are used in the context of sentences, texts, audio, videos and conversations.

The purpose of the TOEFL test is to measure your ability to use English in a real-life setting: Real life is about sentences, not just words. So let’s look at some examples of how you might put your TOEFL words into sentences.

Some examples to use bond with would be:

  • I have a special bond with my brother, because we grew up together, have many memories and share many secrets.
  • Lydia is a new mom. She is bonding with her child through taking care of her, holding her in her arms and speaking to her softly.
  • Becky felt an immediate bond with James. She knew he was the one the day they met.

When writing sentences, use your imagination. How would your favorite movie character, the president, your grandmother, Mickey Mouse or anyone else you can think of use this word? How would you use the word in different situations?

Thinking about the word sibling, I came up with the following answers:

  • My favorite cartoon character, Snoopy, would jump around after receiving a postcard from Spike. He would tell Charlie Brown, “Spike is coming to visit me from Arizona. He is my sibling. Actually, he is my brother because he is a boy.”
  • A teacher may share the definition of sibling with a class by saying, “Jane is a girl. David is a boy. Jane is David’s sister. David is Jane’s brother. They are siblings.”
  • If someone asked me if I had a sibling, I would tell them that I do. I have a sibling. I have a younger brother.

You may use this exercise after you categorize and define your words. You can also use it as you are running through your flashcards or noticing words on sticky notes around the house.

Another wonderful idea to try is to put aside 5 or 10 minutes of your day to come up with answers for questions like the ones above. This exercise will force you to use your new words in a variety of sentences.

5. Review your words over the weekend

The weekend is a great time to let your knowledge sink in. It is also the perfect time to schedule some practical and fun ways to practice. Here are a few methods you can use for weekend practice.

Use your words in real-life context

If you have a teacher, a study-buddy, an English-speaking friend or people to chat online with in English, challenge yourself to use your new words frequently with them.

You may want to suggest chatting about your weekly topic with them, allowing you to practice your new vocabulary. Schedule a minimum of half an hour with a friend or a teacher for English practice, and try to spend 10-15 minutes talking about your weekly topic.

 

Give yourself a creative writing challenge

Write a short story or a poem including all of your 25 words from the week. You may also want to challenge yourself by writing a poem or story that uses each word several times.

 

Organize “Jeopardy” games with your friends

“Jeopardy” is a long-time popular game show in the United States that has gained popularity internationally over the years. It is often used in a classroom setting by language teachers, but you can easily organize your own game with your friends.

If you don’t have friends or classmates to play with, you may organize an event by posting it on Meetup or putting flyers up in your community.

 

  • How to play “Jeopardy”

In “Jeopardy,” there are six categories and five questions under each category. However, I suggest you play with 5 categories with five questions for each, making it easy to use all 25 words in the game.

The questions get more difficult as they go down. You also get more points for them. For example, the top question for each category is the easiest, and contestants earn 100 points for a correct answer. As the questions get more difficult, the possible points increase by 100. The fifth question is the most difficult, with 500 points.

If you answer a question correctly, you earn points. If you answer incorrectly, you don’t earn anything. In the end, when no questions remain, the player with the most points wins.

You need a minimum of three people to play: two players and one “game show host.” The “host” creates and asks questions. An ideal number of players to have is three. If you are playing in a big group, you can divide yourselves into teams (with 2-5 members for each team).

Rotate between who is creating the questions and who is playing the game. If one week you are creating the questions and asking them, the next week you should be a player and one of your friends should be in charge of the game.

  • How to write Jeopardy questions

Take a look at some TOEFL practice exams. Notice the kinds of questions asked in the reading section and listening section. Try to ask a variety of questions similar to the ones you can expect on the TOEFL.

Make sure to create a variety of questions and categories:

  • Finish the sentence.
  • Complete the sentence.
  • True or false.
  • Define a word.
  • Give synonyms or antonyms for a word.
  • Use a word in a sentence.

Note: You may know that in the original version of “Jeopardy,” the players are given the answers first. They then have to provide the matching questions (for example, “What is a sibling?”). However, the examples below don’t follow this format. You don’t need to follow it when creating your own “Jeopardy” game, either, unless you want to.

 

  • Example “Jeopardy” questions using words from Day 1:
  • What is a word that is used to define brothers and sisters? (answer: sibling)
  • Another word for the strong relationship between lovers is ___? (answer: bond)
  • Give me three synonyms for complex. (answer: complicated, difficult, tangled)
  • If it is not maternal, then it must be ___? (answer: paternal)
  • If my father dies, and I get all his money, what is this money? My ___. (answer: inheritance)

As you can see, learning your essential TOEFL words is not so difficult.

Just select a category for each week, pick five new words each day and define your words. Then review and use them as often as possible.

Using this technique will increase your vocabulary rapidly.

When the time comes, you will pass the TOEFL like a king or a queen!

Click to rate this post!

Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test – Reading & Writing

By Wiki Study in TOEFL Books 1 Comment
Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test - Reading & Writing

Collins English for Exams – Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test – Reading & Writing Powered by Cobuild

Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test is a three book series to help learners prepare for the ‘Test of English as a Foreign Language’, used by over 7,500 institutions in 130 countries as a measure of language ability. To date, 25 million learners have taken the test around the world.

In particular these books are aimed at helping learners handle the integrated-skill aspect of the test, where they are required to produce responses based on mixed input.

The books help learners to familiarise with the TOEFL test. Learners focus on improving their skills and test-taking times for specific sections of the test, and look at solutions for how to overcome the most common challenges of the test.

 

Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test - Reading & Writing

Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test – Reading & Writing

The books provide clear strategies and tips to help learners improve their score.

Summary:

• Quick Guide: question overviews give learners an easy reference to the characteristics of each question type
• Challenges and Solutions: these sections offer strategy and skills reviews to help learners learn how to overcome the most common challenges.
• Get it right: gives a quick overview of the most important steps for doing well on each question type and includes useful vocabulary and expressions
• Answer Analysis: teaches learners how to rule out distracter answer options
• Progressive Practice: encourages independent learning by offering a graded progression of content and task sets
• Review Test sections: offer timed TOEFL test-taking guides and help learners practice what they’ve learned in a simulated environment
• Audio CD: enables effective TOEFL practice
• Highly experienced author team, who have written TOEFL materials before and worked as teachers preparing learners for the test.

Now you can download Collins Skills for the TOEFL iBT Test – Reading & Writing Book at here:

Download  Mirror 1  Audio CD

Click to rate this post!

4 Clever Ways to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section

By Wiki Study in Exam tips, Speaking 0 Comment
4 Clever Ways to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section

 

What to Expect from the TOEFL Speaking Section

Speaking has two types of tasks: Integrated and Independent.

Integrated Speaking requires you to respond orally to a question that is introduced by a short text or an audio clip.

Independent Speaking asks you to answer a question based on your own experiences and opinions. There are six tasks in total, and the whole section takes up only 20 minutes. The whole TOEFL takes four hours to complete, so you can see that 20 minutes is not much time.

Despite its relative brevity, the Speaking section requires lots and lots of practice. Why? Besides the obvious—you want to get a high score on TOEFL, don’t you?—you need to learn to time your answers right and to control the speed of your speech. You will have, at most, 60 seconds to record each answer, so you cannot speak too fast or too slow.

You should also work to improve your pronunciation. As a non-native English speaker, you probably have an accent and that is okay, but working on pronouncing words correctly is essential to get better at speaking English in general, not only for the test.

TOEFL Speaking requires you to speak into a microphone instead of talking to an examiner—something to keep in mind and get used to as well.

 

4 Clever Ways to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section

4 Clever Ways to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section

Do I Need to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section?

Yes, Speaking definitely needs your attention! But what exactly should you be focusing on?

The main idea is to know how to form clear responses to questions or topics you are given. For this you need to be able to think of something to say (fast) and then present it (even faster) using good grammar. The grammar does not need to be complex, but it has to be correct. Clear understanding and proper usage of the Simple Past and Present tenses is much more useful to you than getting lost in the verb forms of Future Perfect Continuous.

After grammar comes vocabulary. To express yourself orally, you need to have a good arsenal of nouns, adjectives and verbs. For TOEFL Speaking you might not need to study vocabulary specifically, but it is a good idea to pay attention to it. You should learn a few fancy words, but you should never use words whose meaning is unclear to you. Play it safe!

Practicing for Speaking requires that you time your responses. They need to fit into the time limit specified by each Speaking task—anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds. You need to cover all the points you want to make within this short time! However, you also do not want to run out of ideas and submit a 10-second response to a task that gives you a full minute to talk.

Last but not least, your pronunciation is also something you need to focus on. Note that it is not your accent that matters. You can have an accent! However, you must focus on pronouncing words clearly and to the best of your ability, so that people can understand you well. Every ESL speaker has some kind of accent. It is best to stop worrying about it early on and focus on points discussed above.

4 Ways to Practice for the TOEFL Speaking Section

Now, there are lots of ways you can prepare for TOEFL Speaking, and the best is practice and more practice. Here are some ideas on how to get talking before your test!

1. By Yourself

This is the most structured way you can go about practicing for the Speaking section. You can choose topics that match the TOEFL exam pattern and standards. You can focus on your weaknesses that need the most work. For example, if you have trouble responding in a certain time limit, then you can spend extra time working on being able to form an answer in under 30 seconds, or on speaking slowly enough despite being nervous.

You can also study in the location where you feel most comfortable talking and repeating things, for example, you can practice at home or in the privacy of a library study room.

You can go at your own pace, laugh at how awkward your voice sounds on the recording and re-try any speaking task you want.

To set up studying by yourself, you will need a pair of headphones and a microphone, both of which connect to your computer or laptop. You will also need a simple recording software (Audacity is a great free tool). Once you compile a list of TOEFL-appropriate topics, you are good to start speaking!

When you practice, record and play back your answers. Take note of any grammar mistakes, pauses, umm‘s and hmm‘s. Notice how you tend to speed up if you are nervous or see the time running out. Your speed of talking is important, but the timing of the response is even more crucial. Regularly practicing these by yourself is optimal.

2. With a Tutor or Teacher

You probably already know that there are tutors out there who teach English to students. But did you know that there are many tutors who specialize in teaching English for the TOEFL exam? They know all about the exam and how to improve your score.

With a private tutor, you can take and review practice tests, drill vocabulary, discuss grammar topics and work on any weaknesses that you may have. It’s all about you and your needs!

To find the right tutor for you, you can start by searching online with Verbling. There are many English tutors with experience in teaching about the TOEFL. Verbling tutors teach online, not in person.

If you would like to see your TOEFL tutor in person, at your house or somewhere like a local cafe, then you can use Wyzant (only in the United States). This website will help you find the best TOEFL tutor for you, who also lives in your local area.

3. In a Study Group

This is a more social experience that has several unique advantages.

If you can get together with a few more TOEFL-takers, you will be able to practice for the Speaking section in a more natural way. TOEFL Speaking is a monolog task, where you will speaking all by yourself, alone.

However, you can structure your sessions with a study buddy as dialogues which help both speakers practice at the same time. You will also be able to get feedback from peers on your pronunciation, on what is clear and what is not. You can agree to time and record your answers and try again, if necessary. You can give each other feedback on the recordings and give suggestions for improvement. It is a study group, after all!

The difficulties with studying in a group are mainly logistical. The group dynamics may make it hard to practice with a microphone (since you can do it by yourself, you do not need a group for that), and you might need to share the microphone if you study with other people.

Another difficulty is actually finding people to study with. You may form a group of like-minded people for free, say, friends who might also be taking TOEFL or students at your current school.

Alternatively, you can sign up for TOEFL preparation classes and have not only a study group, but an instructor to mentor you as well. If you can afford these, great. If you cannot afford these options or prefer to save money, you can also go online and find people in your area who want to practice before TOEFL for free (check out StudyPal.co, for example). They do not have to be people you know. You might even make new friends that way!

To make practicing in a group setting effective, make a list of TOEFL-appropriate topics, agree on how your conversations are going to go, and alternate between dialogue and monologue exchanges. If you can, invite a native English speaker to oversee your session at least once before the test. Ask for her feedback regarding your skills, and you will be able to adjust your study strategy accordingly.

4. In a Social Setting

The goal of TOEFL is to ascertain you can communicate in English clearly. It is, however, a very specific test that cannot measure your ability with a 100% accuracy. Speaking English “in the wild” is a very important skill that will benefit you long after you have successfully survived TOEFL. Therefore, practicing English in a relaxed social setting with native speakers is a great addition to your study sessions.

The opportunities are truly limitless, especially if you live a big city. You can go to a regular gathering of people who wish to practice foreign languages—English will surely be at the top of their list.

You can go to a specific English-language Meet Up (check out your local Meetup.com listings). You can also socialize with the expat and travel community in your city: Events organized by travelers are among the friendliest to new people (see Couchsurfing.org and their events).

The advantages of practicing Speaking this way are obvious: You are exposed to so much English that you become used to it very quickly and lose the fear of speaking bit by bit. It is an excellent way to practice speaking and listening at the same time, which is very useful for TOEFL. And best of all, these types of events are usually free or very inexpensive to attend and they happen regularly.

Practicing English socially cannot substitute studying for the Speaking section formally. For one, you will not always be able to choose topics that you need to practice. Timing or recording your dialogues is also out of the question for these more casual events (you do not want to scare people away). What you can do, if you find yourself in a social situation speaking English, is give yourself small tasks that will help your TOEFL preparation.

For example, make it your goal to use one or two new words you have just learned in conversation. Try to start a little discussion on the TOEFL topic you recently practiced. Observe how people react to you speaking and note if they have difficulty understanding you.

A social situation can be a great addition to your more formal studying sessions.

See, you can have some fun with it and practice your English speaking too!

Click to rate this post!

How to Make a Winning TOEFL Practice Test

By Wiki Study in Exam tips 0 Comment
How to Make a Winning TOEFL Practice Test

Want to get a high score on your TOEFL test?

Or perhaps you’ve written many essays.

Well done! Now it’s time for one big final practice: a practice test.

Any good TOEFL practice test should have the same sections, tasks and time limits as the real TOEFL test. If you have the money, you can order a practice pack online from the TOEFL website. These practice packs have a good set of exercises that are very close to the real TOEFL test situation.

To take your practice sessions one step farther, you can use a TOEFL practice test service like ScoreNexus, which will let you take full practice tests, receive precise grades from professional educators and get personalized advice for improvement. It’s always a great investment to get feedback from knowledgeable TOEFL graders.

But textbooks, classes and the test itself all cost a lot of money already. You also might be taking the TOEFL test to go study or work abroad, so you probably want to save as much money as you can.

The solution: Make your own practice test!

With Internet and technology, you can practice all test sections effectively by yourself—for free.

And there’s another good reason to create your own test: Only you know about your strengths and weaknesses in English. Sure, your own practice test may not be perfect, but you can make it very effective by focusing on sections where you need the most work. Your own test is your friend!

Making Your Own TOEFL Practice Test

How to Make a Winning TOEFL Practice Test

How to Make a Winning TOEFL Practice Test

To start, remember that TOEFL has four sections you will need to include: reading, listening, speaking and writing. A good practice test will have exercises and questions for each section.

It’s important that your practice test also has similar time limits to the real-life TOEFL test. Here they are:

  • Reading: 60-80 minutes*
  • Listening: 60-90 minutes*
  • Speaking: 20 minutes
  • Writing: 50 minutes

*The time limit range for reading and listening depends on the number of questions. You will see the time limit clearly shown for every section on the test when you take the actual TOEFL.

To get an idea of the type of questions you will see during the TOEFL test, download the free sample of questions and the interactive sample available at the official TOEFL website.

Let’s now talk about each section, one by one.

How to Create Your Own TOEFL Practice Test

1. Reading Section

Reading is the first section on the test. You will have 3 or 4 passages of 6-8 paragraphs each, followed by a set of 14 questions per passage. Questions will focus on your understanding of the passage, its ideas, vocabulary and specific context meaning. You will have about 20 minutes per passage (to read and answer the questions).

Finding practice texts to read

What does this mean for our practice test? First of all, you will need to find some texts to read! Passages from textbooks, scientific articles and even scholarly work are perfect for this. The best place to get them is Google Scholar, which searches the web for academic work based on keywords you provide—with links to actual articles, not just their descriptions!

For example, type in “what is love” and you will get some interesting results. You can use abstracts (summaries of long academic papers) as your TOEFL practice passages if they are long enough (some can be!), or use the introductions of the articles themselves. Just don’t use keywords that are too difficult or complex. You need a text that is written in academic style, but that you can still understand without being a science expert.

Making practice questions

So you have found your passages, now it is time for the questions (14 per passage). Because your practice test is homemade, skip the multiple choice format and make them open-ended questions instead. These are harder, and harder is better when you are preparing.

Here are some ideas of questions based on the actual TOEFL format:

  • Choose a sentence in the text and identify its purpose in the paragraph it is a part of.
  • Pick a word that is unfamiliar or barely familiar to you and find its synonym or closest meaning.
  • Pick a paragraph from the middle of the passage and summarize it in one sentence.

Make up 11 more questions with similar tasks to these, and then you’ll have one reading section practice part. Bonus: Because the questions are open-ended, you will have to answer them in writing. That’s great practice for your writing section!

Remember that since you are creating all the questions yourself, you have a big advantage because you can make them as challenging as you want. Really work on the areas the reading section is testing: paragraph and vocabulary comprehension, summarizing information and inferring meaning.

2. Listening Section

Listening is fun to practice, even though you need to focus. The listening section involves listening to a set of conversations, discussions and lectures, each followed by several questions. There are usually six listening passages, most of them lectures (academic talks), not dialogues (conversations).

Academic talks have 6 related questions, while dialogues will have 5 related questions. You will have just one opportunity to listen to the recording. You have to answer questions in order (no skipping or going back), so this is a tough one. You are allowed to take notes while you are listening, though, and the notes are not scored.

With your homemade practice test, you will not be able to create the same exact set-up as the TOEFL test has. It’s better to focus on improving your listening, and learning how to take helpful notes. It really is the best practice to listen, listen, listen.

Where to find dialogue listening samples

For the dialogue-type recordings, which are more casual, search for clips on YouTube or watch excerpts from TV shows and movies (especially those that take place on university campuses).

Where to find academic listening samples

For the more difficult academic talks and lectures, the Internet is again your best friend. There are many online lectures and whole courses available in any subject. A particular favorite of many learners is the collection of free lectures from Stanford University on iTunes. Pick those that interest and challenge you.

Don’t focus too much on your future field of study, because the TOEFL test won’t! You may get topics from physical sciences, social sciences, arts and life sciences on the test.

Making sample questions

Here’s what some TOEFL listening questions might ask you to do:

  • Define a main idea or topic of the recording you heard.
  • State a fact that is directly mentioned.
  • Identify the reason the conversation is happening.
  • Answer “why” or “how” questions relating to the conversation or lecture.
  • Tell what can be implied by the talk or the dialogue. (e.g. What happens next? What is the likely outcome?)
  • Tell what can be inferred (understood) from the talk or the dialogue. (This is usually not stated directly in the audio, but can be understood from the emotion or tone of voice—so focus on those too).

The “inference” and “imply” questions are the most difficult. On the test, they will usually have the option of “listening again,” which means that you will hear a small part of the recording one more time.

Listening is hard! When you have all lectures and audio materials for practice, focus on the meaning of speeches, vocabulary usage and emotions of the speakers. Always try to imagine the consequences (results) of the audio clip you hear. Use your imagination and remember to take notes.

Do not limit yourself to listening only to North American accents. Since 2013, the TOEFL test includes some lectures and conversations with speakers from the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Australia. These will still be standard, proper English, but you need to make sure you are comfortable understanding them.

3. Speaking Section

The TOEFL test’s speaking section is interesting, because it was introduced to the test in 2007. Speaking is hard enough for English learners, but TOEFL makes it even harder: You’ll have to talk to a microphone instead of a real person. This means no help from another person, just 45 seconds to submit an answer.

But don’t worry! Practicing speaking at home is the best way to prepare for the TOEFL speaking test.

Two types of speaking questions

There are two types of speaking questions on TOEFL: independent speaking and integrated speaking. Independent speaking refers to a general topic you’ll be asked to discuss or offer an opinion on. Integrated speaking involves first reading a short passage, which you’ll then refer to in your spoken response.

Since you know your weaknesses, you’ll know which one is more difficult for you. Is it more difficult to come up with an answer on a random topic (and fast)? Or is it harder for you to discuss an existing piece of text?

Making sample questions

For independent speaking, write down several general topics you would like to talk about. Good examples include discussions about school vacations, advantages of wearing smart clothes for an interview, the differences between owning a cat and a dog, etc. It could be anything! (Sadly, the TOEFL test probably won’t ask you about kitties or puppies.)

For integrated speaking, choose an academic text or lecture (you can use one from the reading section). Think about topics you could discuss based on the text. Do you disagree with the lecturer? Do you have alternative ideas? Do you want to elaborate on the contents?

Once you have your speaking topics, choose one randomly during your practice test and start talking!

  • Use a recording program (a built-in microphone on your laptop will do).
  • Time your preparation time (15-30 seconds) and your response time (45-60 seconds).
  • Notice the speed of your speaking. It is normal to talk faster in stressful situations, so practice controlling your speech and not speeding up.
  • Play back your answer afterwards and listen for your mistakes. You may not like the sound of your own voice, but trust me—it’s all right! Your accent is truly not as horrible as you think, and listening to yourself is so helpful for improving in this section.

You are not expected to give a perfect response. You also won’t be scored on your opinion, just on the way you present it. It’s all about clear communication.

The goal of practicing speaking is not only to give good and clear responses, but to also be comfortable speaking into a microphone. So even if you are not recording yourself, pretend you are holding a microphone!

4. Writing Section

This section is scary for many English learners, because it needs all of your English skills at once. You get a topic to write about, and then you have to write a structured set of paragraphs to discuss that topic.

The TOEFL test’s writing section includes two categories of tasks: independent writing and integrated writing. Independent writing is where you write an essay on a given topic using just your experience and knowledge. Integrated writing presents you with some information that you then need to discuss or debate in writing—like the integrated speaking section!

It’s fairly easy to make a writing practice test, though, because all you need are a few topics to write about… and then you just write!

Making sample questions

Start by choosing several topics to write your essays about. For the integrated writing part, academic passages or lecture excerpts are a good place to start. After choosing your two topics—one for the independent writing and one for the integrated writing—you’ll need to write both in 50 minutes, just like during the actual exam.

Time yourself when writing. Make sure you don’t take longer than 50 minutes to finish both essays.

When practicing, it’s important to remember that a longer essay is not automatically a better essay. Short essays with better sentence structure, clearer vocabulary and better grammar receive higher scores than long essays with hard-to-read sentences and poor spelling.

This is the TOEFL test section that asks you to demonstrate your grammar knowledge, so a big part of practicing the writing section is also studying grammar.

Have a native speaker edit your sample

If you have the opportunity, ask a friend who is a good English speaker (preferably a native speaker) to look at your essays after you write them. This will give you a new perspective on what works and what doesn’t. If you don’t know anyone personally, try this site, Lang-8, where native speakers correct your writing.

Don’t get upset if your friend finds lots of errors. It’s better to make mistakes now—in the practice test—and learn from them. Plus, remember that the goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness of your written skills; test graders are not looking for perfection, just clarity.

Now that you’ve created all your TOEFL practice sections, it’s time to put them all together for one epic practice test! Definitely try and simulate (copy) the actual test environment. This means doing all of the sections in the correct order, following the time limits and taking the 10-minute break in the middle.

Remember that the time you spent creating your TOEFL practice test is all solid English practice, too—which will really help boost your score. So once you get through it all, you will feel very well prepared. Good luck!

Click to rate this post!

Nova’s Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice by Bruce Stirling

By Wiki Study in TOEFL Books 0 Comment
Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice by Bruce Stirling

Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice – Great for IELTS too!

Preparing for TOEFL

Do you plan to take TOEFL or IELTS but are not ready for the challenge? Do you need more practice? If you do, then this book is for you. It is also for those who just want to practice their academic English. Whatever your purpose, this book will give you the foundation in academic English you need for TOEFL and IELTS success.

 

Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice by Bruce Stirling

Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice by Bruce Stirling

Part I: Argument Strategies

In this section, you will learn how to argue subjectively and objectively in writing and when speaking. You will also learn how to summarize. Being able to argue and summarize proficiently is essential for TOEFL and IELTS success, and for success at an English-speaking university.

Part II: Academic English Practice

This section consists of grouped exercises. They are Structure, Written Expression, and Vocabulary. These challenging exercises will help you build an academic English vocabulary while introducing you to English grammar at the university level.

Now you can download Nova’s Pre-TOEFL Guide: Academic English Practice – Great for IELTS too! below here: 

Sign up to Download Download for Free  Get it on Amazon 

 

Click to rate this post!

5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems by Manhattan Prep

By Wiki Study in TOEFL Books 0 Comment
5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems by Manhattan Prep

5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems: Book + Online Resources (Manhattan Prep 5 lb. Book Series) by Manhattan Prep – 1500+ Practice Problems in Book and online

ManhattanPrep’s 5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems is an essential resource for students of any level who are preparing for the TOEFL.

5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems by Manhattan Prep

5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems by Manhattan Prep

Developed by our expert instructors, this book includes:

· 1,500+ questions across 36 chapters in-book and online
· Problems sensibly grouped into practice sets by section and academic prompt
· 10 bonus appendices on core skills, such as English vocabulary and grammar
· Test-taking strategies and advice based on learning science
· Online chapters, audio tracks, and question banks provide realistic, computer-based practice
· Innovative layout of annotated answers and explanations all in one place
· Instructions and explanations written in clear, transparent English for efficient learning

From the team behind the bestselling 5 lb. Book series comes a title designed for you, the TOEFL student. The 5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems has more practice questions (1,500+!) than all three Official Guides combined, and the questions are sensibly grouped into sets that allow you to learn by topic. All questions accurately mirror those found on the TOEFL in content, form, and style. This book also features an innovative new layout of answers and explanations (no more flipping back and forth!), and it’s written in clear, transparent English.

Build fundamental skills in Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing through targeted practice, while easy-to-follow explanations and step-by-step processes cement your understanding of TOEFL concepts. Take your practice to the next level with online question banks featuring realistic, computer-based practice to better simulate the TOEFL test-taking experience.

About the Author

In 2000, Teach for America alumnus and Yale graduate Zeke Vanderhoek had a radical idea: students learn better from better teachers. His vision of what test prep could be if written and taught by great educators led him to start Manhattan Prep. Since we began, Manhattan Prep has grown from a boutique tutoring company to one of the world’s leading test prep providers, offering GMAT, GRE, LSAT, ACT, and SAT courses and tutoring worldwide.

We believe test prep should be real education. From our instructors to our materials, we work to teach you the skills you’ll need to succeed on the test, in school, and beyond.

Now you can Download 5 lb. Book of TOEFL Practice Problems: Book + Online Resources (Manhattan Prep 5 lb. Book Series) by Manhattan Prep at here: 

 Get it on Amazon 

Click to rate this post!

How to Dramatically Improve Your TOEFL Reading Skills for FREE

By Wiki Study in Exam tips 0 Comment
How to Dramatically Improve Your TOEFL Reading Skills for FREE

Do you want to improve your reading skills? Do you want to do so without spending a dime?

If the your answers to the questions above are yes, then this article is just for you!

4 Simple Steps to Improve Your Reading Skills

How to Dramatically Improve Your TOEFL Reading Skills for FREE

How to Dramatically Improve Your TOEFL Reading Skills for FREE

1. Set a schedule

Many people do not read because they can’t find any time in their busy schedule to read. But the truth is that you need to read often to improve your reading skills. As simple as it sounds, the more you read, the better reader you become. Setting a specific time each day to read is the best way to improve your reading skills.

You might say that you don’t have hours each day to spend on reading because you have other priorities in your life. That’s perfectly OK because you can increase your reading skills by reading 20 minutes daily. You can read just before you go to bed or after you have finished your dinner.

The most important part is that reading needs to be a habit. If you set a schedule and read every day, your reading skill will be improved greatly.

 

2. Read according to your English level

Sometimes, students are motivated and try to read books that are too difficult for them. After reading few chapters, they completely give up because the books are uninteresting. To prevent this, it is important that you read books that are your level.

When you are starting to read, you should read books that are easy to comprehend. This will help you to make reading a habit and enjoy them at the same time. After a few easy books, you should start to read more difficult books one at a time. Reading difficult books will help you to comprehend harder books and to broaden your vocabulary.

 

3. Memorize vocabulary by making flashcards

As you continue to read and make it a habit, you will read many vocabularies that you do not know. To increase your reading skills, it is important that you memorize these vocabularies. In my opinion, flashcards are the best way to memorize vocabulary, and you can use any of these two ways to memorize them.

Flashcard Apps (Quizlet)

Flashcard Apps such as Quizlet allow you to make digital flashcards. You can use these apps to memorize vocabulary by reviewing, testing, even playing games! These are great tools to memorize your vocabulary on your mobile devices in your spare time.

Traditional Flashcards

If you are not tech-savvy, you can use traditional paper flashcards to memorize vocabulary. You can cut 3 x 5 notecards into two, write the word on the one side, and the definition on the other.

 

4. Read High-Quality Materials

Finding high-quality materials to read is probably the most difficult step for international students. You should read combination of books, newspaper articles, and scientific papers to increase your reading skills in variety of areas. I will recommend three free resources to find high-quality reading.

Kindle App

This is an essential app to increase your reading comprehension. Kindle App is allows you to access Amazon’s Kindle Store which contains millions of electronic books which are also called ebooks. Most of them are paid, but there are thousands of free ebooks also. Just by downloading the Kindle App, you can access over 10,000 ebooks that are completely free.

Most of the free ebooks are classics, which are books that have stood the test of time and are accepted as exemplary and noteworthy. Since the classics were written long time ago, their copyright expired which is the reason that they are free.

Some of the classics that you can download in Kindle App include:

  1. Moby Dick
  2. Oliver Twist
  3. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  4. Tale of Two Cities
  5. Pride and Prejudice
  6. Les Miserables
  7. Scarlet Letter
  8. David Copperfield
  9. Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea
  10. Christmas Carol

To read this free classics, you can either download the Kindle App on your mobile device or read it in your browser on desktop. Also, you need to have an Amazon account.

New York Times

New York Times is one of the best news sites in America that covers a variety of topics in politics, international, and finances. The articles are written by accomplished writers with years of experience writing. Reading The New York Times is a great way to broaden your vocabulary, improve your reading skills, and also be informed of current issues.

There are many other excellent news sites including USAToday, Foxnews, and CNN.

Popular Science

Popular Science is a science magazine containing excellent articles written by accomplished writers. There are many interesting articles about technology, science, and health which are both informative and practical. At the same time, you will improve your reading comprehension by reading these articles.

Other excellent science magazines include Science, Discover, and National Geographic

Click to rate this post!

Reading Practice Test 74 from The Collection of TOEFL Reading Comprehension

By Wiki Study in Reading 5 Comments
TOEFL ibt reading practice test 74 from wiki-study.com

TOEFL IBT Reading Practice Test 74 from The Collection of TOEFL Reading Comprehension

*Note: If you need the answer key for this test, please comment your email below. Therefore, we can send it for you immediately!!

Reading Directions: This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English.

The Reading section is divided into separately timed parts.

Most questions are worth 1 point, but the last question for each passage is worth more than 1 point. The directions for the last question indicate how many points you may receive. You will now begin the Reading section. There are three passages in the section. You should allow 20 minutes to read each passage and answer the questions about it. You should allow 60 minutes to complete the entire section.

Passage 1: 

In general, as soon as the newborn child’s muscles, sense organs, and nerves are fully formed, the child begins to use them. But much of the human nervous system is not fully developed until the child is a year or two old, and some parts, such as the corpus callosum, continue to mature for at least the next 20 years.

The general pattern of bodily development is from head to foot. Simple skills, such as head movements, appear first because the structures that control these skills are among the first to mature. More complex behavior patterns, such as crawling, standing, and walking, come much later in the developmental sequence than head movements do.

The motor centers in the brain are connected by long nerve fibers(usually through one or more synapses) to the muscles in various parts of the body. Since the head muscles are closer to the brain than are the foot muscles, according to one theory, the head comes under the control of the motor centers long before the feet do. The appearance of a new motor skill (such as crawling and grasping) always suggests that a new part of the child’s body has just matured-that is, that the brain centers have just begun to control the muscles involved in the new motor skill.

1. What is the author’s main purpose in this passage?

(A) To describe how children crawl, stand, and walk
(B) To explain why some children are slow to develop
(C) To describe early physical development in children
(D) To explain the function of the corpus callosum

2. According to the passage, the corpus callosum is part of the human

(A) muscular system

(B) digestive system

(C) circulatory system

(D) nervous system

3. According to the passage, which of the following motor skills does an infant first develop?

(A) Moving the head

(B) Crawling

(C) Controlling the arms

(D) Kicking

4. According to the passage, we can tell that the child’s brain centers have begun to control new muscles when

(A) the child’s brain matures

(B) the child moves its body in new ways

(C) long nerve fibers disappear

(D) the child performs an acquired skill more rapidly

Passage 2: 

By long-standing convention, all meteorites are assigned to three broad divisions on the basis of two kinds of material that they contain: metallic nickel – iron(metal) and silicates, which are compounds of other chemical elements with silicon and oxygen. As their name suggests, the iron meteorites consist almost entirely of metal. At the opposite extreme, the stony meteorites consist chiefly of silicates and contain little or no metal. A third category, stony-irons, includes those meteorites that contain similar amounts of metal and silicates. Since meteoritic metal weighs more than twice as much as the same volume of meteoritic silicates, these three kinds of meteorites can usually be distinguished by density, without more elaborate tests.

The stony meteorites can also be subdivided into two categories by using nothing more complicated than a magnifying glass. The great majority of such meteorites are chondrites, which take their name from tiny, rounded objects – chondrules – that occur in most of them and are among their most puzzling features. The rest of the stony meteorites lack chondritic texture and are therefore called achondrites. Achondrites vary widely in texture, composition, and history.

Irons, stony-irons, chondrites, and achondrites are by no means equally abundant among observed meteorites: chondrites are much more common than all other kinds of meteorites put together. The irons, which are usually prominent in museum displays, are really quite uncommon. Curators like to highlight iron meteorites because many of them are large and their internal structure is spectacular in polished, etched slices. A stony meteorite has a beauty of its own, but it only appears under the microscope: to the unaided eye, stony meteorites appear to be – indeed they are – rather homely black or gray rocks.

To go further with meteorite classification, it is necessary to be more specific about the minerals that make up a meteorite: which silicates are present, and what kind of metal? To answer these questions, one needs to see more detail than is visible to the unaided human eye.

5. What is the passage mainly about?

(A) The formation of meteorites                             (B) Some recent meteorites

(C) The classification of meteorites                        (D) How meteorites are displayed

 

6. The word “elaborate” in line 9 is closest in meaning to which of the following.

(A) Natural                      (B) Detailed                    (C) Basic                        (D) Proven

 

7. According to the passage, small, rounded objects can be found in what kind of meteorites?

(A) Irons                         (B) Chondrites                (C) Stony-irons               (D) Achondrites

 

8. According to the passage, the spectacular meteorites usually found in museums are

(A) gray or black                                                   (B) generally small

(C) unimportant to science                                    (D) fairly uncommon

 

9. The word it” in line 21 refers to

(A) beauty                      (B) meteorite                  (C) microscope               (D) eye

 

10. Where in the passage does the author suggest a means by which meteorites can be differentiated?

(A) Lines 3-4                   (B) Lines 7-9                  (C) Lines 18 – 19            (D) Lines 20-22

Passage 3: 

National parties in the United States have generally been weak in structure and wary of ideology. Many writers have said that American parties are the least centralized in the world. However, the argument that parties have not represented significant differences in policy can be pushed too far. For example, in this century, at least, the Republicans have been more committed than the Democrats to a market – oriented economy, while the Democrats have been more prepared to use government to address economic problems. Within both parties there has been wide variance on issues but in general the Republicans have been the more conservative and the Democrats the more liberal.

Both parties, however, have resisted reducing these tendencies in their social, economic, and moral belief systems to a rigid ideology. And neither, until recently, vested much authority in its national party structure.

At state and local levels, on the other hand, party organizations often achieved impressive levels of solidarity and internal discipline. Both Democrats and Republicans maintained potent local political organizations in many cities and states.

Whatever their merits or demerits, the traditional organizations went into steep decline during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Old organizations lost the ability to maintain internal discipline The share of voters regarding themselves as political independents, that is, people not affiliated with either of the major parties, rose.

There were several reasons for the loss of effectiveness of the major party organizations. Development of a welfare state administered by the federal government established some of the services that had formerly been dispensed by the organizations as political favors. As recent immigrants became more educated they were less dependent on party workers. The inclusion of more state employees under civil service protection dried up some of the old wells of patronage. Growing unionization of public employees after 1960 struck an even more serious blow at the patronage system. Television brought candidates into voters’ living rooms, thereby antiquating some of the communication and education functions of party workers. Most of all, perhaps, the old tribal differences associated with the parties began to seem irrelevant to members of generations that sought fresh identities.

11. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) American political parties in the twentieth century
(B) The role of ideology in American politics
(C) The future direction of United States politics
(D) Differences between Republicans and Democrats

12. According to the passage, what is true of the major political parties in the United States?
(A) They are both generally conservative
(B) Party organizations have been stronger at the state level than at the national level
(C) Party organizations have increased their influence in recent years
(D) Democrats have been stronger than Republicans at the national level

13. The word “steep” in line 15 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) characteristic
(B) unexpected
(C) sharp
(D) predictable

14. The passage mentions all of the following as causes of the decline of political organization in the United States EXCEPT
(A) increased numbers of immigrants
(B) development of the welfare state
(C) improved conditions for state workers
(D) the influence of television

15. The passage supports which of the following conclusions?
(A) Democrats are more committed than Republicans to a market – oriented economy
(B) Republicans are more liberal than Democrats
(C) Republicans and Democrats tend to be flexible on ideological questions
(D) Only Democrats have traditional political organizations

16. The word “irrelevant” in line 28 is closest in meaning to

(A) unquestioning                                                 (B) uninteresting

(C) irreversible                                                      (D) unimportant

Answer Keys here

Click to rate this post!

TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019 by Kaplan Test Prep

By Wiki Study in TOEFL Books 2 Comments
TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019: 4 Practice Tests

TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019: 4 Practice Tests + Proven Strategies + Online + Audio (Kaplan Test Prep)

Kaplan’s TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019 provides the most important language skills and strategies you need to succeed on the test, which is required worldwide for international students who want to study abroad. Master your English abilities in reading, writing, listening, and speaking so you can face the TOEFL with confidence.

Kaplan is so certain that TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019 offers all the guidance you need to excel at the TOEFL that we guarantee it: After studying with the online resources and book, you’ll score higher on the TOEFL—or you’ll get your money back.

With TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019 you can study on-the-go. Log in from anywhere to watch video lessons, listen to audio, and take practice tests that are optimized for your mobile device.

TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019: 4 Practice Tests

TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019: 4 Practice Tests

The Most Practice

Four full-length online practice tests with detailed answers and explanations
More than 450 practice questions to help you get comfortable with the test
Focused practice for each section of the test helps you reinforce critical concepts
More than 95 minutes of audio for Listening, Speaking, and Writing sections included on CD and online, plus complete transcripts in the book
Exclusive score-raising tips and strategies for each language skill: Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking

Expert Guidance

More than 12 self-paced video lessons provide expert strategies for every section of the test
Effective study tips and advice from Kaplan’s test experts
Kaplan’s expert psychometricians ensure our practice questions and study materials are true to the test.
We invented test prep—Kaplan (www.kaptest.com) has been helping students for almost 80 years. Our proven strategies have helped legions of students achieve their dreams.
The previous edition of this book was titled Kaplan TOEFL iBT Premier 2016-2017 with 4 Practice Tests.

About the Author

Kaplan Test Prep is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses worldwide. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings, a complete array of print books and digital products, and a global network of certified providers, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including test prep for English language exams such as the IELTS, TOEFL, and TOEIC as well as for entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, and professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. For Kaplan Test Prep’s global offerings, go to www.kaptestglobal.com.

Now you can get TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2018-2019 (PDF): 4 Practice Tests + Proven Strategies + Online + Audio (Kaplan Test Prep)

Sign up to Download Download for Free  Get it on Amazon 

Click to rate this post!

Reading Practice Test 73 from The Collection of TOEFL Reading Comprehension

By Wiki Study in Reading 0 Comment
TOEFL ibt Reading Practice test 73 from wiki-study.com

TOEFL IBT Reading Practice Test 73 from The Collection of TOEFL Reading Comprehension

*Note: If you need the answer key for this test, please comment your email below. Therefore, we can send it for you immediately!!

Reading Directions: This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English.

The Reading section is divided into separately timed parts.

Most questions are worth 1 point, but the last question for each passage is worth more than 1 point. The directions for the last question indicate how many points you may receive. You will now begin the Reading section. There are three passages in the section. You should allow 20 minutes to read each passage and answer the questions about it. You should allow 60 minutes to complete the entire section.

Passage 1: 

The concept of obtaining fresh water from icebergs that are towed to populated areas and aired regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food.

Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that have been overlooked until recently Three – quarters of the Earth’s fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain ah the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7, 659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica.

Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes rather they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. To corral them and steer them to parts of the world where they are needed would not be too difficult.

The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water.

1. What is the main topic of the passage?

(A) The movement of glaciers

(B) Icebergs as a source of fresh water

(C) Future water shortages

(D) The future of the world’s rivers

2. The word “it” in line 3 refers to

(A) an iceberg that is towed

(B) obtaining fresh water from icebergs

(C) the population of arid areas

(D) real life

3. According to the author, most of the world’s fresh water is to be found in

(A) oceans

(B) rivers

(C) glaciers

(D) reservoirs

4. How are icebergs formed?

(A) They break off from glaciers

(B) Seawater freezes

(C) Rivers freeze

(D) Small pieces of floating ice converge

5. With which of the following ideas would the author be likely to agree?

(A) Towing icebergs to dry areas is economically possible
(B) Desalination of water is the best way to obtain drinking water
(C) Using water from icebergs is a very short -term solution to water shortages
(D) Icebergs could not be towed very far before they would melt

6. It can be inferred from the passage that most icebergs

(A) become part of glaciers
(B) drift toward the polar region
(C) move in whichever direction the wind is blowing
(D) melt in the oceans

Passage 2: 

Since there is such an abundance of food in the sea, it is understandable that some the efficient, highly adaptable, warm – blooded mammals that evolved on land should have returned to the sea. Those that did have flourished Within about 50 million years – no time at all, geologically speaking – one of the four kinds of mammals that has returned to a marine environment has developed into the largest of all animal forms, the whale. A second kind, the seal, has produced what is probably the greatest population of large carnivorous mammals on Earth. This suggests that these “top dogs” of the ocean are prospering and multiplying. However, such has not been the case, at least not for the last 150 years. Trouble has closed in or these mammals in the form of equally warm-blooded and even more efficient and adaptable predators, humans. At sea, as on land, humans have now positioned themselves on to -of the whole great pyramid of life, and they have caused serious problems for the mammals of the sea.

There is a simple reason for this. Marine mammals have the misfortune to be swimming aggregates of commodities that humans want: fur, oil, and meat. Even so, they might not be so vulnerable to human depredation if they did not, like humans, reproduce so slowly. Every year humans take more than 50 million tons of fish from the oceans without critically depleting the population of any species. But the slow-breeding mammals of the sea have been all but wiped out by humans seeking to satisfy their wants and whims.

7. Which of the following statements about marine mammals best expresses the main idea of the passage

(A) They have their origins on land.
(B) They have evolved successfully but are now threatened by humans.
(C) They compete with one another for the ocean’s food supply.
(D) They have many of the biological traits of humans.

8. What advantage did some land mammals gain by returning to the sea?

(A) Fewer predators exist in the sea.

(B) More space is available in the sea.

(C) There is a greater supply of food in the sea.
(D) The climate is more hospitable in the sea.

9. It can be inferred from the passage that during the last 150 years humans have

(A) constructed submarines
(B) learned how to swim
(C) threatened the existence of some marine mammals
(D) begun to harvest certain plants from the ocean as food

10. In line 14 the word “they” refers to

(A) marine mammals

(B) commodities

(C) humans

(D) fur. oil. and meat

11. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

(A) The whale’s ancestors were driven into the sea by humans.
(B) The food supply of seals is being depleted by humans
(C) The whale evolved from a species of land – dwelling mammal.
(D) Whales are a more efficient and adapt-able species than humans.

12. It can be inferred from the passage that marine mammals are like humans in which of the following ways”.

(A) They survive despite changes in their metabolic rates.
(B) They reproduce slowly.
(C) They are prospering and multiplying.
(D) They are depleting the vegetation of the seas.

Passage 3: 

Of all the folk artists in the United States the most well known of the twentieth century is certainly Grandma Moses-Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860 – 1961). She was also the most successful within her lifetime and her work was reproduced on greeting cards and calendars and in prints. As with many folk artists, her career as a painter started late in life, at the age of 67, but she continued painting until her death at the age of 101, so her active painting life still spanned over 34 years.

Her subjects are based on the New England countryside and evoke a strong mood of nostalgia. Many of her early paintings are copies of, or use sections from, prints by Currier and Ives that she then recomposed in her own way. In her versions the figures became more stylized and the landscapes less naturalistic. Her painting was preceded by the production of landscapes in needlework, and it was only the onset of arthritis that forced the change of medium. The images, however, continued the same, and she reexecuted some of her needlework landscapes in paint at a later date.

From these early sources she then began to compose original paintings such as Housick Falls. New York in Winter (1944) that relied on her surroundings and her memories of country life and activities: these paintings display an ~ technical ability By the 1940’s her work had become a marketable commodity and collectors created a demand for her paintings.

Like many painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Grandma Moses made use of photographs for information, for figures, for fragments of landscape, and for buildings, but her work, especially that of her later years, was not a slavish copying of these but compositions using them as source material. Her output was prodigious, and consequently her work is of varying quality. Although much of her public appeal is based on the emotive image of the “Grandma” figure producing naive pictures of country life, her paintings place her among the top folk painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

13. What is the main topic of the passage?

(A) The painting materials used by Grandma Moses
(B) The major artistic influences on Grandma Moses
(C) The folk art of Grandma Moses
(D) The life of Grandma Moses

14. According to the passage, Grandma Moses started her painting career

(A) without much success

(B) in her sixties

(C) after much study

(D) by producing greeting cards

15. Why does the author mention Currier and Ives in lines 8-9?

(A) They are folk artists
(B) They collected many of Grandma Moses’ paintings
(C) They made calendars from Grandma Moses’ landscapes
(D) Grandma Moses based some paintings on their work

16. According to the passage, Grandma Moses switched from needlework to painting because of

(A) her desire to create landscapes

(B) the public’s interest in painting

(C) her need to make money

(D) a physic condition that affected her

17. The word “naive” in line 23 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

(A) Unsophisticated

(B) Ignorant

(C) Unspoiled

(D) Trusting

18. According to the passage, Grandma Moses based her painting on all of the following EXCEPT

(A) photographs

(B) her needlework

(C) her family

(D) prints

19. Where in the passage does the author mention when Grandma Moses became popularly accepted?

(A) Lines 4 – 6

(B) Lines 10 – 12

(C) Lines 16 – 17

(D) Lines 21 – 24

Answer Keys Here

Click to rate this post!

5 Best TOEFL Books to Boost Your Score Considerably 2018

By Wiki Study in TOEFL Books 0 Comment
5 Best TOEFL Books to Boost Your Score Considerably 2018

Do you want to waste your precious money by buying unhelpful books? Since there are literally dozens and dozens of books, it is hard to determine which are the best TOEFL books in the market. To help you choose the best TOEFL books, I will recommend some to boost your scores significantly.

These books have helpful instructions for each section of the test and also includes TOEFL practice tests so you can be ready for the actual test. I have broken down this article into two types of books: books for test preparation and books for TOEFL practice tests. I hope that you will find each breakdown to be helpful as you prepare for this test.

 

Two Types of TOEFL Books

Books for Test Preparation

These books are excellent at teaching different strategies to solve different types of questions. They will explain in-depth of how to solve the questions effectively to guarantee a good TOEFL score. However, their TOEFL practice tests are either too difficult or too easy compared to the actual test.

Books for Practice Tests

These books provide excellent TOEFL practice tests that accurately portray the actual difficulty of the test. The practice books that I will be recommending contains only the authentic practice tests that were previously used as actual tests. However, these books contain little to no explanation on how to solve different types of questions.

I recommend buying at least one strategy book and one practice test book. If you have more money to spend, I recommend buying more practice test books rather than buying more test preparation books so you can solve more authentic practice questions and boost your score. If you buy at least one test preparation book and one practice test book, you will learn strategies from the strategy book and practice your strategies on authentic practice questions.

 

Best TOEFL Books

This are the recommended TOEFL books to help in your test preparation. As I stated earlier, you should buy at least one test preparation book and one TOEFL practice test books to get a good score.

Books for Test Preparation

  1. Barron’s TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM and MP3 audio CDs, 15th Edition
  2. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test Book with Online Practice Tests

Books for TOEFL Practice Tests

  1. Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 1, 2nd Edition
  2. Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 2
  3. Official Guide to the TOEFL Test With CD-ROM, 4th Edition

 

Best TOEFL Books for Test Preparation

1. Barron’s TOEFL iBT with CD-ROM and MP3 audio CDs, 15th Edition

Barron's TOEFL iBT 15th Edition by Pamela J. Sharpe Ph.D.

Barron’s TOEFL iBT 15th Edition by Pamela J. Sharpe Ph.D.

I highly recommend Barron’s TOEFL book because of the following reasons:

  1. The 150-page strategy guide is very comprehensive.
  2. It contains many practice materials to solidify your test-taking skills.
  3. The audio CDs contains every recording for listening practice questions.
  4. The CD-ROM contains eight practice tests which simulates the actual test taking conditions.
  5. At the back of the book, there are comprehensive explanations for each question on the model tests. This 150-page explanation is very detailed, and you will recognize your weaknesses and strengthen them by using this book.
  6. The cost of this book is inexpensive compared to other TOEFL preparation books.

Barron’s book is one of the best TOEFL books for test preparation. To help you to determine if Barron’s book is right for you, I will breakdown each section of this book.

A. Introduction

This book begins with frequently asked questions about the test, general test-taking tips and advice, how to use this book, and study habits to prepare for TOEFL. These are very informative for new test takers to know what to expect on the test day which will make them confident on the actual test.

 

B. Detailed breakdown of each section and specific strategies for each section

This book does a wonderful job of listing every possible type of questions in each section and checklists that you should follow for each type of questions. For example, the reading section has fourteen possible types of questions such as interference, classification, and insert; the listening section has ten possible types of questions such as purpose, main idea, and connection; the speaking section has six different types of questions such as experiences, preferences, and examples; the writing section has two different types of questions which are synthesis of opposing ideas in integrated essay question and opinion in independent essay.

Not only does the book list every single possible types of questions that could appear on the test, the book gives specific detailed checklists for each possible type of questions. For example, there are about twelve items on checklists for each types of questions. Also, the book lists the point value and the frequency that a certain type of question appears on the TOEFL test.

After the strategy guide, the book enforces those strategies and checklist through many practice problems. The detailed explanation at the back is really helpful because you will know which types of questions are your weaknesses and focus on those weaknesses to strengthen them.

 

C. Academic Section

After Barron’s book has gone over specific strategies for specific sections, it has a section called Academic skills that apply to all four sections.

Campus Vocabulary

Campus vocabulary is a list of approximately 200 academic vocabularies that are frequently used in TOEFL. It includes the word’s definitions, example sentences, and the grammatical use in the sentence. There is also an interactive program which includes all the campus vocabulary in this book. If you are interested in this free program, visit this site.

Taking Notes

The Barron’s book has excellent guides about taking notes and exercises to practice this skill. These excellent strategies teach students to properly take notes such as dividing the paper into columns, separating content into major and minor points, noticing key words and phrases, and using abbreviations and symbols for faster note-taking. Also, the comprehensive lists of keywords, key phrases, abbreviations, and symbols are very helpful.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is rewriting the idea into your own words. This skill is important in all four sections because those sections contain questions about paraphrasing. Skills such as substituting synonyms, using different grammatical structures, and using key phrases help you to improve your paraphrasing skills greatly. After the guide, it has many practice questions to reinforce this skill.

Summarizing

Summarizing is using your own words to shorten an idea into few words. Summarizing is like paraphrasing but using fewer words than paraphrasing. Barron’s book teaches many summarizing skills such as condensing the ideas, combining sentences using clauses of addition, result, contrast, and reversal and identifying the main points. After the guide, it contains questions to strengthen your skills.

Synthesizing

Synthesizing is combining two ideas into one which is important for integrated speaking and writing tasks. This book gives useful advice on synthesizing such as recognizing keywords and phrases that denote relationships and step-by-step guide to reading and writing synthesis tasks.

 

D. 8 TOEFL Practice Tests

Barron’s book contains 7 practice tests and 1 extra test on the CD-ROM which is a total of 8 practice tests. The CD-ROM simulates the all 8 practice tests accurately like the actual tests. Also, in the back, there are two audio CDs for skill-building exercises for each sections.

The test questions in the Barron’s book does not accurately reflect the difficulty of the real TOEFL test. Barron’s questions are little harder than the real TOEFL test which could be beneficial because the actual test will seem easier than the questions in Barron’s. So, do not be discouraged if you miss more questions than you normally would. For books that contain questions with same difficulty as the actual tests, keep on reading!

 

E. Explanation

One aspect that I absolutely adore in the Barron’s Test is the detailed answer explanations of every question in every practice test. The explanation section itself is over 150 pages long! This section contains very detailed explanation of the reason behind each answer. For example, it will state that a certain answer is right because of this specific phrase. Also, it contains sample answers and checklists for every speaking and writing section so you can check your answer. The detailed explanation will help students to recognize their weakness and to strengthen their weakness through constant practice.

 

F. Conclusion

The Barron’s book is extremely helpful because of the thorough strategy guides for each section and the detailed explanation on the back. Although Barron’s book has its flaw of not reflecting the actual difficulty of the test, you will be much more prepared for the actual tests.

Barron’s book should be your first-choice strategy guide because of its thoroughness and its low cost. This book costs around 25 dollars on Amazon which is very cheap compared to other strategy books on the market. 

Free Download this Book at Here: Download this Book

2. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test Book with Online Practice Tests

Cambridge-Preparation-for-the-TOEFL-Test-Book-

Cambridge University Press is the leading publisher on TOEFL preparation books. This book is the best preparation book on the market (Barron’s close second) because it thoroughly reviews all four sections. It contains many practice skills found in Barron’s and even more.

This book is especially excellent for students who struggle in the writing section. It covers the not only the basics such as developing full paragraph essay and recognizing the main points but also the specifics such as including the specific examples from the text.

There are seven online tests included in this book. The practice tests are the most accurate representation of the test format, not the difficulty of the test. In listening sections, other programs start the clock whenever you start to listen, but on the actual test and in Cambridge, the clock starts running when you started to answer the questions. The Cambridge online tests are the most accurate representation of the test format of the TOEFL and also give your score after each practice tests.

Although the test format itself is the most accurate, the test difficulty and the practice materials are harder than the actual test just like Barron’s. So, don’t be harsh on yourself whenever you have scored lower than your average score.

The detrimental flaw of this book is the high cost. There are two versions of this book: book without audio CDs and book with audio CDs. The book without audio CDs costs around 50 dollars, and the book with CDs costs around 80 dollars. Without the audio CDs, you won’t be able to use half of the skill-building exercises, so the audio CDs are essential to buy. Compared to the cost of Barron’s book which comes with audio CDs, it is extremely expensive.

This book is for students who are aiming to receive 100+ on your TOEFL. If you are not aiming for above 100, then don’t waste money buying this expensive book. Also, if you don’t want to spend much money on practice books, the Barron’s book is an excellent substitute of this book for students who are aiming above 100. However, if you do have the money and willing to spend it, this book is an excellent choice.

Free Download this Book at Here: Download this Book

Best TOEFL Books for TOEFL Practice Tests

The only books that I recommend for TOEFL practice tests are the books from ETS, the company that administers the actual tests. Other companies produce many practice tests, but they are poorly-made, too-easy, or too-difficult. Also, some of those tests have critical errors such as two possible answers to a question. The most authentic practice materials are from ETS which makes the tests and therefore have zero errors. ETS currently offers 13 official tests that were previously administered available for students to purchase. I recommend only these books that contains authentic questions for practice tests.

 

1. Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 1, 2nd Edition

Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 1

Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 1

This book contains five TOEFL practice tests that were previously administered. This book also contains an interactive CD-ROM which is very similar to the real internet test. This is highly recommended for you to get a high score.

Also, the price is relatively inexpensive compared to other books. 

Free Download this Book at Here: Download this Book

2. Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 2

Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 2

Official TOEFL iBT® Tests Volume 2

This book also contains five latest TOEFL practice tests that ETS administered. Like the Volume 1 of the iBT Tests, this book also comes with an interactive CD-ROM which is similar to the real test. 

Free Download this Book at Here: Download this Book

Each of these books contains five complete past TOEFL exams. The TOEFL iBT books are the best to use for practice TOEFLs because they are written by the same people who make the TOEFL and the practice tests included are all retired real TOEFL exams. Like the Official Guide to the TOEFL Test, this means that you can be sure that the practice tests will be very similar in format, style, and content to the actual TOEFL which some unofficial practice tests don’t always succeed in.

Each TOEFL iBT book includes a DVD-ROM so you can take the practice tests either on paper or on the computer. This means you can take practice tests in the same format you’ll take the real TOEFL in. In addition to high-quality practice tests, these TOEFL preparation books also include in-depth answer explanations so you can understand why a particular answer is correct.

Pros:
  • The only prep books with official practice tests (other than the Official Guide to the TOEFL).
  • Option to take the tests either with paper and pencil or on the computer.
  • Clear, easy to understand explanations.
  • The computer versions of the test have a format very similar to the actual iBT TOEFL, so you can get used to how the test will look before exam day.
Cons:
  • These books primarily focus on practice tests and answers and don’t include a lot of strategies or tips for answering questions. If you’re looking for this information, you’ll likely have to purchase another book in addition to these.
  • No sample responses for the Writing or Speaking sections are included.

 

3. Official Guide to the TOEFL Test With CD-ROM, 4th Edition

Official Guide To The TOEFL Test 4 Edition

Official Guide To The TOEFL Test 4 Edition

This book contains three authentic practice tests that were previously administered. Although it has strategies in the beginning, this guide is extremely inferior to the strategy guides in Barron’s or Cambridge. However, it contains interactive CD-ROM to help you familiarize yourself with the real test-taking conditions.

Conclusion

These three books have a total of 13 different authentic tests that were administered previously. 13 tests will be enough to practice the strategies that you have learned using the strategy books.

As I have noted earlier, these books for practice tests contains little or no strategies but is useful for authentic practice tests only. For strategy guides, use Barron’s or Cambridge book.

In another article, I have compiled a list of six free materials for the TOEFL, and you can find it here.

Free Download this Book at Here: Download this Book

 

 

Notice: Now have the latest version of Official Guide to the TOEFl Test – Fifth Edition, You can download free at below link here: The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test with DVD-ROM, Fifth Edition

 

Click to rate this post!