TOEFL taking strategy

- TOEFL® iBT – Test-Taking Strategies -

Course Overview:

The TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is designed to measure the skills and to

evaluate the ability of an individual to use and understand Standard American English at a college level.

Many American and English-speaking colleges and universities require non-native speakers of English to

get a certain score on this test before they are admitted into their actual academic programs. The TOEFL®

is administered worldwide by Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Since 1964 the test has been taken by nearly 20 million students and gone through various

changes in the way it is administered. The most recent format is the TOEFL® iBT. For the first time, the

test includes a speaking section where the individual has to use his verbal skills to demonstrate his ability

to speak about a topic or respond to questions in English within a given time frame. Another major

change is that instead of the usual single essay in the last section of the test, the test taker now has to

present two.

At Prime Education Consulting, we have a carefully-developed program that will enable our

students to get the score they need. The 12-week 180-hour concentrated course will cover all four

sections of the new TOEFL® iBT, Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Throughout the course,

there will be diagnostic tests and numerous mini-tests to emphasize strengths and identify weaknesses.

Individuals are placed in small classes to get the most attention from our professional instructors and to

learn from each others’ experiences. Every section of the test will be supported by practice sessions on the

computer and followed by review exercises. At the end of the course, students will have gained the

necessary knowledge and confidence to apply their skills to the real test with much greater results.

Course Content:

Our main text book is Longman’s Preparation Course for the TOEFL® Test – Next Generation

iBT (with CD-ROM and Answer Key). Throughout the course, the students are presented with extra

grammar exercises to reinforce their reading, speaking, and writing skills.

Course Syllabus:

Session 1 (Weeks 1-4): Three of the four sections are going to be covered in the first session, Reading

Listening, and Speaking. These will be followed by Mini-Tests 1, 2, and 3, and the study of

Appendix C, Error Correction.

• Description of the TOEFL test-strategies, explanation of the scoring system, examination of the

material.

• Assessment of grammar knowledge, overview of necessary grammar points

• Reading: Pre-Test, Skills 1-4, Practice (Book and CD-ROM), Review

• Listening: Pre-Test, Skills 1, 2, Review

• Speaking: Pre-Test, Skills 1-4, Review

• Mini-Tests 1, 2, and 3 in Book and on CD-ROM, Review

• Appendix C, Error Correction

Session 2 (Weeks 5-8): In Session 2, all four sections of the test, Reading, Listening, Speaking, and

Writing, will be covered. These will be followed by Mini-Tests 4 and 5. This session will also

present the first of the two complete tests. Appendix A is going to focus on Cohesion in the flow

of sentences.

• Reading: Skills 5-8, Practice (Book and CD-ROM), Review

• Listening: Skills 3 and 4, Review

• Speaking: Skills 5-12, Review

• Writing: Pre-Test and Skills 1-7

• Mini-Tests 4 and 5 in Book and on CD-ROM, Review

• Complete Test 1

• Appendix A, Cohesion

Session 3 (Weeks 9-12): In Session 3, again all four sections of the test, Reading, Listening, Speaking,

and Writing, will be covered. These will be followed by Mini-Tests 6, 7, and 8. This session will

also present the second (last) complete test. Appendix B is going to focus on Sentence Structure.

• Reading: Skills 9 and 10, Post-Test (Book and CD-ROM), Review

• Listening: Skills 5 and 6, Post-Test, Review

• Speaking: Skills 13-18, Post-Test, Review

• Writing: Skills 8-14, Post-Test, Review

• Mini-Tests 6, 7, and 8 in Book and on CD-ROM, Review

• Complete Test 2

• Appendix B, Sentence Structure