SO YOU’RE PULLING YOUR HAIR OUT. Is the TOEFL getting more difficult? Probably. I call this phenomenon ‘prompt creep’. It’s the gradual addition of words to what should be a simple prompt. TOEFL Resources has a great post on this – and some great free ideas about how to deal with it. Some students (and … The post Is your TOEFL Prep Optimized for 2019? appeared first on Study With It ..read more

Let's discuss some approaches that will help speed up your rate of comprehension on the TOEFL without costing you accuracy. The post TOEFL: Accuracy vs Speed appeared first on Study With It ..read more

IN THE 2 INDEPENDENT QUESTIONS, YOU NEED TO THINK QUICKLY AND RESPOND CLEARLY. You only have 15s to prepare. Then, you have 45s to answer. Chunk it out Think of this task like this: you have 4 x 15s chunks of time – 15s to plan & 45s to deliver. Here’s a sample prompt: Think of … The post 15-second Speaking chunks appeared first on Study With It ..read more

“DELIVERY” IS A KEY PART OF YOUR TOEFL SPEAKING SCORE Totally panicked about TOEFL Speaking prep? It’s a common feeling! Let’s zoom in on 3 things you can do on one of the most stress-inducing sections (come on, isn’t it the MOST stress inducing section?) Before we get into how you can build awesome speaking … The post 3 Free Ways to Improve your TOEFL Speaking Delivery appeared first on Study With It ..read more

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO APPROACH YOUR TOEFL PREP 1. Do nothing. Walk into the exam room and just “roll with it”. If your English is pretty good, you might actually be surprised at the result, especially if you have some prior experience with standardized exams. Downside: potential waste of time (4 hours) and money … The post How do you Approach TOEFL Prep? appeared first on Study With It ..read more

THE COUNTERARGUMENT  In TOEFL writing, it’s a great idea to use a counterargument. A counterargument is when you a) acknowledge the other side of an argument and b) refute it. Let’s say I’m taking a position on an issue – public transportation vs car ownership. One of my claims is that public transportation is better for … The post TOEFL Writing – How to Use a Counterargument appeared first on Study With It ..read more

BREAKTHROUGH YOUR LISTENING PROBLEMS A great way to understand TOEFL Listening conversations, like anything complex, is to break it down into smaller parts. And we can do that with TOEFL conversations. In fact, it’s a thing – it’s called ‘discourse analysis’.  That’s when interactions between people can be analyzed. We can do some analysis of … The post TOEFL Test Designers Have a Secret appeared first on Study With It ..read more

WHY IS THE US VISA PROCESS SO UNPREDICTABLE? My Chinese student, who goes by Alex, WeChatted me the bad news from his home in Beijing. Alan had just applied for – and failed – his first American Student Visa interview. For Alan, student life at UMass Boston would have to wait. Is TOEFL training the … The post No TOEFL Score, No US Visa, No Thanks appeared first on Study With It ..read more

THIS POST IS FOR SERIOUS NERDS ONLY In helping students prepare for the TOEFL, I’ve been playing around with a great vocabulary game at www.freerice.com, which has a very lofty and worthwhile goal. Welcome to  TOEFL Training blog. TOEFL vocabulary lists abound – I have used a great one in Clear Strategies & Tactics that has … The post How to Build TOEFL Vocab Skills…and Feed the World? appeared first on Study With It ..read more

FOCUS YOUR MIND Attendance in TOEFL training classes is a requirement in many EFL education programs. I know. I’ve taught hundreds of them. Teachers take roll calls to determine who is ‘present’, and thus, who is ‘absent’. “Juliet?” a teacher will call out. “Here!” Juliet will reply, and a tick is placed next to her name. … The post Are You ‘Here’ or ‘Present’? appeared first on Study With It ..read more