Taking the TOEFL? Make sure you’re prepared!
Watch this introductory video, which focuses on the importance of vocabulary on the TOEFL exam.
Welcome back to part three in our series on TOEFL prep.
My name is Steve, and I am your personal, and professional,
American English consultant.
In this section I want to begin to discuss with you an important area
to focus your efforts on while preparing to take the TOEFL exam.
Now that you have a good grasp of how TEOFL is going to be asking you questions…
(See TOEFL video two for more information on that)
It is time to start studying for the test.
Studying for TOEFL is basically broken down into two main areas of focus:
vocabulary and grammar.
In this session we are going to focus on what I consider the most important area:
Vocabulary.
There is a pool of well over 5,000 vocabulary words from which you will be assessed on
the TOEFL exam.
Don’t let that number scare you!
They are not going to ask you all five thousand.
They will simply pick randomly from that pool of words and ask you multiple choice
questions about them.
You wouldn’t be taking the TOEFL if you didn’t already have a strong foundation in the
English language.
So I am confident you have a grasp on many of these words already!
But you do need to expand your current English vocabulary
in order to score well on the TOEFL exam.
The first thing you need to do is build yourself a vocabulary work-out plan.
This should be no less than three, count them, three –
2 hours sessions per week with an hour set aside for review every week as well.
Secondly, you need to get your hands on a good vocabulary database.
Hands down, Barron’s has the best list of vocabulary out there.
The Barron’s TOEFL study guide walks you through all of the aspects of the TOEFL test
and can be a very helpful tool.
However, I primarily recommend that Barron’s should be utilized mainly to expand your
vocabulary of commonly used words on the TOEFL exam.
Now everyone learns in a different way.
Some of you may find that flashcards work best.
While others may prefer audio recordings of the words repeated over and over.
Whatever your preferred method, it is important to have a firm grasp of nearly,
if not all, of the vocabulary words you can cram into your head.
A firm grasp of vocabulary will greatly increase your TOEFL scores across all the areas
of focus.
Whether reading, listening, or speaking,
you will be utilizing your newly memorized vocabulary in every aspect of every section.
This should be your primary focus in your preparation for taking the TOEFL exam.
There are many ways to prepare for the TOEFL exam.
How you budget your time for that preparation is perhaps more important that the content
you are studying.
If you have the most accurate, most complete vocabulary list available,
but only study it for an hour a week, it will not help you score well on the TOEFL exam.
This is where having an accountability partner comes in useful.
They are there to help you stay on schedule and keep your studies focused in the correct
areas.
I am available for personalized, one-on- one training, to prepare you for taking the
TOEFL exam.
Part of my job is to keep you focused; to motivate you to stay on schedule,
and to guide you to areas you need to focus on the most in your preparation
for taking the TOEFL exam.
Thanks for watching! And check out my other videos that will help you grow in your
grasp of the English language.
Remember: perfect practice makes perfect.
So keep practicing!
Did you know you can improve your English at home
with a private teacher via Skype?
Click here to start with a free trial lesson.