How to Prepare for TOEFL College Admission Test

If English is not your native language and you want to attend a university in the USA, you should take the English language efficiency exam known as TOEFL.  It is offered in 4,500 test centers in 165 countries, including at several locations here in NYC and the Tri-State area.

TOEFL is the most popular English proficiency exam accepted at universities, colleges and other professional institutions in North America, and for study abroad at English-language institutions.

TOEFL stands for English as Foreign Language. The test is owned and administered by ETS, the Educational Testing Service, and has been in use since 1964, to test the international students’ usage and understanding of American-style English as it is spoken, written and heard in college and university settings.

Simply, TOEFL is one of the best and most recognized tests for the purpose. 

You can – and should – prepare for it with a FREE sample practice test. Click here for a free download . 

Why you should take TOEFL test

• It helps you join a university of your choice.
• It prepares you for other standardized tests you may take in the future.
• It helps you find out how well you can learn in the English language.
• It helps you know your level of English language.

Why TOEFL test is so popular

• It is one of the major English language tests in the world, recognized by most universities.
• The scoring of TOEFL test is fair.

What TOEFL test includes

This test is divided into four sections, with a mandatory 10 minute break after the first two. 

Reading

• This section is made up of 3-4 passages, on academic topics.
• There are 36-56 questions, to be completed in 60-80 minutes.
• Read them thoroughly to answer the related questions.
• In the internet-based test, you may find questions that require you to fill out tables or complete some summaries.
• To succeed in this section, you need to be well versed in such rhetorical functions as argumentation, causation, comparison and opposition.

Listening

• This section consists of audio fragments which are student conversations or academic lectures.
• There are 34-51 questions, to be completed in 60-90 minutes.
• For each fragment, there will be related questions.
• You get to listen to each fragment only once, but you are allowed to take notes while listening and refer to these notes later as you answer the questions.

Speaking

• This section consists of six tasks, some of which are independent and some connected to the exam content.
• The independent tasks test your ability to speak spontaneously and express your opinion.
• The integrated sections focus on your ability to convey information through reading and listening to specific material.
• The Speaking section has 6 tasks, to be completed in 20 minutes.

• There are two tasks in this section, one integrated and one independent.
• The integrated task requires you to listen to a speaker and write a summary on important points.
• In the independent task, you are required to write an essay on a given opinion.
• The writing section has two tasks, to be completed in 50 minutes.

Tips for passing TOEFL test

Review the exam objectives

• Study what the exam contains. This will help you know what you are preparing for.
• After reviewing the exam objectives, you will have a list of topics to work on to better understand and manage how much time you need to allocate for study.

Prepare a study plan

• A good study plan is necessary.
• If you follow your study plan strictly, you will have enough time to grasp all the required information and even leave a couple of days for revision before the test. In most cases,
• TOEFL test takes place three to six months after you register. During this period, you should allocate two to three hours of study each day in order to pass it and score well.

Practice

• Another helpful way to pass TOEFL test is to take practice tests.
• Besides helping familiarize yourself with the exam structure, practice tests also help identify your weak areas, so you can work on them more before the actual test.
• Take the practice tests several times, being sure to take time analyzing each question you answered incorrectly, to improve before the actual test.
• You can get practice tests from the internet at a fee, but you can also find free ones. The best sites for quality practice tests are ExamSnap, PrepAway and Exam-Labs.

Take a course

• A course helps you understand exam topics better, including effective strategies to use in tackling your test questions.
• There are many TOEFL training courses available online and offline that can help you prepare.

Use high-quality official resources

• ETS quickprep resources
• ETS sampletestquestions
• TOEFL sample questions – a free official resource
• ExamSnap TOEFL practice tests
• PrepAway TOEFL practice tests

Where to take TOEFL test in New York City

There are numerous locations NYC and the Tri-State area, including at ETS in the Empire State Building.

Click here for a list of TOEFL test locations.

Conclusion
Clearly, TOEFL test is one of the best English-language tests to consider if you are looking to join an international English-speaking university.

TOEFL helps you know your English language capabilities. With a good TOEFL score, you’ll also have a chance of joining a university program of your choice.

It’s also not a bad idea to take a practice test even if you are a native English speaker, and even if you are not planning to register for university, because it’s a great way to improve your language skills. You might even learn something.

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Written by Evelyn Kanter for Prepaway. 
This article by Evelyn Kanter published on www.nyconthecheap.com is fully protected by US (C) Copyright law.