T O E F L hints from Humberto's Workshop

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TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

TOEFL stands for test of English as a FOREIGN language.
It is a standardized exam, administered by ETS (educational testing services) that evaluates one’s knowledge of and ability to use English.




TOEFL is generally feared of, as if it was such a difficult test.
Actually, TOEFL can be “tricked” even if test – takers do not have such a high level of English, they can use some strategies in order to get a higher score.



We should try to train ourselves and our students with Authentic Materials

Speak Up magazine National Geographic History Channel CNN
Discovery channel






SECTION ONE
Listening comprehension






It contains three sections: A, B, C
There are specific strategies to be used in every section,
Part A:
Students complain it is too fast and too difficult, 10 seconds per question.


Second speaker
Train your students to work fast, and to pay more attention to the second speaker.


Sound alikes
Choose the different answer choice, the one using synonyms, paraphrasing,, or even same sound but different spelling and context.


Make students conscious about did and do in sentences:
So you DID go to the party!
These usually come with questions such as:
What had the man/woman originally assumed?
The answer will be something like: that he/she had not ….. Did not……


Common questions
Who is the man/woman?
Where is the conversation taking place?
What is the topic of the conversation?
What do/does the woman/man mean?




Negative vs Affirmative expressions:
TOEFL generally uses negative expressions in questions around 6 or 7, in order to confuse the test takers. In the test they will hear:

Nobody is better than her tell them to choose a paraphrasing such as:

She is the best
She beats anyone
She is the top one
All of the others are worse


Passive:
When students hear a passive voice, tell them to try and look for an active in the choices, if they hear an active, look for a passive in the choices.


Wish and if
Make students aware of this phrase used to mention unreal situations, so, they must look for desires in the choices
These kinds of structures come at number 27 or 26 of the first part of the test.


Expressions for agreement:
TOEFL NEVER USES: so do I, OR I do too. but other, more colloquial varieties, when the questions :

So am I so can I so do/does he/she me too
Isn’t it can’t it you can say that again neither do I
Me neither


Expressions for suggestions:
Why not what about let’s
These are generally answered with a choice containing should or shouldn’t

Expressions for Uncertainty:
As far as I know as far as I can tell I think

These are generally answered by:

He/she does not know/have and idea/can not tells;


Almost negative expressions:
Almost never hardly barely scarcely seldom

These are generally answered by: yes, remember these expressions are affirmative, not negative, and affirmative.


Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions:







SECTION ONE
Listening comprehension
Part B:






Read as you listen in order to find the chronological order questions come in, so you can know where to find the answer. also, in this section, the sound will generally be a repetition of whatever was said, sometimes a paraphrasing. Many times, by referring to specific information, so if we read as we listen, we can be able to know where we stand and make mental notes, even predict correct answers successfully. Also we can use the reading at the same time, to pre-answer the questions.

Sometimes, figures, numbers are used. Be aware of this fact, and pay attention to the numbers you can hear in the tape.

Part B and part C are generally related to university , teaching, learning, housing, student activities, spring breaking, classes, 101 courses, etc. this limited range of speakers and settings, is basic to be conscious of the context these questions will be in.

Choose the strangest answer, in case you get lost, if you are guessing, the most probable is you will get it right if you choose the most different , weird one.







SECTION TWO
Structure and Written expression












Easy practice: from a time, Newsweek, etc, and identify structures, patterns, etc.

Part A:
Structure

Ss complain this section is difficult, because, it it difficult to understand everything and the time is limited, for most students written expression is easier, so, it is advisable to let them start on question 16, and then go back to number 1 afterwards the time allotted for structure section is around 10 minutes, for written expression is around 15 minutes.


Structure is the most difficult section because it needs a lot of explaining to do but this can be simplified as:

1.-Subjects: who,. It’s the he or she, Lupe, the house, swimming, to smoke, Morella….

2.-verbs: what, it’s the action, does, is, cooks, reads
3.-complement: to whom/who

Ss need to remember this structure al the time, in order not to forget the basic structure of sentences for simple, and therefore, with practice, complex sentences.
They must eliminate the accessory parts of the sentences put there to confuse them and get them lost.

In TOEFL test, generally, in questions 6, 7,8 ,they attack on second clauses of complex sentences

Divorce factor
The parts of the sentence, are always separated by something, whether it
be an appositive, or a prepositional phrase:

Swimming in the summer is fun
Mary, the most stupid girl, tallest girl, always asleep in class, is my wife.


Gerunds and infinitives

To work worked working.

He is an interesting man
He is an interested man

Students must learn to eliminate accessory parts, that may distract them


Connectors:

Who whose whom which

Which is never for people, unless someone calls us “cosita”

Inverted word order
Questions 13, 14

Five cases:
I do not know what time is it fixated mistake with wh words
Never had I seen such a mess negative expression
Neither do I
You are taller than me but in a tests, there could be:
I
I am
Am I You jump higher than I

Were I you, I would kill myself conditional inversion
Identify the would, could, etc..

I f I had known this, I would not have come
Had I known this, …
Also remember conditionals, sometimes, have should, when or shall instead of the if








SECTION TWO
Structure and Written expression





Part B:
Written expression




Auxiliaries be and have, modals:
Have +verb in past participle

Be + verb ing
Verb in past participle
Modals + verb in simple form.


Passive voice:

Who does it? If we do not know, or he/she is not important, then it is a passive sentence
Imagine the sentences is put in front of a mirror, adding the verb to be and the by to introduce subjects. If they are necessary or desired
Also remember that the verb to be can be presented in many, many different tenses, auxiliaries, and combinations.


Intensifiers
so that , such, to, are very confusing for us, they modify an adjective.

Adjectives and adverbs:

Common endings for adjectives: Ous, ful, able, y, ish, ic, ical, ent,ing ly
Noun+ly = adjective

In a test, if three parts underlined have only one word, and one has two or more, it is generally mistaken with the word order for adjectives,

Common endings for adverbs: ly (not the only endings)
Adjective+ly=adverb

She is a dressed woman
She is a well dressed woman
She is an extremely well dressed woman

Adverbs never go before the object: I read normally the news at night



Indefinite articles

a/ an

It is a elastic material

Also, whenever you see an odd word underlined, try to find a less obvious mistake, such as these a/ an articles in the other answer choices,

The

Remember this article is generally used in official names, or unique subjects, also for superlatives.


Parallelism

Lists of more than two items, generally sue the same for, whether it be participles, gerunds, infinitives, nouns + adjectives. and so on.

She used to work as a seamstress, a teacher, and in a restaurant.

In these kinds of structures, the closest to the end of sentence option is the incorrect one.

These generally come in 5 or more questions.





SECTION THREE
Reading comprehension:





For this section it is important to realize that reading is not about reading at all but about looking of r specific and general information in a passage that contains it..

1.-Questions about general topic:
Read first, then second, then last sentences of passage, in order to know what the general topic is, as when scanning a book in sanborns while killing time

2.-Questions about continuity:
When asked what the preceding/following paragraph was about, answers will be found in the first or last sentences.

3.-Vocabulary questions

Context and appositives generally contain the definitions :

Mononucleosis, the fatal disease , is ….
Do not mother me!
When o word rings any bell in the answer choices for vocabulary, choose the strangest

4. - specific information questions

Stated:
Easy ones, just identify key words, and look for them in the paragraph


Not stated:
Not, except, try to find the key words, and eliminate the option that has none.

5. - Pronoun references:

Easy, just track down the pronouns, which always be third person, singular or plural.

6.-Where does the author mention….

Set limits, and stick to them while looking for information

7.-in which class, may we find this class:

READ, read, get cultural background, and try to look for general answers.

8. - purpose, of the article/author:

Describe, inform or warn (generally in paragraphs about ecology)

9. - what can we infer:

Leave these questions last, so that you have enough information to make educated guesses

10.-when time is running out:

Rush to quotation mark questions, reference, pronouns, etc, so that you can profit of the little remaining time.