My Experience with TOEFL
by: Aslan NoorghasemiJan. 26, 2021
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL /ˈtoʊfəl/ TOH-fəl) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers. TOEFL is a trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private non-profit organization, which designs and administers the tests. ETS issues official score reports which are sent independently to institutions and are valid for two years following the test. (Wikipedia)
I took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam and scored 108/120 in total on Jan. 09, 2021. I chose AvaTalk Language Institution, located in Urmia, as my test center. It is about two hours away from my city, Tabriz.
My TOEFL scores:
- Reading: 28/30
- Listening: 29/30
- Speaking: 25/30
- Writing: 26/30
Total: 108/120
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It was my first TOEFL experience, but it was my 3rd attempt due to the exam cancelations, related to the Corona outbreak. ETS has announced the new home-based version of the exam. A few countries, including Iran, however, were excluded from the list. I attended the exam session under health protocols and we all wore masks during the test.
The whole experience was very informative and also relatively delightful for me. So, I would like to dedicate a blog post to share my ideas and experiences with this path.
Enhancing The Critical Thinking Skill
TOEFL engages the test taker's critical thinking ability in different sections. It's crucial because the way you use logic to analyze and reason in an answer will affect your results. The test has two aspects:
• expressing ideas
• digesting information
... and both of them benefit from critical thinking ability. While digesting any information during the test, it is important to understand why the writer/speaker is saying so, or using that specific phrase. One can benefit from "reading between the lines". On the other hand, while expressing ideas for the speaking/writing section, one has to know how to develop an engaging story and how would it feel from another person's point of view.
As a result, that's why I believe that if someone ever took an imaginary TOEFL exam translated in their own native language, their score wouldn't be that much higher than the English version of TOEFL.
Mock Exams
I claim that this part has the most prominent influence on the test result. The TOEFL exam takes more than three hours and requires one to retain focus during this period of time. This is only achievable by getting familiar with the dynamics of the exam in various ways.
To begin with, the type of questions and the sequence of the exam sections are almost the same across the different TOEFL exams. There are a lot of free and premium resources for learning about the structure of the TOEFL exam and the official ETS website also has some useful materials on this topic. Some questions, for example, the speaking section, can be approached by using some form of "template." Although it is useful for beginners, it sounds novice and noob on many occasions; the conversation feels soulless and dead inside, and it is best to be avoided. After experiencing several mock exams, one will naturally develop templates for their own needs and in their own style. This happens automatically and I recommend everyone staying with this.
Moreover, during each test, one confronts new words that they don't know the exact meaning of, so these are the words that are best to be learned.
Furthermore, it is important to experience the exam dynamics. There is a lot of stress involved in the procedure, and by having more mock experience, this starts to become more and more manageable. Also, it is important to know what, when and how much one should eat before and during the exam. It is crucial to maintain the body nutrified, but should not confuse the digestive system with eating too much. Needing to go to the WC during such an exam has a devastating effect on the result.
Have a Grammar Book
I had a good knowledge of English since my childhood, but there are always flaws or empty parts in the language structure in our minds. There are always moments that we think about whether we should use this or that, etc. Having an appropriate grammar book is a must, I guess. However, there is no need to read it all. It can be used as a reference book solely.
I had the opportunity to find a second-hand version of this interesting book, "Understanding and Using English Grammar" by Betty Schrampfer Azar. The topics were comprehensive. We all know that studying grammar is daunting. Nevertheless, the author was successful in smoothing out that path by accompanying great examples and engaging materials. I literally got addicted to this beautiful book and step by step, I managed to read it all.
Betty Schrampfer Azar is the author of the Azar Grammar Series for students of English as a second or foreign language. A staple in English language teaching for more than three decades, the series contains dozens of books and is widely used throughout the globe.
- source
Azar is a proponent of Grammar-Based Teaching in which grammar serves as the starting point and foundation for the development of all language skills — speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The series is entering its fifth edition. With the addition of co-author Stacy A. Hagen in 2006, the series is now known as the Azar-Hagen Grammar Series.
Submersion in The Language
We all have heard about the impact of submersion in the environment of a language. This can be accomplished in many different forms:
• Listening to Music: Music is a very powerful medium. Because music always incorporates some form of repetition, it can easily breach the barriers of our short-term memory and enters our long-term memory like a breeze. Not all kinds of music will work for this purpose, one has to like the music; this music has to make the listener euphoric. By carefully studying the lyrics, one can learn new vocab, enhance their listening skill, and even by singing along, one can make a progress in speaking and smoothing their accent by imitating the original singer.
• Watching Movies and TV Series: This idea is not anything new to language learners. I've seen some of my friends who could enhance their English just by watching TV series and movies. There are a few things that I want to point out, though.
Subtitles are educational material. The best practice is to use no subtitles at first, but use the English subtitle if it was not understandable. What if it was not enough for understanding the movie yet? Then add a secondary subtitle in your native language to be shown with the English subtitle simultaneously. I guess the best player for this purpose is the "Potplayer". The way it handles the subtitles is useful for us.
Adult Cartoons Are Great! Well, no doubt that I am an Adult Cartoon enthusiast. From my perspective, this type of media is also so powerful for enhancing language knowledge, and I hold this idea due to the following reasons:
First of all, the storylines used in them are somehow dense and complicated. For understanding the whole story, one must give a great deal of attention.
Moreover, The narrators and the voices are distorted; therefore, the listening skill can really benefit from the exposure.
Furthermore, the topics that these series talk about are very wide. The context-based vocabulary knowledge can vastly benefit from this fact. This is very useful for TOEFL's purpose as it needs appropriate context-based language knowledge in different fields.
Finally, the episodes tend to be under 30 minutes long, mostly around 20 minutes. Coincidentally, they take as much time as eating a meal for lunch or dinner. As a result, I could watch around 1-2 episodes during each working day by getting used to watching these series. Actually, that is what getting submerged in a language is all about.
I've found these series useful for enhancing both language skills and also personality. I think they really can increase one's experience of life, without really living it. It is a new form of education, maybe. Also, they are fun!
- Futurama
- The Simpsons
- South Park
- Solar Opposites
- Disenchantment
- Rick and Morty
• Learn Something New Online: By trying to learn something from a foreign language instructor, one will unconsciously become keener on digesting the information. The learning materials range from simple texts to passing online courses on a very specific topic. Although the conscious mind is active in learning that new skill, the unconscious mind is learning how to use language properly. Eventually, the practitioner will have something extra at the end of the path, a new skill to live by.
• Use Flashcard and Dictionary Apps: First of all, I don't believe in memorizing new words without any beforehand confrontation. However, during the path, we face new words. It is generally a good practice to have a dictionary app handy and check all these new words as soon as possible. Then, to pass them to long-term memory, it is better to use a flashcard app that utilizes the "Spaced Repetition" method. This method has been known for its efficiency in entering a new memory into long-term memory.
Also, there is another kind of apps, named thesaurus. Their primary goal is to demonstrate possible synonyms and acronyms for a word. especially for expressing ideas in the speaking and writing section, this app was very useful because it enabled me to learn new and related words to the context.
1. Grammarly: Grammarly's goal is to automatically detect potential grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, tone, and style mistakes in writing. It follows standard linguistic prescription, but can also make mistakes. Algorithms flag potential issues in the text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, wordiness, style, punctuation, and plagiarism. It is available as a web editor and a desktop editor, a browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, or as an app for both iOS and Android.
This app is really useful for enhancing expression skills. After completing a writing section, I have always checked it via Grammarly, first. Although there are some aspects of a good article that Grammarly can't assess, this app is brilliant in what it does. After a while, I got used to it. I even started to record my speakings and then typing them in Grammarly. This process is very useful because every time I got new ideas on how to enhance my speaking further. Better word choices, better grammar structure, more engaging conversation/storytelling, etc.
2. WordUp: A dictionary powered with AI that learns one's vocab knowledge. It also has the flashcard capability integrated. The examples in the description of each word are collected from famous media on the internet that many people are familiar with. For example, quotes from famous individuals, parts of a conversation in a popular movie/tv-series, etc.
3. Power Thesaurus: It is a powerful thesaurus app that helps to find synonyms and acronyms. Especially beneficial for having better writings.
4. AnkiApp: Its only purpose is to be a flexible flashcard app.
• Start to talk/text a friend in English: There are some language exchange services available; however, in my experience, the type of relationships between people in these services tend to be shallow. Instead, it is generally a good idea to establish a new channel of connection with your current friends. I know it will feel awkward at first, but eventually, it will smooth out and feel like normal.
Learn a New Language
After childhood, learning a new language requires some level of knowledge of another language. These two languages will make a parent-child relationship with each other in different ways. I recommend starting to learn another Germanic language while studying for the TOEFL exam. Personally, I chose Germany as my child-language. However, Spanish, French, or any other Germanic language will do the job. I also have to note that this strategy works best when there is a big gap between parent-language and child-language levels.
While starting to learn the child-language, the parent-language will become more mature because it will confront many principles and essential pieces of language that may have been forgotten about, and starting to rethink and revise its structure.
In addition to that, there will be lots of similarities in vocabulary which will lead to having a bigger set of both active and passive vocab.
Finally, learning another language will still maintain the brain's attention of language learning, while it is actually some form of taking rest from learning the parent-language.
For foreign language learners, the Duolingo app is a familiar name. This app works in a way that teaches a great deal of grammar and a handful of words by repetition. The whole structure is very intelligently designed to maximize its efficiency.
Conclusion
Taking a successful TOEFL exam requires several skills that are great to possess because they may also help us live a better life. I would recommend others to take such an exam not because of its certificate but for taking advantage of the opportunity of maturing mentally a step further. Wish you a happy journey!
