HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE TOEFL (TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TOEFL TEST is still a bogey to many of us, especially students who must take and pass the test. Many find it quite challenging and some even struggle with it. When comes to TOEFL as graduation requirements on campus, many students find the test as a bogey.
The above picture depicts the situation in the class during TOEFL examination at Universitas Malikussaleh Language Center. Students are taking the test as one of the requirements to graduate from campus. All students from various faculties on campus made the test compulsory thus students must take in order to graduate. This regulation is intended to help increase their capacity and capability as they have to study about the test one way or another. They must prepare for the test and pass to the designated grades required by each faculty.
However, to pass the test is as easy as pie, although it’s not impossible. Some preparation should be carried out to enable students answer the test correctly. Preparation can be done variety of ways, such as group study, take class or study online. In this modern era where digital technology has advanced rapidly, toefl material can be found abundantly on the internet. Students just need to take some time to search and read and practice the test. In addition, correct approach to the test is also necessary. Having the right methodology will help test takers approach the test in a more constructive manner thus will help increase the possibility of passing the test.
Not having good preparation or taking wrong approach of the test results in much confusion during the test. Students will stumble in the reality where they found many of the questions, if not all of them, to be so difficult and hard to ace. This often seen from their faces as they are taking the test. They seemed lost and confused when deciding the correct answer to the questions.
Something like this should not continue. Good test approach must be taken to help students pass test or at least increase the possibility of passing it. One of the good approach can be seen as follows:
A. Diagnostic Test with Discussion
First step is to take diagnostic test to know students level of English, then followed by a discussion about the result of the test. This will give clear representation on student’s understanding of English and can serve as starting point on what to do and expect for the future.
B. Training Strategies
Following to the step, training strategy is set. A teacher or instructor of TOEFL should be there to help decide the training strategies. Having good training strategies will help the pace and progress of learning. This can be for example meeting time and duration, amount of material to cover, source of study, locating the strong and weak spot, etc.
C. Training for Each Section
Training should be done to cover all sections, three sections in case of ITP. Students need to allocate each section time to study, even not necessary to be all equal, depending on the needs and review result. However, there is no doubt that all the three parts need consideration.
D. Practice Questions
After reviewing the material, students need to take practice test. This is necessary as they will apply their knowledge in practice. They can also evaluate their own understanding towards all the materials during the test.
E. Taking Full Test
After completing all these, they should take full test of toefl, and not before. They are advised to take full test after they completed all their learning sessions. It is so because then we can see the progress of learning. It is also expected that changes and progress can be observed after the training. It is hard to see progress while they are still in the step of learning. Taking it while studying may also harm their motivation and they might find that their scores are still unsatisfactory.
F. Doubt Solving Session
After completing all the process, comprehensive discussion need to be carried out in order to resolve doubts and mistakes.
These are some good study approach for the toefl. I really hope that all test takers consider the steps if they want to nail the test. Again, I would like to stress also, it’s not merely a test. It’s also key for the students to success in the future.