TOEFL TIPS

To start with…

let’s share:
What is TOEFL?
What does it stand for?
What do i need a TOEFL Certificate?
 TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language
/tou.fl/
It measures the ability
of non-native English
speakers to use and
understand English as
it’s read, written, heard
and spoken in the
university classroom.

It uses 100% academic

content.
 TYPES
0-120 (A1-C1)

310-677 (A1-C1)
 TOEFL ITP  
®

- paper
- academic & social contexts
- multiple choice questions
- answer sheet
 The tests evaluate skills in three areas:

Number of
Section Questions Admin. Time Score Scale
Listening
Comprehension 50 35 minutes 31–68
Structure and
Written 40 25 minutes 31–68
Expression
Reading
Comprehension 50 55 minutes 31–67

TOTAL 140 115 minutes 310–677

 Listening Comprehension

Part C
Part A
Talks and
short
lectures
conversations

Part B
longer
12
conversations secs
TIPS PART A

• Be careful with vocabulary: words with more than one meaning and idioms.

• Listen carefully to intonation and stress.

• Listen for tricky structures: contractions, negatives, tag questions, passives, modals

• Listen carefully to the second speaker. He often gives the answer.

• Determine the situation and the topic in the dialogue.

• Guess: choose the answer that sounds LEAST like the dialogue.

PART B AND C

• DO NOT turn the pages while the instructions are read.

• Listen carefully to the short introductory statement before each passage

o Who, where, what

• Listen carefully for details: places, dates, names and times.

• Guess: choose the answer that sounds the MOST like the passage.

https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL_ITP/html/Section%201,%20TOEFL%20ITP,
%20Listening%20Comprehension.html
let’s practice
 40 items
Structure and Written Expression 25 minutes
2 parts

General strategies

• Be familiar with the instructions so you save time and move

immediately to the questions.

• Use your time wisely (35 seconds to complete each question)

• Try to identify the grammar point.

STRUCTURE
• Read the whole sentence before you choose the answer.

• Use these steps

o 1 Locate the subject and the verb
o 2. Look for the object or the complement
o 3 Look for the subordinate clause
o 4 Look for a phrase

• Do not look for ungrammatical segments.

https://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/prepare/structure_written_expression_practice_section2
WRITTEN EXPRESSION

• Ask yourself “what is wrong with this sentence?”

• Quickly scan the four underlined segments to find what is wrong.

• Read the entire sentence. Compare the underlined segments to

other parts of the sentence.

• Don not waste time thinking how to correct.

 s p e c t s:
m a r a
G ra m
e m e n t
r b a g re
j e c t- v e
s u b c t u r e s e s
l e l s t r u er lat i v
para l n d s u p
t i v e s a
m p a r a
co a t i o n
d f o r m
w o r
e v e r b s
pa s s i v
s p e e c h
t s o f
par
us a g e
 GENERAL TOPICS Topics most common found
business environment food media - Natural & physical sciences (40%)
- American and Natural history (30%)
recreation communication work - biography (15%)
place - Social Science (10%)
- General interest (5%)

Reading comprehension
ACADEMIC TOPICS

arts
humanities
life sciences
social sciences
General Strategies

• Only spend from 8-11 minutes on each

passage and its questions.
• Acquire a large vocabulary of formal and
academic English
• Identify the type of questions before you read
the passage.
 Question strategies

•Read the first and last sentences of the

passage to establish the topic.

• Read the question to know what

information you are looking for.

• Read the passage carefully.

• Answer the questions.
• Guess if you do not know the correct
answer.
TOEFL iBT
All Four Skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing

Section Time Limit No. of Questions Overview

Read passages, then respond

Reading 60—80 minutes 36—56 questions to questions

Listen to lectures or a
Listening 60—90 minutes 34—51 questions classroom discussion, then
respond to questions

BREAK Relax for 10 minutes

Speak into a microphone

Speaking 20 minutes 6 tasks about familiar topics and
discuss material you read
about and listened to
Read a passage, listen to a
Writing 50 minutes 2 tasks recording and then type your
written response
 References
https://www.ets.org/toefl_itp/content/
https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/
https://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/what-is-toefl#toefl-test-basics

Mahnke M.K. & Duffy C.B. TOEFL Preparation course.

MacMillan Heinemann
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