TOEFL Preparation Tips: Books, Sample Papers, and Exam Day Strategies

TOEFL Preparation Tips

TOEFL preparation can vary for every candidate. TOEFL exam preparation tips include knowing the test format, planning ahead, avoiding errors, preparing vocabulary, and more. TOEFL exam pattern include 4 sections; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Here are a few tips and tricks that candidates need to go through for individual sections during their TOEFL preparation full course:

Understand the Test Format

Candidates must be familiar with TOEFL course while starting their TOEFL preparation. Here is TOEFL test format in the given table below:

TOEFL iBT is more popular and often taken by the candidates than TOEFL PBT. Hence, candidates must go through TOEFL iBT and TOEFL PBT and decide which one to take according to their convenience.

Reason Behind TOEFL Test

More than 130 countries all over the world accept TOEFL scores. Prior to TOEFL preparation, candidates must know the reasons behind taking TOEFL test. Here are a few reasons stated below:

• The English language proficiency test with an official test
• For University Admission
• For course or job
• Immigration or VISA requirements

Keeping the purpose in mind, helps understand how to prepare for TOEFL in one month.

Aim for a TOEFL Score

Having a minimum target score in mind would help the candidate reach the goal. For instance, the goal is to get admission to the Arizona State University, the minimum required TOEFL score is 500, so keeping a target score of 530 might help in getting the admission. Additionally, choosing an idealistic score would be helpful in meeting TOEFL requirements.

Creating Ideal Spaces to Study

A calm and peaceful environment is important to concentrate on TOEFL preparation. The ideal space can vary for every individual. For example, the ideal space can be a study room, library, cafeteria, and more. The idea is to be in a noise-free environment.

Getting a Study Guide

The official TOEFL study guide would be helpful for TOEFL mock test online. The answers and explanations provided in the book can help to ace every section of the exam. While practicing exercises from the study guide, follow the tips given below:

• TOEFL Reading: Underlines the main ideas, taking notes while taking the reading exercise. For difficult TOEFL vocabulary, note it down and write the meaning for better understanding.
• TOEFL Listening: The main tip for cracking TOEFL listening exam is practicing taking notes. Therefore, candidates are required to understand that taking accurate notes and quick to get a good TOEFL Listening score.
• TOEFL Writing: Firstly, writing the main ideas will help to create an outline around the topic. Creating an outline that includes an introduction, main points, and a conclusion will have coherence in the overall writing.
• TOEFL Speaking: Candidates need to answer the exact question asked. The tone must be relaxed and confident.

Expert Help for TOEFL Preparation

“How to start TOEFL preparation?” and “How to prepare TOEFL?” are the two most common students ask. Students can take TOEFL preparation courses to start the exam prep. Online TOEFL preparation classes provide a study plan to speed up the preparation. Students can takeTOEFL online coaching or offline coaching.

• Different Apps and Websites: Different TOEFL preparation apps  are available to help student ace the exam. Candidates can take TOEFL exam preparation online classes provided by teachers. Candidates can avail free TOEFL preparation test online for a better score.
• Reference Sites and Experts: There are different experts available in this field, which can help candidates in getting better knowledge. A few of them that provides GRE and TOEFL preparation classes are given below:

1. Magoosh
2. Kaplan
3. ETS

• TOEFL Training Centers: Students can enroll in TOEFL preparation online free or paid classes. Below is TOEFL exam coaching centers listed according to the cities in different states in India that provide offline and online TOEFL preparation classes:

Include Active and Passive Learning

The active and passive learning strategies in TOEFL preparation can help to get a good TOEFL score.

Active Learning includes:

• Listening to Podcasts: There are a lot of English-language talks available on radios and online platforms like Youtube, you can listen to them.

Passive Learning includes:

• Watching Movies: Watching TOEFL English movies in free time helps to learn the language, accent, pronunciation, and difficult vocabulary.
• Reading a Book: One can read books to enhance the vocabulary stock and incorporate them in the writing, speaking, and listening section of TOEFL test.
• Conversation in English: Keeping the habit of new learning activities, the candidate can speak in English with friends, family, and more.

Taking Regular TOEFL Practice Tests

Practice tests will also help you get an ambiance like the test environment, question types, and also, the constraints you’ll be faced with on test day. Taking TOEFL practice tests is probably the best tip that you could do to maximize your TOEFL score.

Section Wise TOEFL Preparation

From July 2023. TOEFL exam pattern has been updated. TOEFL New Pattern changed its format, exam time, and scoring system. TOEFL preparation with updated study materials is important to understand the new changes.

TOEFL Reading Practice

In TOEFL reading, you will be required to answer approximately 20 questions. You will be allocated 30 minutes to complete TOEFL reading.

• Daily 30 minutes Reading: Candidates must read from websites that provide non-technical English are- Breaking news, Story archives, and the English Servers
• Skimming: While practicing the reading section, candidates must learn to skim the important context from the passage.
• Note the Difficult Vocabulary: While skimming, candidates would come across many unfamiliar words. Note them down and write the meanings to understand the passage better.
• Rigorous Practice: Practising the reading section would increase fluency and speed.

TOEFL Preparation Test for Reading

Students can practice the below listed TOEFL preparation test online free:

TOEFL Listening Practice

TOEFL listening, candidates will be required to answer 28 questions in 36 minutes. Here are a few TOEFL test preparation to excel in TOEFL listening score:

• Developing listening abilities: It is important for the candidate to develop the practice of listening to long audios and then extracting useful information and using it to answer questions.
• Asses the Purpose of the Audio: Candidates must assess the purpose of the speech or conversation, which can be an apology, complaint, or suggestion.
• Regular Practice: Taking a regular TOEFL listening mock test will ensure that the candidates understand the pronunciation and meaning of different words.

TOEFL Preparation Test for Listening

Candidates can practice below mentioned free TOEFL preparation test:

TOEFL Writing Practice

TOEFL writing section needs candidates to write an essay on a given topic. The response to the topic must be coherent, and well-organized using relevant explanations and detailed support. Here are a few TOEFL Writing section tips to enhance TOEFL writing score:

• Coherence in the Response: Candidates need to write connecting words to build coherence in their passage.
• Clear Opinion: The writer’s opinion and interpretation must be written in detail.
• Increase Vocabulary: Candidates should go through magazines, and newspapers to enhance their vocabulary. Idiomatic phrases can be used in writing to express views.
• Avoid Grammatical Errors: Learning grammatical structures can help to reduce grammatical errors in the sentence. The silly spelling mistakes and punctuation errors must be avoided.

TOEFL Preparation Test for Writing

Students can practice below mentioned free TOEFL preparation test:

TOEFL Speaking Practice

For TOEFL Speaking section, candidates need to practice alone in front of the mirror. Candidates speaking tone must be clear and loud. Here are a few tips to improve TOEFL speaking score:

• Work on pronunciation, including word stress, intonation patterns, and pauses.
• Take a few minutes to think about the topic and overall ideas about the topic before speaking.
• TOEFL speaking practice at home, with friends and family members can help to ace this section.

TOEFL Preparation Test for Speaking

Candidates can practice below mentioned free TOEFL preparation test for speaking section:

TOEFL Exam Day Tips

Candidates should arrive to TOEFL testing facility at least 30 minutes early to settle in, as is customary for exams. To ensure that you know where to go, visit the center's location a day in advance. Continue reading as we clarify the most crucial TOEFL exam day advice.

• Candidates shouldn't worry about their TOEFL score since, if you've been learning English since you were a young child, you shouldn't have any difficulties doing well.
• Spend a few seconds gathering thoughts before beginning the Reading part.
• On exam day, avoid studying. It won't help at all; it will simply make more stressed.
• Complete a lot of practise exams.
• Wear comfortable, warm clothing because the majority of computer testing facilities have air conditioning. On exam day, test-takers don't want to get "cold feet."
• Candidates only have 20 minutes to complete the writing portion. Although they could appear sufficient, they are just enough to check your essay once. So act quickly!
• The Speaking and Listening parts need intense focus. Candidates will need to pay close attention because the accompanying headphones won't be noise-canceling ones.