In a month after submitting my application to Fulbright, I received an email approving my further participation in the program (yahoo!). The next step for Russian participants would be taking the TOEFL test. That part of the contest was the most stressful for me, as it took a lot of time and mental work. In this post, I am going to give you a brief overview of the TOEFL, to describe how I prepared myself for the test and to list the biggest challenges I had back then. I will also share a few useful tips that I’ve learned from personal experience.
So, let’s start with the first question.
What is TOEFL?
“The TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language) measures the ability of non-native English speakers to use and understand the English language as it is heard, spoken, read and written in the university classroom” (ETS, TOEFL). TOEFL is one of the main requirements for participation in the Fulbright Program as it prepares international students for academic demands at universities in a host country.
What is the price?
The prices for TOEFL varies from country to country. In Russia, taking the test costs $260. As an official participant of the Fulbright contest, I did not have to pay for it. The program fully covered the cost of the exam (which is a nice part of applying for Fulbright 🙂 ).
What is the structure of TOEFL?
The test includes four sections:
- Reading – includes 3-4 academic passages with 10 multiple questions to each
- (54–72 minutes)
- Listening – includes 5 listening passages: 3 academic passages with 6 multiple questions to each + 2 campus conversations with 5 questions to each.
- (41–57 minutes)
- Speaking – includes 4 tasks: expressing an opinion on a certain topic (2) + speak based on reading and listening text (2).
- (17 minutes)
- Writing – includes 2 essays: the one which is based on reading and listening task and the one which supports a student’s opinion on a given topic.
- (50 minutes)
The test takes about three hours, including the ten-minute break after the first two sections. And here is the first tip – be fast and learn to think quickly for the test. You have a certain amount of time for each section (see above). Once the time is finished, you can not go back to the previous part. Given how many tasks TOEFL includes and how limited the time is, you should rationally use every minute – sometimes even seconds – during the test (which is a big pressure, so be ready).
Preparation. Learning materials.
Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test (4th edition) by Jolene and Robert Gear was the book that I used during the preparation. Quite informative, and helpful.
To get familiar with the structure of the exam, you can start with The Official Guide to the TOEFL with DVD-ROM (5th edition) by ETS (Educational Testing Service). It contains four full-length tests, so you may see what an experience of taking an authentic test feels like. If you don’t want to take the whole test at once (which is totally understandable, and I think rational enough for the beginning), you can make exercises from different sections. For me, it was a good start. As I learn about the structure of TOEFL and test myself on different sections, I did not feel so overwhelming when it came to intensive preparation.
On their website, ETS offer(s) a list of the books that you can buy for TOEFL. You can review all of them and decide which one(s) would be better for you.
Do you need courses on TOEFL?
If there are any learning centers in your city that offer the course on TOEFL preparation, I strongly recommend using it (if you have such an opportunity, of course). I did not take any courses; I chose to prepare for TOEFL by myself, which, honestly saying was extremely hard. So, if you can afford to take courses, just go for it! Otherwise, you can double-check with the program in your country whether there is an opportunity to take this course free (one of my fellow Fulbrighters did have such a chance) which would save you a great sum of money.
What did I do?
I was preparing for TOEFL for about three months, which I felt was not enough for me. I made a schedule for myself and had my own program that was quite intense as I had limited time. Even though I had a high level of English, I had to get used to the structure of TOEFL and, as I mentioned before, to learn thinking quickly.
Apart from the books that I listed above, I used to do various exercises that I found online. There is plenty of studying materials even on Youtube (in particular, listening and speaking section). The good thing about it – it’s free. The bad thing about it – the materials are a little bit (sometimes even not a little bit) outdated.
I also used to watch online tutorials like TST Prep and linguamarina (the Russian blogger and entrepreneur who lives in the U.S.). They helped me a lot with my preparations.
One thing I found the most difficult was training myself on writing and speaking parts. I obviously could not do it by myself. I needed someone who can give me feedback on my work. This is how my boyfriend and my friends became my English tutors. Their level of English is the same as mine, plus, my friends have a B.A. in teaching. So why not? It’s difficult to describe how thankful I have been for their time and patience 🙂 And even though such an idea might seem careless, it worked perfectly for me. But be careful with it. If you know that your level of English is not enough for TOEFL, it is worth taking a professional course.
What was the biggest challenge?
To me, it was the speaking part. Not because I did not know what to say. I always did. The problem was that I felt really stressed speaking to a…computer screen instead of a real person. Unlike the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) test, where a student speaks in front of the examiner, TOEFL iBT is completely computer-based. For me, speaking to a machine was not comfortable at all, so I made myself get used to it. 
One more thing you should be ready for is that during the speaking part you may hear voices of the other people, which can be a big distractor. So, don’t count on a headset with good sound isolation (mine was just awful, I heard everyone around). Be prepared and learn how to focus on your ideas despite the noise you hear.
The most general, but still effective, pieces of advice that I might give you are the following:
- Identify your weak points and focus on improving them;
- Train regularly, and don’t forget to take breaks;
- Don’t study at night before the exam. Have a good sleep;
- Use all the possible sources for preparation. If you find a person who took TOEFL before, ask if they have any materials. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Sounds simple. Nevertheless, I believe this works best for both school tests and language exams. So, if you choose to take TOEFL, best of luck! I hope that this post was helpful to you. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. And if you took the TOEFL test too, feel free to share your experience here. It would be great to compare different experiences and to learn something new.
See you later!
Sources used:
ETS official website https://www.ets.org/toefl
Linguamarina https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAQg09FkoobmLquNNoO4ulg
TST Prep: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0ZOT3eKp4RvKcQyBZJ4bw
