by Sitaram Chilakamarry

Hello, everyone. I’m Sitaram Chilakamarry, an Intern at Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, India. I took my TOEFL test on 14th August, 2010. Received e-copy of my score online in my ETS account by the end of August (on the 12th Post-Op, oops, Post-Test day). By God’s grace and with blessings from Swami Vivekananda, I got a good score – 118. My Score breakdown:

Reading – 30

Listening – 30

Speaking - 28

Writing – 30

Having learnt from free and great advice given by previous test takers from all over the internet, I feel I have a duty to extend a small helping hand to the future test takers. So, here I am, writing this piece of advice. I’m breaking it down into concise points so that it is easy to take it all in.

1.    WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE TOEFL iBT?

       The test has 4 sections, READING, LISTENING, SPEAKING & WRITING. You’ll face these 4 sections in that same order. For further description, I suggest you read the official TOEFL guide and the Princeton Review book.  

2.    WHEN TO PREPARE FOR TOEFL?

I cannot speak for other students, but for those from India, immediately after your Final Year Part – 2 exams is the perfect time. You want to have your paper score card in hand before you apply for electives. The paper score card reaches your home usually 4 weeks after the day your e-copy of scores are available (which usually are posted in 2 weeks of the test date). This means, 6 weeks after you take the test. For e.g. I took the exam on 14th August, received my score online in my ETS account on the 26th of August, and the paper score report reached my home on the 25th of September.

Many universities accept a photo-copy of the paper score card. Some even accept a print-out of the e-score. Some may even go to the extreme of accepting only a score card sent to them by ETS. It is always advisable to check with the particular university.

3.    WHAT MATERIALS TO USE?

a)    FOR READING SECTION: I recommend using the Princeton Review book. Many people I know recommended Barron’s to me, but I was very comfortable with Princeton. Their strategy to deal with the Reading section is priceless. Go through it carefully.  However, this book is not of much use for other sections of the test. Nonetheless, do go through it all once, to familiarize yourself with the test format and what to expect from the test. But, your strategy for the other 3 sections of the test will come from the following materials.  

b)    FOR LISTENING SECTION: For me, the listening section was very easy. I have the habit of writing running notes in my class, and anybody who has been in med school will agree that it is a necessary yet uncommon skill. If you don’t have such a habit, practice running notes while listening to the news – from a US channel, obviously. I found the speed of the conversations and lectures a little faster than in Kaplan practice CD. So, be sure to not miss any info. I couldn’t confidently answer one question in the listening section as my concentration wavered while noting down that particular point, and I ended up cursing myself after the test. But, by Swamiji’s grace, it all ended well.

c)    FOR SPEAKING SECTION: I’m about to reveal the secret to ace the most crucial and arguably the most difficult part of the exam. This is because, a score of >26 is required by many universities to apply for electives, and it is very easy to screw up in this section. With the following material, I can vouch that you will definitely get a competitive score in this section. So, what book am I about to recommend? The answer is that, there is no good book which discusses the speaking section in a practical way. The secret to ace the Speaking section is to watch video lectures by a great teacher, Mr. Joseph, who has kindly posted them for free on YouTube. PLEASE FOLLOW HIS ADVICE TO THE LETTER!!! YOU’LL NEED NOTHING MORE!!! You’ll definitely come out with flying colors. I take this opportunity to thank my classmate and good friend, Shashikanth Nagabandi, who introduced me to these lectures. 

Links to Mr. Joseph’s lectures: 

Speaking Section Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJDEQAzVokM

Q1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4lzrCpndC0

Q2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K682Oune_YM

Q3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-n_nOBDLd4

Q4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUWevT3o8A

Q5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2dU1JqlWS0

Q6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf3yr-EoUQI&feature=related

There is another kind soul, Mr. John Renshaw, who too has posted free videos on YouTube. The only video of his that you definitely need to watch is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CRLcOAUNQI&feature=related

The key to success for the speaking section is: PRACTICE!!! I used to record my responses on my phone and play back my responses and analyze my mistakes and correct them. Again thanks to my friend Shashikanth for this advice (he incidentally scored 102 on the test, with Speaking score of 27).

d)    WRITING SECTION: The material to learn from is again, lectures by Mr. Joseph. 

Writing section overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7hfNZpqSqY

Q1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytubzmj_j94

Q2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul2OTUqMGqk

For the writing tasks too, I was lucky. During preparation, I found that I could type fast, which left me with enough time to proof- read my passages. If you are slow with the keyboard, practice for 45 minutes daily and you’ll pick up. Keep in mind the word count that Mr. Joseph discusses in his videos.

4.    MY PERSONAL ADVICE

a)    DO NOT AIM FOR ANY SCORE!!!! Just try to do the best you can in all the sections. Thinking of scores will only make you more nervous, which in turn will bring down your performance.

b)    A preparation of 15-20 days is more than sufficient for the exam. You’ll realize as you practice that, for most of you, the challenge lies in the speaking section. Don’t get disheartened. Go on practicing and you’ll come out victorious.

c)    Book your slot early as there is always a huge demand from test takers.

d)    Find out about the local test center before booking your slot there. Find out if facilities are convenient with minimum distractions and no malpractices.

e)    It’s better to download the above mentioned videos to your computer. To do so, go to www.keepvid.com and paste the above given URLs. You’ll be given different video formats to choose from. Just download mp4 format with the quality that you can afford (e.g. if you have slow internet speed, go with low quality).

f)    Listen to sample answers of ETS and Kaplan. They’ll give you a good idea of a high scoring response.

5.    PRACTICE MATERIAL

I practiced from the following software and sources:

a)    Barron’s CD

b)    Longman CD

c)    Kaplan CD

d)    Official TOEFL Guide

e)    ETS TOEFL Sample Questions

f)    Speaking topics posted on many websites all over the internet.

Please practice sincerely and honestly.

NOTE: I found that the speed of conversations and lectures for the LISTENING SECTION in the Longman CD was very slow. The speed in the Kaplan CD was closer to that of the real exam, although, as I mentioned earlier, the real exam was probably a little faster than even Kaplan.

NOTE 2: Be mentally prepared to face 6 reading passages. Although you may be asked anywhere between 3-6 passages in the actual exam, only 3 will be graded and there is no way of knowing which 3. I had to face 5 passages and it was really stressful. Although I completed each passage well within the allotted time (I happened to find the advice in the Princeton book very helpful in this regard), the mental pressure of the exam forced me to review all my passages thoroughly, and I ended up using all my allotted time to review my answers. BOTTOM LINE: Energy will be used up and therefore, boost your stamina for the exam. 

NOTE 3: Here are some speaking topics for practice that I found on the internet:

1. Your favorite pet

2. Your dressing style

3. What do you do in your free time? (Your most favorite hobby)

4. How do you learn English?

5. Which sport do you like best?

6. Which dish do you like best?

7. Your most favorite/important subject 

8. Your future plan

9. Your best scholastic achievement

10. What kind of music do you like best?

11. What do you expect in your parents?

12. If you had a wish, what would you wish?

13. If you can change one thing in your university, what would you change?

14. Your best friend 

15. The person you like best

16. Your unforgettable day

17. What is unforgettable in your school life?

18. Your idea of a happy life

19. A type of book you enjoy reading

20. The fruit you like to eat most

21. Your favorite TV show

22. The movie you like best

23. The place you would like to visit

24. The strangest dream you have had

25. What would you do if you suddenly had a lot of money?

26. Your first attempt to gain 

27. Your ideal holiday resort

28. Your ambition

29. Your most influential person/teacher, and explain why you feel this person is a positive role model.

30. Where will you be professionally in ten/15/20 years’ time?

31. What quality do you like best in a friend?

32. What do you treasure most in life?

33. What are the qualities of a good citizen?

34. Your favorite time of the year?

35. Your favorite color?

36. What are the qualities of a good teacher?

37. What are the qualities of a good student?

38. What are the qualities of a good parent?

40. If you could change one thing in your country, what would you change?

41. The most inspiring person to you

42. Describe a job that you’ve had, and explain why it was important.

43. Describe a person you admire and explain why you admire him or her.

44. If you could have any job in the world, which job would you choose?

45. Describe a book that you have read and explain why it was important to you

46. what all u miss when u r away from ur home

47. Do you think children should always obey their parents, or are there times when it is not necessary for children to obey?

48. Do you make decisions quickly or do take your time making them?

49. It is better to learn about the news from newspapers or from television?

50. Do you think it is better to get up early in the morning or sleep until later? Would you prefer to go to a big party or a small gathering with friends?

51. Would you prefer to write a paper by yourself or with a group?

52. Do you think it is better to tell the truth and hurt someone’s feelings or tell a little lie and keep from hurting the person?

53. Some college students choose to take courses in a variety of subject areas in order to get a broad education. Others choose to focus on a single subject area in order to have deeper understanding of that area. Which approach to the course selection do you think is better for students and why? 

54. Do you like to try new food or eat the same kind of food?

55. Do you prefer to be in a large or a small class?

56. Would you prefer to go to dinner or stay home and cook a meal?

57. Do you think it is better to marry before the age of 30?

58. Do you prefer to take an essay exam or multiple choice exams?

59. Would you prefer to take a trip by plane or train?

60. Would you like to live in a big city or a small town?

61. Do you think it is better to study alone or study with friends?

62. Do you prefer to play sports or watch sports?

63. Would you prefer to go to the opera or to a football game?

64. Would you prefer to take the TOEFL test or a math test?

65. If your teacher makes a mistake, is it better to correct the teacher or ignore the mistake?

66. Is it better to take choices in life or play it safe?

67. Is it better to have a career that pays a lot of money but keeps you away from your family, or a career that does not pay you much but allows you to spend time with your family?

That is all I have to share about TOEFL. Go ahead and All the Best!!!