HOW TO SCORE HIGH IN THE TOEFL READING

TOEFL Reading often becomes a big issue for most of the students due to one big problem that is lack of time. Time is one major drawback in TOEFL reading .There is very less time to read and answer all the questions. Due to lack of time students often get stressed and panic and that messes up the entire reading section. There are overall 3 or 5 passages which are academic topics and you have around 20 minutes to read and answer all the questions. It may sound easy but when you really try it out you will realize how challenging it can be.

Another issue is that the passages are full of details and information so it becomes even more difficult to remember all the information and answer all the questions.

Let us take a small example of a passage:-

In southwest France in the 1940’s a few children while playing suddenly disclosed a series of narrow chambers which had a lot of prehistoric paintings of animals. All the colors in the paintings were derived from Ocher and other iron oxides ground into a fine powder. Some colors were blown or sprayed and some were brushed or smeared on rock surfaces. It is quite a possibility that tubes made from animal bones were used for spraying because hollow bones some stained with pigment were found nearby.

This is just a small part of the actual TOEFL passage. So try and analyze in how much time you read the above lines. Maybe approximately around 2 minutes, however the real passage in TOEFL is at least 5 times bigger and we can observe there is a lot of information, facts, that need to be read carefully. Since if you want to answer the questions correctly you will also have to read carefully.

So it can be safely concluded that you may need around 10 minutes to read the passage and then you have to answer 12-14 questions and you have only around 10 minutes for that. So you can see how pressurizing this can get. The most important thing is how much of information in the passage can you memorize. So you may have to keep going back to the passage to answer the questions which will consume even more time.

Another thing to remember is that there are 5 passages, so the pressure even increases and to remember and memorize the information in all the five articles can really get very difficult, so we can see that it is all a time game. So initially you may handle it but as the number of passages keep on increasing it may start getting difficult.

Let us analyze the normal procedure that students follow when they need any answer:

• First step is to read the question

• Ten the second step is to go the passage

• The third step is to find the answer or information that we require

·      And the last is to go back to the question and then eliminate the wrong answers and select the right one.Logically this entire process of finding the right answer will take at least 3-4 minutes.  3-4, minutes just for finding one answer is really too much.

Hence the biggest obstacle in this exam is time. Due to lack of time students are unable to attempt all the questions even though they may be having a lot of knowledge. Hence they leave questions unanswered.  Hence it is very sad that we just let go of our marks so easily only due to lack of time.

We must remember that out future depends on this exam and we must focus in time management in such exams.

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15 REASONS STUDENTS FAIL THE TOEFL TEST/EXAM

TOEFL is considered to be quite a challenging and tough exam. It requires candidates to be very analytical and they need to study in a very detailed and focused manner.  It is not very easy to clear the TOEFL. There are several reasons due to which students find TOEFL tough and find it difficult to pass.

There are certain important factors due to which TOEFL seems tough. Let us discuss a few points

1.       Over Confidence: It is good to be confident, however over confidence can be very bad and can have a negative impact. Lot of students feel they are very intelligent and can easily clear it, however it is this over confidence that leads to failure. So with full dedication and confidence students should prepare but not over confidence.

2.       Lack of Enthusiasm and zeal: To succeed in anything in life it is important to have a strong will power and lots of enthusiasm towards that goal. So lots of students sometimes do not have that enthusiasm that is required for the exam. There are several reasons for that like health issues, financial problems, family problems, excessive stress and tension, or may be some personal problem due to which they are not very enthusiastic about the exam. And this also affects the result.

3.       Inability to deal with past exam experiences or past failures: Every person goes through failure in their life. We all fail some exams in life. However sometimes some students take their failure in a particular exam very seriously and they take it to heart. It demotivates them to give any future exam. They feel they are not capable to give any other exam in life. So this negativity and demotivation affects them very badly.

4.       Lack of proper coaching classes/ or Training:  TOEFL is a very professional exam with a lot of technicalities and complexities. Students should not try and do it completely on their own. It is very essential to take some assistance and guidance from professional coaching centers and trainers. Some students think studying on their own is enough, however actually it is not. When they take help from professionals they can get good tips and techniques on how to score more. So it is a good idea to take help from a coaching or training center.

5.       Poor Planning or Preparation: One of the biggest reasons why people fail this test is due to poor planning. Planning is very important for successfully clearing TOEFL. It is important to plan your entire study and course of action. Make proper timetables and give yourself proper time and set deadlines for the study of TOEFL. This is where students go wrong, they feel they can easily manage without any planning but it turns out to be a big disaster.

6.       Incoherent English language communication:  One big issue in TOEFL for foreign students who are not native English speakers is lack of fluency and confidence in English Language.  So a lot of students are unable to express themselves clearly and convey their opinions and views. They find it very difficult and are very uncomfortable in speaking English. They get very conscious and as a result they land up speaking very unclearly and score less.

7.       Issues with Punctuation Marks: This is another problem with a lot of students. This problem affects the writing section. A lot of students are not aware of appropriate punctuation marks and where you should use them so they use them incorrectly and in places where they are not required. So however well you have written, if your punctuation marks are wrong you will not be given a good score. So all punctuation marks like full stop, comma, question marks etc. should be used very carefully and only when required.

8.       Unnecessary apprehensions: A lot of students are born and bought up in a very traditional and simple environment. They are not used to having technology around them and are not even very familiar with computers and laptops. Since the TOEFL exam is a computerized exam, such students often get very uncomfortable and have a difficult time during the test. They also get very nervous and anxious with the thought of giving this computerized exam.

9.       Phobias of examinations and Bad experiences of friends and past exam takers:  A lot of students listen to their friends and other exam takers who have either found TOEFL tough or have failed in their previous attempts of TOEFL. So students become very demotivated and lose their confidence while giving the exam. They get influenced by negative stories and this affects their performance.

10.   Lack of Proper Research: Another major issue with TOEFL is that it requires a lot of extensive research and lot of information gathering. There is a lot of information, study and preparation material that is available online and even in the market for preparing for TOEFL. So a lot of students make this mistake of not doing enough research about the exam and its material.  Nowadays there is also much material available and students must take advantage of this easy availability and they must use it.

11.   Careless Attitude of students: It is extremely important to take this exam seriously and also to plan this exam properly. There should be no confusions with respect to this exam. Extra care should be taken to reach the exam center on time. It is very important to reach early and be on time for the exam. Also Keep yourself free on the exam day, do not plan anything else with this exam. It is important to take this exam seriously and it should be your first priority.

12.   Technical Issues that sometimes arise at the Test Center:  Since TOEFL is a computerized exam sometimes there have been cases of technical problems or malfunctioning of equipment like headphones, microphones, there may be a sudden power breakdown or internet server breakdown. So like these there may be some technical issues that may arise in a TOEFL exam. So such problems often lower the confidence of students as due to no fault of theirs they have to suffer. They lose their enthusiasm when such problems occur.

13.   Inability to Familiarize with the QWERTY key board and lack of proper understanding of its layout and structure:  As we are aware that TOEFL is a computerized test and in this test an important hardware device called QWERTY key board is used. So students who are not aware of this keyboard may find it very hard to locate the alphabets on this keyboard and they may lose out on time in this process. In TOEFL time is very important and losing out on time can be very risky.

14.   Bad Exam time management:  The biggest issue that TOEFL takers experience is that they find time very less. So managing time in this exam is extremely important. Since there is a time constraint students have to finish within the given time limit. Hence managing time smartly is a big requirement if one wants to score high in TOEFL.

15.   Faulty/ Weak Background in Classroom English Language Learning: The most important skill required to score really high in TOEFL is good command in English language. For most of the foreign students English is not the first language so their confidence and fluency is not high. This affects their performance in the exam also. In speaking and writing students face a lot of problems as their base and foundation in English Language is not very strong.

So all the above mentioned points are very important and students must keep these in mind if they really want to achieve high scores in TOEFL. 

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Fast Ways to Improve your GRE Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an extremely important part of communication. If we do not have enough vocabulary then communication becomes a big problem. It may be written or verbal communication in both the cases vocabulary is essential.

Nowadays learning vocabulary is not a difficult task. There are so many ways from which we can come across new words like TV, Newspapers, books and radio. However only learning new words is not important, it is also important to memorize the word so that we can use that word in our communication.  Problem with most of the people is that they learn words but they are unable to memorize the words. Hence memory is a very important thing for vocabulary building.  

In most of the English language tests there is always a vocabulary section where your vocabulary is tested and having a wide range of vocabulary is a must to crack these exams.

Let us see a few easy ways to memorize new  words:

• Using Flash Cards:

Flash cards are one of the simplest ways to learn words. They are interesting and easy to use and they help in memorizing words easily. We can easily make flash cards using normal paper or chart papers or even old papers.  On one side we can right words and definitions and on the other side we can write definitions or even examples.  We should try and use the words on a daily basis and we should repeatedly use these words whenever we get a chance. Keep a pile of cards ready to use whenever you get time.

• Make a sentence:

Making sentences and then memorizing words can be a fun way to work and learn the words. It is an interesting way to learn the words. Make some funny, interesting or even some unique sentences which we can easily remember and memorize.

• Let us take some examples of funny sentences:

• Max was freezing, so he piled on the maximum number of blankets.
• Letters are written on stationary
• In a confusing word pair, a sentence can help you remember which word is which
• Look at the golden dome on the capitol building
• The two I’S in the middle of parallel form parallel lines

• Draw your Word

Drawing words can always be helpful and again a very interesting way to learn and memorize words.  Do innovations with the word, you can either draw the word, or write the word in big letters or write the words in the form of a jigsaw puzzle or a riddle to learn the words and memorize them easily. So try to be innovative and creative while memorizing words.

• Listen to your voice:

Reading words and sentences loudly is also a good way of improving and memorizing words.  Hence listening to your own voice and reading words aloud can be of great help to learn words quickly. Hence it is important to read words and sentences loudly while practicing English.  

Let us take an example of the type of vocabulary questions:

Choose the synonym for the underlined word

• Affluence

(                  a)    Liquid (b) Measure (c) Wealth (D) Importance

The answer for the above question is “WEALTH”.

We may know this word and its meaning also however the main issue is that how do make this word a part of our daily communication. It is important to include this word in our memory. Knowing words is not the only thing even using them on a daily basis is important.

In this article we discussed a few simple and fun ways to memorize the words.  Hence following these small tips will definitely help in improving vocabulary.

For more information visit us at:- www.westernacademy.co.in

TOEFL & GRE, YOUR TICKET FOR GOING ABROAD

TOEFL and GRE are the two most common exams that are given by the students who want to go and study abroad. Let us the basic features of these two exams:

TOEFL:

This test is basically Test of English as a Foreign Language. There are two main English Language tests all over the world that are TOEFL AND IELTS, so TOEFL is an important and standardized English based test. This exam mainly tests the English proficiency of students who want to enroll and pursue their education in American Universities. It basically evaluates the English of students whose first language is not English. This exam is accepted by many Institutes and professional universities that are English speaking.

The key features of TOEFL are:

• Duration: If the test is Internet based then it  takes around 3 hours 10 minutes to 4 hours 20 minutes.

• If the test is paper based then it takes around 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 30 hours
• 
  
• Skills  tested: There are four main sections Reading, writing, Speaking and Listening

• Scoring: The scoring is done form 0-30(in 1 point’s increments) on each of the four sections. So if we observe a total of 0-120.

• Reading 31-67, Structure 31-69, Listening 31-68… So we can achieve a total of 310 to 677.
• 
  
• Writing Separate 0-6
• 
  
• All in one point increments 

• Test centers in the World: There are around 4500 test centers in 165 countries

• Number of attempts allowed: The internet based test can be taken only once in  any 12 day period

• Validity of the score: The score is valid only for two years and after th    at the exam has to be given again. 

 GRE :

• Test centers: There are about 700 test centers in more than 160 countries.

• Skills tested: It includes knowledge /skills , analytical writing, quantitative reasoning  and verbal reasoning

• Scoring:

• In quantitative Reasoning- 130-170(in 1 points increments)

• In Verbal Reasoning- 130-170(in 1 point increments)

• Analytical Writing- 0.00 to 6.0(in 0.5 point increments)

• This score is valid for a period of 5 years

• Duration: It takes around 3 hours and 45 minutes ( includes  a 1 minute break after each section and 10 minutes after the third section)

• Computer based test: It can be taken only 21 days form the day of exam every year. It is applicable even if a particular student has cancelled the score of the previous test

• Paper based Test: This is offered only in those areas were the computer based test is not available. It can be taken as and when is offered. 

Now that we have seen the features of both these tests one thing can be clearly understood that both these test GRE and TOEFL mainly are tests and exams of Language. They not only check your English language proficiency but they also check your understanding and in-depth knowledge of your language. They want to evaluate at what level you stand with respect to understanding of the language.

So to tackle the above issue coaching classes can be of great help and assistance. Joining  a good and reputed coaching class for these exams will help you understand the exam, structure, type of questions  and you can also get used to  the exam and the language used so you will be comfortable at the time of the real exam.

One important requisite of getting success in these exams is solving lots and lots of papers, mock tests to get accustomed to the exam pattern. Coaching centers can be of great help as they provide you with mock tests and they also evaluate and score according to the pattern of the actual exam.

One important thing to remember is that when a student wants to study abroad then only clearing GRE and TOEFL is not enough; there are also other documentation formalities that need to be fulfilled like letters of recommendations and SOP (Statement of purpose) for completion of the admission process in colleges and institutes. Coaching centers can also guide and assist in this as they are well aware of all the colleges and also all the procedures. They also provide good suggestions, guidance, consulting regarding colleges, processes, fees etc. Since they train so many students they have a great number of students who are studying abroad due to their academy so they have a great alumni network which can be helpful to all the aspiring students.

So overall coaching classes are quite necessary as they act like good guides and are great helping hands for students who dream of studying aboard. They can make this dream come true.

For more information please visit www.westernacademy.co.in