TOEFL Reading and Listening Tips (Video)

In the video, Marina Mogilko, who scored 117 out of 120 in the TOEFL exam, reveals the methods she used in her preparation for the test, focusing on the Reading and Listening sections.

First, Mogilko shares some general tips, including the slightly unconventional advice that during the preparation you should not be learning English, but rather how to deal with the exam's typical tasks.

One of the first things you have to do is find out what score level is required by the university or institution you want to apply to – this will give you the benchmark you have to aim for.

You may also want to download some TOEFL iBT practice tests. These will help you determine the parts of the exam that you find most difficult.

Check out: How Long to Study for TOEFL or IELTS

You are also advised to familiarise yourself with topics that often feature in the test such as “ancient caves”, “life in the ocean”, “mammals” and so on.

Reading

• When you are working on the TOEFL Reading section, the most important thing to do is to stay focused. This may be easier said than done because when you start the Reading part, the testing room can happen to be noisy because there are other test takers who are still registering or are entering the room. You have to learn to shut out this hubbub and stay focused.
• Then you need to scroll the text to get the general idea of it. Read the first sentence of each paragraph.
• Remember that in the TOEFL test, questions generally follow the order of the text, so the answer to the first question will be in the first paragraph and the answer to the second question in the first to second paragraph and so on.
• You need only one sentence to answer each question. Once you find the sentence, stop there, answer the question and move on to the next one.

Listening

• This is a relatively easy section because there are no ambiguous questions or context that you need to remember in order to answer correctly.
• Listen to every detail. You shouldn’t miss anything. If you miss a couple of details you won’t be able to answer some questions.
• TOEFL is an American test so Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organisation that administers the exam, uses primarily American speakers, although other accents of English are also used in the test. It is therefore a good idea to watch movies, TV series or news bulletins where US English is used.

Enjoy the video and feel free to share your experience or ask questions in the comments box below.

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