TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is one of the most popular English language proficiency tests that are required for admission to university programmes taught in English.
Preparing for the TOEFL test is actually preparation for success during your studies. Improving your skills is not only important in order to achieve a high-enough score on the test, but mainly because you will need to communicate in English freely during your studies.
Check out: How Long to Study for TOEFL or IELTS
The TOEFL test has several sections and it assesses all your English skills – reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking. The speaking part of the test is conducted on a computer – you will receive all the instructions and the record your speech. There is no examiner to talk to face to face. This is challenging for many test-takers and requires a good amount of confidence. Here are two approaches that can help you practise in order to build this confidence.
Watch this official TOEFL TV video and learn from the experience of the presenter - Alisa Yi-Ting Tu from Taiwan. She studied for her Master’s degree in the United States and is passionate about teaching.
Alisa suggests two techniques that you can use to improve your English speaking skills - videotaping and shadowing.
She is convinced that watching videos of yourself is very helpful to see how you actually perform. It will be even better if you show the videotapes to your English teacher or TOEFL coach. That way, you can have professional feedback and further advice on where you can improve.
Alisa explains that shadowing (or repeating) what you hear on the radio or from other media sources can help improve your speech.
If you keep repeating for 20 minutes you will start getting the intonation. That’s how you work on intonation and pronunciation.
Find more details in the video and try out these two approaches to see how they work for you. If you have your own TOEFL tips, feel free to share them in the comments below.
