How long does it take to prepare for TOEFL® examination from intermediate level?

[M1mohammad]

Hello all,

How long does it take to prepare for TOEFL examination from intermediate level?

I know that my question somehow is not true! But if I devote 2 to 3 hours a day.....practicing TOEFL tests- How long does it take?

Thanks in advance,
Nasr

TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a university student and an employee in the university registrar's office

[Torsten]

Hi Nasr,

Before I can answer your question it would be important to know why you want to prepare for the TOEFL and what score you want to achieve?

TOEIC listening, photographs: Working in a warehouse

[M1mohammad]

Hello Torsten,
Here students can study a secondary degree in the university only if they pass a TOEFL test. Ofcourse they don't need to score highly in the exam.
Thier grasp of English should be acceptable and no more.

Hope to hear from you soon
Nasr

[Alex Anna]

yep .. my English level is intermediate,too. I have 5 months to prepare for TOEFL exam. And my goal is 100 score. I am so worried. Because I think that my English skills are not good enough to achieve that score. What I should do now? My speaking and writing skill are very bad. I did the sampler TOEFL iBT test on the Barron's book. And my score was only 39. Can u give me some advice? Thanks for all.

[Torsten]

Hi Alex Anna, what subjects are in interested in? Also, why do you want to take the TOEFL? You probably want to study at university? The key to improving your English is to find things you really like. Learning should be fun. You have to enjoy the learning process and raise your level of self-confidence. So, if you tell me more about yourself we can create an individual training program for you.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: A building site

[Alex Anna]

Thanks Torsten for your reply ..
I have just graduated from the university. And I want to take the TOEFL because I want to apply for a American university. My field is Animal Science. And if I want to apply for the master degree I have to have 600 TOEFL score. I really like learning English. But I dont know what I should do to achieve that score in 3 months. Please, give me some advices. At this time, I do the tests in enlish-test.net everyday. I watch the TV shows One Tree Hill for 2 hours a day. And I try to learn 8 new words/day. I also learn the book How prepare the TOEFL -Barron's. Before I go to bed,I listen to English conversation on CD. Thats all. But I dont think thats enough for the TOEFL exam.
Thanks Torsten for all. Please reply me soon.
Regards
AA

[Torsten]

Hi Alex Anna, your English is pretty good, I don't think I would be able to achieve your level if I had to learn Vietnamese. Could you please tell me what your current TOEFL score is? Have you tried to take a TOEFL mock exam? Also, do you have any books on Animal Science? Go to your local library and see what they have to offer. Start reading English texts about your favourite subject.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: Building in progress

[Alex Anna]

Thanks Torsten. You make me more confident. I did a model test in the Barron's TOEFL books last month. And I only have 39 Score.(thats I scored myself). Should I take a model TOEFL test everyweek to test myself? When I practice the excercises in Barron's TOEFL book such as Paraphrase, Summarizing...I don's have enough vocabulary to do them correctly.
You said me that I should start reading English texts. But when I read texts, Should I look up all the new words I don't know or I skip them and read to find the main ideas?
What should I do to improve my speaking and writing skill?
I will have one more months to prepare my TOEFL exam. So I have 4 months left. I have to take the TOEFL exam in April.
Your advices are so helpful with me. Thanks for all this.
Regards
AA

[Alex Anna]

:(( hix .. Torsten.. Im waiting for your reply .. :(( ..please .. :(

[Torsten]

Hi AA, sorry it took me so long to respond to your question. Don't worry about the TOEFL, concentrate on learning more about the subjects you are interested in. TOEFL prep books are fine but you have to keep a balance between 'TOEFL preparation activities' and 'studying your subject activities'. This means, improving your English should only be a 'by-product' of your learning process rather than the main purpose. Think about it: You need to take the TOEFL because you want to study a certain subject at university. That subject is NOT English, it's something else. So, instead of trying to increase your TOEFL score, concentrate your efforts on increasing your knowledge in the areas you want to study at university. This approach will automatically result in a higher TOEFL score. Try it out, it works. Also, please spend some time reading through the following discussions:

How to improve my English?
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic10072.html

How to increase my vocabulary?
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic14083.html

How can I improve my writing skills?
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic3232.html

Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten
PS: Please note that 'advice' is uncountable.

TOEIC listening, photographs: A girl with boxes

[Alex Anna]

Thanks Torsten for your advice :). I will try my best to practice English with your 30 mins class. Now I am travelling to Singapore. So I have more opportunities to speak and use English.