Help me for my TOEFL exam on January 2008

[Vg]

hi

I'm taking exam on January 12th... give me suggestion to improve my spontaneous speaking skill. is anybody having the exam on the same time... I'm really worrying about my preparation. if there is anyone in the same situation, lets have discussion about the speaking and writing sections.

my email ID ids vijigobs@yahoo.com

[Torsten]

Hi VG,

How much time do you spend to listening to English every day?
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Vg]

i'm spending 2hr in listening section,1 hr for writing, speaking 2hrs but i'm not doing good..help me to improve my standard...

[S.neerajdhar]

My sister is also preparing for TOEFL exam ... i have got some referenced for her of TOEFL exam coaching centres at:http://www.clickindia.com/education/competitive-coaching-classes/toefl-ielts-sat/

I hope it will help you, as it does, in case of my sister...

[Torsten]

[EnglishRaven]

Torsten's advice is right on, but probably sounds a little frustrating to people wanting quick fixes to prepare for the TOEFL.

To be honest vg, to get closer to a guarantee of a top score on the TOEFL you need a 3-6 month intensive study plan (at the very least). Through personal online training I've helped lift students' scores from 180 to 250 on the old CBT scale, and 80 to 110 on the iBT, but that was through intensive tuition (4-5 times a week) over a period of 2-4 months, and the students concerned were doing a large amount of prep independently as well. People wanting to avoid the cost of tuition-based preparation (and that is of course understandable - it can get quite expensive) and go it alone need to first come up with a plan that (a) guarantees the sort of constant input Torsten describes, and (b) involves constant linking to the way the TOEFL approaches the different skills. Then the student needs to maintain the discipline and motivaton to keep at this preparation regularly. This is where Torsten's point is so poignant - if you are reading, listening to, writing and speaking about content that you personally find interesting and stimulating, it makes it a lot easier to maintain ongoing work with (and acquisition of) the language.

Self-prep students also need to learn to network well with other students in the same situation, especially if they go to social public networking sites like this one. How many people reading this have posted an essay here asking for feedback but not given feedback to others' essays? If you take a selfish approach to preparation (as in, you ask for help from an online community but don't contribute any help of your own), you will get just that in return. The tragic thing here is that by analyzing, commenting on and discussing others' essays, you are helping your own writing a lot more than you realize. You may not feel 'qualified' to contribute thoughts or advice, but I think anyone seriously preparing for the TOEFL is qualified in some way or another - even if it is relating your own difficulties and brainstorming ways to overcome them.

I feel very sorry when students post help notices a week before the test, because I know a week can not make much of a difference on the TOEFL. It's a vigorously designed test with a long history, and it's specifically designed to test how much English you truly know overall - not how much you can cram in a short period of time.

I do have a recommended self-/collaborative preparation plan for the TOEFL that takes in all four sections. If I get the time, I'll try to post a condensed version of it here on the forum.

Sorry - I mean to be sympathetic and encouraging! I hope I haven't come across differently...

Best,

- Jason

[Vg]

thank u so much for everyone positive feedback.........