What is preparation for the TOEIC® test? Do you really know?

[HamburgEnglish]

It is so strange how people think and how during time a small incorrect perception suddenly becomes a fact that the world adopt and are willing to stand in front of a bus for.

Let's take for instance preparation for the TOEIC test. Currently 1000's of students run around the country like cockroaches with their heads cut off completing exercise after exercise to prepare for the TOEIC test. The marketing fight for preparation supremacy is leading to more and more outrageous claims and also the release of "secrets" that students connect with immediately, thinking that these secrets will help them. Yes ok we all know these claims have been around for some time “learn English in 5 days”, “learn 30 accents in 2 hours” … etc .. sniff sniff .. Can I smell Cow poo? No it’s Bulls__t!

OK, so tips and advice is one thing, but recently I saw information in so-called preparation books telling students not to worry if they get some questions incorrect, because in the TOEIC test this will not affect their score. True or false, the fact is that this information has absolutely nothing to do with preparing for the TOEIC test or is it of benefit to the student. Case study: We are seeing more and more students not achieving the score they need due to overconfidence purely generated by this statement! The people that wrote this type of TOEIC preparation material should be stripped and shot as all they are after is money, using the information to give them a marketing edge and not to benefit the student.

So what is preparation? Preparation is a procedure of becoming accustomed to the TOEIC test, the test sitting, the administration, the procedures and also things such as; what you need to take to a test sitting and the delivery mothod of the questions. Repetitive practicing of TOEIC-Style test questions and completing practice tests is part of becoming accustomed, leading to an understanding of the demands of the different question types. But repetitive answering of TOEIC-style questions is not an efficient way to improve English proficiency!

By preparing properly a student can reduce their need to concentrate on the test sitting and other test related things, also, they can feel more at ease in the test sitting. These things will lead to the student's better concentration on the language and the questions. Better concentration on the audio without a little voice in their head always saying "am I doing this correctly?" Correct preparation and the improved concentration of the student can lead to an increase in the student’s achievable TOEIC score level.

Preparation is being confused with learning English! Fact: There is a big difference and those involved in the industry should make a clear definition and stop blurting out the outrageous claims they currently make for the sake of marketing.

In the case of the TOEIC test, care should be taken by students when selecting preparation material. At www.onlineenglish.eu, .de also under www.onlineenglish900.com we separate TOEIC preparation from English proficiency improvement and never release any information to the student that would not be to their benefit. Our background as a TOEIC test center and authorized administrators ensure all student’s get helpful information and if they wish, can improve their English in separate training areas.

Robert Phipps
Manager
www.hamburg-english.de
www.onlineenglish.eu
www.onlineenglish900.com