Professional Documents
Culture Documents
the TOEFL,
Proficiency Test
Prepared and Presented by
Nila Ayu Anggraeni,SS
Be familiar with the directions. The directions on every paper TOEFL test are the
same, so it is not necessary to spend time reading the directions carefully when you
take the test. You should be completely familiar with the directions before the day of
the test.
Listen carefully to the passages. You should concentrate fully on what the speakers
are saying on the recording because you will hear the recording one time only.
Know where the easier and the more difficult questions are generally found. Within
each part of the Listening Comprehension section on the paper test, the questions
generally progress from easy to difficult.
Be familiar with the pacing of the test. You have 12 seconds between each question
on the recording, so you must answer each question within 12 seconds and then be
prepared for the next question on the recording.
Never leave any answers blank on your answer sheet. Even if you are not sure of the
correct response, you should answer each question. There is no penalty for
guessing.
Use any remaining time to look ahead at the answers to the questions that follow.
When you finish with one question, you may have time to look ahead at the answers
to the next question
As you listen to each short dialogue, focus on the second line of the
conversation. The answer to the question is generally found in the
second line.
Keep in mind that the correct answer is probably a restatement of a
key word or idea in the second line of the dialogue. Think of possible
restatements.
Keep in mind that certain structures and expressions are tested
regularly in the short dialogues.
Listen for these structures and expressions:
structures (passives, negatives, wishes, conditions)
functional expressions (agreement, uncertainty, suggestion,
surprise)
idiomatic expressions (two-part verbs, three-part verbs, idioms)
Keep in mind that these questions generally progress from easy to
difficult. This means that questions I through 5 will be the easiest
and questions 26 through 30 will be the hardest.
Read the answers and choose the best answer to each question.
Remember to answer each question even if you are not sure of the
correct response. Never leave any answers blank.
Even if you do not understand the complete dialogue, you can still
find the correct answer.
Be prepared for the next question. You have only 12 seconds
between questions.
If you only understand a few words or ideas in the second line,
choose the answer that contains a restatement of those words or
ideas.
If you do not understand anything at all in the second line of the
conversation, choose the answer that sounds the most different
from what you heard.
Never choose an answer because it sounds like what you heard in
the dialogue.
Part B and C in the TOEFL paper based test contain longer conversation.
For each conversation you will be asked several questions. These two parts
may consist of casual conversation, academic discussion, and academic
lecture.
While you are looking at the answer, you should try to do the following:
Anticipate the topics of the conversation you will hear
Anticipate the questions for each of the groups of answers
Listen carefully to the first line of the conversation. The first line of the
conversation often contains the main idea, subject, or topic, and you will
often be asked this type of question
As you listen to the conversation, draw conclusions about the situation of
the conversation: who is talking, where and when the conversation takes
place, which course this lecture might be given in (for Part C)
As you listen to the conversation, follow along with the answers in your test
book and try to determine the correct answers. Detail questions are
generally answered in order in the talk, and the answers often sound the
same as what is said on the recording.
You should guess even if you are not sure.
AGo through
Patterned
Plan
of
Listening
the computer tutorial as quickly as you can.
Be familiar with each parts directions before the test begins.
Mark DISMISS DIRECTIONS as soon as the directions appear.
SET your headset VOLUME to the appropriate level.
IGNORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF SPEAKERS. They have nothing to do with the
content and contain no helpful information.
LISTEN CAREFULLY to what is stated, trying to grasp the overall concept.
REMEMBER GRAMMATICAL RULES and other techniques.
Look at the answer choices. If you do not find the answer immediately, try to
ELIMINATE INCORRECT ANSWER CHOICES. Watch for words or sounds
that are added as distractions.
CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER as quickly as possible and move on.
Pace yourself and watch the time.
Click NEXT and CONFIRM in order to move to the next question.
Never worry about how you answered a prior question.
If you run out of time, leave the last questions blank. Do not guess.
GRAMMAR
1.
Identify the Subject and Verb in the sentence, make sure if the
sentence already contains Subject and verb, if No then try to locate
the options that contain subject and Verb, then consider the
agreement between the two.
If the problem lies on the Subject it must be dealt with noun so then
check if the articles or determiners, plurality, or noun clause, or
gerund or to infinitive is used properly. Or, if there is a blank space
after subject, it means that we are going to deal with the adjective
clause or appositive, when there are two commas.
If the problem is dealt with the verb, we need to check the
agreement between subject and verb, and then go to see if the
tense is used correctly.
If there is no problem with the Subject and Verb, the problems
might be found in the object or the adverb of the sentence, so take
a look and check. When dealing with object, it is probably dealing
with the adjective clause or appositive.
2.
3.
4.
Contd: Expl-1
Examples:
----S+ V--- with their surroundings, or they
hide in crevices for protection.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Lobsters
Lobsters blend
Lobsters blending
Because Lobsters
blend
S
S+V
S + V (- agreement)
Clause Marker + S + V
Contd: Expl-2
Prep. + S
S
S+V
Prep. + S
Contd: Expl-3
is my next-door neighbor
of my next-door neighbor
whom my next-door neighbor
my next-door neighbor
V + NP
Prep + NP
Cl. Marker +NP
NP
Contd: Expl-4
whether it
know whether it
know whether
sure whether
Conj. + N
V + Conj + N
V + Conj
V (with missing
be)+ Conj.
Contd: Expll-5
whom readers
the praise of readers
whom praisings
whom readers praise
Cl. Marker + N
NP + Prep. obj
Cl. Marker + ?
Cl. Marker + S + V
2.
Contd (2)
Pronoun:
S
You gave him the roses
S
IO
Gerund (phrase): Growing roses is your favorite hobby (as S)
You relax by growing roses (as O of Prep)
Infinitive (phrase): You like to grow roses (O of Prep)
Noun clause
(DO)
Contd
4.
b.
c.
Contd (3)
5.
b.
Contd (4)
c.
d.
e.
Contd (5)
6.
Contd (6)
7.
READING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Read the first and last sentence of the passage to establish the topic and
main idea. Skim the passage for the key concepts and vocabulary. Read the
questions following the passage to find out what information your are looking
for. DO NOT read the answer choices at this time; just read the questions.
Guess if you do not know the correct answer. Use any clues in the question
ad passage to make your best guest. If you finish the reading comprehension
section before the time is up, you can go back to questions that you were not
sure about.
Build Good Reading Skills: Skim and Scan Skimming means reading quicly
for general meaning. Scanning means knowing what information you need to
find before you read.
Vocabulary in Context When you answer this type of question about a word
in the passage, you need to scan to find the sentence that the word is in,
read it carefully, and reason logically. How to make use of context in reading
passages: Most writers try hard to help their readers to understand the
information in a reading passage. They do this by providing cues or aids in
their writing to clarify, define, and explain difficult concepts and key words and
expressions in the passages.
Guess if you do not know the correct answer. Use any clues in the
question ad passage to make your best guest. If you finish the reading
comprehension section before the time is up, you can go back to
questions that you were not sure about.
Build Good Reading Skills: Skim and Scan Skimming means reading
quickly for general meaning. Scanning means knowing what
information you need to find before you read.
Vocabulary in Context When you answer this type of question about a
word in the passage, you need to scan to find the sentence that the
word is in, read it carefully, and reason logically. How to make use of
context in reading passages: Most writers try hard to help their readers
to understand the information in a reading passage. They do this by
providing cues or aids in their writing to clarify, define, and explain
difficult concepts and key words and expressions in the passages.
To identify main ideas, look for key words that show a relationship to
the topic and are repeated throughout the passage .The main ideas is
often restated in the conclusion of the passage
Questions about details and facts are often worded in the following ways:
About information that IS in the passage: According to the passage, who
why where when how, etc. ? According to the author, The author states in
the passage that The author indicates that The author refers to which of
the following as It is stated in the passage that
About information that IS NOT in the passage: All of the following are
mentioned in the passage as EXCEPT According to the passage all of
the following are true about EXCEPT Which of the following is NOT
mentioned in the passage as? Which of the following is NOT stated in the
passage?
To answer questions about facts and details follow these steps: Read the
question and identify the key words and controlling idea. REMEMBER that
the questions will be in order of the information in the passage. Scan the
passage for the key words and controlling ideas. REMEMBER that you
should look for synonyms and related words as well as exact words.
Carefully read this part of the passage to answer the question. Scan the
answer choices to match the information in the passage the correct answer
choice. Be careful to look for the information that is not true in a TOEFL
question worded with NOT and EXCEPT