Internet-Based TOEFL

Tips and Strategies

Samar Aal
English Language Fellow
U.S. Embassy, Jakarta
 TOEFL iBT
Author and Publisher: ETS, Educational Testing Services:
http://www.ets.org/toefl
Test Purpose: The TOEFL iBT measures the ability to use
and understand English at the university level.
 Who Accepts the TOEFL?
ETS states that More than 9,000 colleges, agencies and
other institutions in over 130 countries accept the TOEFL
scores.
Educational institutions for admission
Immigration departments to issue visas
Medical and licensing agencies
Companies for hiring and promotion

Scores are valid for two years only.

 TOEFL Testing Location
The TOEFL iBT is $180 in Indonesia:
Jakarta Tangerang Surabaya Malang
Pekanbaru Makassar Batam Bandung
Semerang Medan Denpasar Jogjakarta
TOEFL iBT Test Sections
Slide title
 Taking the Test
All questions are obligatory
No question is be left unanswered
Note-taking is allowed
Certain strategies help tackle each section
Time management is key
 The Reading Section
3 or 4 passages 12-14 Q/ 20 min. each
Answer all the questions
Do not worry if the reading topic is unfamiliar to you
You do not need any background knowledge to answer the questions!
Save time:
Avoid reading the passage in depth
Know the directions to each question
Know the strategies that can help you answer each question
Do not spend too much time on a question you are unsure of, you can
return if you have time

It is all about STRATEGIES!

 The Reading Section Cont.
There are Ten different skills:

1. Vocabulary 2. Referent
3. Summarizing 4. Logical sequence
5. Stated Details 6. Unstated Details
7. Inference 8. Purpose
9. and 10. Organizational Skills
 What Will We Do Today?

Each Skill

Strategies to help
We will try to
How to identify the answer it correctly
answer
skill and quickly
a question together
An example
Skill 1: Vocabulary
 Skill 1: Vocabulary Questions
WHERE TO FIND Usually within the sentence that has the target word.
THE ANSWER

HOW TO ANSWER 1. Read one sentence only.

THE QUESTION 2. Look for clues carefully ( synonyms, punctuation marks, relative clause,
examples).
3. Eliminate any definitely wrong answers.

1.The meaning of a word is in the passage, you dont need to know the word in prior.
2. Do not choose the obvious meaning of the word. You must determine the meaning
of the word in this situation.
3.Learn roots, suffixes, and affixes.
4. Learn about punctuation.
5. Sometimes the clue is Negative+ opposite word:
Parasitic plants are often found in umbrageous areas, not areas exposed to
sunlight.
Example
Try it Out!
 Slide title
Skill 2: Pronoun Referent
Content
More content
 Skill 2: Pronoun Referent Questions
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER The noun that the pronoun refers to is found before the
pronoun.
HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Read only 2 sentences: the sentence with the pronoun
QUESTION
and the sentence BEFORE it.
2. Try each of the nouns in the context in place of the
pronoun. Look for grammatical clues.

1. Referents: he, she, who , which, that, one of them, some,

where etc
2. The correct answer is BEFORE the referent.
 Example
Slide title
Content
More content
Try it Out!
Skill 3: Simplifying the Meaning
 Skill 3: Simplifying the Meaning Questions
Slide title
WHERE TO FIND THE The target sentence is highlighted in the paragraph.
ANSWER Skill 2:Questions about the Details
HOWTO
HOW TO ANSWER
IDENTIFY THETHE What is the
1.stated/indicated/mentioned
Read only the highlighted in the passage?
sentence.
QUESTION According to the speaker, ..?
QUESTION 2. Simplify the sentence using your own words.
WHERE TO FIND THE Information needed will be directly stated in the passage, take careful notes
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Listen carefully
You MUST to details.
take notes:
QUESTION 2. Look for restates information
1.Identify the
3. Eliminate the main idea
definetaly ofanswers
wrong the sentence.
2.Write down only key words.
3.Use abbreviation, numbers, symbols, arrows, etc
4.Use Synonyms.
What are the tricks?
1.Choices that have the same words are wrong.
2.Choices that are true but are not the main idea of the sentence are wrong.
Example
Try it Out!
Skill 4: Logical Sequencing
 Slide title
Skill 4: Logical Sequencing Questions
WHERE TO FIND THE Four places are marked in the passage
Content
ANSWER

HOW TO ANSWER THE

QUESTION More content
1. Read the given sentence carefully and look for key words.
2. Usually the sentence given contain a referent, try to find
it.

When you find the sentence in the passage that

you are looking for, insert the given sentence
AFTER it.
Example
Try it Out!
Skill 5: Stated Details
 Skill 5: Stated Details Questions
WHERE TO FIND The answers will be stated in the passage, no background
THE ANSWER
knowledge needed!
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Choose a key word in the question.
THE QUESTION
2. Read the choices before reading the paragraph to know
what information you are looking for.
3. Scan the appropriate part of the passage for the key word or
idea.
4. Read the sentence that contains the key word or idea carefully.

Do Not choose the answer that has the same words as the passage,
it is a trick.
The correct answer is the same idea, but using different words.
 Example
Content
More content
Try it Out!
Skill 6: Unstated/Untrue Details
 Skill 6: Unstated/Untrue Details Questions
WHERE TO FIND THE The answer is NOT in the passage!
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Choose a key word in the question.
QUESTION
2. Read the choices before reading the paragraph to know
what information you are looking for.
3. Scan in the appropriate part of the passage.
4. Read carefully the sentence that contains the key word.

Be Careful:
Three answers will be true or mentioned in the passage.
DO NOT GET CONFUSED.
You must choose the answer that is not stated or not true.
so three answers ARE true
Try it Out!
Skill 7: Inference
 Skill 7: Inferences Questions
WHERE TO FIND THE The answers is indirectly understood.
ANSWER
HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Choose a key word in the question.
QUESTION 2. Read the choices before reading the paragraph to
know what information you are looking for.
3. Scan in the appropriate part of the passage.
4. Look for an answer that could be true, according to
that sentence.

You will not find the answer stated directly. The

answer is understood, concluded, deduced.
Try it Out!
Skill 8: Rhetorical Purpose
 Skill 8: Rhetorical Purpose Questions
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER Slide title
The targeted information is highlighted in the passage.

HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Read carefully the sentence around the highlighted information.
Content
QUESTION 2. Try to draw a conclusion about how the purpose of the highlighted
information.
More content
1. This question asks the Purpose or the Function, NOT the meaning.
2. Study transition expressions
Possible answers:
To explain/ indicate/show/demonstrate
To differentiate/ refute/contradict/to oppose/provide alternate explanation
To provide example
To provide definition/ evidence/proof/statistics
 Example
Slide title
Content
More content
Try it Out!
Skill 9: Summary
 Skill 9: Summary Questions
WHERE TO FIND The answer is throughout the passage.
THE ANSWER
HOW TO 1. Read the topic sentence in the chart carefully and determine its
ANSWER THE MAIN IDEA.
QUESTION1 2. Read each choices, focus on whether the sentence is
related/shares the same idea as the topic sentence given or not.
3. ELIMINATE choices that do not share the same ideas.
4. Read the remaining choices again and determine whether they are
true or false according to the passage.

This is the last question in the passage. You will

be already familiar with the whole passage.
Stay calm and try to determine if the choices
are related to the topic sentence or not.
Example
Try it Out!
Skill 10: Schematic Table
 Skill 10: Schematic Table Questions
WHERE TO The answer is throughout the passage.
FIND THE
ANSWER
HOW TO 1. Read the information provided in the table.
ANSWER THE
QUESTION1 2. Read each choices, focus on whether the sentences are true
or false according to the passage. Eliminate choices that are
not true or not mentioned.
3. Match the true choices to the correct category in the table.

This is the last question in the passage. You will be

already familiar with the whole passage.
Remember: Each paragraph has one idea. You can locate the
correct information easily if you know the main idea of each
paragraph.
 The Listening Section
6 to 9 listening passages
Questions are seen only after the passage had been listened to
35 seconds to answer each question.
You CANNOT change your answer once you click NEXT!
There are two kinds of listening passages:
1. Classroom discussions and conversations.
2. Academic passages/lectures by a professor.
Students must take organized notes
 Tips for Active Listening
Focus of the Main Idea: do not get distracted by gap fillers and digressions
Focus on the structure: look for examples, comparisons, cause and effect,
problem and solution etc
Try to anticipate what's next
Listen for tone and attitude
Pay attention to transitions
Take Notes
 Slide
Tips for title
Note-Taking
Know what to ignore
Take down only the main words
Use abbreviations, symbols, signs, numbers, arrows, drawings
Try to identify the kind of passage and organize your notes
accordingly
Do not worry about how your notes look like, no one will see them
Look at the pictures if provided!
Listen for cues in speech
 Notice Cues in Speech
Cues for Introduction:
Cues for moving to a next idea:
Cues for Definition
Cues for Description & Examples
Cues for Sequencing
Cues for Comparison & Contrast
Cues for Result/Conclusion
Today, we will discuss.
First of all,
Another point is,
Okay, let move on
Is known as, is called, refers to , means..
Consists of, namely, like, as, that is, for instance, kinds of, types of,
characteristics of, properties of
First , second, third
Next, then , last
Before, after, at the same time, as soon as, eventually, later, meanwhile,
subsequently, finally
Like, similar to , similarly, in the same way, as.. as
But, although , compared with,, in contrast, whereas, despite, on the
other hand, on the contrary, instead, however, conversely
So, therefore, as a result, because of this, since, as a consequence,
consequently, finally.
 The listening Section
Skills on the Listening Section:
1. Gist/ Main ideas.
2. Detail.
3. Understanding the Function of What Is Said.
4. Understanding the speakers attitude.
5. Understanding the organization.
6. Making Inference.
 Skill 1: Questions about the Gist
HOW TO IDENTIFY
Slide title
What is the subject/topic / main idea of the passage?
THE QUESTION
What is the lecture mainly about?
Content What problem does the speaker have?
Why does the student visit the professor?
MoreThecontent
WHERE TO FIND answer may be directly stated at the beginning of the
THE ANSWER
passage
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Listen carefully for the beginning of the passage.
THE QUESTION
2. Eliminate choices that refer to details.
3. Choose the answer that is closest to describing the overall
theme.
Example 1
Example
Example
Example 2
Example 3
 Slide title
Skill 2:Questions about the Details
HOW TO IDENTIFY
What is the stated/indicated/mentioned in the
Content passage?
THE QUESTION

According to the speaker, ..?

More content
WHERE TO FIND Information needed will be directly stated in the
THE ANSWER
passage, take careful notes.
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Listen carefully to details.
THE QUESTION
2. Look for restates information
3. Eliminate the definitely wrong answers
Example
Example
Example
Example
 Skill 3: Questions about Function
HOW TO Slide title
Listen again to part of the passage.
IDENTIFY THE
QUESTION
Content
WHERE TO FIND
The part of the passage we be replayed to
More content
THE ANSWER
you.
HOW TO
ANSWER THE
1. Listen carefully to the repeated part.
QUESTION 2. Try to make a conclusion about why the
speaker says it in that specific situation.
Example
Example
Example
 Slide title
Skill 4: Questions about the Speakers Stance
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE
Listen again to part of the conversation.
Content What is the attitude/opinion/point of view of the speaker?
QUESTION

More content
How does the speaker feel about?
What does the speaker mean?
WHERE TO FIND THE The part of the passage we be replayed to you.
ANSWER

HOW TO ANSWER THE 1. Listen carefully to the repeated part.

QUESTION
2. Try to make a conclusion about why the speaker says it in
that specific situation.
Example
Example
Example
 Slide
Skill 5: Questions title
about the Organization
HOW TO IDENTIFY How is the information in the passage organized?
THE QUESTION Click in the correct box/column
Content
WHERE TO FIND The information will not be directly stated.
More
THE ANSWER
content
It is necessary to understand the main idea and the way the
passage flows.
HOW TO ANSWER 1. Consider how the points in the passage are related.
THE QUESTION 2. Looks for an answer that shows organization/relation
among main points in the passage.
Example 1
Example 2
HOW TO IDENTIFY
Slide title
Skill6: Questions about Relationships

THE QUESTION
What is most likely...?
Content What is implied?
What is inferred?
More content
WHERE TO FIND
THE ANSWER
The information will not be directly stated.

HOW TO ANSWER
THE QUESTION
You need to draw your own conclusion as
the answer is not stated.
Example
 The Speaking Section
Question 1 Answer a question about a familiar topic. 45sec Independent
Question 2 skill
Answer a preference/argumentative question. 45 sec
Question3 Read a passage on a campus-related topic.
Listen to 2 people discussing the topic.
Integrated
Answer a question. 60 sec
skill
Question 4 Read a passage about an academic subject.
Listen to a lecture about the same topic.
Answer a question. 60 sec
Question 5 Listen to a conversation about a problem/solution.
Answer a question. 60 sec
Question 6 Listen to an academic lecture.
Answer a question. 60 sec
 The Speaking Rubric
Delivery Language Use Topic development

Fluency Vocabulary Organization of ideas

Clarity of speech Grammar Development of ideas
Pronunciation Coherency of ideas
Intonation

Minor lapses, pronunciation, intonation,

and grammar mistakes that do not affect
understanding are acceptable.
You do not have to be perfect.
 Question 1
About a familiar topic:
What changes would you like to make to your
neighborhood?
Preparation time 15 sec
Response time 45 sec
 Question 2
Preference or Argument:
Would you prefer to live in a big city or in a small town?
Why?
Knowledge is only found in books.
Do you agree or disagree?
Preparation time 15 sec

Response time 45 sec

 Tips for theSlide title
Independent Section
Write down key words
Organize your speech:
- Introduction: one sentence
- Body: preferably two main ideas with supporting details
- Conclusion: one sentence
Do NOT correct any mistakes, just move on
Do NOT stop before the 45 sec are over
 How to Practice for Independent Skill
Practice speaking about familiar topics (use flashcards)
Practice giving opinions and stating reasons
Practice making recommendations/ giving reasons
Practice using starters and transition expression: in my
opinion, although, furthermore...
Record your own voice, re-listen, compare to the rubric
 Practice Time

Preparation time 15 sec

Response time 45 sec
 Practice Time

Preparation time 15 sec

Response time 45 sec
 Slide title
Integrated Section
Take notes for both the reading section and the listening section
Try to paraphrase when taking notes
Recognize the attitude/feeling/reaction of the speakers
When speaking:
- Provide a complete response (reading and listening sections)
- Organise your ideas
- Speak clearly
- Use time effectively
 Slide title 3
Question
Content
More content

How do the students feel

about/react to?

Preparation time 30 sec

Response time 60 sec
Preparation time 30 sec
Response time 60 sec
 Slide title 4
Question
Content
More content

How does the information in the reading passage

add/supplement to the information in the listening
passage?
How does the information in the reading passage
contradicts/cast doubt on the information in the
listening passage?
Preparation time 30 sec
Response time 60 sec
Preparation time 30 sec
Response time 60 sec
 Slide title 5
Question

The students discuss two possible solutions to the problem. Describe the
problem. (Then state which of the two solutions you prefer and why).

Preparation time 20 sec

Response time 60 sec
 Slide title

Preparation time 20 sec

Response time 60 sec
 Slide title 6
Question

What does the professor say about?

Preparation time 30 sec

Response time 60 sec
 Slide title 6
Question

What does the professor describe Multiple Personality Disorder ?

Preparation time 30 sec

Response time 60 sec
 How to Practice for the Integrated Skill
Summarize short reading and listening passages
Use your notes to orally summarize the materials
Paraphrase what you read or head using your own words
Record and time yourself
Resources:
1. News papers/Radio/TV news
2. CNN : http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews/
3. Nat Geo http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/
The Writing Section
Slide title1
Question
How

How does the information in the reading passage add to/cast

doubt on the reading passage?
Reading time 3 min
Prep. Time 1 min
Response time 20 min
 Tips for the Integrated Skill
As you read:
Scan the reading passage and take notes of the main idea
Notice points that support the main idea (usually 3 points)
As you listen:
Take notes: listen for information that supports OR that opposes the main
idea in the reading passage
As you write:
Your answer should include the main points in the reading passage and the
related points support or oppose them in the listening passage
Suggested length: 150 to 225 words
Do NOT copy from the reading passage
 The Writing Section
Slide title
Question 2

Response time 30 min

 Tips for the Independent Skill

Write an outline
Organize your essay
Develop the essay by using reasons, examples, and details
Use effective linking words (transitional phrases) to connect
ideas
Use grammar and vocabulary accurately; use idiomatic
expressions appropriately
Follow the conventions of spelling, punctuation, and layout
 General Tips
You must work on improving your knowledge of the
English language skills that are covered on the test
You must understand the test-taking strategies
You must take practice tests with a focus on applying
the appropriate
language skills and
test-taking strategies
 Thank You!

Samar.diamond@gmail.com
 Resources
Longman iBT by Deborah Phillips.
www.ets.org