In India, more than 85 percent of high schools are located in rural areas. This means, majority of Indian students write their matriculation exams in their regional languages. It makes learning tougher at the undergraduate level, where the medium of teaching is English. Yet, students across the country manage to understand the subjects owing to the teachers who are ready to explain the theories and concepts in a vernacular language. This phenomenon is possible in many non-English speaking countries, however, this will not be the case in a foreign university where English is the native language such as most universities in the U.S., UK, and many other countries. These countries put great emphasis on English language test before admitting any such students as the number of students travelling from non-English speaking countries to these nations are comparatively very high. Two of such most important exams are the TOEFL and the IELTS. Deciding which exams to appear for depends on the student�s choice. As the TOEFL test is more inclined to the American English, experts suggests this exam to the students who wish to pursue their education in the U.S.
What is TOEFL?
Most people experience stress before TOEFL exam because they do not know what to expect from the test. Administrated by the world\'s largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization called Educational Testing Service (ETS), Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL measures the ability of non-native English speakers to use and understand English as it is read, written, heard and spoken in the university classrooms. The TOEFL test has more test dates (more than 50 per year) and locations than any other English-language test in the world.
Most of the countries now offer internet based TOEFL called TOEFL (iBT). There are four sections (listening, reading, speaking and writing), which take a total of about four and a half hours to complete. During the exam, candidates are asked to perform tasks that combine more than one skill. Each section carries 30 marks aggregating to 120. There is no such thing called minimum score for TOEFL or par score to enroll into the accepted list of a university. Candidates need to go and search about the admission criteria of a particular university that they want to join to know about the minimum TOEFL score. Each of them possess different cut off marks to admit students to their fresh batch. Knowing about the par score before starting the preparation will help the students setting their goal. However, aiming high helps so that students do not need worry about searching for an alternative campus because of their low score in the TOEFL.
Secrets to strengthen the skills
Preparing for TOEFL exams can be done individually with the help of study materials that are available in the internet or the nearby bookstalls. However, preparations will be easier and better if students can find a mentor or teacher who knows what exactly the exam pattern is. This will help them to find answers of difficult questions that they encounter during their studies. Otherwise, the frustration of not getting the right answer will lead them to think about quitting the dream of frying abroad.
Along with the difficulty of the paper, with more than four hours, TOEFL exams are also very long. It has been proven that for an average student the ability to concentrate will drop down drastically after two hours. Students need to extent their study sessions to a continuous four hours mode if they are preparing for TOEFL. It is not an easy thing to do and they need to find out suitable ways to achieve this mark. Making a group of people who are curious to learn more about English as language will help them in it.
During these discussions and watching international news channels during short breaks, making note based on what is heard will be a good advantage while appearing for exam as well as during the time of studies. It will enhance the student�s reading ability, grasping sense and fast writing capabilities. Moreover, students need to start preparing as early as possible, at least six months before, so that they can avoid the regrets about not getting enough practice before the exam.
There are people around the world who have been claiming that they got more than 110 marks by preparing just two days before the exam. Students should try not to cheat themselves by thinking that it is a simple exam. Just remember, luck does not pay off, without hard work and sincere commitment.
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