Toefl 111

[potatochips]

Reading 30
Listening 23
Speaking 29
Writing 29
Total 111

I only had a week to prepare for the test - that included cramming my way through this forum, and trying out any free sample tests I could find on the 'net (which weren't that plenty).

Reading. From this forum, I learned about Barron's TOEFL iBT book, as well a Notefull's videos. I was lucky to find a free .pdf version of that just by Googling it. I wanted to finish reading all of it because it really seemed packed with a lot of useful info, but with procrastination getting the better of me most of the time, I ended up reading only part of the tips for the reading section. But I guess even that was helpful enough, I mean look at my reading score! I was actually worried that my reading skills won't be good enough to get me a perfect score, but I guess the tips I got from Barron, plus the last minute look I had at Notefull's youtube video about the reading section really helped!

Listening. I had ZERO preparation for this section! I just thought that maybe I didn't need to know about any strategies. But apparently, giving myself time to be familiar with the type of questions they would be asking, and how to get the right answers, might have made a huge impact on my score, too. During the test, I had difficulty concentrating on this section mainly because I already felt that I was not performing well. Aside from that, the testing site was like a sauna - about 35 degrees hot or something! Needless to say, my ears were burning hot, I was sweating, while still trying to concentrate on the exam amidst distracting noises and movements from people moving in and out of their seats for their 10-minute break. The topics in the Listening Section didn't interest me, and the questions were not easy, either. I especially hated the questions that asked "what the lecture was all about" because, I realized, I wasn't equipped with the right strategies and skills to accurately answer those. Also, I found the questins about " what the speaker meant when saying this..." a little challenging. I just wish I had read enough tips to properly answer those questions!

Speaking. I thought I really messed up this section! By that time, I was totally worn out from the Listening Section, I was sweating more, and I was hungry (I'm pregnant, too, so any feeling of discomfort was hard to tolerate)! I could feel my voice shaking, I was nervous because to me, I was just stammering, and giving mediocre answers. My self-evaluation was only around 21-25, because my Topic Development was not very strong, I thought. So the results really came as a surprise. The reference I used to prepare for this section was mostly Notefull's TOEFL iBT speaking videos, but frankly speaking, I don't know how much of his tips I actually used during the exam. I found that Notefull's way of note-taking was making me even more nervous and distracted, but kept on doing it anyway (just because there was nothing else for me to do during the 45-60 second prep time).

Writing. I admit I was not well-prepared for this section as well, strategy-wise. However, right after the actual test, I felt most confident about the Writing section, and believed I would get a perfect score. I even followed Notefull's tip, which was to reach about 400-500 words for Question 2. But maybe I only got 29 because of Question 1. Maybe I missed some points in the lecture, so no matter how confident I was with my writing skills, I wasn't able to show strong links between the reading and listening texts.

I think it is really important to approach the exam with confidence, sufficient prep time, and proper disposition. Being an English teacher myself, I thought one week would be enough, but with other responsibilities like a full-time job and a growing child in my belly, it just wasn't easy to devote the WHOLE week to just prepping for the TOEFL. One also has to be physically and emotionally at ease during the exam. The night before, I slept around 1am taking last minute glances at reading strategies from Barron's book, woke up at 8:30am, had a huge fight with family for about an hour over breakfast, and barely made it to the testing center at 10:30. Had things been a little different, my scores might have been a little diferent, too. Perhaps higher?

Anyways, good luck everyone! I hope this helps.

[eta1232002]

Hi Potatochips,

I will have my test very soon. Let me know:

1- What were the speaking questions??

2- What were the writing questions??

3- Was the accent of real exam in listening section closer to the accent of (Complete Guide of TOEFL/Barron's/Longman/Kaplan)???


Thanks in advance

[potatochips]

Good point, *************.
I was actually aiming my tips at the more advanced learners.
Those in the lower-, mid-, or even high-intermediate levels should indeed exert a lot more time and effort on this.