rameses28

Thanks Tseprep, You are one of the members I look up to. I read a lot of your posts and correspondence. I got a lot of pointers from you. I am just following your deed. I got lucky enough to get through the test. And now, it's my turn to try and help as much as I can. Please continue doing what you are doing. You are a very nice person! :notworthy May God bless you.

Thanks guys! LadyJane, keep on trying. You are very close. I'll keep you in my prayers. Thanks Trav! Nice job as well! Did you meet your requirement? I hope you did.

Congrats Pheone, I, too, got my result. I am in shock. I got 114. 28 in speaking. Never did I imagine that I can do it. God is very good!

Dear Friends, I got my TOEFL result just now and I am mesmerized: Reading : 29 Listening : 29 Speaking : 28 Writing : 28 Total : 114 Maybe it was Divine Intervention. But I never Imagined that I will get this kind of grade. Alleluia! I studied for months, well not strictly study, but I incorporated TOEFL in my daily life for months. I spoke English and I watched lots and lots of english programs... (Which made me hooked up to watching House, MD and a looot of movies. Hey, its not bad to enjoy while studying right?) And when I found out that the hardest part was speaking section. I devised a way how to answer it by combining what I read from books and what I read from here. Here is how I approach the dreaded Speaking Section: Q1 - State your answer immediately, do not waste precious time. Make the raters know what you are trying to say. And it is a MUST to give example. Even if you have to make up one, do it... they don't care if it is fictitious. My strategy in Q1 is be PERSONAL and SPECIFIC Q2 - State your choice in the first sentence. But, make use of powerful adjective/s before making your argument (I absolutely / I definitely / Undoubtedly). In this way, you are assuring the raters that you are sure of what you are saying.... Then make your choice, and say why you have that choice. And again, make an example. My strategy in Q2 is be LOGICAL and PERSONAL For Q3 and Q4 - I only spend maybe 30 to 35 seconds on the reading passage and then allot the remaining time to write JUST the IMPORTANT stuff. Remember, we need not to memorize what was written in the reading passage. We just need to get the gist. Use the reading passage to predict what the listening will be all about. After all, the listening will just feed off the reading passage. Just Briefly mention the reading passage in, at most, 15 seconds and use the remaining time to summarize the listening part. Q5 - Allot 15 seconds to mention the conflict/problem. Then state the solution and then give which one you prefer and stand for it. Come to think of it, Q5 is somewhat similar to Q2, except that you have to just mention the problem before making your choice. Q6 - just summarize what you listened to. You need not to write trivial stuff. Leave out the unimportant stuff. And do not panic if you missed out some info. There is a lot that you can get..... Please remember, the raters are also human. They, too, have a heart. And it is better to attack them there than try to attack them in their minds. Be personal. One of my friends (English Major gal) told me that I should smile even if I am talking to the microphone. Because our emotions can be felt in our speech. And imagine that the raters are all probably grumpy and stressed, so its probably better for them to hear a friendly voice. I know its tough to smile if we are nervous, but you can try it. Another thing, I am very big with starting my speech. That is why I allot at least 5 seconds of the prep time to plan my introduction. You want the raters to have good impression, but not too cocky. Again, attack the heart. If you had a good introduction and in the middle of your answer, you fumbled, chances are, they might let you through; they will just think that probably, something happened along the way. Always use the emotions to your advantage. And it also helps to breathe in deeply before answering. More Oxygen in the brain relaxes us. Thereby slowing our speech and making us less nervous. Use the KISS principle (Keep It Short and Simple). More complex, more errors, more problems. Simple is always better. And finally, pray.... this helped me a lot. I will try to recall some of my strategies as I go along and I will write it here. TOEFL is tough, but doable. It's not strictly academic, it has some mind games into it. Just play their rule and you will be rewarded. Thanks guys!!!

I am also eagerly and nervously waiting for the result. I am hoping for the best and expecting the worse. Let's all pray to God that we get through this.

Hello Newbie, I took TOEFL once. But I do think I have to take it again. I messed up badly. But the thing is, I reviewed for more than 3 months and concentrated more on the speaking section, it was just really hard. And it's tough to be consistent for 6 questions. (That is why I commend you for a job well done :notworthy) Also, when I was browsing thorugh the archives, I have seen a lot of people who can actually use the english language very well, in fact, they have a very good grasp of the language, but they are still struggling with the speaking section. I feel bad, not just for me, but also for other people who can talk and understand english at a very high level, but could get get pass through the speaking section. All I can do now is to pray for all of us who cannot get over this hurdle. I pray to God that hopefully, one day, we can conquer the speaking section.

Do we need to be error free when it comes to grammar and sentence as we deliver our response? Do they want us not to stutter or hesiatate at all in order to get good grade? Funny thing is, when I watch the news, even the most brilliant people in the US are having some errors and hesitations; and they are native speakers and have the most brilliant mind in the country, needless to say the whole world.... Do not tell me that they will not pass TOEFL IBT speaking section as well. Even sometimes the president himself is having some errors putting up a sentence.... Please note, I am not disrespecting him (the president), in fact, I have high regards for the him.... but the point I want to convey is, if the native speakers who have the most beautiful minds of our time are not error free when it comes to their spoken english; how come the raters are expecting us, who are non-native speakers, whose english is probably the second or third language, to speak almost perfect english..... I think that is why this is called Test of English as Foreign Language; because they cannot expect us to speak it perfectly. They should be more lenient with our lapses. Any comments?:hmm: Thank you

Do we need to be error free when it comes to grammar and sentence as we deliver our response? Do they want us not to stutter or hesiatate at all in order to get good grade? Funny thing is, when I watch the news, even the most brilliant people in the US are having some errors and hesitations; and they are native speakers and have the most brilliant mind in the country, needless to say the whole world.... Do not tell me that they will not pass TOEFL IBT speaking section as well. Even sometimes the president himself is having some errors putting up a sentence.... Please note, I am not disrespecting him (the president), in fact, I have high regards for the him.... but the point I want to convey is, if the native speakers who have the most beautiful minds of our time are not error free when it comes to their spoken english; how come the raters are expecting us, who are non-native speakers, whose english is probably the second or third language, to speak almost perfect english..... I think that is why this is called Test of English as Foreign Language; because they cannot expect us to speak it perfectly. They should be more lenient with our lapses. Any comments?:hmm:

Do we need to be error free when it comes to grammar and sentence as we deliver our response? Do they want us not to stutter or hesiatate at all in order to get good grade? Funny thing is, when I watch the news, even the most brilliant people in the US are having some errors and hesitations; and they are native speakers and have the most brilliant mind in the country, needless to say the whole world.... Do not tell me that they will not pass TOEFL IBT speaking section as well. Even sometimes the president himself is having some errors putting up a sentence.... Please note, I am not disrespecting him (the president), in fact, I have high regards for the him.... but the point I want to convey is, if the native speakers who have the most beautiful minds of our time are not error free when it comes to their spoken english; how come the raters are expecting us, who are non-native speakers, whose english is probably the second or third language, to speak almost perfect english..... I think that is why this is called Test of English as Foreign Language; because they cannot expect us to speak it perfectly. They should be more lenient with our lapses.

Hello Penie, I am sorry to hear about the result of your TOEFL. you are very close and yet so far.... I know, one day, everything will fall into place and you will finally have the magic numbers. I just have some questions for you.... Did you have some hesitations and stuttering when you did your speaking section? How would you rate the way you spoke? During the personal experience questions, did you give personal examples? How about the integrated questions? What books and resources did you use for review? Your input will help me a lot. Thanks and good luck on your next move.:)

hello penie, y don't you try to rescore? you are very close to get that elusive 26. may i ask you; what were your marks for each of the individual sections? my prayers are going to be with you. we are all in this mess and one day, all of us will get out of this. there is always light at the end of the tunnel:)

that was nice!!!! you gave me hope. at least there is still some window for me to get 26 despite the mistake there's nothing i can do now but to hope and pray for the best; but at the same time expect the worse. by the way, do they give comments for each of the sections? again, congrats and i hope i will get that magic number as well soon.

Thanks for your input. I wish I could get at least 26 for me not to take it anymore. By the way, what was your rating for your speaking section? That was very high and impressive rating you got there. Will you be kind enough to give your individual rating for the speaking section? Did you get good, good, good? Or did you have any fair section at all? Thanks again

WoW!!! Very awesome! You know what, we actually had the same experience. I took the test last May 3. I messed up one question and got nervous on the succeeding question. What happened was in question number 5, I interchanged the persons concerned. Instead of telling that the lady had the problem and the male had some suggestions, what I did was I told the male had the problem and the lady had the suggestion. It was too late to realize that I messed up so I just went on to finish my answer... then in question number 6, my mind was floating because of the unfortunate event in question number 5. But aside from that, I think I did well. But I know that questions 5 and 6 will pull me down. I hope I will get lucky like you. By the way, what was your rating for your speaking section? That wa svery high and impressive rating you got there? I just pray to God that the raters would let me slide through with my mistakes. Again, thanks for your help!!!! Good luck to you.

First of all, congrats!!! Very impressive scores. Will you be kind enough to provide us with your insights regarding speaking section? I mean, how did you feel after the test? Were you confident that you will get high scores? Did you have any grammatical errors? Stummering or Stuttering? Your tips will certainly help a lot of us who are still struggling with the elusive speaking section. Thanks