Tino

Hey all, my old employer asked me to post here. They are testing a new online teaching system and offering their TOEFL classes for free. It is not a scam. They will only ask for your email so they can send you the class information and such. No credit card, no money to pay, nothing, I promise. They need test students to test out the online system, not the class content (they're program is GOOD). Anyway, check it out if you want. The classes are live online webinars with their teachers. The classes are at 6PM Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is California time, so adjust accordingly. Here is the link to their webpage where you can sign up. If you have any problem or issue you can post here and I will address it! But you wont have any problems! Online FREE! - iTestSuccess

On the real test you have 10 minutes to answer the questions from 1 conversation and 2 lectures. There will be about 17 questions in total. So a little more than 30 seconds average per question. I rounded up to 40 seconds. Tino

Good advice Tino

As I mentioned before: 2 body paragraphs are enough, 3 is not required (though OK). And try to use specific and personal examples, as opposed to more general ones. Tino

Note to others, if you have knowledge of this situation where you are, please post here! Tino

Andrew, short, to the point, correct and based on facts in the country where you are. In short, very helpful! Thanks Tino

You have about 40 seconds to answer each question actually... Take simple and limited notes. Tino

Your intro was fine, except that you restated the question to talk about something slightly different. The question was why music is important, you changed that to why it is important in the modern age.

Oh, if you don't know the writing is scored from 0 to 5, so 5 is a perfect score. 5 in all areas on both essays will be a writing score of 30. Tino

1) This is not answering the question. The question did not mention about new technology or changes in how people use or appreciate music. You may lose some points here for misunderstanding the question or not addressing it exactly. 2) you want to say "at different times", not "in", for this meaning 3) furthermore is is a CONJUNCTION, like however, moreover, etc.... the best use is: CLAUSE; furthermore, CLAUSE...... that is preface with semicolon and end with a comma Over all a very good essay that will get at the least a 4, probably 4.5-5. Basically grammar and other errors are nonexistent. The only real issues are: A) Not answering the question/showing incomplete understanding of the question B) No specific examples. You used somewhat specific examples, but they were still somewhat generalized. Instead of mentioning "people" mention a specific person. Instead of "artists" give an example of a specific artist. If you rewrite to focus on the question with 1 or 2 very specific examples, this would be a guaranteed "5" Tino

I didn't see that, here is the essay with some noted areas: Music has been a part of people’s lives for centuries, but nowadays with the new technology and the ability to listen to music anytime and anyplace, music has become a main part of our lives(1). People listen to different music in different(2) times because music can help express emotions, it inspires people and it can also help connect different people from all around the world. Music can express humans’ different emotions in different times. Certain songs are written and performed to express an artist’s joy, sorrow or anger, and we can easily relate to these songs depending on the situation which we are in; furthermore,(3) many songs can describe different events which we might experience throughout our lives, listening to these songs can help us relate and express our hidden feelings. To sum up, letting out emotions is one of the main reasons why music has become so important to people. Another reason why music has become so important can be the fact that some music pieces can inspire the person that’s listening to it in many different ways. Many songs are sung to inspire people to make a difference, some advise people to believe in their goals and try hard to reach them, to help people less fortunate than them or to stand up for world peace. Some musical pieces can also inspire aspiring musicians and help them in their musical projects. Music can also make people from different places of the world feel connected with each other by their favorite songs and artists. Every person has a different taste in music but between all the people in the world many might be fans of the same artists and songs this may cause them to meet up in concerts or fan sites and feel connected. So making people feel connected also makes music important in our lives. All in all, music has become very important for people nowadays and has become a great part of our lives, people listen to different kinds of music in different times and whether it’s for expressing emotions, inspiration or connection the increasing role of music in our lives can not be denied.

And what was the question???

Not bad.... I would change your examples in paragraphs 2 and 3 to be more specific. For example in paragraph 3 why not use your country as a specific example, and give an example of something that specifically happened in your country? In your conclusion you do not need to reference the other opinion, however it is also OK to do so. Tino

12345678, Based on your English skills as you have stated you should be able to easily obtain 26 on speaking and 24 on writing, I think even higher. We can help you do that, probably in a month or less. Send me a private message. Tino

What was the original question? How long did it take you to write? Tino

Valerie, classes will be opening soon. Probably beginning of April. Send me a private message, and what part of LA do you live in? Thanks, Tino

Other books do not accurately reflect the real TOEFL in the Speaking and Writing sections. Notefull is correct, and every TOEFL test will follow the pattern Notefull shows. Tino

It depends on the student being taught. Most of our students are as Corey described, upper-intermediate, advanced or even near-fluent in English; living and working in the US for some time; educated professionals seeking TOEFL scores at a high level. These persons primarily require (if not solely) instruction on how to improve their TOEFL score, not their English. Usually we can help these people within 1-3 months get their required score, and almost no English language instruction is required. Tino

On listening? About 22-24 probably. Tino

Bino, your comment is bizarre to me. "One's own kind"? What do you mean? TOEFL raters are specifically told not to consider accents. That was my point. You seem to have taken away the opposite meaning. Tino

IMHO Kaplan is the worst TOEFL book out there, totally inaccurate. Don't worry about your score with Kaplan, and don't use that book. Tino

Andrew is right. And the speaking section has not changed, but new question types have been ADDED. You might get one of the new question types, you might not. Tino

Part of the problem, IMHO, is that TOEFL was designed to judge English ability related to performing in university, and was not intended to judge ability for professions. Further, TOEFL is a good judge of English ability up to a certain level, but at the highest levels it breaks down. Thus getting a 26 on speaking can be hard. I know an English teacher, and native speaker, who got 28 on speaking, as an example. Tino

Corey, thanks for that info! I didn't know either. That is going to make Rogers much more useful for me. Tino

OMG! Pharmacy?