My Experiences During the TOEFL Exam

 It has been a year since I last took my TOEFL test but the feeling seemed like yesterday. Honestly, I really had a hard time preparing for my TOEFL test. It was my boss who asked me to get a TOEFL certificate for it was needed for a scholarship offered by the company for me. Since it was good for my career, I just followed what I was told to, not knowing of how difficult the exam was. I read some blogs online on how to prepare for the test but I thought that reading this stuff was not enough.

Going to the bookstore was not much of a help either. I was in the middle of choosing this book over another. I thought buying one is enough as the content would just be the same. Surprisingly, the price of the book cost me quite a few pesos. Reading the book was a little helpful until I saw a friend recommended studying in a review center. Good thing the review center had available classes at night, so I joined their TOEFL program.

I had difficulty adjusting the first week of the review. The concept of the exam was explained so is the flow of the exam and the techniques for it. As weeks passed, I immediately got the “style” in answering the test until I was endorsed for the examination.

Now, I would like to tell you how similar the questions are from the reviews I had with my review center.

The reading was difficult with different academic topics covered. I was surprised to read about Dadaism which we practiced in class. Hence, I did not have a hard time understanding the passage for I had a little background on the topic. Choosing the answers was not as difficult as I thought for I was taught how in my review class.

The one thing I am thankful for in my review class is that my note-taking skills have totally improved. In the listening test, I was able to come up with good notes and they were organized as well. I did not have a hard time finding details because of my notes were actually almost perfect.

The speaking was challenging. With a little time to prepare, I made outline of my answers in words and not in sentences. This was taught by my coach and I was able to give good responses with strong details. The integrated tasks were not that difficult too as I was able to understand the reading and the listening passages.

I am happy that I had TOEFL grammar classes. Writing essays became a breeze. I was able to outline my answer before writing them. It indeed saved time and organized the flow of my ideas. Further, with the correct transition words, my essay was written very well and I got the score that I expected. Thanks to my mentors who guided me for the test.

The TOEFL test can be easy once you know how to respond to its tasks appropriately. The secret? Join TOEFL course programs and attend classes as often as possible.