The other day, someone asked:
I’ve got twelve months to prepare for the TOEFL, and I need 100 points. What should I do?
The good news for that student is that they have time to really improve their English fluency instead of just learning TOEFL tricks and strategies. I know it sounds crazy, but the best way to increase your TOEFL score is to become more fluent in English.
Here’s how I responded:
- Get a good grammar book like “English Grammar in Use” (also called “Grammar in Use – Intermediate” in some countries). I read about a dozen TOEFL essays every day, and I see that most students suffer from grammar and language use problems. Reduce your error rate and your writing score will go up.
- Find someone to practice speaking with. To improve your score you need to speak fluidly. You need to eliminate pauses, “umm breaks”, and repetitions. You need to pronounce vowels and consonants properly. You need to reduce the effort required to understand what you are saying. Regular practice will help with this. You don’t necessarily have t pay big bucks for a special TOEFL teacher to do this. You can probably find an affordable tutor on a service like italki for this.
- Take accurate practice TOEFL tests. There are 15 official ETS practice tests available (Official Guide x 4, Official iBT Tests x 10, website x 1) plus some PDF junk on the website. You should work through all of those. Fortunately, you have time to buy all of the books! Switch to unofficial material only when you run out.
- If you have a year to prepare you can also improve your reading and listening skills in a general sense. Spend some time reading good non-fiction books and articles (I like Science News, and National Geographic). Make use of your local library, if they have an English section. For listening, try Khan Academy, or podcasts like 60 Second Science.
- Towards the end of your preparation period take one of the scored practice tests from ETS to gauge your current level and see how to use the last few months most effectively.
And, yes, along the way you should devote some time to becoming familiar with the test. Read the Official Guide cover to cover (a few times). Read some of the guides on this website and watch some Youtube videos. Review sample writing and speaking responses. Just don’t get bogged down in “strategies” if the test is still a year away.