I stumbled across a copy of the fifth edition of Rawdon Wyatt’s “Check Your English Vocabulary for the TOEFL” today.  This isn’t a particularly popular book, but it does come up now and then when I talk to students.

It must be said that this is barely a TOEFL book.  The TOEFL is referenced in the title and mentioned in the introduction to the book, but otherwise this is just a general vocabulary workbook.  It contains 50 chapters of fill-in-the-blank activities, crossword puzzles and other skill building things.  The vocabulary presented in the book is certainly useful, but it isn’t particularly focused on the TOEFL in any way.  Nor will you find any activities or questions that resemble what you’ll find on the TOEFL (like you will find in the TOEFL vocabulary book published by Barron’s).  It isn’t even focused on the sort of peculiar academic vocabulary one finds on the TOEFL.  Keep that in mind if you plan to use this as a self-study resource or a teaching tool.  This is fine as a vocabulary book, but it is about as useful as any old vocabulary book when it comes to TOEFL prep.  It isn’t any better than, say, “English Vocabulary in Use” or any other good vocabulary resource from a reputable publisher.

Note for teachers: this book is perfect if you are looking for photocopiables and your boss wants you to draw from something with “TOEFL” in the title.

You can get a copy from Amazon.

Alright, so there is a bit more variety in this week’s “You Should Read More” column!  

First up, I read the February 2023 issue of National Geographic.  A few stories stood out:

  • Why these colorful fish engage in mouth-to-mouth showdowns is a short article about some weird and wonderful fish.  The sarcastic fringefish has a unique way of fighting, but also of avoiding fights with others of its species.  This is an example what I think it called agonistic behavior, which I am 100% sure has been used as type three speaking question.

  • Origami is revolutionizing technology, from medicine to space is the month’s title story.  It is about practical and high-tech uses of techniques inspired by origami.  It isn’t exactly the sort of thing that would appear on the TOEFL, but it is a lengthy academic-level passage that will probably hold your attention.

  • The extraordinary benefits of a house made of mud is about the use of mud in construction.  Mud is actually a traditional building material in parts of Africa.  The article discusses some of its advantages.  There is plenty of good science in here, and I can picture a TOEFL reading passage about this construction material!

Meanwhile, I read the February 27/March 6 issue of Time Magazine.  A couple of things are worth mentioning:

For a recent project I read Did we get the ‘old-age dependency’ of aging countries all wrong?  It’s about the way we think about the productiveness of “old” people in society.  Traditionally, societies have considered those above the age of 65 to be “dependent” on the rest of society, and therefore when those people make up a greater and greater proportion of the overall population, alarm bells are sounded.  But maybe it doesn’t have to be like that.

Finally, I’ve been plugging away at a large textbook called “They Say, I Say.”  It’s a guide to essay writing for freshman students, but also contains a huge number of academic readings meant to stimulate critical thought and written discussion.  I am not quite finished with it, so I think I’ll save it for next month, when I will discuss it both as a source of writing advice and as a source of academic reading material.

Someone posted a recommendation last month.  Don’t worry.  I haven’t forgotten you, and I’m going to hunt around for a copy of the recommended text.  I’m always open to recommendations!

While I was in Canada last year, I found a copy of Arco’s “TOEFL” from 1974/75.  This is the oldest TOEFL book I have ever had in my hands.  It was written by Harriet N. Moreno, Edith H. Babin and Carol V Scallon.  Interestingly, the audio files came on vinyl records (which I could not get).

I can’t resist using this opportunity to write a few words about Arco.

Though it is largely forgotten nowadays, Arco was one of the very first publishers of test preparation books in the United States.  Founded in 1937 (two years before Barron’s) by Milton Gladstone, the company eventually branched out into fiction and cheap general reference books of all sorts.  Notably, the publisher attracted the attention of the United States government due to the publication of its “Arco Sophisticates” line of paperback erotica (many written by Jack Woodford). Gladstone was subpoenaed and spoke before the US House of Representatives in 1952.   

In 1978, the publisher was acquired by Simon and Schuster.  Thanks to its long association with test prep books, the “Arco” brand name was valuable enough to be passed through various hands including those of Pearson , IDG, Thomson, Cengage and Peterson’s.  I think Peterson’s still owns the name, but I suspect no one over there even knows that.  The last book to bear the Arco name was published in 2010, as far as I can tell.  It was a guide to the Federal Clerical Exam.  I think Peterson’s retired the brand after that.

Anyhow… the gallery below contains a few pictures of the TOEFL book, including the cover, back cover, preface and “how to be a master test taker” guide.  I took a few more pictures that I won’t share here.  Let me know if you need ’em for some reason.  They include some actual questions.

Since it is the end of the year, here is a quick run-down of the best TOEFL books and courses available today. I remind you that I have used and examined everything that is listed here, so if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.  I’m a picky teacher, but (I hope) a fair one when it comes to materials. Don’t consider the order I’ve listed these materials as a ranking system.  I don’t rank stuff.

Best Online TOEFL Courses in 2022

1. TST Prep Score Builder Program

Pros: This remains the gold-standard for third party courses. It includes a 20 hour video course, 1000+ activities, 1000+ practice questions, 10 practice tests and other stuff.  It has the most accurate practice tests and questions of any third-party publisher.

Cons: It costs $197, which some might consider expensive.  However, you can use the coupon code goodine10off to get a 10% discount.  TST Prep also runs sales now and then, so check their social media.  A sale + the coupon will make this a deal.

2. Official iBT Prep Course

The Prep Course is new for 2022!  Yes, ETS is now selling its own online course.  It costs $130.

Pros: Since it comes from ETS, all of the practice questions in this course are 100% accurate.  That’s important.  I really like the strategies for the writing and speaking sections, as they clear up a lot of misconceptions held by students.

Cons: It contains no video lessons; the lessons are all text. Also, the course contains far fewer practice questions than the TST Prep course does. There is no option to take even one complete practice test all at once.

3. GregMat+ TOEFL

GregMat’s TOEFL course became super-popular in 2022.  Young people adore it.   It costs $5 per month.  Just remember to cancel the auto-renew.

Pros:  The strength of this course it its simplicity.  It consists of about 60 videos.  And that’s it.  It doesn’t have any activities, PDF files, sample tests or clunky UI to navigate.  It is just a bunch of videos that explain test-taking strategy.  In this way, it complements what is available online for free quite well. This appeals a lot to younger students, I think.  It is also really frigging cheap. It also includes access to Greg’s GRE lessons.

Cons:  The videos use questions from ETS sources like the website and the official (green) books to illustrate the strategies. Many buyers will already have seen them before they buy the course.  And, uh, I’m not sure if Greg is really allowed to use them in this way.

Best TOEFL  Books in 2022

 

1.  The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test, Sixth Edition

I think everyone should read the Official Guide to the TOEFL.  It is a perfect starting point for almost everyone planning to take the test.

Pros: This book contains the most detailed description of the test available.  It also contains four practice tests.

Cons: The integrated writing question in the first practice test is inaccurate.  The software used to deliver the practice tests is somewhat flawed (the listening section timers are wrong)

2. Official TOEFL iBT Tests Volume One, and Volume Two

These two books complement the above guide.  They each contain five practice tests.  They represent the ten best practice tests currently available.  Every serious test-taker should use them.  Note that they use the same somewhat flawed software to deliver the tests that the Official Guide uses.

3. Barron’s TOEFL 17th edition

Barron’s TOEFL is the last TOEFL book from a major third-party publisher that still gets updated.  Once there were many TOEFL books, but now there is one. 

Pros: This is a pretty good TOEFL book.  It contains detailed strategies.  The strongest aspect of the book is its massive collection of practice tests.  It includes eight full tests and eight more “practice tests” which contain 1/3 of the usual content.  That’s a ton of practice.   New in 2022 is a kindle version sold via Amazon.

Cons: There are a few little inaccuracies here and there (like in all third-party materials), but not enough to turn me off of the book.  

4. Princeton Review TOEFL 2022

Princeton Review still has a TOEFL book, but it doesn’t get updated (they just change the cover and title each year).  The only changes I’ve noticed in recent editions are typo fixes. I think this will be the last year I list it on the blog, unless it gets a proper update.

Pros: This book is okay.  It has some solid strategies and one decent practice test.

Cons: It has just one practice test.  Just one!  It also contains inaccuracies that probably won’t ever get fixed.

5.  Mastering the Reading Section for the TOEFL iBT: Third Edition

Kathy Spratt’s TOEFL reading book has a cult following online.  People love it.

Pros: Kathy focuses on what she knows best – the reading section of the TOEFL.  The book contains detailed strategies and original practice questions.  It is really cheap.

Cons: You’ll have to look elsewhere for help with the rest of the test.

Forthcoming in 2023

I believe that Collins will publish new editions of their TOEFL books sometime in 2023.  I like the current editions, but they are really old.

As I hear from publishers, I will update this post.

I found a copy of Kaplan’s TOEFL Pocket Vocabulary from 2018, and thought you guys might like a quick review.  

Here’s what you get in this book:

  • Thirty lists of words, containing 600 words in total.  Each includes a definition, sample sentence and other forms of the work (adjective, verb, noun, adverb, etc).
  • Twenty-one lists of idioms, containing 420 idioms in total.  Each includes a definition and sample sentence.
  • A handful of fill-in-the-blanks multiple choice exercises to help you remember the above.
  • No TOEFL practice questions.

This is probably a useful book, though some people might find the vocabulary a little too easy.  For your reference, here are the words in list 23: attitude, level, repel, uniform, trend, function, comment, lecture, emphasis, analysis, hypothesis, circumstance, strategy, tradition, regime, target, era, authority, generation, hierarchy. 

As you can see, some of those are “advanced” vocabulary, but others are pretty basic.  I suppose this means the book is suitable for an intermediate student.

More valuable, perhaps, is the collection of idioms.  Most ESL students will be able to learn quite a lot from those lists.  I don’t usually recommend the use of idioms on the TOEFL, but I know a lot of students (and some teachers) are obsessed with them.

If this book doesn’t appeal to you, I also recommend the “Barron’s” TOEFL Vocabulary book.  It contains somewhat more technical words and accurate TOEFL practice questions.

I read a couple of books about tests this month.  They might not be particularly interesting to TOEFL students, but teachers who read this blog might enjoy them.

First up, I read Escalante: The Best Teacher in America by Jay Mathews.  It describes how Jaime Escalante prepared underprivileged students in East Los Angeles  to take the AP Calculus Exam in the 1970s and 80s.  Escalante’s unique approach to this task yielded amazing (and unprecedented) results.  I don’t know if his techniques would work forty years later, but this is a great book for anyone interested in teaching and in the value of testing.  It is also a great advertisement for the AP program, which continues to this day.  Readers might also benefit from its sketch of how public schools operated in LA during those decades.  They faced challenges then, and they face challenges now.

One incident in the book stood out to me.  In 1982, ETS (yes, ETS) determined that several of Escalante’s students may have cheated on the test.  Their suspicious were due in part to a controversial mathematical analysis called a “K Index.”  They were told that they could do one of three things:  cancel the test and get a refund, take the test again, or submit additional information.  The students were told that if they provided additional information, it would be reviewed by a panel of three ETS officials.  They would only have to convince one of the members of the panel to have their scores restored. Or they could turn it all over to the American Arbitration Association.

Skip ahead to 2022, and that’s almost exactly what some students are told when ETS challenges their TOEFL scores.  The mathematical analysis is different of course, but everything else remains the same.  Funny, that.

Next, I read Michael Young’s “The Rise of the Meritocracy: 1870-2033”   Young was a sociologist who coined the term “meritocracy.”  But this book is not in praise of meritocracy, as most are.  The book is actually a dystopia that uses the rise of intelligence testing in the 1940s and 50s as its launching point.  Young tracks a fictional history of the United Kingdom as it slips into a more and more segregated and caste-like society due to its emphasis on “merit” above all else.  It is an interesting thought-experiment.  Especially in 2022 when the general consensus seems to be that meritocracy is always a good thing. I think there is something in here that explains part of our current political chaos, but I’m going to keep the blog politics-free for now. But for more on this topic, check out this debate on IQ2.  Or my review of “The Big Test” a few months ago.

 

 

A few notes from the publishing world:

  1.  Book Depository now lists the 2023 edition of Princeton Review’s “TOEFL iBT” with an on-sale date of February 2023.  I think this one will be almost identical to the 2022 and 2021 editions.  Princeton Review sometimes fixes small typos, but doesn’t seem enthusiastic about making large revisions.
  2.  Book depository also has listings for new editions of all four TOEFL books from Harper Collins with on-sale dates in May and June of 2023.  I like those books, so new editions are certainly welcome.  The existing editions were published many years ago.
  3. Barron’s is now selling an ebook version of their most recent TOEFL iBT book!  That’s the first ebook edition of a major TOEFL book I have seen in ages.

It is about time for me to write a new “best TOEFL books” blog post.  Keep an eye out for that.

People often ask me how to get the digital access code when they buy an ebook of the Official Guide to the TOEFL, or one of the TOEFL iBT Tests books from ETS.  ETS doesn’t make it easy to find the code, since it isn’t included within the text and they don’t email it directly.

To find the code, here’s what you should do:

  • Sign in to your account on ETS.org/toefl
  • Click on “My Test Preparation”
  • Check the “action” column for a code or link to a code
  • Enjoy!

And that’s where to find the download code for your TOEFL ebook.  This only works if you bought the ebook directly from ETS.

ETS is now offering a 60 hour course called the “Official TOEFL iBT Prep Course.”  This is the first time ETS has sold a course for the TOEFL iBT, I think. According to some posts I saw on LinkedIn, it will be delivered via the E2 language learning platform (just don’t try to buy it direct from the E2 website, as the course sold there is different). I don’t know much about the content of ETS’s program, but they describe it this way:

The Official TOEFL iBT Prep Course has more than 60 hours of content and 200+ activities to help you prepare for the TOEFL iBT test and build the English skills you need in an academic setting. With unlimited access during the 6-month subscription, this self-paced course features in-depth lessons and activities, pre- and post-tests, and score ranges for the Speaking and Writing post-tests using the same automated scoring technology as in the actual TOEFL iBT test!

It costs $129.99. 

If you pay $20 more, you get all of the above plus “Speaking feedback on fluency, pronunciation and language use in pre- and post-tests and several activities within the course” and “scoring on TOEFL iBT-like activities.” I guess that means some of your practice answers will be submitted to the ETS SpeechRater and e-rater.

You can purchase the course by visiting this page. I will probably buy access in the near future.

There are a few good TOEFL books.  There are a lot of bad ones.  I hope this article helps you make the right choices.   I’ll update and revise this list throughout the year as new books are released. At the end you can find a list of stuff I don’t like, and a list of stuff that will be published in the future.  You can also skip to my master index of TOEFL book reviews.

Last Updated: December 19, 2021

For an Overview of the Test…

The Official Guide to the TOEFL (6th Edition)  is  the book with the best overview of the test.  Everyone who is studying for the TOEFL (or teaching for the TOEFL) should have a copy. It describes all four sections of the test and the question types in each section.  It also includes plenty of examples and four complete practice tests.  Note that is also contains a few errors and inaccurate sample questions (particularly in the chapter on integrated writing and the first practice test).  For a closer look at the test, check out my complete review.

 

For an additional overview of the test, I recommend a couple of online TOEFL courses from our friends at TST Prep. Sometimes a course is better than a book, of course.  First up, check out their Score Builder Program, which is a twenty hour course covering the entire test.  The program also includes ten practice test and a bunch of extras.  A cheaper alternative is their TOEFL Emergency Course, which is a bit shorter.  In both cases, try the coupon code “goodine10off” to get a 10% discount on your purchase.

 

Finally, I recommend Barron’s TOEFL iBT (17th edition).  This book has improved quite a lot in the past couple of editions, and I think it can be a valuable study tool.  The accuracy of its practice tests and questions isn’t as good as the above two sources, but there is quite a lot of content in the book.  It contains eight complete practice tests along with additional practice questions.  It also contains decent chapters on vocabulary and grammar.

For Practice TOEFL Tests…

First up, I recommend Volume One and Volume Two of the Official TOEFL iBT Tests Collection.  Each book contains five good practice tests.  The most recent editions (look for their green covers) were heavily revised by ETS, and finally represent perfect practice tests! Everyone preparing for the TOEFL must complete these practice tests. All of them!

Next I recommend the ten practice tests sold online by TST Prep.  These are the best practice tests you will get from a third-party publisher.  Again, try the coupon code “goodine10off” for a 10% discount.  Note that they are the same tests you will find in the Score Builder Program mentioned above. 

As a special bonus, they’ve also got one test available as an e-book on Amazon.  I’m credited as an editor on that test!

For TOEFL Reading…

I really like Kathy Spratt’s “Mastering the Reading Section for the TOEFL iBT“.  Now in its third edition, this book is viewed by most students and teachers as the definitive TOEFL reading book.  Indeed, it’s the only one I recommend.  It covers all of the TOEFL reading question types and provides strategies that might help you solve them.  It is updated for the new TOEFL.

 

For TOEFL Listening, Speaking and Writing…

Well, there isn’t much available for these sections of the test.  There are a few old scraps you might check out, though.  They are:

For TOEFL Vocabulary…

I don’t usually recommend TOEFL vocabulary books.  I don’t think that studying vocabulary lists is helpful, and the new TOEFL introduced in 2019 has fewer vocabulary questions. That said, students always ask me to recommend books.  I generally suggests that they get “Essential Words for the TOEFL” from Barron’s.  I like the difficulty level of the words, and it contains a bunch of realistic practice questions.  As an alternative, you might check out McGraw-Hill’s “400 Words for the TOEFL.”  It contains practice questions as well.

For TOEFL Grammar…

Don’t buy a “TOEFL Grammar” book.  Just get the 5th edition of English Grammar in Use from Cambridge University Press. This book has been around forever, and it is still fantastic.  After getting a copy, you can check out my list of  recommended units to study.  if you want even more content,  Cambridge sells a supplementary book with more practice questions.  Note that this book is also published as “Grammar in Use – Intermediate.”

For lower level students (writing scores below 20), I recommend something a bit easier like “Basic Grammar in Use.”

Upcoming TOEFL Books

There isn’t much on the horizon, but a few things are worth mentioning:

Stuff I don’t Recommend 

  • Princeton Review’s “TOEFL iBT” – Decent, but the alternatives are much better.
  • Barron’s “TOEFL iBT Writing” – Needs to be updated.
  • The two Kaplan branded TOEFL books –   Need to be updated.
  • Best My Test – Not Great
  • EduSynch – Weirdly similar to Best My Test
  • Nova’s “Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL”  – Curse of Knowledge?

 

The Open Library now offers a copy of Compass Publishing’s “Mastering Skills for the TOEFL iBT Advanced (Listening).”  You can borrow it for an hour, or for a couple of weeks with a free account.  Here’s a link.  You can quickly access the audio files from the publisher.

This is a great book full of accurate listening content that will be new to 99.9% of people reading this blog.  The book is from a Korean publisher, which means its content is way more accurate than most TOEFL books and websites.

Even if you ignore the skill building content, this is a great opportunity to complete two full listening practice tests.  And, as you probably know, everyone ought to complete all of the practice tests they can get their hands on.

I check Open Library every day for new TOEFL books.  Most of the time I am disappointed with the selections, but I got really excited today when I saw this one!

A visitor requested a single collection of all of my “You Should Read More” blog posts. Below is the master index.  You should probably start with the later entries, since the first few entries are a bit sloppy.

I intend to write one post per month, and will add them to the list as they are created. 

Through this series of blog posts, I hope to encourage students to read more.  Improving our reading skills is the only reliable way to improve our TOEFL reading scores.  Too often students try to learn “tricks” and “strategies” for the reading section, when they ought to be learning how to read better

The blog posts recommend a variety of things to read.  Some of them include links to magazine articles I’ve read.  Others recommend fiction and non-fiction books that I’ve read and enjoyed, and even a few audio books.   Some of these will be easy to find online or at your local library.  Some of them will be harder to find.  Just keep clicking around until you locate something that you enjoy.

And, of course, I’m always happy to read stuff that you recommend!  If you’ve got something to share, please leave a comment.

PS:  Let me know if you find any broken links.

 

 

Developing Writing Skills for IELTS: A Researched-Based Approach” is a surprisingly weak IELTS text, considering the reputation of Rutledge, the publisher of the book.

The title calls it a “research based approach” but there isn’t much of what I would call “research” in the book.

What you get here is a description of the IELTS scoring rubrics, and a collection of sample paragraphs taken from student essays. Each sample is followed by a question like “what is the topic sentence?” or “Is the topic sentence focused and clear?” The same questions are repeated again and again, following a series of samples.  Each chapter contains different questions.

And that’s the bulk of the book. It is pretty basic stuff. There isn’t much in here about HOW to write a topic sentence, or HOW to make a topic sentence focused and clear. Indeed, there is very little instruction in the book at all. Students merely read sample paragraphs (and sometimes complete essays) and answer questions about them. Students are hungry for information about how to actually put together their essays – the more specific the better. But that specificity isn’t really found here.

On the plus side, there are a few sample essays with scores attached to them, which is something that all students like to have. There is also a decent “question bank.” I like that, but since the IELTS people are really generous with sample questions I don’t think there is a great need for more samples.

It must be noted that while the book is 276 pages, a lot of that is duplicated content. The aforementioned samples and questions are on page 21 to 110, while pages 181 to 272 seem to have the exact same content, but with answers inserted into the text.