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[diamarch]

TOEFL Experience. Part III

Hello, everybody! I'm really glad you're still here :) Today I'm going to talk about the unofficial websites for complex (all sections) TOEFL preparation.

TST prep

Their Emergency Course (premium package) was my first purchase on my way to a pretty good TOEFL score. However, unfortunately, it is not the last or the best. Let me explain. Among the benefits I can name:

Structured and short information about all the content of the TOEFL test (paid, however, can be found in their YouTube videos for free);

Templates for speaking and writing sections for basic and advanced levels;

Practice tests with answers and their explanations (some of them in open access on YouTube in old videos);

Comprehensible design of the website and cool colors;

Examples of Q1 for the speaking section (for free);

Newsletters with special hacks and news from ETS (for free)

Josh's charisma (can be found everywhere :)). However, if you use this website with the materials from their YouTube channel, you will quickly realize that you've wasted your money. First, throughout all the videos, Josh McPhearson repeats that it's OK to pass the same test more than one time after, for example, two weeks. And that was a trap! I passed approximately two or three tests (in sum from the website and from the YouTube channel), trained some specific types of questions from reading and listening in the separate section on their website, and then I simply couldn't find the completely unfamiliar test, despite the fact that I was promised to have 6 complete practice tests in my package. So, the limited number of practice tests was an outrageous fact for me because it seemed like some of them were open-access on YouTube. Moreover, I think that this emergency course in general doesn't give you much more information about the test than their YouTube videos. So, basically, I paid mostly for templates, and that wasn't a rational decision, even if a 50% discount was taken into account. Don't be enchanted and blinded like me; use only their free materials. I didn't try their group classes and evaluations, but Emergency Course is 100% not worth your time and money.

2. Best My Test

Since I needed more practice and more tests, I started to search for other complex solutions where I could train all the TOEFL sections. I found this website, and after reading some articles about it, I began a free trial. It gives you an opportunity to pass the sample test, which is a shortened version of an actual test. After trying it, I was on cloud nine because it was exactly the thing that I was looking for.

First and foremost, the experience is not the same but really similar to the official TOEFL test. You can see the instructions, the buttons, the interface for recording your voice, the way the text in reading and questions to it are placed, the writing interface, which is also close to reality, and the most important is the timer. That was the core reason why I decided to pay for this.

Another benefit is, obviously, the availability of a huge number of practice tests with recorded statistics of your success in every section and question type (for reading and listening).

The theoretical materials are also included. It is especially useful when you see that some type of question is your weakness based on the statistics of your success. You catch it, jump into the corresponding lesson, learn some strategies, and train.

Templates and explanations for speaking and writing can be found. Moreover, the evaluations of your speaking and writing by humans and AI are included in the Custom and Premium packages. From my own experience, AI evaluations are pretty accurate, as they rated my speaking at 21 points and I gained 22. And writing reviews from experts was also full of insights and powerful advice. +/- There are also vocabulary and grammar materials, but I didn't have much time, so for me, these materials were uneffective. And finally, maybe for some readers, the textual form of theoretical material will not be comfortable, so I consider this aspect of Best My Test a disadvantage. However, they already made videos for certain lessons. Overall, Best My Test was a treasure for me, without any doubt. I regret that I found it too late (it was 2 weeks before my exam).

As you can see, these websites cause lots of strong feelings in me; however, I appreciate both of them because I have learned not only how to take TOEFL but also have seen a real picture of our world. The beautiful, loud, and charismatic is often empty. And the real treasure is often much cheaper and kept silent. Stay tunned :)

[diamarch]

TOEFL Experience. Part II

Hello everybody! I didn't expect that you would start following me, but, honestly, I'm pleased. Thank you! :)

I'm back with my sources for TOEFL preparation. Today I'm going to talk a little bit about the official resources because they may also be helpful.

Online course from ETS on the EDX platform

You can watch videos and practice a bit for free (as I understand it, without feedback), but only for 14 days. After that, all materials close, and you can't see them forever. That was my mistake. I thought that I could re-enroll and this would prolong my access for another 14 days. So I watched videos only about the scariest section for me, Speaking, and put this website aside, as I wanted to concentrate on my speaking for a while. When I returned and tried to re-enroll, this didn't help. So, be aware! It's only 14 days for free. However, basically, I loved this material because they had included sample answers (ideal and average) and explained why they had rated them like this. That's why I became a little calmer about my speaking; at least I could gain the average score :)

2. Practice tests

ETS provides us with one free sample test for the IBT TOEFL and one for the paper-based TOEFL. Also, they provide training questions for Writing for an Academic discussion (a new type of question in TOEFL since July 26, 2023) and offer free AI feedback (but I believe this is temporary). To be honest, I just downloaded these sample tests and didn't use them. The deal was that it was uncomfortable for me to train with PDF files; I couldn't measure time properly and used paper for answers; therefore, it was really far from the real experience. But this is a great start if you want to get to know what the TOEFL looks like.

3. Videos with transcripts about every section on the TOEFL website.

I regret very deeply that I found this too late (about one or two days before my exam). I googled the first Writing question, as there were some inconsistencies on different websites about the content of this question, and reached this page. Accidentally. In fact, it can save you lots of money and time since all the information about the test is presented here in a nutshell and in a really comprehensible way. Moreover, it's from an official provider.

That's all for today :) There are also TOEFLGo! App and TOEFL TV YouTube channel, but I can't say anything about these products. If you had an experience with them, please share it with us in the comments.

Stay tunned. Next stop: unofficial websites.

[diamarch]

TOEFL Experience

Hey! I've been missing for a while. Again. Maybe I should accept my irregular style of posting on Tumblr. Or I need help. Nevermind.

I finally passed the TOEFL and received my results. It was pretty great: I got 100 overall, R28, L26, S22, and W24. Since I am not in an English speaking country, I see this result as cool! So, I am going to post some materials that helped me in my preparation. Partly, it is for Tumblr strangers, who can accidentally see my posts, and partly it is for me, so I don't lose these precious resources. I hope that it will be a series of short posts.

Initially, I started with free resources. More precisely, Youtube videos :) Actually, I am glad that Youtube has become a place where you can find literally everything from recreational to educational content in different fields. But this post is not about it :)

I actively used these channels for my studies (non-official resources):

IELTS and TOEFL with Juva

Juva is a marvelous blogger who explains slowly and comprehensibly all the aspects of TOEFL and strategies to answer the questions. She also accompanies her explanations with cute pictures. Additionally, she provides some sort of review of high-scoring responses in speaking and writing. And as you can see from the title of the channel, Juva has videos about IELTS too, if you are interested.

2. Test Resources - TOEFL Preparation

I watched some of the videos on this channel, and it really helped me understand what TOEFL raters want from me in the speaking and writing sections. Michael and his team also have a website, which I will share in one of my next posts. The most powerful thing is that he was the first to know the information about future (at that point in time) changes in the test, so I think that he is close to the ETS in some way. To me, this means that he is trustworthy.

3. TST Prep TOEFL

Josh is really good at motivating, and he is a charming and charismatic person. He explains quickly, easily, and energetically. You're feeling excited and ready to work after watching his videos. In addition, you can find full tests on his channel, which can help you at the stage of practice. However, there is something, that I will share with you in one of the next posts... Generally, watching his channel is a pretty good idea; do not worry :)

4. There will not be a specific channel; however, it may be useful to search for speaking section videos. There are channels that publish only speaking section practice. It may be beneficial to realize how it works and how much time you have to think and actually speak. The disadvantage of this is, obviously, a lack of feedback.

That's all for today. Stay tuned :)

[diamarch]

Speaking question #1 (and speaking in general)

Here I am. Trying to fight with the TOEFL speaking section. Actually, I had a low mood episode and couldn't simply start training for a couple of days. Even considering the time pressure... Just in case somebody finds this blog accidentally, know that it happens. We are not supposed to be productive all the time♥

So, I tried the strategy that I had described in my previous post. And sometimes it's helpful, especially, if you know lots of advanced verbs and adjectives. However, sometimes, while you are trying to find a word, you may just recall your own good reason and example. And that's also good.

But overall, I understood that I just needed to answer as many questions as possible before my exam. That's because sometimes I simply don't have an opinion on certain matters even in my native language. For example, I was stuck on the question about the necessity of separate hall residences for male and female students on the university campus. I had literally no idea about this! So, my tactic now is to answer as many first questions as possible.

By the way, there is one more thing that I discovered and felt relieved about. I can use "you" while explaining some concepts! As you may see in the second paragraph of this post. I was trying to avoid it because one of my English teachers told me that it sounded really strange and she had never heard this before. I felt ashamed, as I thought it was so natural. So, I started to control it and therefore speak even slower. But I saw a comment from the creator of the MySpeakingScore website saying that it's okay. And that's the really cool news for me.

And last but not least, speaking speed :( I discovered that it is necessary for the speech rater that you speak at least 150 words per minute. Ideally 170. So unfair, actually. I hardly even speak so fast in my native language. In English, I can read out loud at 150 wpm without damaging my pronunciation, but speaking is completely different...

I mean, there are some good things and some bad things, but I need to move forward... See you soon.

[diamarch]

Speaking question #1

I think that question 1 is the toughest for me. There are only 15 seconds to think and 45 seconds to speak, and the question is completely random.

I am a slow speaker, even in my native language. Moreover, I am a slow thinker :( This time pressure spurs my anxiety and makes me even slower in both processes. So, I've tried to search for some strategies to overcome this question with minimal pain for me. I've found two strategies: for reasons and for examples.

For reasons, it's necessary to imagine how your choice (if this is a choice type of question) can influence the 4 most common spheres of life: work, education, family (friends), and health. Then, after reasons are found, examples usually arise because arguments are often connected to life experience. But not all the time :(

So, I've found a strategy for examples. The task is to invent a kind of universal examples that work well for literally every question. However, it's too complicated. Like creating a universal template for this question. I wrote lots of life stories, and this didn't help, as you must somehow connect this example with the actual question. You know, they ask you to give advice to your friend about traveling abroad and you tell the story about your experience with a remote job. It is implied that there is a similar topic: it is better to try something than assume. But even now, I write about it, and it's too complicated to understand.

To make a long story short, I eventually rejected the idea of universal examples, but the 4 common sphere concept I found really useful.... for independent writing. For speaking, it's too slow, unfortunately.

Today I've read about another strategy: you must choose an option and then answer two questions:

What does it do/what is it capable of? (the answer is a verb)

What is it/how is it? (the answer is an adjective)

The first question is the first reason, and the second is the second :) For example, I consider studying at the university necessary for building a successful career. I feel this way because the university provides (a verb) you with a community of well-experienced professionals who can give you the most realistic picture of your future job. And also, university is a unique (an adjective) place where you can try yourself in different activities.

Sounds pretty cool, actually. I'll try this tomorrow and see how it goes.

[diamarch]

My blog's renewal

Okay, I have to admit that starting my own text blog was more complicated than I expected. The most difficult thing for me was coming up with ideas for my posts on a regular basis. To me, it was really important that the topic be broad and ambiguous. So, I stuck in thinking, but not doing. Sometimes I had an idea (e.g., I was going to discuss the series "Killing Eve"), but I didn't have enough energy to actually write the post. I think it commonly happens to people, especially if they're not active content creators.

However, I want to try another format tomorrow. It will be my diary. Impressions, feelings, and thoughts of the day, in short. Also, I have a challenge right now: I need to train my speaking for the TOEFL. So, in my blog, I'll be describing some difficulties that I encounter. I hope it'll help me stay tuned not only on Tumblr but also in my speaking journey.

I mean, the new format is coming :)

[diamarch]

Hello! I haven't written anything here for a while.

Now, I'm searching for a job and obviously watching online-courses about communicative skills in English :) Yesterday, I watched a video that really surprised and inspired me. You'll say: every video on TedTalks is inspiring. I'll agree, but also explain.

I had been studying for psychologist for 6 years and they hadn't told about this really cool experiment. They had just told: "Oooh, now there aren't such cool experiments in psychology, like being at the time of Milgram, Ash or Zimbardo".

Now, I know that it is not true. This Ted is about the influence of our body language on our well-being, on our self-presentation and even on our hormones. I am quite doubtful about "Fake it, until you become it". But it seems to be, that this exercise could have a short-term effect before something really important in your life.

I mean, I'll try this before my job interview (I hope it eventually happens) ☻

[diamarch]

Birthday

I dislike birthdays. Yes, it looks like a big day for our parents, when we appear in this world. They could have tried a lot, they have waited for you, have looked forward to touch you and to speak to you with the sweetest voice that they have. I think it's a miracle and maybe magic. So, I understand the desire to celebrate it every year.

But I always struggle with inventing the greetings. Especially if it is just a necessity, just to be good for a person who gets your greeting. Also, it is very hard to wish something to a person, with whom you haven't seen each other for a long time. You don't even know, how is his or her life.

In such moment (if greeting is a necessity) I feel really bad. I can't find words, search any examples on the Net, then give up, then try again... And finally I write some cringe and send it. That is always such a trivial wishes like "happiness", "health" and "love".

Another thing, if you write greetings to a precious person. It also takes time, but for making your text greater and more cute. These greetings are always so deep, warm and kind, they really hug the receiver. And if you receive such congratulations, they make you feel better, even if you hate birthday or if the situation around doesn't permit you to feel happy on your birthday.

So, I hid my birthday date from my social networks, because I love to receive the warm greetings from my close people and also because I know, how hard it is: to invent a good greeting if it is just politeness and necessity for you.

I mean, I don't take offense if you forget about my birthday. Seriously, it is not so important for me :)

P.S. No, it is not my birthday today, I just need to invent the greeting :)

[diamarch]

Hello!

I am Diana and this is a greeting post!

Initially, I’ve been imaging this blog like a place for my English practice. Now, I’m thinking about some kind of open diary with my thoughts, believes, dreams, feelings and simply impressions of the day. Like my little world✨ I consider, this is a way to understand myself.

I don’t have any vision about how it would be, what kind of memories, impressions or biography facts I’ll share with you. I just want to follow my mood and heart.

Please, be free to correct my English ‘cause it is not my native language. And also ask questions, if you don’t understand or simply want to know something 👀

So, I mean welcome to my blog🤗