How to Study for TOEFL

Certification: TOEFL - Test of English as Foreign Language

TOEFL is one of the best ways in which the English Language skills of a candidate can be assessed. It is one of the most widely accepted tests by more than 9000 universities. This means that it is very important to get a good score in TOEFL if you wish to pursue your higher education in one of the best universities in the world. The content which is used in TOFEL is 100% academic and tests the abilities of the candidates from all aspects. This is the reason why thousands of people take this exam and want to do everything to get a good score in it.

Getting a good score in TOEFL is not difficult if one knows the proper way in which one should study for it. There are loads of resources which are available to help you prepare for TOEFL, but they are useless until you know how you are going to make use of those resources for your benefit. In fact, it is very important to know that which of those resources are credible enough and will be useful for you. You have a huge database of books, websites, sample tests and many other resources which you could use to prepare for your test.

In this article, you will get a deep insight into one of the best resources available for TOEFL and how you could utilize them for your benefit. Once you get to know how to study for TOEFL, you will surely be able to ace the exam.

Study using Books

Books are the primary and most useful resources which you could use to study for TOEFL. There are many official books which have been designed to help you prepare for this test. These books contain a complete guide of the way in which you should prepare for this test. Each of the topics is dealt in detail and the key points for each chapter are also given. In addition to this, there are sample questions at the end of each chapter in order to give you an idea of how the real questions will be. If you have ample time for preparation, you should definitely prepare for TOEFL using the official books. Most of the books also come with some sample tests. You could solve these tests for practice. Furthermore, you should also try to solve the questions by timing yourself.

The best thing about these books is that all four sections are dealt in detail separately; Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. There are some tips which could help you to perform better in the exam as well as some warnings which let you know the common mistakes which people do. Some of the books also come with CDs so you could access all of these resources on your computer with ease. Following are the best books available for the preparation of TOEFL.

ETS Official Guide to the TOEFL Test

This is the best book which has been officially designed to cater to the topics of TOEFL Exam. It comes with a CD as well so you could access all the resources on your computer. In addition to this, you will also find some sample tests in this amazing book. According to the statistics, more than 30 % of the people who take TOEFL prepare using this book.

Barron’s TOEFL IBT

This is the second most widely used book for TOEFL preparation. Almost 27 % of the people prepare for TOEFL using Barron’s TOEFL IBT. It comes with one CD containing sample tests and another 2 Audio CDs so that all four sections could be covered.

Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test (Book & CD-ROM)

This is the third best book for TOEFL preparation which also comes with a CD. It is used by almost 15 % of the people for TOEFL preparation.

Study using Websites

Although books are the best sources for studying for TOEFL, there are numerous websites as well which are willing to offer you the best resources just for free. Now you do not need to purchase the sample questions or tests, as all of that is at your disposal just for free. There are a lot of websites which provides online lecture videos to you, sorted according to each topic. You just need to see the video relating to the topic which you are weak at. You should keep in mind that it is not a good idea to start preparing for the TOEFL exam from scratch; you need to find out you weaknesses and then work on them.

Many of the websites also offer you free sample tests which are computer based. You get feedback for every question which you solve. This interactive way of studying makes it more interesting and easy for you to prepare for the exam. Unlike the books, websites also provide you the facility to deal with the listening and speaking section of the exam. Some of the best websites available for you are listed below.

TestDEN.com

This website is used by almost 10 % of the people studying for TOEFL. Hence, it is highly recommended.

NoteFull.com

This website is used by 7 % of the people who study for TOEFL.

ETS.org

This is the official ETS website which is quite useful to study for TOEFL. It is used by almost 7 % of the people.

Study using other Useful Sources

Other than the books and websites, you can study for TOEFL using a number of other sources as well. Remember that the main focus of yours is to improve your English and build up on your weak topics.

Reading Newspapers

Reading newspapers is one of the best ways to improve your reading section. You will also come across with some good vocabulary which will be quite helpful for you during the test.

Reading Books

Just like reading newspapers, reading books is also one of the best ways to improve your English and prepare for the reading section of the test.

Speaking a lot in English

The more you speak in English, the better you will be able to perform in the speaking and listening section of the test.

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