20 Up-and-Comers to Watch in the TOEFL Industry

1. The 'Test of English as a Foreign Language', or (TOEFL) was designed to assess an individual's understanding and use of English in an academic environment. Tests can be conducted in 'paper-based-tests' (pBT) or 'internet- based-tests' (iBT). For those of you wondering how a TOEFL score is calculated, this article provides a brief overview of the key-components used in assessing scores. ™ What you need? Both Internet-based-tests and paper-based-tests are conducted in controlled environments at authorized test centers. To register for a test, contact your nearest test center which can be found with a simple Internet search. With over 4500 test centers worldwide, hopefully you will find a center near you. Follow the link at the bottom of the article. Stage 1 Reading: 25% of overall score. Duration: 60-100 minutes. Test comprises: Reading 3-5 passages, and answering 12-14 questions. This assessment comprises reading between 3-5 passages of approximately 700 words in length and answering questions associated with the text. All passages are academic in nature. Following reading the text, test-takers answer a series of questions to check their understanding. Questions relate to: main context, ideas, inferences, key information, vocabulary and essential information. The subject content requires no previous knowledge, as indeed it does for all subsequent tests. Stage 2 Listening: 25% of overall mark Duration 60-90 Minutes Test comprises: Listening to 6-9 passages and answering 5-6 questions. This section comprises listening to 6 passages, 3-5 minutes in length and answering questions relating to the passage. The passages are academic in nature, normally comprising student conversations or lectures and discussions. Each audio recording is heard only once and test-takers are permitted to take notes while they listen. Each conversation has an associated 5-6 questions to answer which are intended to measure an ability to understand: main ideas, key details, intentions and purpose and attitude of the speaker. Stage 3

2. Speaking: 25% of overall score Duration: 20 Minutes Test comprises: 6 tasks and 6 questions This section comprises 6 tasks of which 2 are independent and 4 integrated. For the independent tasks, test-takers answer questions on familiar subjects. Test-takers are assessed on their capacity to answer questions spontaneously and to relay their ideas clearly and coherently. The audio recordings are of academic-type situations. In the integrated tasks, test-takers are required to utilize skills and answer questions from reading and listening material, and are given a little time to prepare themselves before beginning to speak. Stage 4 Writing: 25% of overall score Duration: 55 minutes Test comprises: 2 tasks and 2 questions This section measures the test-taker's ability to write in an academic environment. The test consists of 2 tasks, 1 integrated and 1 independent. In the integrated task, candidates read a passage and listen to an audio recording of the same subject. They are then required to write a summary of the key points of the passage and relate them to the audio recording. In the independent task, candidates are required to write an essay, expressing their opinion on a topic rather than purely responding to choice. Stage 5 The scores of the four individually assessed tests are collated to form a final score. There is no pass or fail scores, but educational establishments and employers may require certain scores to meet entry level requirements. For a paper-based-tests scores range from 200-677, and a score in excess of 600 are very good. For Internet-based-tests scores range from 0-120 and a scores above 97 are considered very good. For your nearest test center. Earlier I discussed prepositions and Idioms for standardized exams. In this article I will discuss a less important but unavoidable part of speech which you will see in abundance when you take your GRE / GMAT/ TOEFL. The sentence completion and reading comprehension questions which appear in the standardized exams require you to have a good knowledge of a variety of interjections. The problem here is that, you have a huge number of interjections in vogue but only a few will be tested. Lets see a few examples- Ouch, that hurt!

3. Ouch, you stepped on my toe! Oh no, I forgot that the exam was today. Wow! That is a giant pumpkin! Yippee! We won! Whoa! Hold your horses! Bravo, you did a great job! Hey! Put that down! I heard one guy say to another guy, "He has a new car, eh?" I don't know about you but, good lord, I think taxes are too high! For the first time when I was learning the concept of interjection usage, I could infer from my textbooks - 1. It's not wise to use interjections in professional, formal, academic texts. 2. Interjections are often used alone as a full sentence i.e. they stand by themselves, but they are a part of complex sentences used in routine conversations. 3. Interjections are words or phrases used to express sudden anger, joy or emotion of other kinds. They are used TOEFL Certificate to exclaim or protest or command. They are used to react when events happen unexpectedly, painfully, surprisingly or in many other sudden ways. 4. It is not always correct to use an exclamatory sign for all interjections 5. If the emotion is powerful and solitary the interjection is mostly meaningful by itself and is to be followed with an exclamation mark. *The most commonly used interjections in standardized exams are as follows - oh alas ouch Godspeed we aye aww hey

4. yoo-hoo Yuk oh dear Oh! Gee! Good grief okey dokey Ouch ugh wow alas eureka. Uh ouch scat Rah Yay Yikes Ugh come on Ow oops Wow Hurrah Yippee

5. Shh Mmm ay Tut-tut. aye man long time no see my foot Aha aye Woe