This course is designed to prepare students to achieve success on the TOEFL exam through instruction and guided practice. Upon completion of this program the successful student will be able to reach his or her TOEFL score goals by having developed language skills useful to taking a language test as well as by having become familiar with the expectations, format and content of the TOEFL exam.
- The course consists of 310 instructional hours (25 hours/week over the course of 13 weeks)
- Students learn through lectures, instructor-led discussions, as well as individual, pair, and group work
- Students will be provided with all necessary material, including books and software
- Students will receive written feedback from the course instructor through an evaluation of a weekly coursework portfolio in Weeks 1-12
- Students will take a Test Preparation Assessment Test in Week 13. Students who earn a minimum score of 80 will receive a Certificate of Completion
Students will learn through a variety of activities and practice exercises that will help them prepare for the four sections of the test: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. They will familiarize themselves with the different kinds of questions that appear in each section of the test and, through guided practice, they will become skilled at answering all question types. They will also practice grammar structures, vocabulary and functional language relevant to each section.
WEEK | SECTION | AREA | FOCUS |
1 | Listening | Conversations | Student-Instructor Interactions (Academic) |
Lectures | Topics in Biology, Chemistry & Physics | ||
Questions | Question Types; Approaches to Taking Notes | ||
Reading | Vocabulary | Topic Vocabulary & Roots | |
Passages | Topics in Biology, Chemistry & Physics | ||
Questions | Factual & Negative Factual Information Questions | ||
Writing | Task 1 | Scoring rubric and scored essays; taking notes on integrated passages; organizing a summary | |
Task 2 | Scoring rubric and scored essays; analyzing a question, brainstorming ideas, developing a position and organizing paragraphs | ||
Skills | Planning and proofreading | ||
Speaking | Question Type 1 | Developing a response on a familiar topic | |
Skills | Elaborating, describing and providing details | ||
WEEK | SECTION | AREA | FOCUS |
2 | Listening | Conversations | Student-Instructor Interactions (Personal) |
Lectures | Topics in Astronomy, Geology & Climatology | ||
Questions | Gist-Content Questions | ||
Reading | Vocabulary | Topic Vocabulary & Roots | |
Passages | Topics in Astronomy, Geology & Climatology | ||
Questions | Inference Questions | ||
Writing | Task 1 | Lectures making general counterpoints | |
Task 2 | Personal Characteristics & Behavior Topics | ||
Skills | Grammar and vocabulary | ||
Speaking | Question Type 2 | Developing a response on familiar issues | |
Skills | Expressing and supporting a preference | ||