Toefl For Thai Student

[james24]

I have a friend of a friend who would liek em to prepare her for a TOEFL exam. She is taking the exam as it is a requirement to get onto her PHD course.

Has anyone experience in preparing students for this....? Can anyone give me an insight into whats involved....?

[kpmsprtd]

Good luck. I have not yet succeeded in my attempt to get my own friend of a friend past the TOEFL. She is extremely intelligent, but cannot write on abstract matters to save her life. That is, she can quickly solve any real-world problem, but ask her to write a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question, and she freezes every time.

[james24]

Good luck. I have not yet succeeded in my attempt to get my own friend of a friend past the TOEFL. She is extremely intelligent, but cannot write on abstract matters to save her life. That is, she can quickly solve any real-world problem, but ask her to write a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question, and she freezes every time.

mmm I can definately relate to that with some of my younger students.

Any clues to what is covered in the test...? Is it quite similar to doing a teaching course entry examination...?

Edited December 9, 2010 by james24

[thunder30101]

ETS.org, this will answer all your questions and you can look at sample tests also.

[james24]

ETS.org, this will answer all your questions and you can look at sample tests also.

cool, Ill have a look now.

Ive got to test her level of english tommorow, any bright idea what I could do....???

[thunder30101]

Not to be negative but I wouldnt get my hopes up, thailand has some of the lowest scores worldwide on toefl and ielts , they just dont have the creative or critical thinking skills required to score well. Have her write an essay on a generic topic as writing is the most difficult skill to master. I would suggest getting her a toeic course to do and see how she does on it. Also there is no pass or fail for toefl and ielts, you are graded on your level of english skills which gives you a score to use when applying at a university. Some uni's have quite high score requirements while others are lower.

[james24]

Not to be negative but I wouldnt get my hopes up, thailand has some of the lowest scores worldwide on toefl and ielts , they just dont have the creative or critical thinking skills required to score well. Have her write an essay on a generic topic as writing is the most difficult skill to master. I would suggest getting her a toeic course to do and see how she does on it. Also there is no pass or fail for toefl and ielts, you are graded on your level of english skills which gives you a score to use when applying at a university. Some uni's have quite high score requirements while others are lower.

Right ok. You're the fourth person in two days to say that. Wow seems like Ive got a task ahead of me.

I have been looking through the tests and they dont seem difficult but who knows what'll happen here.

Ive sent her a creative writing exam this morning, Ill be able to get a better idea when that comes back.

[MagnumForce]

ETS.org, this will answer all your questions and you can look at sample tests also.

cool, Ill have a look now.

Ive got to test her level of english tommorow, any bright idea what I could do....???

If she has the TOEFL IBT book from Cambridge, there is a diagnostic test at the beginning of the book which you could get her to do. That will be an eye-opener for the two of you! It will identify where her weaknesses lie and will direct you to the relevant sections in the book to improve. In fact, and I'm not being smart, you should do the diagnostic test too, especially if you have never taught TOEFL before and I'm sure you will revise your opinion that it looks easy.

Like the others said, writing will be tough but I find that the speaking part is quite difficult too.

Good luck. Unless she is extremely intelligent and has a much wider level of knowledge than your average Thai student, you face a torrid time trying to get her the necessary scores.