The TOEFL or the Test of English as a Foreign Language is a test to find out how far our understanding of English is. In academia /campus, the TOEFL is one of the graduating factors for its students. It cannot be denied, the TOEFL actually looks like a frightening specter for some students, especially for those whose English skills are below average. How not, many students who should be able to graduate on time, actually just delayed because of the TOEFL problem. Therefore, we want to share information and tips on how to succeed in the TOEFL test.

Reported by Edukasi.kompas.com, here are some tips for dealing with IBT TOEFL:

• Reading Test (Reading), Practice often by reading articles with English texts. But instead of reading all words and sentences, learn to look for important words (scanning and skimming) to find out the main points, Choose a few foreign words in the main points section and guess the meaning. Select all pronouns (him, her, they, them, etc.) in one section to identify nouns similar to those pronouns, identify types of questions, such as for cause and effect, compare and classify, etc.

• Listening Tests, Often listening to English language news both from television and radio to pay attention to how the pattern of intonation when conveying meaning. When the test listens, pay attention to what the speaker is listening to. Does tone or intonation want to convey or tell something? Does the level of intonation use formal or casual language? Is the speaker’s voice calm or emotional? Think about what the speaker expects. Does he want to apologize, complain, make suggestions, angry or other?.

• Speaking Test, Practice by using a book that includes questions about IBT TOEFL from beginning to end, Practice by reading a short article then make an outline that only covers the main points of the article, When testing, if you listen to a question about a problem give it suggestions for the problem, Get to know the speaker’s attitude through intonation or emphasis and choice words. This makes it easy for you to understand the speaker’s point of view and it’s easy to give a response.

• Writing Test, Before the exam, try to practice one essay topic. Be sure to spend 30 minutes writing it down and also revising the essay. When examining, identify one main idea and several key points to support the idea. Develop essays using precise and detailed explanations, Improve your vocabulary and learn to use it correctly. Learn the grammatical structure, the conventions of spelling, punctuation, and layout, Try to keep your writing organized, display a unified and coherent thought, Use signal words such as “on one hand” or “in conclusion” to make a clear structure in your response give it.

Well, if you already understand the tips above, you can test your abilities directly in the ITS Library, precisely at the 4th floor Audio Visual service. There are facilities available that can test your skills. One of the collections is Deborah Philips’ Longman preparation course for the TOEFL test which is a guidebook in preparing for the TOEFL exam. Besides the digital version of the Audio Visual service, you can also get the textbook version in the Reserve service. While it’s still the holiday season, if you don’t have a meaningful agenda, you can start practicing from now on. As the saying goes, “provide an umbrella before it rains”. It’s better to be on guard than to regret it later. The TOEFL will be difficult if we don’t prepare it early and it will be easy if we have prepared it in advance. (Nrl / fan / *)