Daily Guidance #20 and Practice

Hello Students,

This week's daily advice will talk about improving your writing skills.

Pay attention to how you organize ideas and think about how a reader who isn’t familiar with your topic is going to be able to follow the information you want to present.

• Spend time planning and thinking about how to organize your ideas. Your reader should be able to understand how your essay is organized.
• Have a friend or a teacher outline your essay so that you can see if others can recognize your method of organization.
• Make sure you are using the right words to connect your ideas and supporting information in the way you want your reader to understand them.
• Remember that your reader doesn’t know what you know or what you intend. Is there any way your reader might misunderstand? If so, consider revising how you present and explain your ideas.

On a word document shared to me you will write about the following: 

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should read only those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts. Use specific reasons and details to support your opinion.

Daily Guidance # 19

Hello Students,


This weeks daily advice is to watch the following video of tips for writing practice. Comment below what you thought of the video.



Link: https://magoosh.com/toefl/2015/toefl-tuesday-writing-section-advice/

Daily Guidance # 18 and Practice

Hello Students,

This weeks daily guidance is for listening practice. Read below the tips carefully and apply them to the practice.

Use the resources in your community to practice listening to English.

• Visit places in your community where you can hear English spoken.
  • Go to an English school, an embassy or an English-speaking Chamber of Commerce.
  • Go to a museum and take an audio tour in English.
  • Follow a guided tour in English of your city.
  • Call or visit a hotel where tourists stay and get information in English about room rates, hotel availability or hotel facilities.
  • Call and listen to information recorded in English, such as a movie schedule, a weather report or information about an airplane flight.
• Watch or listen to programs recorded in English.
  • Watch television programs.
    • CNN, the Discovery Channel or National Geographic
    • Watch movies, soap operas or situation comedies
  • Rent videos or go to a movie in English.
  • Listen to a book on tape in English.
  • Listen to music in English and then check your accuracy by finding the lyrics on the Internet (e.g., www.lyrics.com).
• Go to Internet sites to practice listening.
  • National Public Radio (www.npr.org)
  • CBS News (www.cbsnews.com)
  • Randall's Cyber Listening Lab (www.esl-lab.com)
  • BBC World Service.com Learning English (www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish)
• Get CDs with full-length lectures. Full-length lectures/presentations are available from UC Berkeley.

Link: 

The TOEFL iBT® Test: Improving Your Listening Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2017, from https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/improve/advice_listening_high

Practice: http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_listening.htm

Daily Guidance #17 and Practice

Hello Students,


This weeks daily guidance is:

Use a dictionary and flashcards to study smart

While reading is the fastest way to expand vocabulary and prepare for the TOEFL, this doesn’t mean you should rely on your brain to magically log and retain every new word to which it has been exposed. You can help the process along by reading with a dictionary and confirming your guesses about new vocabulary by looking words up and turning them into flashcards for later review.

TIP: Be careful not to look up every word as that can make reading tedious and cognitively overloading.

Practice: https://www.thoughtco.com/toefl-vocabulary-practice-quiz-4061539

NOTE: Tomorrow we will have an open session from eight to nine. Email me who is interested at alondraponce94@gmail.com

Daily Guidance # 16 and Practice

Hello Students,


Daily Advice for this week is to think carefully about the purpose of a lecture.

• Try to answer the question, "What is the professor trying to accomplish in this lecture?"
• Write down only the information that you hear. Be careful not to interpret information based on your personal understanding or knowledge of the topic.
  • Answer questions based on what was actually discussed in the talk

I am uploading a link to listening practice online. Below is the link.



Link: https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL_ITP/html/Section%201,%20TOEFL%20ITP,%20Listening%20Comprehension.html

Daily Guidance #15

Hello Students,


This weeks daily advice is to inform the student of how to be prepared for the TOEFL exam.

Tips for Success on Test Day

• Dress comfortably for any room temperature.
• Eat a good breakfast.
• Arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes early.
• Follow directions carefully to avoid wasting time.
• Do not panic. Concentrate on the task in front of you. Do not think about questions you have already answered.
• Do not spend too much time on one question.
• Do not leave questions blank. If you are not sure of the answer, make the best possible choice.
• Pace yourself to answer every question and avoid rushing at the end.

Daily Guidance # 14 and Practice

Hello Students,

This week´s daily guidance is

Practice note taking whenever you are listening to something in English – only write down key words or phrases, use abbreviations for long words and always write in English. Record only the major points – you will not have time to write down the minor, unimportant details in the exam.


Improve your vocabulary – the more words you know, the easier it will be for you to understand the listening section. Learn new vocab and save words you have trouble with by becoming an English, baby! Super member.


Listen for signal words that indicate major steps, changes or ideas such as seldom, at the moment, in 1975, so far, usually, often, up to now, at the moment. Make sure to also listen for repetition, synonyms and pronouns.



Additional listening practice:


https://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/prepare/listening_comprehension_practice_section1


https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL_ITP/html/Section%201,%20TOEFL%20ITP,%20Listening%20Comprehension.html

Daily Guidance # 13 and Practice

Hello Students,

This week´s daily guidance is:


Listening

Keep a listening log (a list of everything you listen to each day/week).

• Write a one-sentence summary to remember the main idea of what you heard.
• Write down new expressions, idioms, and vocabulary that you hear.

Use dictations and other exercises to help your listening ability.

• Ask an English speaker to dictate an article to you. Good sources of material are newspapers, magazines, and textbooks.

• First, write down exactly what you hear

Then only take notes on the important points that you hear

Practice: http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_listening.htm

Online Assessment

Hello Students,

Today we will be having online assessment from six to eight to discuss somethings that we have been working on. Hope to hear from you soon!



Alondra

Daily Guidance # 12 and Practice

Hello Students,


This week's daily guidance is:

Listening

• Read the instructions and questions carefully before you listen.
• Note taking is allowed. You should practice this.
• Remember, one lecture is spoken with a British or Australian accent
• Try to get an idea of the situation. Who are the speakers? Where are they? Why are they speaking?
• In some questions a portion of the lecture or conversation is replayed so you don't need to rely on memory of what was said.
• Listen for 'signpost words' such as however, although and finally. They help you to anticipate what the speaker will say.
• For some questions you will need to understand the speaker's attitude. Listen to voice tones and other cues to determine how the speakers feel about the topic.

For a practice exam click on the link below:

https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL_ITP/html/Section%201,%20TOEFL%20ITP,%20Listening%20Comprehension.html

Daily Guidance # 11

Hello Students,


This week's daily guidance is to watch the following video of a personal experience of a student taking the TOEFL exam and what she did to score a high grade.


Link: https: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw6PvrRiv20

Reading Practice

Hello Students,


Below I am attaching a link to take a reading test practice. Answer the quiz carefully and make sure to include your student ID. We will be discussing your results on the chat that will be on Thursday.


Link: https: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IHQRMNmug7anR38mHNhmFSBZBTv4bLVe2_dlljP0kMI/edit

Daily Guidance # 10

Daily Guidance #10 

The many ways to know a word

What is it that you learn when you first meet a new word in English? It might be the word’s meaning, how it is spelled, its part of speech in a given sentence or simply its pronunciation. Typically we learn to recognize form and meaning first. This is receptive knowledge and even in our first language, we recognize far more vocabulary words than we can actually produce.

To gain productive knowledge of a word, we have to be able to spell and say it, as well as use it correctly in a sentence. Words often have multiple meanings, so the deeper your knowledge of a word extends, the more nuanced meanings you will be able to recognize and use in your own speech and writing. For this reason, when you are learning a language for academic use, the trick is to increase both the breadth and depth of your vocabulary. This means meeting more words and getting to know them better.

TIP: Remember, it’s not just about how many words you know, but how well you know them! 

Vocabulary Practice

Hello Students,


Below I am attaching a link to take a vocabulary quiz. Answer the quiz carefully and make sure to include your student ID. We will be discussing your results on the chat that will be on Thursday.


Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecBnQSsR1XIo-u1bRMb-iKFPBBkxJkM6Jfzd6kGmsgOSbz8Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Daily Guidance #9

Daily Guidance #9

Read! Read! Read!

What’s the best way for students to meet the most new words in context in the least amount of time? Read. Reading is the fastest way to increase vocabulary both in your first and second language as it exposes you to a plethora of words and provides you with the context you need to extract detailed meaning and information about form and use.

But reading doesn’t have to mean forcing your way through a stack of 18th century English novels. There are so many great ways to exercise your brain and learn vocabulary while you learn about subjects you actually care about. You could read the newspaper, blogs or English websites. Even social media networks like Twitter can provide you with ample text and vocab to help your cause.

Keep in mind that if you are reading about something you actually care about, you’re likely to be more engaged in the act and to not only learn new words but retain them for longer amounts of time.

TIP: Did you know that most of the words we learn when we read are acquired subconsciously? We pick up on them without even realizing it through repeat exposure and contextual guessing vs. rote learning and memorization.

Vocabulary Practice

Hello Students,


Below I am attaching a link to take a vocabulary quiz. Answer the quiz carefully and make sure to include your student ID. We will be discussing your results on the chat that will be on Thursday.


Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeDJInwzwix_UPC6ZpmEMTphfMpl3GTjqI5jEFiLk0zqrPlA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Daily Guidance #8

Daily Guidance #8 

Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own. These activities are based on the advice that were presented in TOEFL Course .

• Do an online search to find a list of common Greek and Latin roots, such as 60+ Greek and Latin Prefixes Arranged by Meaning (opens new window). Pick 5 roots, and find the definitions of at least 3 words that use each root.

Link: http://www.englishhints.com/latin-prefixes.html

• Select an article such as "The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the Telegraph (opens new window)” about Samuel Morse, and outline the main points using one of the outline formats shown at the end of the Prose Summary/Fill in a Table video.

Link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160426-samuel-morse-wife-lucretia-telegraph-invention/

• Using the Reading passages from TOEFL iBT Quick Prep Volume 2 (opens new window) (pages 4-5 and 10-11), select a paragraph to read. As you read, make a list of what information is important, and what is not as important. Have a partner do the same thing separately, then compare your lists.

Link: https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/qp_v2_web_a4.pdf

• Using “The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the Telegraph (opens new window)”, find all of the pronouns that aren’t “he” (since most of those obviously refer to Samuel Morse), and determine what nouns they refer to. For example, in this excerpt, you can find the pronoun “it” and determine that it refers to “the invention”.

Link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160426-samuel-morse-wife-lucretia-telegraph-invention/

Reading Comprehension Practice 4

Hello Students,

We are about to conclude the Reading Practice of the TOEFL exam. I will be uploading more practice exams so you can begin. Below leave a comment on how you felt through the Reading practice, and if there is anything you would like to practice more. Next week we will continue with the Listening section of the TOEFL exam.


Practice Link: https://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/prepare/reading_comprehension_practice_section3

Interference Question Practice

Inferences Worksheet 

Directions: Read each passage and then respond to the questions. Each question will ask you to make a logical inference based on textual details. Explain your answer by referencing the text.

Ryan was looking forward to sleeping over at his friend Robert's house. Though they had been classmates for a while, the two had only recently become good friends. Ryan packed up his sleeping bag, a pillow, and a few of his favorite toys and games, and then his mom dropped him off at Robert's. Robert met Ryan on the porch and the two did their secret handshake and started playing right away. First they played pirates in Robert's tree fort. Next they played ninjas in the driveway. Then it started getting dark and they went inside of Robert's house. As soon as they walked in the house, Ryan's eyes starting getting red and itchy. He saw a big orange cat sitting on the couch. Then he started sneezing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, Robert. It's been a lot of fun, but I have to call my mom."

1. Why do Ryan's eyes get red and itchy when he walks into Robert's house? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

2. Why does Ryan want to call his mother? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

"William, don't forget your towel!" Mom shouted as she applied sunblock on the baby. William threw the folding chairs in the back of the minivan and shouted through the garage door, "OK Mom!" He then ran up and grabbed his towel. "Georgie!" William shouted. There was no response. Mom packed the baby up into the car seat. "William, can you help me with his umbrella?" William ran down the stairs, almost tripping over a chew toy, and then he helped his mother load the large umbrella in the minivan. "Mom, I can't find Georgie," William said. His mother shrugged and replied, "That's OK, William. He probably shouldn't come with us anyway."

3. Where are Mom and William going? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

4. Who is Georgie? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

As the teacher brought the class back from the washroom, he noticed that Alvin and Elijah were nowhere to be seen. He asked the class, "Has anyone seen Alvin or Elijah?" Most of the students confirmed that they had not seen them, except for Rodney, who remained silent while tapping his foot on the floor anxiously. The teacher noticed this. "Rodney, do you happen to know where your best buddies Alvin and Elijah went?" Rodney looked away and said, "Nah, I haven't seen them." The teacher notified the office of the missing students. An announcement was made over the PA system and a few minutes later, Alvin and Elijah returned to class. Both of them were very sweaty and Elijah was carrying a basketball. "Sorry we took so long. We had to use the bathroom," said Elijah. "Yeah," chimed in Alvin, "it took longer than we thought."

5. What were Alvin and Elijah doing while they were gone? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

6. Why was Rodney acting so strangely? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

7. Will the teacher believe Alvin and Elijah's story?_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

Tony walked out of the shopping mall with his arms full of bags and the sun shining on him. As he approached his car, he started awkwardly feeling around his pockets with his arm full of bags. He did not find what he was looking for so he transferred the bags on one arm to the other arm, which already had bags. Tony had a lot of bags on one arm. He still couldn't find what he was looking for. Now he dropped the bags and plunged both hands desperately into all of the pockets on his jeans. With a look of despair, Tony ran to his car. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Then he saw something on the passenger seat of the car. He stopped looking and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

8. Why does Tony get so frantic? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

9. What does Tony see on the passenger seat?_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

10. Why is Tony getting on the phone? _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

How do you know this?

.

Daily Guidance #7

 Daily Guidance #7 

 Inference questions ask you to identify information or comprehend an idea that is not explicitly stated in the reading passage.

You can recognize inference questions because they usually include the words "infer," "imply" or "suggest," like in these examples.

Rhetorical purpose questions are similar, because they also ask for information not explicitly stated. These will ask why the author has presented a piece of information.

Inference- not explicitly stated

For Example: 

• Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about X?
• The author of the paragraph implies that X…
• Paragraph X suggests which of the following about Y?

Rhetorical purpose

For Example:

• Why does the author mention X?

One way to approach these types of questions, if you can't identify the correct answer immediately, is to eliminate wrong answers. You will see more on this as we go through the example.

Eliminate wrong answers if you can't identify the correct answer immediately.

REFERENCE: 

ETSx: TOEFLx TOEFL Test Preparation: The Insider's Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:ETSx TOEFLx 1T2017/info

Daily Guidance #6

Daily Guidance #6 

There are several key skills that you’ll need to be successful in the Reading section. You should be able to: 

1.  Synthesize information presented in the text 

This means that you can read chunks of text and identify main ideas being expressed. You should be able to draw connections between individual sentences and paraphrase the information that is presented.

2.  Identify the author’s rhetorical purpose

When you read a piece of information, you should be able to understand why the author has included it. Is it an example of a phenomenon, a supporting detail for an argument, or perhaps the introduction of a new idea? Understanding the structure of each paragraph and the whole passage is critical to understanding its contents. 

3.  Scan the text to find specific pieces of information

In order to put together the big picture about what’s going on in a passage, you will also need to comprehend the little pieces that fit together to make that big picture. It is important to be able to quickly locate a sentence or portion of a paragraph that discusses a particular point. Once you’ve found that sentence, you can re-read it in order to understand exactly what is being expressed.

4.  Understand academic vocabulary used in the passage

A newspaper or magazine article might use more everyday language—the sort of thing you hear in conversations and read in emails. But an academic text, regardless of the subject, contains certain vocabulary that is standard in academic discourse. There might be words related to presenting theories: "propose", "hypothesis", "scenario". Or there could be words that connect two sentences: "however", "in addition", "thus". A good reader should be familiar with this type of vocabulary.

FOR MORE INFORMATION WATCH VIDEO BELOW
LINK: http://study.com/academy/lesson/toefl-reading-section-strategies.html

Reading Comprehension Practice 3

Hello Students,


Based on the information that has been uploaded about the reading section in the TOEFL exam. I have attached a link below so you can continue to practice on your reading. Read the passages carefully and answer the following questions. If you have any doubts on the reading please leave a comment below.

Link: http://www.graduateshotline.com/toefl/reading-comprehension-test-1.html#.WNNPDW_yvIU


P.S. Reminder to everyone that the chat online is on Tuesdays and Thursdays from six to eight.

Reading Comprehension Practice 2

Hello Students,


I have attached a link below so you can begin practicing on your reading. Read the passages carefully and answer the following questions. If you have any doubts on the reading please leave a comment below.

Link: http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/TOEFL_reading2.htm

Reading Comprehension Practice

Hello Students,


I have attached a link below so you can begin practicing on your reading. Read the passages carefully and answer the following questions. If you have any doubts on the reading please leave a comment below.


Good luck!


Link: https://www.ets.org/toefl_junior/prepare/standard_sample_questions/reading_comprehension

Daily Guidance #5

Daily Guidance #5 

About the Reading Section

The first section of the TOEFL iBT®  test is the Reading section.

This section uses reading passages from university-level textbooks that introduce a topic. The passages may have been changed slightly to make them appropriate for testing purposes, but they are real academic materials.

Topics of the reading passages can vary, but you do not need to have any prior knowledge of the topics. Everything you need to know to answer the questions is in the passages, because the questions are testing your English skills, not your knowledge of the topic.

There are 3 or 4 reading passages of about 700 words each. For each passage, there are 12 to 14 multiple-choice questions. You will be able to to see the reading passage as you answer each question.

Most questions have four choices and a single correct answer. Some questions ask you to select two or more correct answers from a larger group of choices.

You will have 60 to 80 minutes to complete the Reading section. During that time, you can return to previous questions to review or change your answers.

You will learn more details about the Reading section this week through a series of videos about the different Reading question types.

Resources: 

Davy, E., & Davy, K. (2002). Reading and vocabulary workbook for the TOEFL exam. New Jersey: ARCO/Thomson Learning.

Daily Guidance #4

Daily Guidance #4 

A Look Inside The TOEFL Test 

Here's an overview of what to expect on the test. The TOEFL Test has four sections, Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. All four sections are completed in one testing session which takes about four hours.

·       Reading section

The Reading section has three or four passages of about 700 words each. For each passage, you will answer 12 to 14 multiple choice questions. You will have 60 to 80 minutes to complete the Reading section. And during that time, you can return to previous questions to review or change your answers.

·      Listening section.

For this section, you will wear a headset to hear the conversations and lectures. There are two or three conversations. Each is about three minutes long and has five multiple choice questions. There are four or six lectures, each of those about three to five minutes long and has six multiple choice questions. In the Listening section, you will only hear the conversations and lectures one time. Also you must answer the questions in the order that they are presented. In this section, you can't go back to previous questions. You will have 60 to 90 minutes to complete the section. You probably notice that in the Reading and Listening sections, the testing time and number of questions can vary. That is because every test includes some extra questions that are being evaluated by ETS for use in future tests and do not count toward your score. So, your test will either have extra Reading questions or extra Listening questions, but never both. And you won't know which questions are the extra ones so make sure you do your best on all of them. After the Listening section, there is a required 10-minute break. So use the time to have some water or a snack and refresh yourself for the rest of the test.

·    Speaking section

The speaking section has six tasks and takes about 20 minutes to complete. Some tasks require you to listen to part of a conversation or lecture, so you will continue to use your headset. Some also require you to read a short passage. For each task, you will be asked a question and will be given a short time to prepare your response. Then, you will speak into the microphone on your headset for 45 to 60 seconds, depending on the question.

·       Writing section,

You will complete two writing tasks in 50 minutes by typing your responses into the computer. In the first task, you will read a passage and listen to a short lecture, then write your response. You will have 20 minutes to write your response. In the second task, you will be asked your opinion on an issue and you will have 30 minutes to write your response. 

References: 

TOEFL Format. (2017, January 12). Retrieved from https://magoosh.com/toefl/2013/toefl-format/

Vocabulary Practice

Hello Students,

For tomorrow we will be practicing our vocabulary. Below I am attaching a link. All the words in this vocabulary test are from Academic Word List. These are the 570 most frequently used words in academic texts. You need to practice these words if you wish to pass the TOEFL exam.


P.S. Remember tomorrow we will have online class from six to eight.


Have a nice night. 



Link: http://www.examenglish.com/vocabulary/academic_word_list_group1.htm

Daily Guidance #3

Daily Guidance #3

In the reading section of your TOEFL exam. You will begin working on: 

BUILDING VOCABULARY: There are lots of ways to learn new words, but what’s important is to commit to learning a few new words every day. You can use vocabulary flash cards, study vocabulary words you find on university websites, and read novels, online articles, and news stories. I also recommend linking new vocabulary terms to an experience that you have had. This is a great strategy for remembering new words!

Daily Guidance #2

Daily Guidance #2 


Research TOEFL Score Requirements 


Most people take the TOEFL in order to apply to a specific school or program. Before you begin studying, find out what the requirements are for the schools you are interested in going to. Remember that the scores for the paper based test are different than the scores for the iBT. Some schools will look at your scores from different sections. Each iBT section is scored out of 30. Many universities expect you to achieve higher writing skills than speaking skills. TOEFL scores are only valid for two years.

Sign Up to This Course

Hello Everyone,

In order to sign up to this TOEFL course. You must send me the following information to my email: alondraponce94@gmail.com. Your complete name, Buap student ID, why are you interested in taking this course, is it your first time taking the TOEFL exam, if not how many times have you taken it, and finally what do you feel was more challenging for you when practicing for the exam.


P.S.This information is very confidential, and will only be used for specific purposes.

Thank you and let us begin.

Daily Guidance #1

Daily Guidance #1:

Familiarize yourself with the TOEFL format.


Many countries offer Internet based TOEFL (iBT). A few only offer only the paper based test (PBT). Make sure that you get informed of which test you will be taking before you begin studying for the TOEFL. Of course, you cannot choose to study the paper based exam if your country offers the iBT. A reason why people stress about this exam is because they don't know what to expect before the test. In order to prevent stress make sure that you find out what kind of exam you will be taking. ETS has a very clear standard about the format of their test. This is why it is called a "standardized" test.

Welcome

Hello Everyone, 

I will be your English teacher for the following months.The objective of this blog is to give counseling to BUAP students who have problems in the English language.These students will have online counseling with me on google chat over some advice you need to take and exercises for the TOEFL exam will be uploading up through the blog. Students will send me the activities that they have done through my email so we can check them through.This course will cover Tuesdays and Thursdays from six to eight. Students will have evaluation every end of the month, to see the progress of the students.


Hope to hear from you soon.