TOEFL Ready

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• hit pause
• laid back
• mark
• go through the motions

• on your mind
• fill in
• stressed out
• cram

• mellow
• break

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Tests don’t have to be scary. It seems like a lot can go wrong, but as long as you prepare and stay calm, you’ll be OK. And it’s no secret that being well-prepared helps you stay calm.

American students lose sleep over the SAT, which determines what colleges you can get into. People who live in other countries and want to study in the US have to do well on the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or the TOEFL.

When you study for a test, it becomes a big part of your life. You think about it a lot and you might even dream about it. It’s on your mind so much that when you talk about the test to other people, you forget that they may not have taken a test in years.

Amanda’s Chinese cousin is studying for the TOEFL, but she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Watch as Jason fills her in.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amanda

Jason

Amanda:  So I got a call from my cousin, Jeff Wong, and I haven’t heard from him in months, but he was super stressed out because he’s practicing and cramming and studying for this toy-full exam…

Jason:  Oh, the TOEFL?

Amanda:  Yeah!

Jason:  The Test of English as a Foreign Language?

Amanda:  Yeah.

Jason:  Where does he live?

Amanda:  Exactly. He lives in China. He lives in Shanghai. And he’s just super-stressed about it but I don’t know if it’s like a one time you fail and you’re done, or if you just keep taking it. How’s it work?

Jason:  Well, you can take it again but it’s kind of expensive and stuff, so the best thing to do is probably take the practice TOEFL, which you can get online from English, baby! now. And it’s sweet because it’s pretty much exactly the TOEFL except it’s just pretend, you know? So if you get your score from that, you’ll know exactly how well you’re going to do.

Amanda:  So is it an online thing? You don’t go to a room with a bunch of other students…

Jason:  Yeah, exactly. You take it online and then you can, like, take breaks and pause it and eat dinner…

Amanda:  So you don’t have a maximum amount of time, like four hours, you have to be done…

Jason:  You do, but you can, like, hit pause on it, or whatever.

Amanda:  Oh that’s cool. So it’s pretty laid back.

Jason:  Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Amanda:  I mean, if you study enough, you should be able to get a pretty high mark, I would think.

Jason:  Yeah, and it seems like if you sort of go through the motions on the practice test it will make it less stressful when you take the real test.

Amanda:  Cool.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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