TOEFL exam skills | 4 essential skills to ace the exam!

The Test of English as a Foreign Language is an exam that revolves completely around the English language. It has multiple facets to assess the overall proficiency of a person in the English language. Today, we will understand the skills required for a person to ace the TOEFL exam with flying colors. 

TOEFL exam | An overview

The TOEFL exam requires the examinee to possess one of the main skills- proficiency in English. However, many other TOEFL exam skills help play a major role in guiding the student in getting good marks in the exam. There are multiple stages of this exam ranging from primary students to undergraduates. Some people perform the TOEFL test to ensure that they are on the right path in English learning in their education. However, some conduct the test to apply to universities abroad. 

However, if you want to clear the TOEFL exam in the first try, you should start practicing some vital skills. These TOEFL exam skills relate to your overall understanding of the English language, as well as your grasping and assessment of the data given to you. Let us now read in detail about these skills.  

Three TOEFL exam skills to ace the exam

Mentioned below are the three top skills a person should have to get the best marks in the TOEFL exam. 

• Academic skills

The English language is an academic subject, which includes grammar and literature. However, some other TOEFL exam skills are not related to English but are essential for clearing the exam. For instance, note-making skills. A person can make notes in their native language to capture more data. 

Also, they can use abbreviations or short-hand so that they can note down the gist of the paragraph in the listening section of the exam. Apart from that, creating and organizing the content is also a skill that is tested in the writing section of the TOEFL exam. 

• Test skills

These skills include your ability to complete the tests within time while answering the most number of questions. This includes strategy-making and planning how you do the exam. You need to identify the time you have to spend on each question. Also, you should be able to understand the question completely. 

• English skills

These are the major TOEFL exam skills required in a person that wants to clear the TOEFL exam. This includes the grammar skills of the English language in four aspects- listening, speaking, writing, and reading. We will read about these skills in detail in the next section.  

The four English language skills

Reading skills

The reading test of the TOEFL exam tests the ability of a person to read educational texts at the first-year university level. The person needs to read and comprehend the text and then give the correct answers based on that text. To improve your reading skills for TOEFL in English, you can- 

• Read academic and non-academic materials.
• Read multiple genres whether they interest you or not.
• Write potential questions and answers from the text you read.
• Find out the difficult words and their meanings to enhance your vocabulary.
• Make a plan for learning new words and phrases.
• Learn to recognize organizational styles and the structure of the text.
• Understand sentences and their formation.
• Learn to comprehend the questions.

Writing skills

The writing section of the TOEFL exam focuses on the writing aspect of a person. The examinee has to write passages, conversations, lectures, etc., on the given topic. Their vocabulary, sentence formation, ideas, and text structure are examined. To improve your TOEFL writing skills, you should- 

• Practice taking notes of things you listen to.
• Learn to create summaries.
• Check what you have written and correct your errors.
• Practice typing on the English keyboard.
• Learn important phrases.
• Practice creating grammatically correct sentences.
• Write paragraphs about some topics ranging from small to lengthy.
• Practice all aspects of grammar such as punctuation, conjunctions, adjectives, tenses, verbs, etc. 
• Learn to think and organize your ideas.

Speaking skills

The speaking section of the TOEFL exam focuses on the speaking ability of the examinee. It checks the proficiency of the person on various parameters such as pronunciation, tone, grammar, etc. In this section, a person might be asked to speak in lectures or conversations, short solo speeches, etc. To improve speaking skills for TOEFL, a person may- 

• Record yourself while speaking.
• Listen to the recording, find the errors and try to improve them.
• Read paragraphs from academic books or newspapers.
• Record summaries of paragraphs you have read.
• Listen to native speakers in the form of lectures, songs, or movies.
• Grasp the accent of the native speaker.
• Practice speaking on new topics each day.
• Before going to bed each day, speak out about what you did that day.
• Listen to podcasts or audiobooks.
• Focus on your pronunciation and intonation for each word separately.
• Read out aloud, whatever you are reading.

Listening skills

This includes the ability of an individual to listen and comprehend the audio that is played for them. This generally includes conversations and lectures at the academic level, which helps the test-takers identify the listening skill of the examinee in native English. Mentioned below is how you can improve your listening skills for TOEFL- 

• Learn to focus on the whole meaning rather than just the words.
• Shift your focus to your ears and not your eyes.
• Increase your concentration levels.
• Start picturing what the speaker is saying.
• Listen to English songs and podcasts.
• Comprehend what the speaker is saying.
• Learn to make notes of the gist.
• Learn to eliminate distractions.

Key takeaways

We can say that getting a good score on the TOEFL exam requires a person to have some TOEFL exam skills. Also, to bag the best score, you should- 

• Enhance your academic, testing, and English skills. 
• Have proficiency in the TOEFL exam skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. 
• Do regular practice. 
• Maintain consistency and 
• Follow the practices mentioned above. 

We hope you enjoyed reading this blog. In case of any queries, reach out to us or drop a comment below!

Liked this blog? Read next: Essential words for the TOEFL exam | Here’s how to memorize them!

FAQs

Q1. How should a person improve TOEFL exam skills?

Answer- To improve TOEFL skills, you must-

1. Build memory skills
2. Practice essays
3. Learn to manage time
4. Improve computer skills
5. Understand the format.

Q2. Who can take the TOEFL exam?

Answer- Any student who wishes to admission into a native-English speaking university or college or any other person who wants to test their English skills can take this test. 

Q3. Can a person prepare for TOEFL in two weeks?

Answer- Fourteen days are enough to understand the format of TOEFL and practice for the exam.