UK tells foreign students: Speak English or get out!

"Let me be clear: you need to speak English to learn at our education establishments. If you can't, we won't give you a visa."

This was the stark warning issued by UK home secretary Theresa May in parliament last month as she unveiled tough new rules for student visas aimed at cutting the numbers of migrants using education as a back door into Britain.

Read the article here.

Sample From my New TOEFL text coming soon!

The following is a sample page from the reading section of my new TOEFL iBT text, Scoring Strategies for the TOEFL iBT, A Complete Guide. My new TOEFL text will be available June 2011.

Click on the page to enlarge.

The Pro © 2011

Another Success Story!

Three months ago, the test-taker below sent me an email thanking me for my book Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL iBT. Yesterday, I received the email below from the same test-taker (name withheld for privacy).

Dear Sir

I got a good score, 106/120 (IBT). Thank you again, as I had your book as the most important learning tool in my library.

Regards

GSR

India

Congrats to GSR!

Sample Independent Essay: What will your friend like/not like about your hometown?

This is another popular independent essay prompt. Everybody who has prepared for the TOEFL iBT has written it. Will this prompt ever appear on the TOEFL iBT? I doubt it very much. ETS tends to use new prompts. But it is good practice nonetheless.

____________________________________________________________

Prompt: What do you think a friend might like and not like about the place you call home? Why? Develop your position using examples and reasons.

What will my friend like and not like when visiting the place I call home, New Delhi, India? Personally speaking, I contend that my friend will like the food however he will not be crazy about the summer temperatures or the crowds.

My friend will like the delicious food in New Delhi. When I am hungry, I go to Sheshraj’s, the best restaurant in New Delhi. The prices are very reasonable and you get a lot of food. The lamb curry is excellent as is the aloo gobi. For a good meal, my friend can spend maybe one American dollar. Eating at Sheshraj’s will definitely give my friend a real New Delhi experience that is both affordable and delicious.

                             

However, my friend will not like summer in New Delhi. The temperature can reach 120F plus the humidity is high as well. This makes New Delhi uncomfortable in the summer. Unlike America, air conditioning is not found everywhere in New Delhi. This is most evident on the trains and buses. With the high temperatures and the high humidity, this can make traveling difficult. Because of these factors, my friend may want to avoid visiting New Delhi in the summer.

As mentioned, New Delhi is crowded. My friend might not like this  because he comes from a small town in Connecticut, so he does not feel the pressure of big city life. Also, he does not see any poverty because Connecticut is wealthy unlike parts of New Delhi which are extremely poor. This might be a big shock for my friend since he is not used to such cultural extremes.

As illustrated, there are many reasons why my friend will like and won’t like New Delhi. However, this should not stop him from visiting. I guarantee he will have a wonderful time.

____________________________________________________________

There is no official word-length rule. However, ETS says an "effective" independent essay will be around 300 words. In this context, "effective" means proficient. Proficient means demonstrating skill and knowledge specific to the task. 

The essay above is exactly 300 words.

Want to learn how to write a high-scoring independent essay? It's all in the book.

Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL iBT at Amazon.

The Pro

TOEFL Tip #25

To get the highest possible speaking and writing scores, you must learn how to think like an official ETS (Education Testing Service) speaking rater and writing rater. ETS raters are trained to follow guidelines specific to speaking and writing. Those guidelines are called rubrics. Rubrics are rules for coherent speaking and writing. As a test-taker, you need to learn those rules. By doing so, you will give the raters what they are trained to look for in spoken and written responses. By giving the raters what they are trained to listen and look for, you will maximize scoring on test day. That is how you play the TOEFL game and win.

Want to learn how to think like an ETS speaking and writing rater? It's all in the book.

Scoring Strategies for TOEFL iBT

TOEFL Tip #24

Many test-takers think the integrated writing task is harder than the independent essay. However, classroom experience proves that for most test-takers, the integrated essay is in fact (surprise, surprise!) easier to write. Why?

For starters, all the factual information you need for the integrated essay is provided in the reading and in the lecture. All you have to do is arrange those facts according to the prompt. However, for the independent essay, you have no facts. You are given nothing but a prompt. To answer the prompt, you must state your opinion, then think of examples to support your opinion. Thinking of examples and putting them in writing is a creative process that tests your automaticity (your ability to think and create without hesitation). Simply put, the independent essay tests your creativity when developing examples. It's true. And it is very challenging. I know. I see it all the time. In contrast, the integrated essay does not test creativity. That is one big difference between these two writing tasks. There are others, of course. Lots more.

Want to learn how to write a high-scoring integrated essay and a high-scoring independent essay? It's all in the book.

Scoring Strategies for the TOEFL iBT - A  Complete Guide

What are the qualities of a good doctor?