As a TOEFL instructor, the first question I ask each new TOEFL class on the first day is: "Okay, so what is an essay?"
From twenty students from twenty different cultures I get twenty different answers.
Then I ask, "Okay, so what is a thesis?"
Twenty different answers.
Then I ask, "Okay, so what are rhetorical strategies?"
Nothing. Silence.
This is typical of each new TOEFL class. Conclusion? Most non native, English-speaking students are not familiar with western-style, argument development (remember an essay is an argument).
Why is this a problem? Because the TOEFL iBT is all arguments. Why all arguments? Because argument development is the foundation of the English-speaking educational system. What do students do at U.S., U.K., Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand universities? They listen to lectures (verbal essays); they write essays (written arguments); they read texts (written arguments); they express opinions in seminars and give presentations (argument-based tasks). As you can see, the argument is the foundation of the western-educational system. Where did it come from? TOEFL? Nope. The Greeks about 2,500 years ago. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato. That gang.
How does argument development connect with the TOEFL iBT? Simple. Like I said, the TOEFL iBT is all arguments. That means if you (the test-taker) want the highest-TOEFL iBT score possible, you must understand basic argument development. That is the first strategy you must learn. Right? Right. Do standardized TOEFL texts (you know the ones) teach basic argument development starting on page one? Do they teach the difference between induction and deduction? No. Standardized texts all start with an analysis of reading section questions and strategies, such as skimming and scanning. Yes, skimming is important. Yes, scanning is important. But if you do not understand basic rhetoric (the tools of argument development), you will not get the highest TOEFL iBT score possible. It's that simple. Think of it this way: A typical standardized TOEFL text is like a speeding car. From page one, it is already driving 100 mph while you are standing beside the road trying to jump on. What happens when you try to jump on? That's right. Disaster.
As a TOEFL instructor and TOEFL author, I have identified this disconnect between what test-takers need and what standardized TOEFL texts teach (or don't teach). What test-takers need is a foundation in basic rhetoric before they learn strategies specific to each task. But how is learning argument development possible in a three-month (or shorter) TOEFL course, or by self-study, especially when you have to learn all those other TOEFL strategies?
The solution is to start with the independent essay, the last task on the TOEFL iBT. Why start with the independent essay? Because the independent essay is the foundation essay. By learning how to write an independent essay, the test-taker can quickly acquire basic argument strategies needed for the TOEFL iBT. If a test-taker can write an independent essay, he/she will answer reading and listening section questions more proficiently; they will also answer speaking tasks more proficiently and write integrated essays more proficiently.
As you can see, as a TOEFL instructor, I focus on the needs of my students first. What do my students (and all test-takers) need? An introduction to basic argument development. As an TOEFL author, that is what I teach in Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL iBT. Standardized TOEFL texts, however, do not focus on test-taker needs. Instead, they "teach to the test." This means they teach strategies as the appear on the TOEFL test: reading, listening, speaking, writing. To me, this pedagogy/strategy is counter productive. Why have standardized TOEFL texts taught TOEFL this way for 50 years? Because they have been focused on the test and not on the test-taker. What is more important? The test or the test-taker? It's pretty obvious.
What do test-takers need? An introduction to the fundamentals of basic argument development starting with the independent essay. That is what I teach my TOEFL classes. That is what my best-selling TOEFL text Speaking and Writing Strategies for the iBT teaches. That is what my complete TOEFL iBT text Integrated Strategies for the TOEFL iBT: A New Approach to TOEFL Success will teach when published in 2011.
Want to know more? It's all in the book.
Got a TOEFL question? Ask the Pro!
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© Bruce Stirling 2010-11
