My TOEFL experience

School and major: National Chiao Tung University, Information Management and Finance

Score: first attempt R27 L27 S23 W27, total: 104

Test date: 2024/6/2

【Experience / prep for each section】

【Reading】

Reading wasn't a big problem for me. In class, Kang taught lots of quick problem-solving techniques that helped me find keywords and answers fast. The hardest question type for me was the summary question, but Kang shared some answering techniques that kept me from getting stuck when picking out each paragraph's main points. Unfortunately I still haven't fully mastered the vocabulary questions, and my score was a bit lower than on my first attempt, but given this result my reading score is acceptable.

【Listening】

Buxi had us practice using “ace blocks” (王牌區塊) to split up questions and choose answers, which even helps predict likely test points while working through questions. We were also pushed to do shadowing practice every day to keep our ears tuned to catching keywords. These methods helped my listening sensitivity quite a bit, and I improved a lot compared with my first attempt. Going forward I hope to keep the listening feel I had this time.

【Writing】

For integrated writing, William taught me how to catch the points where the reading and the lecture clash, which gave my integrated writing prep a clearer direction and let me clearly hear the key arguments on each side and complete the integrated writing task smoothly. For academic discussion, William taught ways to build ideas quickly and provided plenty of practical arguments, which helped me respond more quickly in the real test. This improved my writing a lot and will also be quite useful for further study or work in the future.

【Speaking】

Speaking is actually my weak spot, but we were required to communicate and discuss directly in English, which built the habit and ability to think and express opinions directly in English. Chloe also taught a clear structure for each question and gave us flexible templates to practice with, so we got familiar with the answer patterns in class and didn't get nervous from unfamiliarity in the real test.

【Study plan】

Since this was my second time preparing, I focused on time management and strengthening my weak areas. During the course, I went through Wordgod (字神)'s materials from start to finish to get familiar with all the key points first. Then I scheduled plenty of TPOs to keep my touch, with time limits to stay in TOEFL mode. During this round of prep I did more than 20 TPO practice tests, and my score improved over my first attempt. I also did listening shadowing and two rounds of speaking practice every day to keep my feel for listening and speaking. For writing, I practiced with 真經 (real past test) prompts and made myself hit the word count within the time limit with no grammar or meaning errors.

【Test day & test center report】

The Meijia test center has fairly good online reviews. The room is reasonably spacious but has no partitions, so I was occasionally distracted during the speaking and listening sections. Overall, the test center's environment and quality were acceptable, with no major drawbacks.

【Score report】