【High TOEFL Score: My Experience】

School and department: National Taiwan University, Electrical Engineering

Test score: 106

Test date: 2025/10/11

【Section-by-Section Tips & How I Prepared】

【Reading】

Reading, listening, speaking and writing are the four hurdles of the TOEFL, and I think reading is the most basic and most crucial

section. Reading English books regularly and looking up English novel recommendations online helps build your feel for the language and improve your reading

speed. The teacher’s idea of “skimming and rereading” is very important; pay special attention

to contrast connectives, which are often where the questions are. I recommend making good use of Wordgod (字神)’s mock exams to get familiar early with the computer-based

test interface; it really helps you perform on test day.

【Listening】

The key to listening is note-taking. You can’t write down everything in a recording over two minutes long, and the teacher taught us

many practical methods and techniques for catching keywords (for example, for equivalent expressions you only need to note one of them). The teacher

also covered lots of speaking-related usage, like how to make sentences sound more natural and more like a native speaker

. Being taught entirely in English helped me improve quickly; it made a huge difference.

【Speaking】

Speaking may be the hardest section for Asian students, since we rarely have a place to practice. But the teacher kept

getting us to speak, having us practice the same question over and over and correct it step by step. Templates were also very useful, so

we didn’t panic easily during the test and always had something to say. Once you start with the template, your thoughts naturally catch up,

and you speak more fluently.

【Writing】

Writing is the class I most want to recommend! The teacher is clear and well organized and the course is thoroughly planned. Starting from the official TOEFL

scoring criteria, combined with the teacher’s own research on the scoring software, it helped us understand the logic of high-scoring essays

. Besides practicing and going over questions in class, the teacher also added lots of advanced vocabulary, grammar and sentence patterns, helping

us write more academic and in-depth essays. Getting a 28 was a real surprise!

【Study Plan】

I only started preparing intensively a month before the test, and the university semester had already started, so I had to manage my time very

efficiently. Personally, I think the most important thing in TOEFL prep is to “register first,” because once you’ve registered

(and it isn’t cheap), you force yourself to start preparing seriously. Every week I set aside at least three to four

fixed time slots just for TOEFL, so it became part of my routine. Without a specific plan, schoolwork

tends to take priority over TOEFL prep, and you keep putting it off. So registering early and building a steady

study rhythm was the key to finishing my preparation on schedule.

【Test Center Report】

I thought the WhyGo language center was a great environment: the air conditioning was just right, not too cold, and the computers were

clear, with big screens that ran smoothly. The proctoring process was well run, with test takers starting at almost the same

time, so you aren’t really affected by others during listening or writing (though it can’t be avoided entirely). Overall

it felt very reassuring.

【A Word of Encouragement for Other Test Takers】

Just register! Stop hesitating and give yourself a push; you’ll find preparing isn’t as scary as you think.

【Score Report】