[Zishen TOEFL] High-Score Experience

School and major: graduated from National Central University, Graduate Institute of Chemistry

Scores: first attempt R 5.0, L 5.5, W 4.5, S 4.0, total 5.0

Test date: 2026/09/02

[Prep Experience & Methods by Section]

[Reading]

Teacher Kang's structured reading method teaches us how English is organized, and it stays useful long after the TOEFL. I was in the very first class for the new test format. Back then the official sample questions were few, and Teacher Kang had already foreseen that the real test would get harder, so the academic reading lessons still kept many old-format questions, preparing us for all kinds of boss-level questions on test day. For the daily-life reading part, Teacher Kang collected all kinds of real questions ETS had used in the past, which was really reassuring at a time when real questions were scarce. For the vocabulary fill-in-the-blank part, Teacher Kang provided a graduation gift pack that keeps getting updated. It includes a word frequency list compiled from real questions and, more importantly, a practice website with real questions from the new TOEFL, which helped a lot in the later stages of prep.

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[Listening]

Every class with coach Chloe included a full listening set, so we got thoroughly familiar with the question types. The coach also taught note-taking for English listening and English linking step by step, and provided many listening resources, such as NPR, Scientific American and, for British accents, BBC 6 min English, which really helped train our ears and the focus the new listening section requires. The coach also often shared ways to learn English well and common pitfalls in English usage, and there were plenty of supplementary materials and resource bundles after class. Beyond teaching the TOEFL, the course helped us level up on the long road of learning English.

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[Speaking]

Coach Chloe taught the shadowing technique used in interpreter training to handle the speaking repeat task, and every class ended with a repeat set. For the interview task, the coach gave us go-to interview phrases as templates and offered all sorts of practice methods for us to choose from, such as stringing words into sentences, reusing arguments, VOA, Sight Translation, practicing with AI and Pattern Drills. The coach also personally wrote a large number of model answers, giving us plenty of arguments to draw on. On top of encouraging us to form study groups with classmates to practice speaking, the coach offered one-on-one coaching, and after the course ended we could still get ongoing support through the group chat.

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[Writing]

William used the sentence-building questions to help us review important grammar concepts. For both the email and academic discussion tasks, the emphasis was on writing details through semi-memorization and fully answering everything the prompt asks. The handouts include all kinds of model essays written by the teacher, making it easy to pick up details, along with many templates and answering techniques to help us get the writing done. The teacher also puts a lot of weight on homework, going back and forth with corrections and revisions to find each student's weak points in writing and give clear directions for revision. Throughout, the teacher kept encouraging us with lots of positive energy, which kept us motivated even at the toughest moments.

[Study Plan]

My English foundation was weak to begin with (TOEIC 515). Before the TOEFL class, I took Teacher Kang's Wordgod vocabulary, grammar and background knowledge courses to build a base, and memorized the words in the Blue Book. I also took a pronunciation course called Skills Training (實力培訓), which built a base for both listening and speaking. During the TOEFL class, I made sure to review as soon as possible using the methods each teacher gave in class.

Before the test, I used the real-question practice website from the graduation gift pack of Teacher Kang's reading class and applied the practice methods I'd learned from each teacher, practicing my weaker areas every day under time pressure:

For reading, I mainly practiced vocabulary fill-in-the-blank, and afterward copied out the whole passage by hand to make it stick; academic reading I practiced a bit whenever I had time.

For listening, I mainly practiced academic lectures, building my skills this way: listen without taking notes, answer the questions, listen again, listen while reading the transcript, check the Chinese translation for parts I didn't understand, then listen one last time.

For the speaking repeat task, the key is knowing everyday words that aren't in the Blue Book, and I think this is the part that depends most on luck. For the interview task, I extended coach Chloe's idea of reusing arguments into answering as many questions as possible with as little material as possible, and every Sunday I practiced with my study group.

For writing, I focused on email and academic discussion. After practicing, I copied out the model answer from the website, then wrote down the details I could use, and before the test I copied those details over and over until they were semi-memorized.

Before the real test, I took the Wordgod mock test to make final adjustments to my timing strategy and got feedback on it from William's grading. The speaking mock test is separate and needs to be booked in advance.

[Test Center Report]

A great test center in terms of location, equipment and staff, with everyone starting at the same time. Room B had fewer people and wider seats, so there was probably less speaking noise than in Room A. It's closer to the road than Room A, but with headphones on, the traffic didn't really bother me.

[Words of Encouragement for Other Test Takers]

If you keep at it, going from A2 (TOEIC 515) to C1 (TOEFL 5.0) is possible!

[Score Report]