11 Tips for Successful TOEIC Preparation
So this is the beginning of the school year... You need to reach a 815 score to the TOEIC test and you don't know how the hell you're going to do that... Well... Then it’s great that you’re here right now!
These tips and advice will help you reach your goal. Even better, in this post we’ll practice together. Because, folks, the best preparation for the TOEIC is practicing, practicing andpracticing some more. Why? Uh, that’s how you get better at anything. Oh and, by the way, practicing is key. Practicing. That’s it, end of the post. Thanks for reading me…. … Just kidding! But first, let’s start by making sure everyone knows what the TOEIC is all about.
What’s the TOEIC? TOEIC stands for the Test of English for
Length: 2.5 hours
International Communication. It tests your
The listening section is 45 minutes, the reading
ability to understand work-related writings,
section is 75 minutes and then there are 30
instructions and conversations, in spoken and
minutes to answer non-scored questions about
written English.
yourself.
Remember that the TOEIC Listening & Reading
Score: 10 – 990
Test does not have a speaking part — so that’s
A higher score is a better score. In the reading
one less thing to think about.
and listening parts you can earn 5 – 495 points each, and then the two scores are added
Format: Multiple choice, pencil and paper
together for your final score.
There are two sections: listening section (100
Here’s a table that a detailed description of the
questions)
score levels.
and
reading
section
(100
questions).
TOEIC Listening and Reading Format: What It Means for You Let’s take a closer look at the format of the TOEIC Listening and Reading exam:
Part 1. Listening comprehension —
Part 2. Reading comprehension —
100 questions (45 minutes)
100 questions (75 minutes)
– Photographs
– Incomplete sentences
– Question-response
– Error recognition or text completion
– Conversations
– Reading comprehension
– Short talks
See the problem here? There’s more time for the reading part, which means that you’ll need to be very focused during the listening test, because there aren’t any replays. It’s fast, which is why test takers usually study and practice more for the listening part. But you’ll still need to practice for the reading section, too. While there are no essays to write, some questions will test your grammar and vocabulary. Also, some reading questions will use many different business communication methods (e-mails, newsletters, etc.) that are connected together. This will test your ability to find, gather and understand information from different sources.
So, unless you find out that you’re better at listening than reading, it would be best to focus on listening when you study. What will help you get better at listening and the other skills needed for success on the TOEIC? Here are 11 tips that will show you how to be best prepared for the TOEIC.
11 Tips for Successful TOEIC Listening and Reading Preparation 1. Assess Your Level You have already been granted a login and a
Did you do better the second time?
password
Congratulations! We’ll see how that’s even
to
access
your
account
on PrepMyFuture. On this platform, you probably
possible in tip #2.
already did the sample TOEIC test (which was highly recommended). You have also taken the
If you didn’t improve between the practices, don’t
mock online TOEIC test and received your results.
worry — we have ways (tips #3 and #4) to help
(if this is not the case, there is a problem. Contact
everyone get better.
me as soon as you can to get them!)
In any case, make sure you check all commented
Now is the time to take another full TOEIC test on
answers. These comments will explain why wrong
your own (in exam conditions of course! Respect
answers were wrong, and why correct answers
timing – Don’t use any dictionary) and to compare
were correct. This is very useful information to
the results between your mock TOEIC test and the
have.
one you’ve just taken.
2. Use “Practice Effects” to Your Advantage “Practice Effects” are real and scientifically
The weird thing is that this works for almost any
proven: the second time you do something, you
skill. It works for throwing a ball, playing the guitar,
become better at it. Take a test once, and then
driving a car and even kissing. (My husband would
take a similar one sometime later. Chances are
add that it works for doing the dishes as well, but I
very good that you’ll improve just because you’re
say this has yet to be proven true…)
now familiar with the technique of test-taking, even
The great thing about the TOEIC is that you can
if you don’t do anything else to prepare for the
take it as many times as you like. So, once you
second test.
have used up all the training tests available on PrepMyFuture, feel free to visit the LRC where you
find plenty of other ones! In a different post, I’ll
but, don’t procrastinate! You need to start
also tell you all about the online resources
preparing for the exam as soon as can!
available for free… So… stay tuned
Now that we’ve seen how practice can work like
You need to be doing as many practice questions
magic, let’s see what we can do to make it more
as you can. Always make sure that you check the
fun.
commented answers! That extra work you’ll put in will change everything. So, it goes without saying
3. Put Some Fun into Your Practice The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
“The Office” and “House of Cards” constantly
The better you practice, the easier it all gets. You’ll
feature business conversations, and have actors
practice better when things are more interesting
who speak very clearly. Kevin Spacey’s accent in
for you!
“House of Cards” is very close to the American
It’s more than okay to spend time studying without
male voices you’ll hear on the test.
the practice tests.
Once you get comfortable, and can understand
This is especially true if this studying time involves
conversations on your favorite U.S. TV shows
watching a TV show in English and trying to
without subtitles, you can move on to listening to
understand what’s happening.
an English radio station. This will bring you closer
It’s best to watch a show that you’ve already seen,
to the real conditions of the listening exam (no
and be sure to pick a show that has work-related
images, just audio).
scenes
4. Look for the Best Possible Answer, Not the Right Answer So what’s the difference between a “right answer”
Often, the test will ask you to infer something from
and the “best possible answer?”
a conversation or chain of documents.
A right answer usually means that there’s only one
“To infer” means to deduce, to derive, to draw
correct answer and all the other choices are
conclusions based on facts and reasoning” (not
wrong.
opinions). Inferring is not guessing, though,
But when you need to find the best possible
because you must have facts and reasons to
answer, there could be many correct answers. The
support your answer.
best answer is supported by facts found in the
So when the TOEIC asks you what you can infer
exam material. Your job is to find out which answer
from a conversation, it wants you to find at least
is best, based on what you’ve heard, read or seen.
two valid clues in the text or in the conversation
We’ll call that the context.
that support your conclusion.
So how does it work?
Let’s look at this extreme example: You hear a conversation between two coworkers. They discuss their schedule, complain about long hours and say they want to quit their current jobs and find better ones. The test asks what you can infer from the conversation. It tells you to pick the best summary (short description) and gives you some options. Here’s one: 1. Long hours may affect (have influence over) your overall work productivity (how well you work).” At first, this looks okay. There’s nothing wrong with that statement. It’s probably true in most cases. The verb “to affect” is even used correctly (as we’ll verify in #6). It looks like an answer that could be right. But the conversation summary doesn’t mention the co-workers’ productivity — how much they get done at work. So the choice, while a true statement, isn’t the best possible answer based on the context of the situation. This is why the safest method is to check the text (or for the listening part, your notes), to see if they support your answer. A great way to practice doing this is to ask yourself why each of the other answers is not as good as the best one. We’ll do that with Joey and Chandler in the next tip.
5. When You’re Unsure, Don’t Panic, Look for Clues So remember how I said I’d never leave you high and dry? Let’s find out what I meant by that. In “Friends” episode 6 (season 2) “The One Where Joey Moves Out,” Joey and Chandler (who’ve been roommates for years) have a fight. Joey, who now has enough money to live alone in a bigger apartment, tells Chandler he’s going to rent another place. Chandler doesn’t seem too happy about it. Joey notices that Chandler isn’t very happy. Joey’s worried that moving out will leave Chandler without a roommate. Here’s the dialogue (the conversation) between them:
Joey: Hey, are you cool with this? I mean, I don’t want to leave you high and dry. Chandler: No, I’ve never been lower or wetter. I’ll be fine. I’ll just turn your bedroom into a game room.
When Chandler answers, “I’ve never been lower or wetter,” he’s making a play on words by saying the opposite of “high” (low → lower) and “dry” (wet → wetter). But that’s not what the expression “high and dry” truly means. To figure out what it means, let’s look at what we can infer (conclude) from what we know.
So which of the following can be safely inferred from the text and the dialogue above? 1) Chandler is afraid he will experience high variation in temperature. 2) Joey is concerned because he is leaving Chandler without a roommate. 3) Joey is really slow at packing his stuff. 4) Chandler is about to look for another roommate. 5) Joey is going to get more dates.
So (1) isn’t a good choice because we know that
The text says that Joey is worried, which is a
we’re looking at an idiom, and not the actual
synonym of “concerned.” Plus, in the dialogue,
meaning of the words.
Joey asks Chandler if he’s okay (cool) with Joey
(3) isn’t good either because there’s nothing in the
moving out.
text or dialogue that says Joey is packing.
So from this example, we can infer — and not
(4) may become true in the next episodes, but if
guess — three things:
you only look at what we know, there’s nothing that
What matters is what’s actually written or said in
says Chandler is already thinking about looking for
the exam material.
another roommate. In fact, Chandler said he’ll turn
You don’t need to know all the words and idioms
Joey’s room into a game room.
to understand a conversation if you’re given the
(5) Although living alone in a bigger apartment can
context. Since the TOEIC will always give you
help improve your love life, that would just be a
context, if you come across a word or expression
guess. The text never mentions Joey’s dating life.
that you don’t understand, don’t panic! Don’t try to
Can you see why this option is a “fake” good
guess, but instead look for clues (hints). They’re
answer? Joey’s always going to get more dates,
there.
but this isn’t the best possible answer, using what
To “be left high and dry” means to be left helpless,
we know from the conversation.
without options or in a difficult position. Joey’s
So our best possible answer is (2) — Joey is
worried he’ll be doing this to Chandler when he
concerned because he is leaving Chandler without
moves out, because Chandler will be in a difficult
a roommate. Why?
situation. Who’ll help pay rent? Where will Chandler find a new roommate?
Remember, use only the information in the exam. That’s where you can look for helpful clues.
6. Watch Out for Words That Sound or Are Spelled Almost the Same The TOEIC will try to trick you. It may ask you to choose a grammatically correct sentence from a list of possible options. Consider this potential answer: “Long hours may effect your overall work productivity.” Don’t choose this answer. It sounds alright but it’s not grammatically correct. There’s a similar sounding verb, to affect, that should be used in that sentence instead. Take a look: To Affect is a verb that means “to have influence on/over,” as in, “Long hours affect my mood.” Effect is a noun that means “consequence,” or “result,” as in, “This post will have a good effect on my TOEIC score.” There are two things you can do to make sure you don’t get tricked:
1) Get used to similar sounding words
2) Rely on words that you know for
before the test. You can start with a
sure. Use them to figure out the overall
written list of similar sounding words,
meaning of the sentence. Then infer
and then move on to a list of business
from the context what the other, less
terms that comes with a recording of
familiar words could mean.
the pronunciation for each word.
For instance, if the dialogue takes
The TOEIC is easier to take when
place at a restaurant, the waiter will
you’re familiar with many work-
ask if anyone wants to have apple pie
related words. If you don’t have much
for dessert — not desert (dry sand).
time, you can focus on words that appear the most times in the test. You can also check Vocabulaire et Grammaire du nouveau TOEIC by Lin Lougheed (available at the RLC) in which you’ll find a very thorough list of the most common words in TOEIC tests.
7. Don’t Use Your Dictionary Too Much and Practice Listening The TOEIC is timed. Even if you were allowed
need to focus on two elements: the tone and the
to bring a dictionary, there just wouldn’t be
verb tenses.
enough time for you to look up every word
Tone is the change in pitch (higher or lower)
you’re not sure about.
when someone is speaking. It’s used to express
Instead, you’ll need to be able to figure out the
questions,
meaning of an unknown word or idiom using
Identifying the tone requires practice, but the
context.
TOEIC audio won’t try to trick you with tone.
Use the words and information provided, and
Another hint can be found in verb tenses or
trust your gut.
changes in tenses. These show that something
I think it’s best to use a dictionary as little as you
has happened or is going to happen, and the
can. Use a dictionary less and less as you get
testers want to make sure you notice it. So, you
closer to your test date.
need to write down anything you hear about the
In the listening section, since there’s no body
time. For example: yesterday, last week, within
language or visual information to help you, you’ll
a month, tomorrow, in a couple of days, soon,
affirmations
and
negations.
shortly, it won’t be long, etc.
8. Practice Listening to English Spoken at Conversational Speed Because the test is timed, and because there
You’ll get exposed to various accents.
are no replays of the audio parts, you’ll have to
The hosts usually speak very clearly.
take notes while listening to the audio.
The same advertisements are played over
Don’t try to write down everything you hear! It
and over again, and they usually contain
can’t be done, even by native speakers.
business-related words.
Instead, write down as many key words as you
They often announce the time during the
understand. Try to figure out the location, the
radio show, saying “it’s 58 past the hour,
context, the time and dates, the names and the
now.” Check the time on your computer as
verb tenses (or changes in tenses).
you hear this, to see if you heard correctly.
This takes time. We need to be patient and practice listening to conversations in English
If you’re a bit lost in the beginning, start with
with different accents. A great way to practice
videos that you can replay, such as interviews.
this is the Bloomberg live radio. Bloomberg
Don’t be afraid to open the transcript (written
Radio is the world's only global 24-hour
text of everything spoken in the video), whose
business radio station. There are a few good
link is below the replay.
benefits to using this as a study tool:
9. Know the Spoken Instructions Before the Test On the listening test, you’ll hear instructions
And then:
before a group of questions is played. Knowing
“Questions 71 through 73 refer to the following
these instructions before the actual test means
report/talk/conversation.”
you won’t need to focus on them so much during
Finally the conversation or speech begins. The
the test. You can then use that extra bit of time
speaker won’t be the same person who told the
to look at the written questions for the audio
instructions. This change of speaker means that
part.
you need to start taking notes.
Here are the spoken instructions for the
There’s always going to be a general question,
listening part:
but the other questions are more specific. This
“You will hear ten short talks given by a single
means you need to take good notes, especially
speaker. For each short talk, read the three
when you hear dates, numbers, places,
questions and the four answer choices that
locations, names or professions.
follow
It’s not easy, I know, but with time and practice
each
question.
Select
the
most
appropriate answer. Mark your answer by
you’ll get there.
circling (A), (B), (C), or (D). You will hear each short talk only once.”
10. Do not skip any question! Even if you’re running out of time on the day of
answers in the listening section, you’ll still get
the official test, don’t make the mistake to skip
the maximum score. The score for the reading
questions! Why? Firstly, because there are no
part is calculated differently though. There,
negative points when your score is calculated.
each wrong answer will indeed make you lose
If your answer is wrong, you just don’t get the
points. Or, to put it differently: Each correct
points. If by chance your answers to these final
answer to a reading question brings more points
last questions you just didn’t have time to look
than a correct answer to a listening question.
into and ticked randomly are correct: you get the points. Do the maths! It’s in your best interested
Which
to answer all the questions even if you’re not
underestimate the reading section! Organize
sure
your time to make sure you address each and
of
your
answers.
means
that
you
should
never
every one of the questions of this part of the First of all, you need to keep in mind the way
test. And don’t forget that the last part is the
scores are calculated. If you take a look at this
most complicated and the most time-consuming
table, you’ll notice that, even with 8 wrong
one!
11. Time Yourself! In the reading part, don't spend more than - 5 minutes on part 5 - 10 minutes on Part 6 - one minute per question on Part 7! Which means that you shouldn't spend more than 3 minutes on a section that contains 1/2 texts and 3 questions for example, or 4 minutes on a 4-question section. Once time is up, answer the questions and move on to the next section.
This strategy will allow you to get extra-time at the end of the test to check your answers and change some of them if needed.
So, folks, we’re reaching the end of this post. Now get out there and practice, practice, practice! Good luck!