TOEFL - any one ever taught it?

[admylin]

Has anyone ever given lessons to foreign students preparing for TEOFL? If so what sort of standard is th etest? Is it easier or as hard as the cambridge english test? Someone wants me to coach them in their spoken and reading english (grammer is OK) but I was wondering what sort of thing will be tested?

Maybe reading from an english newspaper would be good to start with? I have never really taught english (live abroad) as I am not qualified but conversation should be OK, any tips?

I taught a student preparing for it once and we just used the same materials as for cambridge - there'll be some reading comprehension and presumably a spoke test if he's asking for conversation? (I can't really remember tbh)

reading from an english newspaper would work, but you need to choose short pieces initially or you'll get really bogged down with it and wish you never started! short film/music reviews are usually good to start with, with more challenging pieces which you can argue about later if he's any good

do you know anything about the student? even if not the first lesson is always really easy as you can just ask about his/her life, job etc and what they're interested in (which you make a note of for fufure lessons). if he wants english for work, he will probably appreciate some role play exercises (pretend to be a customer on the phone etc).

Thanks alot for the ideas, she is a law student, going to do her PhD in USA hence the TEOFL - I had better stick to short newspaper articles though as I am definately not going to be able to talk law with her! Anyway I think that is what she is going to USA for and the test might just have some general topic from the news. If it is cambridge level then I should manage to help her as I know that from last year when I helped another student prepare for that.

I also thought I might try and find a list of the different spelling in british and american english - anyone ever seen such a list? ie colour/color etc

Years and years since I taught it.. at that time the test involved numerous multi choice questions - I think with an emphasis on grammar rather than texts. I´m sure there are TOEFL preparation books on the market that will explain exactly what the exam involves ..

Never taught it but have taught various exam courses including FCE. THe emphasis is always on grammar. If the format is the usual there will be several parts to the exam to check listening, reading, written and spoken English but it is usually very grammar based. If you get hold of a few exam papers and the official book you will be able to see what hoops they have to jump through. Since grammar is OK you probably won't have any explaining of 'why' but do read up on it just in case!

At that stage of English you do really want to be correcting all the grammar mistakes and weeding out her repetitive ones but try to take notes as she talks and do them at the end rather than butting in all the time.

Ask the student what they want to use, you can probably get hold of some magazines to do with her interests.

As for American vs English YES they tend to love it so do it. It will also be fairly important for the student to be consistent in use during the exam so they need to know which is which. Things like crisps/chips chips/fries are always confusing and 'pants' is another good one. Just go for stuff like elevator, sidewalk etc. The internet is a great resourse for TEFL stuff. Try onestopenglish for example.

Good luck!

I've seen my student's TOEFL papers now and it is mostly grammar and she speaks quite good English for someone who has not had any practise since her A' levels.
I have made up a list of British/American spelling differences for her next lesson and will get her to read from a magazine to warm up and then go over her mistakes. The first hour certainly went by quickly, thanks for all your tips.

TOEFL comes up with a score based on how you performed, so it doesn't have a level as such - low score means low level, high score means high level.
We never taught courses in it because it is a bugger to teach to. Exams like FCE/CAE etc have extremely well-documented syllabuses (syllabi?), and the test materials are extremely useful for teaching (not only to the exam, but general Eng as well).
I think it has a listening component (multiple choice qs), it definitely has a reading comp component, I was unaware that it had a speaking section...sorry I haven't checked but google TOEFL and you will get a run-down of what's in the exam.

If your student is saying they need help with reading, then I would say that their grammar is most likely not as good as they think it is - you can get a lot of mileage from the Use of English sections in the CAE (or FCE if they are more intermediate level). Vocabulary is likely to be a problem, and those materials are good for that too, though obviously there are far more materials that you can use there. Make sure you instil in them a huge appreciation of the fact that vocabulary learning is an activity! (Big hurdle I found.)

You can find out online what sorts of texts are used, then find texts which approximate to them - if you go for newspapers, The Times and Telegraph are best because the vocab is of a slightly lower level.

The Guardian has a massive bank of reading texts with comp questions and discussion tasks, based on their articles - sometimes simplified. Really good and meaty.

Come to think of it, there are practice materials all over the web, probably lots specifically designed for TOEFL. If your student is serious and is paying you enough, get a practice book, so you can crib and use it for materials too.

Thanks for the Guardian tip I will try that! No, she isn't paying much because she is just finishing her law exams and hasn't been able to work, is married and her dh is a med.student with a 400 euro job! She has enrolled herself on a crash course for a weekend before the exam and she told me the American university accepts less points than the British university so although she would rather go to UK she feels she might end up in USA for a year.

admylin, if she has so much at stake, that's quite a pressure on you!
Do you know any teachers where you are, who could possibly this once take over from you?
Not saying you're not capable, but you did say you're not a teacher, and teaching a student to do well in an exam is hard, in particular in such a short space of time!!