Job Discussion Forums

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

I'm looking for any info, studies, etc on how many total hours a bare beginner would have to spend learning English in an EFL enviornment in order to achieve a 550 (old scoring system) on the TOEFL.
Where I work we are being told that this is going to be the new goal of the English Program.
gracias for any help

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Please read my PM...

I taught a TOEFL course in Indonesia. To enroll the students had to achieve a 400+ score on a TOEFL placement test; this is what I would call a high-intermediate to low-advanced level of English.

After a 32 hour TOEFL intro course, my students scores rose an average of 50 to 60 points. The course I taught wasn't so much an English course as a course in "how to write a TOEFL test".

There was a second 64 hour course that required a 450 on the placement test. I never taught that course, but I'm told by those who did that most students were able to reach a 550. Again, it was more a course in how to write the test than in improving one's English...

*IMHO* _if_ you have students who are already high-intermediate, expect them to require at least another 100 intensive hours of class to reach a 550.

Susan K · Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 19 Location: (East Germany)

The students need to know how to write an essay from scratch in 30 minutes, possibly solving one of the world's great problems at the same time ... 'Most "natural" disasters are man-made - do you agree?' ... for example!

You need to analyse the criteria (they are those which govern writing an essay in *any* language, in fact).

I teach a lot on this and tell them to go to lovely websites like the eslcaf� to find grammar exercises!!!

The thread on writing skills on this forum is also relevant - some of the reading practice I give my students is the introduction to the "Guarian" Style Guide, to be found on-line.

My students are usually around the 500 mark when I meet them and I raise their scores by at least 50 (old - paper-based) points each semester, but it really depends on their doing quite a lot of practice themselves and taking to heart my essay corrections ...

Has anyone any experience/ideas to share on the changes to our teaching that will be required by the new integrated TOEFL from next summer?

Susan K · Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Posts: 19 Location: (East Germany)

Sorry, didn't see the typo - "Guardian", of course!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

guest of Japan · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 1601 Location: Japan

To add to Glenski, most English Teachers in Japan couldn't get over 450 and that's with 6 years mandatory education, 4 years studying it as a major in University and then the rest of their time teaching it.

The moral of the story: It's not always how long you study, but rather how you study. Clearly in Japan's case the how is not working.

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

If you haven't already found this, it might be worth a look:

http://www.ets.org/toefl/index.html

If you click on the 'Research' link located on the left-side navigation
bar, you'll find the statistical data you're looking for ... although most
of the reports need to be downloaded.

Happy TOEFLing. Mr. Green