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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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 Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:58 pm Post subject: TOEFL resources |
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There is a specific student I have who will have to go to the army in 2 years, but he wants to get his english skills high enough to go for the American army instead.
It seems that there the stress is way lower, and less "threatening".
Now he came to me to help him, and i am lacking the resources to know what level he needs to achieve and how we can achieve it.
The program i have written out atm entertains 2 hours of practice and 1 hour of theory every single week until his skills are high enough or the 2 years are finished.
So how can i interpret TOEFL scores, how can i do a prelimanary test, and find out what we have to do to increase his TOEFL score effectively.
I know some of you will have some smart answers, but i really want to help this guy, he doesn't seem like someone who can survive 2 years of Army service.
So a STRAIGHT question:"What Toefl sources are there to increase my effectiveness"
Thanks for any advice. |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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There is a specific student I have who will have to go to the army in 2 years, but he wants to get his english skills high enough to go for the American army instead.
It seems that there the stress is way lower, and less "threatening". |
In the U.S. army these days, the stress is way way high, and more and more "threatening." Good reasons are Afganistan and Iraq. Tell your student to stay with Korean Army since it's almost guaranteed that he'll be shipping out to Iraq or Afganistan in the U.S. Army. |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:57 am Post subject: |
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| I know some of you will have some smart answers, but i really want to help this guy, he doesn't seem like someone who can survive 2 years of Army service. |
What makes you think that if he can't survive 2 years of Korean Army service, he can survive in the U.S. Army? The training in the U.S. Army is probably more rigorous than Korean Army. If he thinks that U.S. Army is just like regular civy job, he's thinking wrong.
A person with limited English skills can enter the U.S. Army as long as he can understand the basic commands and follow orders such as "charge, shoot, fire, cease fire, and sometimes run and on some rare occasions kiss your a$$ goodbye, etc. They also have ESL class for new recruits with limited english skills during basic training. It will make it tougher for him because on top of regular training he'll have to attend extra ESL classes to learn these basic commands. And almost all of these recruits go to Infantry mos(military occupation specialty). And get to go on vacation overseas to mingle with terrorists (oooops! I mean insurgents) in Iraq and Afganistan.
I'm sure it's much easier than the Korean Army........ |
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Dawn
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Is he trying to get on as a KATUSA rather than a regular Korean soldier? If so, tell him to go Kyobo and buy an assortment of test prep software and study his butt off for the next three months. ... Real world English skills won't help him, as the government doesn't seem to look at anything other than the sacred test scores.
As far as preliminary tests, you can buy books of practice tests, or (if time permits), you can schedule him to take one real test as a "trial run."
As for the hardship factor, if he gets on as a KATUSA, he'll get to spend his two years of compulsory service taking smoke breaks and lazing around the barracks, deviating from said routine only long enough to claim he doesn't understand any orders that get directed toward him.
Last edited by Dawn on Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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T-dot
Joined: 16 May 2004
Location: bundang
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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I assume he gunning for Katusa.
I thought it was TOIEC, didnt know they introduced TOEFL as 1 of the requirements.
go to the ETS website for TOEFL info. |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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Haaa TOEIC instead of TOEFL...
okay, i think i need more concrete info on what exactly they require. |
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Hotpants
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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If you buy the complete Longman TOEFL or TOEIC study guide, it comes with a CDRom which includes a diagnostic test.
However, I'm teaching the new writing section for the TOEFL exam, and I can't see that you can get by on purely strategy alone. You need to be a near native speaker to get through this new exam which includes writing a summary. As everyone knows, you typically can't make a fluent speaker of a Korean in a short time. The guy would ideally have to go and study in abroad to have any chance of passing the TOEFL with flying colors in time. Perhaps send him off to the Philippines! Seems to be what so many Koreans are doing these days.
If the guy is doing this purely to avoid the Korean military, is he aware that the preparation time for the test will take longer than the time he is in the army? It seems to me that you should counsel this guy to persuade him just to go in the Korean army like everyone else. I think many would suggest he is nuts. Sorry. |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Hotpants wrote: |
If the guy is doing this purely to avoid the Korean military, is he aware that the preparation time for the test will take longer than the time he is in the army? It seems to me that you should counsel this guy to persuade him just to go in the Korean army like everyone else. I think many would suggest he is nuts. Sorry. |
He is already quit good, it is just that he lacks on certain parts. We have a decent conversation for about 15 minutes, with minor gramatical mistakes.
we have 2 years to work on it 
but thx for the info. I just need a guidance system and then work with the limits of the student.
It is just that when one has a goal, it is easier to perform a shedule and get skillgoals put down on paper.
But i must disagree with your nuts part. Setting yourself a goal is not nuts, if it makes you work hard at it. So even if he fails, those accrued skills will stil be beneficial for him in the future.
Goalsetting is never nuts, even if it seems impossible, it gives you guidance and perseverance. |
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EFLtrainer
Joined: 04 May 2005
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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| If he's already quite good, then he's already better than most Katusas I've met... |
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ChuckECheese
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| EFLtrainer wrote: |
| If he's already quite good, then he's already better than most Katusas I've met... |
I agree. Katusas we had didn't speak or understand almost any English. They end up learning more of improper English from GIs though.
Lot's of phraser verbs like:
f*ck up
f*ck you
f*ck yo mama
what's up
etc.
etc.
They actually end up sounding like a real GIs at the end of their term of service.
I've heard that many of them become Katusas because their parents are either rich or influential.... I can't confirm that, but level of English that most of them spoke seemed that way. |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| ChuckECheese wrote: |
I've heard that many of them become Katusas because their parents are either rich or influential.... I can't confirm that, but level of English that most of them spoke seemed that way. |
Parents have money
They don't mind paying 500.000 a month to improve his english
But they don't have influence, it are those type of koreans who got rich doing real estate at the right time. |
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noguri
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Location: korea
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| Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Hotpants wrote: |
| The guy would ideally have to go and study in abroad to have any chance of passing the TOEFL with flying colors in time. Perhaps send him off to the Philippines! Seems to be what so many Koreans are doing these days. |
Why do Koreans go to the Philippines to experience English immersion? I thought that Filipinos speak Tagalog most of the time. |
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