Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Von Ludwig]

Hey everyone

I have a query regarding my own ability to teach Toefl. Right now I teach separate conversation and discussion speaking, and writing classes in a hagwon where I am the only foreign teacher. I have been here for four months and am happy and confident with my level of teaching so far. However, two of my top students (Middle school 2nd grade) have indicated that they wish to recommence their Toefl studies and to sit the exam by the end of the year, consequently as their speaking and writing teacher it is up to me to get them there. Today there is a stack of about 20 Toefl speaking and writing text books on my desk which I must now study to begin teaching the classes next week. Both these students have been studying Toefl for three years at a previous hagwon and have done mini/mock tests.

Please tell me: Am I in over my head? Is it foolish to think that I could adequately facilitate these students� development and prepare them for a Toefl exam by the end of the year?

I thank you in advance for any helpful replies�

[thegadfly]

Without knowing your background, experience, credentials, and how hard you are willing to work, it is difficult to answer that question...but really, the main question is "how hard are you willing to work?" The second question is "how much time do you have to prepare the students?"

If you are willing to work hard, do some research and get some lesson ideas online (or elsewhere), as well as look at some of the textbooks and work through them yourself, you really shouldn't have that much of a problem. If you only have a few weeks to prepare the students, however, that IS a problem -- if you have 2 months or more, I think you would be all right....

If you intend to stay in Korea a few years, getting some "ToEFL-teaching experience" will probably be very helpful, so it may be worthwhile to put some extra effort in and develop the knowledge and skills that will make "chewing" what you bit off much easier.

Personally, I like the Northstar series (Building Skills for the ToEFL iBT), but students find it less "hardcore" than most of the texts out there -- many students WANT the big, thick, dense text, without much connection to anything other than the test itself. I prefer to kill many birds with the stones I fling, however....

[fustiancorduroy]

As the previous poster said, without knowing your background, it's hard to say if you are prepared or not. In any case, I suggest you do the following:

- Read through the TOEFL guide published by ETS so that you have a good understanding of the requirements of the test.
- Use that stack of TOEFL books and complete at least one of the mock tests yourself. This way you will have a firsthand understanding of the skills needed to do well on the test.
- Gain a deep understanding of the general flow of high-scoring answers on the Writing and Speaking sections. Although there are several ways to answer each question, most top-rated answers are organized in a similar way.
- Research which topics have recently appeared on the actual test. The Hackers forums are a great place to do this, though of course they are almost all in Korean.
- Brush up on your grammar. Make sure you know how to avoid comma splices and run-on sentences and other small mistakes in your own writing.


Most of the kids who are studying for the TOEFL are quite bright. They will know if their teacher is less than competent. But by doing these things, you will be much more prepared to teach TOEFL.

[SeoulNate]

I have been working with TOEFL for a few years now and, for you, it will all depend on the students level.

If they are quite competent, it will take you quite a while to catch up and be of real use to them. If they are lower level, it will not be very difficult for you to bump their scores.

My method, regardless of level, is as follows:

Each week i have the students twice for 80 minutes, one speaking and one writing.

1. I pick two topics/ questions of the same type.

2. With the first topic, I go through everything step by step with them. I show them how i would take notes, how i would do my prewriting, what to listen for in the lecture and what to read for. Finally, i write the essay step by step on the board.

3. I send the students off on their own to tackle the other question of the same type. The format will be the same, so they can roughly copy what I did before with the new information.

4. I check each students essay, give them a rough grade (within 3 points) and tell them how to improve.

It is surprising how much this helps students. Doing this i (along with some of the K teachers who work with them) have produced 4 students who have scored 30 on the writing test and 2 on the speaking test.

[thegadfly]

Teaching a standard essay format (yes, the dreaded 5 paragraph essay, or the modified 4 paragraph essay) can also be of significant help, especially to the lower to mid level of student. It is becoming more common now, but I still have kids that think it is some kind of magic (what is that, a formula to do ENGLISH? Sign me up, sansaengnim!).

Time management skills, test-taking skills, estimating, skimming, paraphrasing, inferring -- you can probably teach any of the skills in isolation already, so you just need to bring them out, dust them off, and show the students how they relate to this specific test....

SeooulNate also offered a simple, practical yet effective class structure (Good on ya, Nate!).

[Von Ludwig]

Thank you so much for the advice!
Having an effective class structure is imperative if I am to succeed in this task, which admittedly still seems rather horrendous
Will reply again tomorrow..However, just to provide some background information (apologies for neglecting this earlier): I am a newly graduated teacher, having been here for four months I have had no prior experience teaching TOEFL. The students have had three years studying TOEFL at previous academies but are yet to sit the actual exam. They want to do it in roughly 4 months starting next week.

If it can be done in the given time frame then I am willing to work as hard as possible to get them there, since their achievement is now up to me. However I can of course still back out and resign myself to the fact that this should be done by a more experienced TOEFL instructor, which I am fine with...you don't want to learn mountain climbing from someone wearing bathroom slippers right?

[thegadfly]

Von Ludwig,

You have plenty of time to get them prepared for the test. You say you are a newly-graduated teacher, and assuming that you have that teaching degree in English and have passed your licensing requirements/exams, ToEFL shouldn't be that big of a deal. It isn't mountain climbing in slippers -- it is tougher than some other tests out there, and the new-ish speaking portions give my students apoplexy, but really, it isn't that much tougher than most college placement exams....

If anything, 4 months might be TOO much time to prepare -- I prefer 6 weeks before, but can live with 2-3 months...then again, if they have trouble with underlying skills (note-taking, typing speed, typing accuracy), you may need the 4 months to sort things out.

Confidence is very important, though. You can be uncertain of things, but be uncertain of things during your preparation and research -- by the time you are in class, you need to seem to know exactly what you are talking about. Do not pretend you know everything, but when you present information or give advice/criticism, maintain an air of assurance. It is better to be too harsh a critic than too lenient (though your comments should always be aimed at how to improve, not just at tearing things down).

Even if you think something is perfect, you need to find fault (again, constructively) -- if you give them false expectations of their own grand performance, and they flub up, they WILL complain. It is much better if the students come back to you to say "I got a higher score on the REAL ToEFL than I ever did on any of your assignments or practice tests!"

Good luck -- you'll be fine. Just jump off the boat and make it back to shore -- I'm sure you'll figure out how to swim on the way....

[SeoulNate]

[thegadfly]

This ^ again.

For the speaking, I find the most useful practice is just simple impromptu speaking -- but lots and lots and lots of it. I give simple topics -- maybe just a single word, "talk about penguins" and they have to be off and running, and speak for 30, 45, 60, or 90 seconds on it. These times do not all reflect the test, but the purpose of this kind of impromptu speaking isn't really to get used to the test times, but to get used to starting to speak immediately, and to formulate ideas AS one is speaking, rather than write-think-edit-say that many of my students want to follow. We keep doing that until the students can reliably "fill" 90 seconds on whatever I throw at them...THEN we start taking the practice speaking tests.

I am open to suggestions, of course, but so far, this has been the most successful for me, to get them used to using every second they are allotted.

[T-dot]

First thing I would do is find out their level and the purpose for taling the exam.

If their goal is to just take the test, then it shouldnt be a problem. But, if they are using this test as a requirement to get into a FLHS, then its a different ball game.


100 is an easy score to attain for every Korean kid, anything higher takes alot of practice.

Just to reiterate a few of the points mentioned above:

a) confidence is key, especially by the teacher.
b) high level kids can smell an incompetent teacher a mile away.


If I were you, Id probably try out a couple of mock tests just to get a feel for the format before starting to teach.

[Von Ludwig]

Great guys, thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and information � you have not only provided me with immensely helpful feedback, but also inspired me somewhat. Even though there are plenty of books and resources out there to guide you through planning a program and teaching for TOEFL, I find that it is the first hand experience such as yours that is truly invaluable. Thank you again.

[SeoulNate]

[T-dot]

[SeoulNate]

[T-dot]