DR. SHERIN SHERVANI Assistant Professor, English Language Institute King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah TOEFL is a test accepted worldwide to evaluate the English proficiency of people who are non-native English speakers. It is used to assess the English proficiency for the purpose of admissions to the University courses. Students making preparations to take the TOEFL exam should not only concentrate on understanding and knowing English but should also be trained to develop good test-taking strategies. They can take help online, where there is abundant material available and loads of practice exercises. The test-taking strategy should be clearly understood before the test. Students should organize themselves intelligently to answer the questions that they are absolutely sure of first and also be careful not to waste time on questions which they are not able to understand in the first go. The best results are achieved by those who study the English well and apply good strategies. WALEED OSMAN Student at ACCAI (Association of Certified Accountants), British Council, Jeddah The TOEFL is an assessment test developed in order to evaluate the competence of international students based on their analysis, comprehension and usage of the Standard English language. It provides various areas to ascertain the foreign test takers' ability to understand the given reading passage and procure basic know-how of grammar according to their own language, thereby enhancing their lexicon, fluency as well as writing skills. ILHAAN RASHEED Student at Drexel University, Toefl score 108/120 in January 2010 The TOEFL is a fairly simple exam, especially for students who speak English every day. Preparing for the exam is not that difficult. All TOEFL preparation books help you get an idea of what to expect in the exam. I would suggest taking at least one practice test before taking the actual test. For the writing section, I would suggest writing naturally and using the time allotted to think about the topic given very carefully. You should be able to organize your thoughts and ideas during this time so that you don't lose time when it comes to writing down the essay. SAAMER MANSOOR Student at University of Texas, Dallas, United States Toefl score 112/120 in October 2009 IT is extremely beneficial if you practice a mock exam before you give the real exam. It has multiple benefits, including the fact that Wyou don't waste precious time in reading the instructions and understanding them. I think the biggest challenge is to overcome the fear and nervousness, as it messes up your creativity skills in the writing section, your analytical skills in the reading section and the clarity of your voice in the speaking section. MAHA HUSSAIN Student at DPS Jeddah Toefl score 117/120 in February 2010 TOEFL is a very fun exam to give, so my advice would be to not panic about it. By not panicking, I mean, not trying to cram for it. It's basically what you do every day in school – reading textbooks, talking to different people you meet, and so on – so studying for it sort of defeats the purpose of the exam, which is to test how well you can cope with colleges abroad. Practicing how to make quick and efficient notes during a lecture is a really good idea, as you can fall back on them for answering the questions based on the lectures.
