ºLongman
Preparation Series for the TOEIC Test: Introductory Course. Lin Lougheed.
Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Company, Inc.1996. ISBN number: 0-201-87789-9
ºTwo
general purpose - NCS - Answer Sheets form # 30423
Goals
The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is the world's
most recognized English language test; more than 1.7 million people took the
test last year. It is used by corporations and government agencies to assess the
English ability of their employees. Language schools and universities use the
TOEIC test for placement in English classes, to measure progress and to provide
their students with an internationally recognized Certificate of Achievement.
Individuals take theTOEIC test to track their progress in English Language
improvement and demonstrate to employers their ability to use English at work. A
high score on the TOEIC can be an important factor in being hired, promoted, or
selected to travel and work in international business settings.
The purpose of this class is:
1). Be familiar with the directions and test-taking strategies for all
sections of the TOEIC test.
2). To solve listening, sentence completion, error indentification, and
short readings for the easy to moderate in difficulty TOEIC test questions.
3). To apply your existing English abilities, TOEIC knowledge, and
test-taking strategies to two TOEIC practice tests.
4). Help you become accustomed to TOEIC test-taking conditions by working
on timing and concentration while taking the practice tests.
5). To prepare you with a general knowledge of English.
6). To help you to apply the above five skills to an official TOEIC test.
Requirements
TOEIC Practice Tests
You will take two practice tests during this class. The practice tests will
serve as a diagnostic to measure your progress from the third week of the
quarter until the tenth week of the quarter. Work hard to improve your TOEIC
test scores.
You must be present to take these tests. After taking the practice tests,
we will have a review in which we will discuss the incorrect answers as well
as the correct answers. Please submit the answer sheet to me so that I may
calculate your practice test score.
We will also discuss how we are using the TOEIC test strategies to
determine correct and incorrect answers. Because of time constraints, we will
not discuss all the incorrect answers on the test. It is your responsibility
to review the entire test at home focusing on the areas of the test that are
the most difficult. Concentrate on the TOEIC exercises covering your
weaknesses as indicated by the diagnostic and practice tests.
Homework Assignments
After we discuss TOEIC listening, sentence completion, eror indentification,
and short reading skill building and test-taking strategies in class, I will
assign homework so that you can reinforce and build your skills sufficiently to
answer TOEIC test questions competently. After you finish your homework
assignments, use the answer key to check your answers.
It is probably not necessary for you to complete all of the homework
exercises outlined in my syllabus. Moreover, you do not need to complete every
exercise in this book in preparation for the TOEIC. Concentrate on the exercises
covering your weaknesses as indicated by the practice tests that we will take in
this class. In addition, you may find that an exercise is too easy for you. If
that is the case, go on to an exercise that will be more challenging.
TOEIC Practice Test Review
You will be able to benefit from a thorough review of the practice tests.
For that reason, I have set aside class time after each test for a review. In
order to have effective review sessions, keep in mind the following points:
1. As we review each practice test, we will discuss the most frequent TOEIC
listening, sentence completion, error indentification, and short reading
language errors that the class had difficulty with. We will talk about how you
can determine if an answer is correct or incorrect.
2. As we review the practice tests, it is important to understand how TOEIC
test strategies could have been used to determine correct and incorrect
answers.
3. When we review the listening exercises, we will refer to the tapescript
to discuss each question. Be sure to bring your tape scripts/answer key to
class.
SRA Extended Reading for 45 minutes
Reading is a critical skill needed by second language students not only
for TOEIC but also for success in the workplace. Extensive reading (reading
large amounts of English only texts) provides ESL students the means for
developing the background knowledge necessary for more speculative thinking. In
a survey obtained by Ostler, ESL/EFL students considered reading the most
important skill for future success (Ellis, 1985).
Reading is not a skill that you just get or understand. You must do
large amounts of extensive reading both from a text and from a computer screen
in order to develop and learn the skill. Timing and concentration are
extremely important skills for the reading section of the TOEIC. As you work in
class on the TOEIC reading pasages, I want you to be aware of the following
"bad habits" that you may have as a non native reader of English which
may prevent you from learning to read the same way we do as native readers. Some
of these "bad habits" are:
;
The best way to read is to translate all the words
from English into your own language.
;In
order to understand what you read, you use the dictionary to look up all the
words you don’t understand.
;
In order to understand what you read, you look
closely at each word and translate it.
;In
order to read well, you think that you need to understand all the words on a
page.
;
In order to concentrate well when reading, you read
slowly and carefully. You also write the meanings of all the words on the
page.
;
You believe that there is only one way to read. As a
result you read the newspaper the same way as you would read a textbook.
If you do any of these"bad habits" when you read, you might not
be able to finish the reading comprehension section of the TOEIC. In addition,
you may have poor reading comprehension.
Many of you have been reading for 10 years or more and you have your own
reading habits. Habits are very difficult to change. Ten weeks is a short time
to learn new reading habits. But you will begin to learn how to read more
quickly and easily during this term. Read, read and read some more! That’s
how you get better.
A student who is studying in the CSUSB MBA program gives some advice on how
to improve overall English language skills:
Students must familiarize themselves to TOEIC test by doing any TOEIC
test preparation exercises. Then, students can improve their English by
reading, writing, listening, and talking to others. Reading newspaper is one
way to improve their English because it provides students with a lot of new
vocabularies and many different sentence structures. This may improve their
sentence completion, error indentification, and short reading sections of
the TOEIC. Another way is to listen to television or radio that provides
good English speaking programs. This should improve their listening section.
Finally, the best way to improve conversational skills is to speak to native
speakers (Pepe Malik, Indonesia)
Increase your knowledge of everyday English
An understanding of the TOEIC strategies and skills presented in this text
can improve your TOEIC score. However, skills and strategies alone will not make
you successful; a good basic knowledge of the English Language is also
necessary. Therefore do not forget the general study of the English language as
you work to prepare for the TOEIC test.
Use English as much as you can. You can’t learn all the English you’ll
need to do well on TOEIC from this guide or in a TOEIC preparation class. Other
classes will be useful, as will any opportunities to speak, read, write or
listen to English. Some people who are preparing for TOEIC think that
conversation classes and practice are a waste of time because speaking skills
are not directly tested on the exam. In fact, one of the best ways to get ready
for the exam is to speak English whenever you can. Not only will you improve
your ability to listen to everyday English, but you will learn to think in
English.
Top Ten TOEIC Listening Tips
The listening section of the TOEIC focuses on a particular way to help you
understand what you have heard, even when you did not understand every word. To
improve your ability to pay attention to certain details, you will gain skill in
general listening comprehension. And to help you improve your general listening
comprehension and at the same time sharpen your test-taking abilities, I have
ten suggestions which have benefitted many international students.
1. Talk to a native speaker five times a week for a period of 15 minutes
each time.
2. Listen to news and informational broadcasts on a talk radio station for
at least 15 minutes a day five days a week (i.e. KFI AM 640). Practice
answering what, where, when, and how questions about the speakers.
3. Listen to news and informational broadcasts on television for at least
15 minutes a day three days a week (i.e. CNN, Discovery, CBS-60 minutes).
Practice answering what, where, when, and how questions about the speakers.
4. Listen to American music and try to understand the main ideas of the
songs.
5. Attend the language lab during the open hours and listen to
conversational English. Practice taking notes on what you hear. Afterwards
compare your notes to the tapescript.
6. Join a club (i.e. ISS, ASI) on campus or attend open forums, university
discussions, or debates so that you can hear spoken English. Attend 1 or 2
meetings a week. Be an active participant by asking the speaker/participant
questions.
7. Join the quarterly ESL conversation group to talk and make friends
(UH387).
8. Join an intramural sports team so you can have contact with native
speakers of English.
9. Attend all Stays Classes. Learn to anticipate questions about the
lectures so that you can improve you note-taking abilities. Don’t miss any
classes. The more English you can hear, the better your listening will become.
10. Don’t spend all your time talking with people from your own country.
Use the above list of ideas to help you break out of your comfort zone by
finding more and more opportunities to speak and listen to English.
Top Ten TOEIC tips
Keep in mind the following ten points about TOEIC study:
1. Study Regularly. Begin studying English as soon as you can. You
can forget English very quickly, so don’t take a break from it.
2. All English practice is helpful. Anything you do in English will
help you learn the language both in school and for informal situations. Don’t
rule out movies, TV or other "non-academic" forms of English.
3. Practice budgeting your time. When you take a TOEIC practice
test, be strict with yourself. Work within the allotted time for each section.
This will help you get a feel for how much time you can spend on each
question.
4. Identify your problem areas. To improve, do a variety of
exercises, and do exercises which help you grow in English. If your problem is
Reading Comprehension, don’t just do TOEIC Reading passages. Read many
different things.
5. When you practice, notice how often you change a correct response.
When doing
TOEIC exercises, many students find changed
answers that they had originally answered correctly. If you see yourself doing
this, stop changing answers.
6. Erase thoroughly. A machine reads your answer grid, so you must
fill in the ovals carefully. If you erase, erase completely. If you skip a
difficult question to come back to later, be careful to leave that space
blank.
7. Work quickly through the easy questions. Answer questions you are
sure about as quickly as possible to leave yourself time to think about
complicated questions.
8. Answer all questions. There is no penalty for guessing. Never
leave anything blank on the TOEIC. If you don’t know the answer, guess.
9. Be sure about your goal. If you need TOEIC, you have probably
decided to try to get a job that requires English. So your ultimate goal is
success in the workplace. Learn Business English so that you can succeed on
the TOEIC and in your future job.
10. Learn English. Taking practice TOEIC tests is not enough. If you
want to get a higher TOEIC score, you must study English and especially
vocabulary.
TOEFL and the TOEIC: Some Comparisons
The below chart shows the similarities and differences of TOEFL and TOEIC
tests. Use it as a quick reference.
TOEFL TOEIC
Purpose
Used for admissions purposes at American Universities
Used to hire, promote, or select one to travel and work in
international business settings.
Format
Computer Based TOEFL questions vary ; four sections: listening,
structure, reading and writing
200 questions; two sections: listening and reading
Time Limits
3 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
Range of Scores
0-300
10-990
Language
Academic English as used in campus settings and university textbooks.
International English as used in business settings.
Consider the following advice ETS gives to students who access the TOEIC Web
Site:
No single school, textbook , or teaching method is best to help prepare
someone for the TOEIC, because the test is not based on specific courses of
study. Listening and reading proficiency can only be achieved after a
relatively long period of study and practice. An attempt to study English
for the first time shortly before taking the test will not be helpful.
TOEIC and the Internet
Many students have not realized the potential benefits of using the Internet
for overall and TOEIC language solving problems. It is important to take
advantage of the vast amounts of TOEIC and English language information
available via the Internet. I will include some web sites for you to
"explore" as you work on learning the TOEIC listening and reading
skills that are available via the Internet. Keep in mind that web sites are
constantly changing, and some are better than others. As you "surf
the web", you will find the web sites that you like.
Dave’s ESL Web Guidegrammar links: http://www.eslcafe.com/search/Grammar/: a listing of 58 grammar links to help you with the sentence completion
and error recognition parts of the TOEIC test.
D. Writing: http://members.xoom.com/Buckhoff/
-A Web Site that focuses on TOEFL, writing, and grammar; it also includes a TESL
search engine that will link you to thousands or other ESL Web Sites.
TOEIC Success Journal
Though the TOEIC success journal is not an assignment, it is an individual
exercise in which you consciously think about your TOEIC language solving
progress. In order to help you mark your progress, I recommend that you keep a
personal TOEIC Success Journal. By keeping a personal journal, you will
encourage yourself to think about your learning. And hopefully, you will make
your thoughts become actions as you do specific things that will help you
increase your TOEIC score.
You should write the journal based on your experiences with the TOEIC test
taking strategies/ exercises that you read and study in my class. Include in the
journal how you are doing on the TOEIC practice tests as well as what kinds of
"out of class" preparations you are doing to help build your listening
and reading language skills. Which of the test taking strategies are/or are not
working for you? Ask yourself the following questions about TOEIC :
C
What magazines have you read this week?
C
What have you done this week to improve your
listening comprehension?
C
What have you done this week to improve your
sentence completion and error recognition skills?
C
What have you done this week to improve your
reading comprehension skills?
C
What parts are the most difficult for you with
the listening section of the TOEIC?
C
What test taking strategies can you apply that
will help you improve your listening skills for the TOEIC?
C
What parts are the most difficult for you with
the sentence completion and error recognition of the TOEIC (i.e. word forms,
word order, adjective clauses, complements)?
C
What test taking strategies can you apply that
will help you improve your sentence completion and error recognition skills
(i.e. intuitive, analytical, reading out loud)?
C
How many native speakers do you talk to every
day?
C
What parts are the most difficult for you with
the reading comprehension part of the TOEIC (i.e. language, inference, main
idea, or detail questions)?
C
What test taking strategies can you apply that
will help you improve your reading comprehension skills?
C
How many words can you read in a minute? Is this
faster or slower than your reading speed last week?
C
How many hours do you spend a week reading both
from a text and from a computer screen? Do you enjoy it? Do you translate
into your native language when you read or do you use vocabulary in context?
The weekly journal will give you a complete record of your language and
TOEIC preparation progress.
Late Work
Practice tests submitted after the due date will not be accepted. In
other words, you will receive no points. I will only allow you to make up
missed work if you have a written documented excuse from someone stating the
urgency of the situation (e.g. Doctor’s note, CHP accident report, etc.).
Attendance
Your attendance is required at all class meetings. Only written
documented excuses for an absence may result in your making up an assignment
or graded daily work. Absences endanger your grade simply because you are
missing out in the learning process. Come to class on time. Three tardies will
be counted as an absence. If you arrive fifteen minutes late or more, you will
be counted absent for that class period. If you do come late to class, please
enter quietly so as not to distract the other students. Do not explain to me
why you are late. Please note the following calculations:
0 absences = 40% of attendance grade
Extra credit on final grade calculations
1 absence = 30% of attendance grade
2 absences = 20% of attendance grade
3 absences = 10% of attendance grade
4 absences = Failure in class
Grading
The number letter grading scale is set as follows:
A 80-100
B 70-79
Scoring Grade
Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
Attendance and Participation 40%
Practice Test One 30%
Practice Test Two 30%
Total 100%
The practice tests scores will not have an
adverse effect on your grade for this class since I will have scores ranging
from the 400s to the mid 800s depending on the English language abilities of the
students in this class. However, your grade will be adversely affected by your
failure to take the test. In other words, if you fail to complete a practice
test and consequently you do not turn in a score to me, your overall grade for
this class will be deducted by 30%.
Beta Group One: 2000
Course Syllabus
(This schedule may be subject to change throughout the
quarter).
Tentative Course Outline
Week one Introduction to the TOEIC
Jan. 24 Hand out and discuss syllabus
26 TOEIC Listening: Pictures, Question-Response, Short
Conversations, Short Talks- discuss strategies for each of these sections;
Homework: Read TOEIC syllabus
Week Two TOEIC Skills & Strategies
31 TOEIC Reading: Grammar Patterns, Error Recognition, Reading
passages—discuss strategies for each of these sections.
Feb. 2 TOEIC Diagnostic Practice Test One: Listening
