Janni subscribed to “The 7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT” so she could improve her intelligibility, speaking, and fluency of American English. Unlike a majority of the subscribers, she does not need to pass the TOEFL iBT. Instead, she wants to be able to speak clearly to native speakers. Towards this aim, she has been studying TOEFL lessons related to vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and speaking.
Janni figures that the vocabulary lessons will teach her basic and advanced vocabulary, the pronunciation lessons will help her to reduce her non-native speaker accent, the grammar lessons will help her to speak accurately using basic and advanced grammar so that she can fully express her ideas, and the speaking lessons and practice tests will help her to organize and develop her ideas. After recording her pronunciation pre-test, a TOEFL specialist recorded an audio response for her. In that response, the TOEFL specialist recommended that Janni study seven different lessons to help her reduce her accent.
With this new feedback, Janni now knows what she needs to do to improve her pronunciation. She will now complete the practice exercises, and, once she thinks she has made improvements, she will record another pronunciation pre-test for the TOEFL specialist to listen to. Little by little Janni is beginning to make progress with her English, and her native speaker friends are telling her than it is much easier for them to understand her. And the crooked smile never leaves her lips nowadays!
| This article was written by Michael Buckhoff–co-founder and materials writer for Better TOEFL Scores and The 7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT, Composition and Linguistics Professor, TOEFL Specialist, ESL Master Instructor, and Placement and Testing Coordinator for California State University, San Bernardino.Follow more posts and videos from Michael at Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. |