A student to whom I provided feedback received a TOEFL score of 107.
How did the student get a TOEFL Score of 107?
Dear Michael, I received my TOEFL Score on Friday. Thanks to your advice, I was able to get 25 on the writing section and 24 on the speaking section. My overall TOEFL Score is 107, and it is enough for my further studies. I want to thank you not just for your feedback on my essay and speaking sample but also on other vedioes that you have uploaded. Since we cannot evaluate our speaking and writing sample, your vedioes provide a way to compare our writings and speaking.
What type of speaking feedback did you provide this student who got a TOEFL Score of 107?
After the student emailed me the speaking practice test, I listened to it and evaluated the response in three main areas:
- Whether the student delivered a clearly spoken response with a varied tone, linking words within thought groups, and appropriate pacing without awkward pauses and hesitations
- If the student used a combination of basic and advanced grammar and vocabulary
- Whether the student’s topic development included a clear connection of ideas and appropriate details which showed elaboration
What type of writing feedback did you provide this student?
My writing feedback focused on the following areas:
- Whether the student had about 100 words in the introduction ending with a sharply-focused thesis statement
- If the student restated the points from the thesis in the topic sentences of the body paragraphs
- Whether each body paragraph included approximately 150-200 words with an example that illustrated the argument put forth in the topic sentence
- If the essay had a Flesh-Kincaid grade level of 13 or higher: an average sentence length of 25-26 words and an average word of 5 letters of more
Watch the feedback I provided the student before he/she took the official TOEFL exam.
Michael Buckhoff, mbuckhoff@aol.com