Boston has become the top city in the nation per capita for college enrollment. With over 50 colleges and institutions in the Greater Boston area alone, more than 140,000 students attend each year. All 50 colleges and universities have one common factor resulting in the high enrollment. They are all Anglophonic institutions.
This means that the primary language of teaching is English. Anglophonic schools must ensure that their perspective students have a strong command of the English language as well as the skills and abilities necessary for participating in an Anglophonic classroom setting. This is why about 80% of those 50 plus schools in and around Boston require their international students to score a certain level on the TOEFL.
The TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, is designed, amintained, and distributed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). There are two options for taking the TOEFL; the Paper-Based Test (PBT) and the Internet-Based Test (IBT). As technology and intertnet access advances are made the IBT has become the most widely used and accepted format of the TOEFL test, although the PBT is still accepted by many schools.
There are differences in the two standardized test formats. The largest difference, beyond the physical format of paper vs. online, is that the Paper-Based Test has 4 sections; reading, writing, listening, and grammar while the IBT has three. The IBT does not have a grammar section to the test as they have merged the grammar throughout the test itself. In addition, the Educational Testing Service has added a speaking component to the Internet-Based Test.
All of this has allowed for a better-rounded assessment of the test-taker’s command of English. Also the format of the questions themselves and the time restrictions on those questions calls into play the skills and abilities necessary for participating in an Anglophonic classroom setting.
In order to perform well on the TOEFL exam, preparation is necessary. Preparation can be challenging for the IBT as it is often more difficult to prepare on one’s own. Practice along with studying are necessary for success on the exam. Studying English is important. Practicing English is essential. Books can provide the structure, intricacies, and variations to English, and there are many books out there to help. But guided study and practice as found in a Test Preparation Course can make all the difference in the test experience and readiness.
By attending a test preparation course, students are given guidance through teacher-facilitated practice. This teacher-led practice will provide the student with strategies for effective and efficient test taking skills. This experience will carry over beyond the TOEFL exam into the Anglophonic institution and classroom.
Boston Academy of English has stellar intensive and part-time English courses as well as an amazing eight-week intensive TOEFL Prep-Course that offers top-notch teaching combined with an interactive classroom setting and Internet-based test simulators. As an accredited language school, BAE has had the privilege of graduating students from our TOEFL Prep-Course who have gained acceptance at some of Boston’s most prestigious colleges and universities for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
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