TOEFL Challenges Students Face

What many students face on the verge of adversity at the start of their career paths is certain challenges during their studies for the TOEFL exams. Here are some reasons why.

Focusing on the wrong things

First, the learners need to practice active listening and comprehension. Several reasons I discovered this based on observation, as to why students get so worked up during the study time before the exam is because many of them realized that they focused too much on completing assignments on time, getting better on their English accent that the active listening portion has been forsaken to some degree. If I were able to tutor these students early on way before the time frame for studying for the TOEFL exams, then they would have a much easier journey to the path of passing the exam.

Workload

Secondly, the other reason why is that many students have trouble coping with just concentrating on active listening and comprehension when they're so distracted by their peers at school, athletic activities, and of course, responsibilities from their other school assignments. This is why I always recommended to the parents of the students when I was a home-based stay-in tutor, is to maybe minimize their workload in terms of after-school activities. And although parents and I are on the same page, many students intend to forget how important it is to learn more active listening, learn more comprehension, and vocabulary. Why? Because it is a lot easier to study for the TOEFL exam when the student already has the main focus of what the exam consists of, which is active listening and speaking comprehension.

How to overcome the challenges?

The best way to help students overcome these challenges is:

Make sure to have them practice vocabulary, NOT just memorization, but to practice putting the vocabulary words into sentences. Whether through game activities or simply lesson-based and always make sure you compliment your student when they have achieved a new learning curve in their English learning journey. This is applicable to students who are younger, but more advanced in their English levels and those who are young adults. Many students I tutored expressed how pressured they feel because they feel like their entire future and career path are based on passing the TOEFL exam. And maybe so because unless they pass, they cannot proceed forward towards their educational goal.

What have I always advised my students? Start early. Finish first. To elaborate, as mentioned earlier, if students start focusing on critical aspects of what these exams consist of from an earlier age, it will make a big difference in their study habits and their level of study.