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EDUCARE TOEIC STRATEGY GUIDE TEST OF ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION Though TOEIC is not the best test for checking your real English ability, it can be a good motivator for studying English. Many companies and schools look at TOEIC scores when selecting employees and students. By studying TOEIC strategy guides and TOEIC materials written in your native language, it is possible to improve your TOEIC score without really improving your actual English skills. For this reason, EDUCARE recommends that you use study materials and methods that will help you improve your TOEIC skill while you improve your REAL ENGLISH SKILLS too. See our advice below! The following tips are from EDUCAREfS TOEIC Course, which has helped nearly every student who has joined improve their TOEIC score by over 100 points! 1. Study materials written in English! The TOEIC examination is written entirely in English. You must get used to this. If you are really motivated to take the TOEIC test, you should have enough motivation to study a TOEIC guide and other materials written in English. Only by reading real, natural English will you become accustomed to the phrases and expressions that are on the examination. Guides in your own language will give you strategies, but not real English skills. 2. Study for a little while everyday. It takes time and energy to make real progress with a language. Learning how to use and understand English expressions doesnft happen suddenly. It is not effective to ecramf (study intensively just before a test) for TOEIC. Memorizing words and grammar is not very useful on TOEIC, as the content is used contextually and always a little bit different on each exam. Therefore, Educare recommends that students spend a little bit of time everyday studying for TOEIC. Studying 20 or 30 minutes once or twice a day will make English a natural part of your life. It will also keep you motivated (if you use interesting materials!). 3. Understand the test Before beginning to study seriously for TOEIC, understand the directions and format of the test. While you should use interesting study materials such as newspapers, websites, podcasts and magazines, it is also important to practice model TOEIC materials in order to understand the types of comprehension skills TOEIC is testing you on. Understanding the test will also help you fight TOEIC distractors (places where the test tricks you into making a mistake) and improve your time management. 4. Improve your vocabulary TOEIC uses a lot of difficult vocabulary terms from a wide variety of fields. Remember, even if you donft know a word, there is still a good chance you can guess itfs meaning by looking at its context! However, the more words and phrases you know, the easier you will find the test to be. To improve your vocabulary, do a lot of reading and writing. Never just write down the meaning of a word | always try using it in a sentence that YOU create. It is also important to remember that the meaning of words often changes depending on how they are used. In particular, TOEIC uses many phrasal verbs. For example, even if you know the word erunf, will you understand the meanings of ea run-down apartmentf, erun through my notesf, erun up a billf or erun a businessf? Another way to improve your comprehension of words is to study prefixes, suffixes and latin / greek roots. 5. Make a study plan Make a study plan and stick to it. Study plans help you to stay motivated and monitor your progress. Make sure your plan includes study methods, not just study time and content. Try to make your plan diverse | include self-study, enjoyable activities and perhaps a TOEIC course taught by a NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER who has experience teaching the examination. 6. Use effective time management Many people score poorly on TOEIC because they donft finish all of the questions. Know how you will attack each section and learn strategies for saving time. For example, it is not necessary to read all of the text on Section 7 (Reading Comprehension) in order to answer the questions. Have you heard of the eDouble-Pass Methodf for sections 5 and 6? 7. Set Goals After you have decided to take the TOEIC test, set goals for yourself. What score do you want and what do you need to do to achieve that score? Goals often keep students focused and motivated. However, make sure that your goals are realistic. Also remember that you can take the TOEIC examination as often as you like! 8. Understand your weak points Every test taker has some areas that are weaker than others. This is natural. To score higher on TOEIC, you must find those weak points! Because it is sometimes difficult to find them by oneself, perhaps working with a professional TOEIC instructor could be helpful. Furthermore, looking at your score is not such a useful way to find your weak areas. Many students will only say, gI am bad at section 7f or eI need to improve my listening.f Students need to find the SPECIFIC reasons they are poor in certain areas. For example, weak points could include having a slow reading speed, a lack of understanding of business contexts, poor time management, or an inability to hear changes in intonation during a conversation. 9. Donft be fooled by edistractorsf Almost every TOEIC question includes SEVERAL distractors within the answer choices. Distractors include words with similar meanings, words with similar sounds, and answers that match the situation but donft answer the question. Learn to find distractors so that you can eliminate them. It is helpful to make a edistractor listf when studying for the examination. 10. Donft translate when studying English is English. Donft try to translate text into your own language (even in your head) when taking the examination or studying. This is not only an unnatural way to learn a language, it wastes time and decreases your ability to answer questions correctly. 11. Keep an English diary or journal Keeping a daily English journal is a great way to improve your English. Express yourself using the words and grammar you learned within your TOEIC studies. This will help you remember vocabulary as well as insert English into your daily life. 12. Enjoy studying for TOEIC If you donft ENJOY studying for TOEIC, you will lose your motivation. If you lose motivation, you will not score very well or remember the English you have been studying. Remember that many of the same terms and grammar used on TOEIC can be found in almost any English language text or speech. Therefore, a snowboarding magazine, a news website, a movie podcast, or a T.V. comedy can become a good material for preparing for the TOEIC! Also, some people enjoy studying together with a friend | itfs a good idea! Of course, this kind of content and study method should be balanced with actual TOEIC model problems. 13. Manage your stress Many students score poorly on TOEIC because they become nervous when taking the test. Of course, the best way to reduce nervousness is to be properly prepared for the test (EXPERIENCE = CONFIDENCE). Wake up on test day with a plan for how you will attack each section. Getting proper sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before the test will also help you to improve your concentration and decrease your stress. 14. Trust your instincts Studies have found that our instincts are usually correct on examinations. Most of the English you have been exposed to during your studies is still somewhere in your brain, even if you think that you canft access it. Changing answers when one is unsure often leads to an incorrect response. Only override an answer if you notice a concrete mistake. 15. Answer every question Unlike TOEFL and other tests, TOEIC does not punish students for wrong answers. Therefore, when you turn in your examination sheet, make sure every question is answered! Donft be afraid to make your best guess! 16. Practice summarizing Summarizing written articles, speeches and presentations is one of the best ways to study for TOEIC. The more you practice summarization, the more you will find that you are able to collect important details and nuances. After you have summarized something, compare it with the original. What key points are missing? Did you understand the main topic and tone?