How to get a score of 116 in TOEFL iBT

I have to practice the TOEFL iBT on my own because there is not any class near my house and I don’t have enough money to pay for a private tutorial. Here is how I practice TOEFL iBT myself:


Step 1: Determine why to take TOEFL  and the score objective

I take TOEFL test to go study abroad. I want to study in the US, Japan, Australia, England or Europe. When I have this objective, I create a practice strategy and follow this strategy.

The score objective is very important because I can see where I want to go. My score objective is to get at least 100 to ask for scholarship.

Step 2: I read the TOEFL Planner (free download at https://www.ets.org ) and follow the instructions. I don’t apply all the tips in the book but modify to adapt with my situation (I have 2 kids and I work full time). I try to practice TOEFL at least 90 minutes a day.

Step 3: Get familiar with the question types and improve 4 skills. I read the book The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test from ETS. The, I read the book TOEFL iBT from Barron to improve 4 skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing.


                       
 
I did a test in the book The Official Guide to the TOEFL test and evaluated the skills. I improved the weak skills and took the 3 first tests in the book TOEFL iBT from Barron

Step 4: Practice TOEFL tests. At this stage, I practiced to type on the keyboard and to speak in front of a micro. I also practiced to stay 4 hours in high concentration like in the real test. I did the 2 tests of the book The Official Guide to toe TOEFL and the other tests in the book TOEFL iBT from Barron. After each mock test, I improved my test taking skills and the timing. I read carefully the solutions of wrong answers. We can see the score of the mock test of Barron.

You should think that the actual TOEFL score is always lower than the score of your mock tests because there are many factors that influence our score on the test day: health, stress, moral, noise in the test room, distraction in the test room, etc. When you do the mock tests, you can seat in a noisy environment and try to concentrate on your tests.

Practice speaking: If you have study group on the Skype or Google Talk or any other social network, try to make use of your group to improve your speaking skills. If you don’t have any group, try to ask your teachers or friends to help you improve your pronunciation, intonation meaning, etc. I practiced speaking myself. I did 3 questions every day. I recorded my answer by using the software PAMUS MP3 recorder and correct my pronunciation by Google Translation. When I did mock tests, I scored myself by using the scoring guide from The Official Guide to the TOEFL test.

Practice writing: I did 2 essays per week: 1 Integrated writing and 1 Independent writing. I scored myself according to the scoring guide from The Official Guide to the TOEFL test. For independent essay, I choose topics from 185 writing topics of TOEFL.

Time: I don’t have much time to practice TOEFL so I divide time into several sections. For example: I practice speaking on Monday, listening on Tuesday, writing on Wednesday, reading on Thursday. When I do mock tests, I find someone to look after my children. I usually do the mock tests on weekend. 

In sum, the most important thing is your determination to get a good TOEFL score. The, I choose a strategy to achieve this objective. Then I practice and practice until I get a good score on the mock tests. When the scores of several mock tests are higher and my expected score, I register for the real test. I try not to do the test several times because I’m sure that I will not do better for the next tests.