The ETS TOEFL exam is an international English proficiency exam taken by non-native English speakers in different countries around the world. This exam tests students on their English language proficiency and how well they'd be able to navigate through a University classroom using the 4 skills; reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Even with properly preparing for the exam, some TOEFL test takers find it difficult to get a grip on all the parts of the exam due to one reason or another.
One of the most common issues with test takers and the TOEFL exam is the vocabulary. There are many vocabulary words on the exam, specifically in the reading section that students don't understand. This is generally due to the fact that they are unfamiliar with academic vocabulary words. To help with this issue, during the test takers preparation phase, they should get as much academic vocabulary as possible. That can be done by reading academic texts online or getting a hold of sample TOEFL reading exams to practice your reading skills as well as becoming more familiar with academic vocabulary.
Another challenge test takers have as it relates to the TOEFL exam, is time! Many students feel that they do not have enough time to complete different parts of the exam. The most talked about sections for time is the reading section and the writing section. To help with this challenge, test takers can take advantage of timing themselves during their preparation phase. For the reading section students will have between 54-72 minutes to complete. This includes 3-4 passages, 10 questions each passage and about 18-20 minutes per section. Students should practice how long it takes them to read a passage by timing themselves using TOEFL practice materials.
For the writing section students can also time themselves on how long it takes them to write 150 words up to 300 words as these are the requirements for the 2 writing tasks.