TOEFL Open Class
Noumena goes to great lengths to monitor the progress of each student. Noumena uses the most recent and reliable online and offline resources to track student assignments, provide comments on essays, and give feedback on speaking exercises. While some places simply feed students templates, Noumena knows there is much more preparation involved in scoring high on the TOEFL iBT exam.That is why we guide students through reading passages, going over difficult vocabulary, unfamiliar or abstract idioms, and passage organization. We teach students proper essay structure and how to support their arguments, so students can write high-scoring essays effectively. We also drill students heavily on speaking exercises to ensure that students are comfortable and confident no matter the question they are presented with. Furthermore, to help students improve on the Listening section of the test, we instruct students in developing good note-taking skills and an awareness of relevant information.
This class specifically targets the TOEFL Reading section. For the reading section, students are taught how to search passages for information directly stated as well as implied. Guiding students through passages, teachers make a concerted effort to point out difficult vocabulary and show students how to recognize key words that connect multiple ideas and serve as clues to difficult questions. Since Noumena takes a holistic approach to reading, we not only teach the skills necessary for comprehension, but we also show students how to understand and recognize connecting words (i.e. conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs) to help them find the logical relationships and transitions between sentences and paragraphs. These skills are difficult for even non-ESL students, but Noumena's approach to the TOEFL equips students with the skills and confidence to become better readers.
This class also offers students with the added benefit of a listening component and teaches the skills necessary to tackle the TOEFL Listening section. While special attention is obviously given to listening for content, students are reminded not to lose track of key elements of language such as tone, purpose, and organization of information. Noumena has an extensive library of recorded TOEFL conversations and lectures to provide students with the practice they need to ace the listening section.
For some ESL students, comprehending what is said may seem like an impossible challenge. However, upon completion of this class, students will be able to take good notes, and understand extended amounts of spoken information.
The main objectives of this class are to teach students how to compose grammatically correct sentences and master the mechanics of good writing. These skills are essential for the international student as they are the most difficult hurdles for the student to overcome. This class will teach students how to write a straightforward five paragraph essay that displays a strong command of English. Teachers show students how to come up with original ideas and support those ideas with good examples. Noumena also encourages students to understand the short essay format. All students will learn how to start their introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion within minutes.
In the TOEFL Speaking class, students learn how to anticipate questions and develop appropriate responses using all of the resources at their disposal, such as challenging vocabulary, a wide-range of acquired idioms, and proper grammar. Besides developing independent opinions on various topics, students will learn how to utilize their note-taking skills in an attempt to understand multiple perspectives of an argument or lecture. Often times ESL students can be a bit shy or insecure about their spoken English abilities; however, Noumena creates a non-intimidating learning environment. We use a combination of group speaking exercises with individually recorded assignments that are emailed to our instructors as part of the students' homework.
The TOEFL iBT consists of four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. The entire test takes about four and a half hours to complete. Students will be tested on both individual skills as well as integrated skills which tests two or three skills together. Each section is worth 30 points with a 120 point maximum score possible.
Reading: Students have 60-80 minutes to read three to four passages and answer 12-14 questions per passage.
Writing: Students have 50 minutes to complete one independent essay stating an opinion and one integrated essay giving a response based on reading and listening material.
Speaking: Students have 20 minutes to complete six speaking tasks: two independent speaking tasks expressing an opinion and four integrated speaking tasks based on a combination of either reading and listening material or just a listening material.
Listening: Students have 60-90 minutes to listen to 2-3 conversations and 4-6 lectures. At the end of each listening segment, students will answer 5-6 questions.
For more information about the TOEFL please visit the ETS website.