Hi, this is the TestGlider team.
Most of us want to get the perfect TOEFL score on our first try. More often than not, however, those who need the highest scores have to take multiple tests to nail the exact score they need. Here is 4-time TOEFL pro Seohyun’s advice on increasing your TOEFL score.
Meet Today’s TOEFL Graduate: Seohyun
- High school senior preparing to study abroad with a distinguished English program
- Studied intensively with TestGlider for 1 month
- Finished the TOEFL with 117
To apply for a specialized college program for students with advanced English skills, Seohyun’s goal was to score as close to the perfect score of 120 as possible.
She took the TOEFL 4 times.
At first, she got a 111.
Then, a 108.
After that, a 110.
She couldn’t figure out how to raise her score beyond that first result — what was the problem?
From the TOEFL veteran Seohyun, this is her honest review of TestGlider and the 3 things that saved her TOEFL score.
Studying for the TOEFL Alone
This wasn’t Seohyun’s first time taking the TOEFL. Her first encounter with the famous English proficiency test was in middle school. Now years later, she was determined to get the score of her dreams within the 110 range.
Seohyun is one of the few of her graduating class paving a path to study abroad. TOEFL study groups were few and far in between and she would often study alone at a study cafe with a TOEFL ASMR video playing in the background to make it feel as realistic to the testing center environment as possible.
To improve her free response answers for the Speaking and Writing sections alone, she says, “I didn’t use any other prep service other than TestGlider. I referenced vocabulary lists online but that was it.”
Although she was confident in her English skills to study on her own this time, she didn’t know why she couldn’t score higher.
TestGlider vs. The Real TOEFL Test
At first, Seohyun’s cousin suggested that she take a practice test on TestGlider. Seohyun says, “Because you have to take the TOEFL on a computer, I wanted to get used to the format. When I took a practice test on TestGlider, I recognized the testing screen because it’s exactly the same as the actual test I took when I was younger.”
Now with 4 TOEFL tests completed, she says that the biggest difference between her TOEFL exams and TestGlider practice tests was “definitely the noise” at the testing center.
The day before her TOEFL test, she took a Listening Section Test and got a 28. When she received her scores, she says “I got 28 on my TOEFL Listening section score, exactly the same as my practice results.”
To prove her results, here’s a record of how Seohyun studied on TestGlider:
Seohyun’s 3 Tips for Saving Your TOEFL Score
When looking for an all-in-one TOEFL studying strategy, she says, “I needed feedback that could pinpoint exactly what I need to fix. I liked TestGlider’s grading. Plus, I read through the model answers on the Review page and it helped me improve my answer essay.”
From the Review page, she realized her writing essays weren’t improving because of grammar issues.
Once you’re stuck on the same score, it can get frustrating trying to figure out where you need to improve.
In that exact situation, here are 3 ways Seohyun used TestGlider as her last resort to finish the TOEFL once and for all.
1. Find Your Weakness First
“Losing points on my practice answers stressed me out so much. Instead of blaming ETS for the hard questions, analyzing my weak points helped me recover quickly. When I tried again and again, somehow the score went up. Don’t get discouraged and keep going!”
2. Practice Your Vocabulary Words
“For a while, I stopped learning vocabulary words. When I started practicing for the TOEFL again, the reading passages were so much harder to understand. I suggest keeping up with vocabulary words so you won’t run into any problems on the test.”
3. Practice Speaking Every Day
“I want to tell everyone that even if it doesn’t seem like you’re making progress with the Speaking section, consistent practice goes a long way. If you just keep practicing and make a habit out of speaking, you will improve.”
Features Seohyun Wished to See on TestGlider
We asked what kinds of new features she’d like to see on TestGlider to make studying easier.
Let us know in the comments if you’d like to see these features too!
- Selecting the same question to retry
- Adding optional dummy questions
- Study calendar to complete homework quests
Conclusion
Taking the TOEFL is a challenging feat, and our team here at TestGlider is here to cheer on test-takers like Seohyun who are here to get the perfect score.
If you’re a TOEFL beginner, check out our TOEFL Guides for more stories like this and TOEFL answer guides like this TOEFL Independent Writing Answer Template.
Let us know in the comments what kinds of TOEFL graduates you’d like to meet next. Good luck with your studies, everyone!
With love,
The TestGlider Team
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