Learn English Today | Online Services

The coronavirus (COVID-19) can't stop your English training thanks to Skype and other online services. Today's post is on how prepare for online ESL training and the services I can provide to you.

ESL SPEAKING TESTS | How To Do More Than Pass

Today's post is all about doing well in speaking tests. Whether it's CELPIP, TOEIC, IELTS, Cambridge, or TOEFL, you'll be better prepared to do use your English language skills in test conditions.

CELPIP - Part 2: Speaking

In the second part of our CELPIP series, we'll look at ways to prepare for the speaking part of the test.

CELPIP - Part 1: Listening

The The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), by Paragon Testing Enterprises, is an English language test for people wanting to become permanent residents in Canada and Canadian citizens.

In this series of blog posts, we'll look at ways you can prepare for CELPIP

Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective: Parts Of Speech & Suffixes

We briefly covered parts of speech last year during our series on the TOEIC test. Today, we're going to go into more detail. We'll look at a few helpful infographics,  and do a few exercises to practice.

TOEIC Strategies: Short Conversations & Short Talks

In today's post, I will go over strategies for both short conversations (part 3) and short talks (part 4) of TOEIC's listening section.

TOEIC Strategies: Question/Response

The Question response section (part 2 of Listening) can be the most difficult part of TOEIC. The questions aren't written down, so you must listen carefully, then choose the correct option (a,b,c, or d). 

First, listen the question. What kind of the question is it?  There are 2 types of the question; yes/no questions and wh questions

 If the question begin with will,do,does,did,is,are,can,would, etc, the answer will usually be a "yes or no" type. 

If the question begin with wh word (what,where,when,why,who,how), the answer be longer. 

Be Careful

TOEIC has a lot of  "traps" like words with similar sounds, the same words. Also, there are types of answers you must listen for: Indirect and  negative responses. 

Indirect Answers. 

Example:

Man: Who didn't finish their dinner"

Woman: I wasn't hungry.

or

Woman: Have you invited anyone I know to the party?

Man: You know everyone on the guest list.

Negative Responses

Example:

Man1: So, which car do you like?

Man2: Well, not the one that looks like a taxi.

Woman1: What movies do you like?

Woman2: Anything that doesn't have snakes.

Remember: there's about 7 to 10 seconds between questions in the listening part of TOEIC. Answer quickly. 

You can practice the Question/Response section here.

TOEIC Strategies: Photographs

The first part of  of the listening section for TOEIC is photographs. You will hear four sentences and must choose which sentence is best for the question.

Let's practice with the photo below:

If you're going to write the paper test, the best thing to do is arrive early, and look at the questions (but don't start the set time). This will help you make better choices when you're are writing the exam.

The options you will hear in this section are usually very basic sentences. Look at the photo. Note the possible nouns (people, places, and things), verbs (actions), and prepositions (in, on, under, etc).

Now, read the four sentences below, and choose the best answer.

a) The student is studying for a test
b) The student is reading a book
c) The library doesn't have any tables
d) There's a memo on the wall.

  Continue reading for the answer.

TOEIC: Preparation Textbooks & The Web

The Test of English for International Communication, better known as TOEIC is a very common test for those wishing to work or study in an international setting. In Japan, many companies have their employees take TOEIC at least once a year; the results can determine a worker's promotion prospects, job assignments, etc. 

TOEIC has two parts: listening and reading.

Listening has four sections: photographs, question/response, short conversations, and short talks. 
Reading has three sections: incomplete sentences, text completion, and reading comprehension.

The top score in TOEIC is 990. 

  905 - 990 International Proficiency

   785 – 900 Working Proficiency Plus

          605 – 780 Limited Working Proficiency

         405 – 600 Elementary Proficiency Plus 

255 – 400 Elementary Proficiency

185 – 250 Memorised Proficiency

10 – 180 No Useful Proficiency 

To prepare for the test, there are several texts you could use. However, in my experience, The Longman Preparation Series For The New TOEIC Test is the best of them. 

There are texts available for people new to TOEIC, and people who have taken it before. The books cover all parts of the test, and provide strategies on each one. There is also a text of practice tests.

You can order the Longman TOEIC books on Amazon or find them (for free) at your local library.

The Internet has many, many sites that help to prepare students for TOEIC. The first is http://examenglish.com. It's free, but, it's not easy. All practice tests are the same as real test conditions. You can pause the tests if you need to, and replay questions.


YouTube is a great resource for English learners. I encourage ESL students to use it as much as possible, especially for listening, intonation, and pronunciation exercises. 

The TOEIC test is very difficult. Native English speakers don't get perfect scores on it. Preparation and home study will help you complete the test, and improve your scores.

Next post will have techniques on how to do part one of TOEIC, pictures.