Free TOEFL iBT

Not_Oles

Somebody here PMed me asking advice on preparing for an English exam. Maybe somebody else who is studying English might be able to use what I said in reply, so I am also posting my reply here in Free Offers because it is about a free course and a free test:

There is a test called the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) which is widely taken by people who wish to study in the US.

A free TOEFL course starts today.

As you also can read on the above linked page, EdX (Education X) and ETSX (Educational Testing Service X) seem also to be offering the TOEFL iBT (Internet Based Test) take it at home test for free due to the pandemic.

In addition to the EdX test prep course and the TOEFL iBT, I suggest reading stuff that's both (1) short and (2) very famous. For example, in politics, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. For short stories, maybe "A Dissertation on Roast Pig," by Charles Lamb and "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton. For poems, maybe "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost, and "Invictus," by William Earnest Henley. For computer folks, "Reflections on Trusting Trust," by Ken Thompson.

berkay

While I still have a valid score, this seems like a great value for prospective entrants, thank you for sharing. However, I couldn’t find about the “free test” on the page. Yes, they have made the iBT to be available to take at home; however to the best of my knowledge they still charge their full price for it.

InceptionHosting

I wonder if I could pass it, I think Geordie counts as a foreign language.

Mr_Tom

@AnthonySmith said: I think Geordie counts as a foreign language.

Do you qualify as a Geordie? Thought it was very much a Newcastle/Tyneside thing? I know you're not far from there but my dad was from Sunderland they didn't like being called Geordies lol.

InceptionHosting

@Mr_Tom said:

@AnthonySmith said: I think Geordie counts as a foreign language.

Do you qualify as a Geordie? Thought it was very much a Newcastle/Tyneside thing? I know you're not far from there but my dad was from Sunderland they didn't like being called Geordies lol.

Yeah not really but who the fek knows what pitmatic/yakka is

Mr_Tom

@AnthonySmith said: Yeah not really but who the fek knows what pitmatic/yakka is

Fair point.

Not_Oles

@berkay said: to the best of my knowledge they still charge their full price for it.

Thanks for the correction!

The above linked page about the free EdX course has, in the "About this ourse" section, a click button saying "More about this course." If you click that button there is a lot of text about free stuff, and then in the last paragraph of the revealed additional text, it says:

In response to the global pandemic, ETS is temporarily offering the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition to meet the needs of students who are unable to take the TOEFL iBT test at a test center. The Special Home Edition is the same TOEFL iBT test -- identical in content, format, scoring and on-screen experience -- just taken from home on your own computer and monitored by a human proctor online. This course will help you prepare for the TOEFL iBT test, regardless of where you take it.

I over enthusiastically zoomed along assuming that the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, similar to the free stuff described just before it, also was free in response to the pandemic. My bad.

berkay

@Not_Oles said:

@berkay said: to the best of my knowledge they still charge their full price for it.

Thanks for the correction!

The above linked page about the free EdX course has, in the "About this ourse" section, a click button saying "More about this course." If you click that button there is a lot of text about free stuff, and then in the last paragraph of the revealed additional text, it says:

In response to the global pandemic, ETS is temporarily offering the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition to meet the needs of students who are unable to take the TOEFL iBT test at a test center. The Special Home Edition is the same TOEFL iBT test -- identical in content, format, scoring and on-screen experience -- just taken from home on your own computer and monitored by a human proctor online. This course will help you prepare for the TOEFL iBT test, regardless of where you take it.

I over enthusiastically zoomed along assuming that the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, similar to the free stuff described just before it, also was free in response to the pandemic. My bad.

Not at all, it happens. It's just impossible think for anyone who dealt with ETS as a customer; they might be the greediest company ever in a duopoly.

vyas

I Had taken, and still prefer the paper based tofel.

Hetzner_OL

When I used to teach at university, I would offer a small prize to anyone who could get all the way through this poem, which is a doozy even for native spakers: https://www.learnenglish.de/pronunciation/pronunciationpoem.html
Here are some more free resources

• EngVid has some nice mini lessons, including tips for passing TOEFL: https://www.engvid.com/
• I also stumbled upon this YouTube channel recently, which kind of models how people can use TV clips to practice their English: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKgpamMlm872zkGDcBJHYDg The teacher in the series probably watches "Friends" too often, but the vocabulary and intonation that he highlights here is really helpful for informal, everyday conversations.

--Katie

Not_Oles

Wow! @Hetzner_OL I only made it half way through!

Reminds me of the Chinese poem Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den Wikipedia Youtube

Does anybody have something in French? Another language?