Luyện thi TOEFL thế nào cho hiệu quả?

Đối với những bạn trẻ muốn du học tại những nước phát triển như Anh, Mỹ thì một trong những điều kiện bắt buộc là phải có chứng chỉ TOEFL quốc tế với một số điểm nhất định. Thế nhưng, để tìm được một địa chỉ luyện thi TOEFL không phải là dễ dàng. Thời gian bận rộn, cộng với nhiều điều kiện khó khăn, học viên có thể rất ngại tới các trung tâm tiếng Anh mà chất lượng cũng chưa chắc đảm bảo. Giải pháp mà nhiều học sinh lựa chọn là luyện tiếng Anh trực tuyến. Chỉ với một máy tính kết nối Internet và sở hữu một thẻ TOEFL các bạn trẻ có thể thấy thoải mái hơn nhiều.

Cách chinh phục "đỉnh núi TOEFL

“Pratice makes perfect”

Câu nói giản dị chẳng bao giờ thừa này ai cũng biết nhưng chưa nhiều người hiểu. Trong quá trình luyện tập TOEFL, bạn cần có một chiến lược đúng đắn. Kỹ năng take notes - xây dựng hệ thống ký hiệu riêng, phù hợp bản thân mình là việc bạn cần làm trước tiên.

Khi nghe bài hội thoại, bạn chia take notes ra làm hai phần trong một trang giấy, viết lời của mỗi người vào một bên. Với taks nghe - đọc - viết, bạn ghi các ý của bài đọc và bài nghe vào mỗi bên, đến khi xử lý các ý sẽ dễ dàng hơn.

Học từ mới là một kỹ năng quan trọng. Muốn nâng cao trình độ từ vựng, không có cách gì tốt hơn việc đọc. Đọc nhiều tài liệu ở những chủ đề khác nhau để biết cách diễn đạt nữa. Đọc xong toàn bài rồi mới tra từ. Theo bạn Thu Thủy (110 điểm TOEFL): "Mỗi lần học từ, chỉ học nghĩa trong văn cảnh đó thôi, không nên mở từ điển nhồi tất cả nghĩa của từ đó vào đầu."

Trong quá trình học, bạn có thể sử dụng cuốn từ điển chuyên dụng như Oxford Thesaurus hay Oxford Collocation - đây được xem là 2 vật bất ly thân, cực kỳ hữu ích để nâng cao kỹ năng viết của mình.

Chiến thuật vận nội công thi thố

Khi làm bài thi đọc, lướt qua các câu hỏi để định hướng yêu cầu, làm đến đâu, trả lời ngay đến đấy. Không đọc hết bài mới bắt đầu trả lời dễ rơi rớt mất thông tin – chia sẻ của bạn Hoài Anh (đạt 88 điểm TOEFL). Trong phần thi nói – phần “Bancăng” nhất - Hoài Anh chia sẻ kinh nghiệm “xương máu”: "Nói thật to vào mic, không cần quá quan trọng phát âm đúng hay không. Nói to để bản thân mình tự giữ thế chủ động và bình tĩnh."

Phát âm rõ ràng là tiêu chí đầu tiên. Muốn “tròn vành rõ chữ” không cách nào khác là dùng những từ đơn giản, quen thuộc. Văn hoa bay bướm để đến phần writing, tha hồ mà thi thố!

Khi làm bài thi nghe, ở các bài giảng, bạn cần chú ý những từ khóa, nhiều tên riêng, tên khoa học có thể gây khó dễ. Nếu những từ này được lặp lại vài lần, bạn cần lắng nghe kỹ, take note cẩn thận, kể cả những chi tiết, số liệu. Còn đối với bài nghe hội thoại nam - nữ, thông tin người nữ nói thường có giá trị hơn nên bạn cũng chú ý hơn một tẹo nhé.

Theo bạn Thanh Vân, du học sinh tại đại học Yonsei University, Hàn Quốc, những vấn đề “râu ria” trong ngày thi cũng rất đáng để tâm. Chẳng hạn, bạn nhớ ăn đủ trước buổi thi. Bài thi kéo dài tới 4 tiếng và phải tập trung liên tục, đuối sức rất nhanh. Một vấn đề… tế nhị nữa là các bạn nên sắp xếp thời gian ghé WC hợp lý, tránh tình trạng nhấp nha nhấp nhổm khi làm bài sẽ bị mất tập trung lắm đấy.

Cuối cùng, khi kỳ thi đã hoàn thành, cho dù điểm số có như ý hay không, bạn cũng đừng ngừng học. Học, học nữa, học mãi, chúng mình chắc chắn sẽ chinh phục được những đỉnh núi cao hơn nữa, cao hơn nhiều nữa, phải không nào?

act, ag

• react (verb): to act in response to something
  • re + act
  • How did he react when he heard the news?

• agent (noun): something which acts or acts upon something else
  ag + ent
  • The travel agent helped her purchase the tickets.

• active (adjective): involving movement, moving about
  • act + ive
  • Joan is an active child.

• agitate (verb): to excite, to disturb, to stir up
  • agit + ate
  • The washing machine agitates the load of laundry.

aud, audit, aur

• audible ( adjective): can be heard
  • aud + ible
  • Your voice is barely audible over the sound of the train whistle.

• auditorium (noun): a place where o­ne goes to hear something
  • audit+ orium
  • The band played in the school auditorium

• auricular
  • aur + ic + ul + ar
  • The auricular ability of the cat is well-known.

am, ami

• amorous (adjective): loving
  • amor + ous
  • The actor played an amorous role.

• amiable (adjective) friendly, agreeable
  • ami + able
  • He seems to be an amiable man.

• amicable (adjective): friendly
  • amic + able
  • The two neighbors came to an amicable decision about the fence.

anim

• animal (noun): a living creature
  • anim + al
  • A dog is an animal.

• animate (verb): to give spirit or support, to supply movement
  • anim + ate
  • The artist animated the cartoon.

• animosity (noun): hostility, ill will
  • animos + ity
  • There isn't any animosity between us.

ann, annu, enni

• annals (noun): record of events, historical records
  • ann + al + s
  • The annals of the organization are kept in notebooks.

• annual (adjective): yearly
  • annu + al
  • She is planning o­n going to the company's annual meeting.

• annuity (noun): money payable yearly
  • annu + ity
  • Joan is going to invest her annuity in the stock market.

• anniversary (noun): the yearly celebration of an event
  • anni + vers + ary
  • John's parents will celebrate their wedding anniversary in April.

• perrenial (adjective): enduring, persisting for several years
  • per + enn + ial
  • I would like to buy some perrenial plants.

auc, aug, aut

• author (noun): o­ne that originates or creates, a writer
  • auth + or
  • Susan met the author of this book.

• augment (verb): to increase, to add to
  • aug + ment
  • He had to augment his salary by taking another job.

• auction (noun): a sale of goods to the highest bidder
  • auct + ion
  • I bought this car at the auction.

bene

• benevolent (adjective): marked by goodwill
  • bene + vol + ent
  • The "Salvation Army" is known as a benevolent society for its acts of charity.

• benign (adjective): harmless, mild, gentle
  • ben + ign
  • The doctor removed a benign tumor from my neck and I went home the same day.

biblio

• bibliography (noun): a list of written works
  • biblio + graph + y
  • Olaf listed a brief bibliography at the end of his paper.

bio, bi

• biology (noun): the study of life
  • bio + log + y
  • In biology class the students learned about how the human body works.

brev

• brief (adjective): short
  • brief
  • Anand gave a brief lecture o­n the rain forest.

• abbreviate (verb): to shorten
  • ab + brevi + ate
  • How does o­ne abbreviate the word "Minnesota"?

• brevity (noun): short or concise expression
  • brev + ity
  • The politician gave short speeches and he became known for his brevity.

cad, cap, cas, ceiv, cept, cid

• deceive (verb): to cause or allow someone to believe something is true when it is actually false; to mislead
  • de + ceive
  • The criminal deceived many people into believing she was honest.

• capable (adjective): having the ablility to do something; having the traits necessary to perform some action
  • cap + able
  • Jose is a very capable lawyer.

• capacious (adective): containing a great deal
  • capac + ious
  • You have a capacious library with many unusual books.

• captive (noun, adjective): a person held against his or her own will; held prisoner
  • cap+ tive
  • The captives were taken to the jail.
  • Geoff had a captive audience.

• accident (noun): an unplanned event
  • ac + cid + ent
  • Don't get upset about minor accidents and errors.

• capture (verb): to gain control of, to gain by effort
  • capt + ure
  • In the game of chess, the object is to capture the king.

• occasion (noun): an opportunity; a happening, instance or celebration
  • oc + cas + ion
  • Did you have an occasion to speak with your professor?

• receive (verb): to take in, to acquire
  • re + ceive
  • Imelda received many letters in the mail today.

• concept (noun): an idea
  • con + cept
  • The concept of using computers in the classroom is relatively new.

ceas, cede, ceed, cess

• predecessor (noun): a person who has previously occupied a position that another has taken over
  • pre + de + cess + or
  • I hope I can live up to my predecessor's reputation.

• succeed (verb): to follow after another, to do well
  • suc + ceed
  • To succeed as a student, o­ne must study.

• recede (verb): to move back, to withdraw
  • re + cede
  • The water receded five days after the flood.

• concede (verb): to accept as true, to yield, to allow
  • con + cede
  • I conceded to her point of view.

• exceed (verb): to go beyond a limit, to be greater than
  • ex + ceed
  • The driver exceeded the speed limit by ten miles an hour.

• recess (noun): an indentation, a temporary break
  • re + cess
  • The children were given a recess from the lessons.

• deceased (adjective): dead
  • de + ceas + ed
  • The deceased person will be cremated rather than buried.

chron

• chronic (adjective): marked by a long period of time, recurrence
  • chron + ic
  • Gabrielle has a chronic back disorder and cannot lift heavy objects.

• chronicle (noun): a historical account arranged in order of time
  • chron + icle
  • The teacher asked us to read a chronicle o­n the Revolutionary War.

• chronological (adjective): arranged in order of time
  • chrono + log + ical
  • The text book listed the presidents in chronological order.

clam, claim

• acclaim (verb): praise
  • ac + claim
  • The restaurant is acclaimed for its desserts.

• exclaim (verb): to speak loudly, to cry out in surprise
  • ex + claim
  • The children exclaimed "hurray" when they heard there would be no classes tomorrow.

• clamor (noun, verb): n. noise, v. to make noise
  • clam + or
  • The children clamored for more ice cream.

• proclaim (verb): to declare loudly
  • pro + claim
  • The president of the university proclaimed March 21 to be a holiday in honor of the school's award winning faculty.

cogn, gnos

• cognizant (adjective): aware
  • cogniz + ant
  • The man was cognizant of the danger of walking through the park at night.

• diagnose (verb): to recognize (diseases) by symptoms
  • dia + gnose
  • The patient was diagnosed with Lyme's disease.

• agnostic (noun): o­ne who believes that any ultimate reality is unknowable
  • ag + gnost + ic
  • John is unsure of the reality of god and considers himself to be an agnostic.

• recognize (verb): to know, to identify
  • re + cogn + ize
  • I thought I recognized your face from somewhere.

corp

• corpse (noun): a dead body
  • corpse
  • A corpse was found floating in the river.

• corpulent (adjective): having a large body
  • corp + ul + ent
  • The corpulent politician jabbed a fat finger in the air.

• incorporate (verb): to unite into o­ne being
  • in + corp + or + ate
  • The artist incorporated paint, photographs, and fabric into her artwork.

• corporate (adjective): formed into a body or association, united in o­ne group
  • corp + or + ate
  • The corporate structure allowed many people to work as a group.

cre, cresc, cret

• crescent (noun, adjective): a narrow curved shape; a quarter moon or smaller
  • cresc + ent
  • The crescent moon could be glimpsed through the clouds.

• create (verb): to originate, to produce through imagination
  • cre + ate
  • The musician created a new musical arrangement.

• accretion (verb): growth by gradual addition
  • ac + cret + ion
  • The accretion of dirt o­n windows is sometimes hard to detect.

• increase (verb): to grow in size or amount
  • in + crease Alfonse wishes he could find a way to increase his salary.

cred

• credible (adjective): can be believed, reasonable
  • cred + ible
  • The witness gave a credible account of the accident.

• credulous (adjective): too ready to believe
  • cred + ul + ous
  • The credulous child believed the story about flying horses.

• incredible (adjective): unbelievable, amazing
  • in + cred + ible
  • Makiko said she just saw an incredible horror movie.

cour, cur, curr, curs

• excursion (noun): a trip
  • ex + curs + ion
  • The father planned an excursion to the zoo for his children.

• discourse (noun, verb): a conversation, to talk
  • dis + course
  • The discourse between the speaker and the audience was informal.

• courier (noun): a messenger
  • couri + er
  • The courier gave the message to the secretary.

• course (noun, verb): forward movement, movement from point to point; to run along a path
  • course
  • Blood courses through your veins with every beat of your heart.

• occur (verb): to happen, to come to mind
  • oc + cur
  • It just occurred to me that tomorrow is your birthday.

• current (adjective, noun): happening now, up to date; the movement of water
  • curr + ent
  • Is this information current or out of date?

dic, dict, dit

• dictionary (noun): a book of definitions
  • dict + ion + ary
  • Juliana looked up the word in the dictionary.

• condition (noun): the state of something or someone
  • con + dit + ion
  • Is your car in good condition?

• indicate (verb): to show, to point out
  • in + dic + ate
  • The gas gauge indicates that we are almost out of gas.

• dictate (verb): to speak for a person to record, to issue an order
  • dict + ate
  • The lawyer dictated the letter to her secretary.

• predict (verb): to say what will happen in the future
  • pre + dict
  • Joseph predicts that he will get married in ten years.

• addict (verb): to be devoted to something in an obsessive manner
  • ad + dict
  • Leslie is addicted to betting o­n the horse races.

doc, doct

• doctor (noun): a person who has received the highest degree a university offers, a physician
  • doct + or
  • Andre is going to medical school so that he can be a doctor like his mother.

• doctrine (noun): something that is taught, dogma
  • doctr + ine
  • We learned about the doctrine of "manifest destiny" in our American history class.

• docile (adjective): obedient, easily taught
  • doc + ile
  • Mrs. Galindez wants to buy a docile dog for her son.

• document (noun): an official paper
  • docu + ment
  • The library houses many government documents in its collection.

dog, dox

• orthodox (adjective): holding conventional beliefs
  • ortho + dox
  • I don't know if my interpretation of that book is orthodox or not.

• dogma (noun): an established opinion
  • dog + ma
  • Some people find the dogma associated with that organization disturbing.

• paradox (noun): a statement that seems to contradict itself but contains some truth
  • para + dox
  • The paradox of the matter is that I want to see the opera but I also want to stay home.

dec, dign

• decorate (verb): to make something look attractive or suitable
  • dec + or + ate
  • Linda decorated her apartment with paintings and plants.

• decent (adjective): conforming to standards, good, kind
  • dec + ent
  • This magazine contains a decent article o­n home improvement.

• dignity (noun): quality of being worthy, noble, honored
  • dign + ity
  • I haven't yet had the dignity and honor of being grand marshall of the parade.

duc, duct

• conduct (verb, noun): v. to lead or guide, n. a person's behavior
  • con + duct
  • Jared was conducted into the doctor's office by the nurse.
  • Arnelle's conduct was inexcusable and she should apologize to the class.

• educate (verb): to train, to provide schooling for
  • e + duc + ate
  • The school tries to educate its students to be productive members of society.

• induct (verb): to install in office or to enroll in military service
  • in + duct
  • Mindy was inducted into the army last month.

• deduct (verb): to subtract
  • de + duct
  • The salesperson deducted five dollars off the purchase price of the radio.

• deduce (verb): to make a decision or draw a conclusion by reasoning
  • de + duce
  • I deduced from the trail of crumbs and the empty milk carton that the children were home.

• produce (verb, noun): to bring forward, to make to bear or yield; something made or grown
  • pro + duce
  • The lawyer produced new evidence at the trial.
  • The produce from the farm will go to the market next week.

• seduce (verb): to persuade (especially into doing something wrong), to tempt
  • se + duce
  • Money and power have been known to seduce many honest people.

• induce (verb): to persuade, cause, or bring about by artificial means.
  • in + duce
  • If a child swallows poison, it is suggested that vomitting should be induced.

ev, et

• eternal (adjective): not effected by time, without beginning or end, ceaseless
  • etern + al
  • The lecture seemed eternal and many in the audience had fallen asleep.

• medieval (adjective): relating to the Middle Ages (500 - 1500 AD)
  • med + ieval
  • There are many styles to medieval architecture and a building built in 500 AD looks different from o­ne built in 1000 AD.

fict, feign, fain

• faint (adjective, verb): indistinct, not clearly perceived, weak; to lose consciousness from lack of blood to the brain
  • faint
  • There is a faint odor of apples in this room.
  • Some people faint at the sight of blood.

• feign (verb): to pretend
  • feign
  • The child feigned illness in an attempt to avoid the test.

• fiction (noun): something produce from imagination, an invented story
  • fict + ion
  • The excuse Marvin just gave for not doing his homework is pure fiction.

fig

• effigy (noun): a figure representing a disliked person.
  • e f + fig + y
  • The children made an effigy of their nasty neighbor.

• figure (noun): shape, pattern, drawing
  • fig + ure
  • The figure Louise drew o­n the paper looks nothing like an apple.

• figment (noun): a thing that does not exist, something made up
  • fig + ment
  • Ghosts and monsters are figments of an active imagination.

fac, fact, fec, fic, fas, fea

• fashion (noun, verb): the form of something, style; to give shape or form to
  • fash + ion
  • The current fashion is hair worn short.

• feasible (adjective): capable of being done
  • feas + ible
  • The engineer thought that building the bridge across the river was a feasible project.

• feature (noun, verb): the appearance or form of a person or object; to picture or portray
  • feat + ure
  • Lisette's best feature is her eyes.

• factory (noun): a place where things are made or built
  • fact + ory
  • There is a boat factory near the river.

• difficult (adjective): hard to do, troublesome, hard to understand
  • di + fic + ult
  • The test was difficult and I answered o­nly eight of the ten questions.

• fact (noun): something known to be true
  • fact
  • It's a fact that the world is round.

• effect (noun): a change caused by something, a result, influence
  • e + fect
  • The sun's effect o­n human skin is known to be harmful.

fer

• fertile (adjective): productive, bearing or capable of bearing fruit in large quantities
  • fert + ile
  • The land by the river is quite fertile and many crops are grown there.

• refer (verb): to classify within a general category, to send or direct to another source
  • re + fer
  • The patient was referred to a physical therapist for additional treatment.

• infer (verb): to come to a conclusion from facts or ideas, to guess
  • in + fer
  • Sometimes a reader has to infer from the facts presented in an article what the main idea is about.

fid

• diffident (adjective): hesitant in acting, shy
  • dif + fid + ent
  • The diffident student would not speak in front of the class.

• fidelity (noun): the quality of being faithful, accuracy
  • fid + el + ity
  • The fidelity of this video reproduction is quite good.

• confide (verb): to trust, to trust another person with a secret
  • con + fide
  • Joan confided in her friend and told her a secret.

flu, fluct, flux

• fluent (adjective): capable of moving with ease, able to speak another language
  • flu + ent
  • The dancer had a fluent body.
  • Juanita is fluent in several languages.

• superfluous (adjective): extra, more than is needed
  • super + flu + ous
  • Three cherries o­n my piece of cake is superfluous; I o­nly needed o­ne.

• influence (verb, noun): to have an effect o­n something; the ability to affect something indirectly
  • in + flu + ence
  • It was John's success as a musician that influenced my decision to take guitar lessons.

• fluid (adjective): capable of flowing, a smooth style, liquid
  • flu + id
  • The ink my new pen is quite fluid and flows evenly across the page.

• fluctuate (verb): to shift back and forth, to move erratically
  • fluctu + ate
  • My body temperature has been fluctuating all day -- sometimes I'm hot and sometimes I'm cold.

form

• format (noun): the shape and size of something, the arrangement of something
  • form + at
  • The format of this class will be half lecture and half class participation.

• formulate (verb): to prepare from a set of steps (formula), to devise
  • form + ul + ate
  • The chemist formulated a new way of making dish detergent.

fract, frag, frai

• fracture (verb, noun): to break, to crack; a broken bone
  • fract + ure Miguel fractured arm his while skiing.

• fragment (noun): a piece broken off, a part of something
  • frag + ment
  • It bothers me that I can remember o­nly a fragment of the poem rather than the whole piece.

• frail (adjective): easily broken, not strong
  • frail
  • Be careful! That chair is frail

gen, gin

• generally (adverb): in a general manner, usually, with regard to the whole not specifics
  • gen + er + al + ly
  • Generally, Lance leaves work at 5:00 p.m.

• gingerly (adverb, adjective): careful
  • gin + ger + ly
  • Paulette picked up the antique vase gingerly and placed it o­n the shelf.

• indigenous (adjective): native, having been born in a specific area or environment
  • in + di + gen + ous
  • The tomato plant is indigenous to South America.

ge

• geography (noun): a science that describes the earth's surface
  • geo + graph + y
  • The geography of New York varies from the sandy shores to rocky mountains.

gor

• categorize (verb): to place things in classes or sets, to classify
  • cate + gor + ize
  • The professor asked her students to categorize the plants they found.

grad, gress, gree

• grade (noun): a stage in a process, a mark indicating quality
  • grade
  • Ali hopes to receive a passing grade o­n his midterm exam.

• progress (verb, noun): to move forward; forward movement
  • pro + gress
  • Mina progressed to the next level in her French language program.
  • There hasn't been much progress made in getting the house built -- o­nly the frame is up.

• degree (noun): a step or stage in a process, a rank, a level of intensity
  • de + gree
  • There is a high degree of stress associated with being a police officer.

graph, graf

• graphic (adjective): written, drawn, vividly shown
  • graph + ic
  • Dominic is planning to study graphic art.

• graffitti (noun): drawings or writing o­n a wall
  • graph + itti
  • Many people find the graffitti o­n the subway trains disturbing.

her, hes

• adhere (verb): to stick
  • ad + here
  • Paper often adheres to wet surfaces.

• hesitate (verb): to hold back a decision, to waver
  • hesit + ate
  • Don't hesitate to call me if you need help.

jac, ject, jet

• adjacent (adjective): to lie next to
  • ad + jac + ent
  • You won't have a long walk between classes because the engineering building is adjacent to the chemistry laboratories.

• jettison (verb): to throw away, to cast off
  • jett + ison
  • The captain of the sinking ship jettisoned the cargo.

• reject (verb): to throw out, unwilling to accept
  • re + ject
  • David was rejected by two schools before he found a school that accepted him.

jug, junct, just

• adjust (verb): to change or adapt to fit or match something
  • ad + just
  • Jared has to adjust to his new work schedule.

• conjugal (adjective): of marriage, marital relationship
  • con + jug + al
  • One should think seriously before entering a conjugal relationship.

• junction (noun): the place at which two things join
  • junct + ion
  • Deborah's house is at the junction of Hill and Maple streets.