Toeic tips

Do you have to take the TOEIC test? Or maybe you want to, to have a score to put on your CV.

TOEIC is not a great test in itself, but it's useful if you want to have a measure of your English that is recognised all around the world. And if you're taking English lessons in France using your CPF, you'll probably be taking the TOEIC.

I've been teaching the TOEIC for a long, long time and I have helped a lot of students get the best TOEIC score they can. Here are my top tips for you:

1. Timing: this is very important for the reading test. Aim to finish parts 5 and 6 (the grammar) in 30 minutes maximum. That leaves you 40 minutes to do the reading and 5 minutes to finish anything you couldn't the first time round. 
2. You could do part 7 (reading comprehension) first and then parts 5 and 6. Part 7 is really long and boring, and it's at the end of the test so it's difficult to keep focussed.
3. Learn sets of vocabulary. Choose a place or topic and think of all the vocabulary related to that place or topic. For example, in the office, airports, shopping, school, in the street, places to visit at the weekend, transport, clothing...

Here's a mindmap of vocabulary for dining out

4. Learn synonyms and antonyms. The TOEIC test is always trying to trick you. Make sure you know the opposites of words or words with similar meaning. For example: deposit - withdraw. Agenda = schedule. This link has a useful worksheet. 

5. Learn words that sound the same. For example, brake vs break. You can find more useful worksheets here and here. 

6. Listen to lots of English, especially short audio texts. The ads on the radio or on youtube are great practice. Choose an advert on youtube, and listen to it without watching to see if you can get the meaning. Then watch and see if you were correct.

7. Practise reading quickly and then trying to summarise the overall meaning of what you read. Then go back and try to guess 4 or 5 words that you don't know. You can check in the dictionary after that. You won't have a dictionary in the TOEIC exam so you need to be able to guess words you don't know. 

8. To do well in the grammar sections (parts 5 and 6) you need to know lots of details including tenses, prepositions, verb forms... When you learn a new word or you are revising vocabulary, make sure you know what preposition comes after it , or what verb form. 

9. Get a TOEIC book so you can practise at home. It's important to be familiar with the structure of the test so you don't waste time being confused on exam day.

10. More questions about TOEIC? Let me know!