As I've pointed out in earlier articles, anyone preparing for the iBT has to be creative and flexible in studying vocabulary. Learning more vocabulary is one of the best things you can do to prepare for the TOEFL.
On the Internet-based TOEFL (iBT)--the version of the test most people take--vocabulary is important in two major ways:
1) You can't understand the reading and listening passages very well without a strong English vocabulary. Also, you can't express yourself precisely in the writing and speaking sections if you don't know the necessary words.
2) A strong vocabulary determines how well you can answer explicit vocabulary questions in the reading section of the test.
In our TOEFL Booster today, we will concentrate on those explicit vocabulary questions. They are extremely important. In the questions for any reading passage on the iBT, you will see at least three of them. That means they make up between 20 percent and 25 percent of all the reading questions.
Here is an example of the format for an iBT vocabulary question. In the reading passage, which is far shorter than an actual iBT reading, a word appears in bold type. That means a question relates to it. On the actual iBT such a target word would be shaded gray.
SAMPLE READING PASSAGE
Climate and weather are related, but they are most definitely not the same. Climate is defined as the general pattern of precipitation, temperature, wind, etc. that recurs in a region decade after decade, or even century after century. Weather, by contrast, consists of the short-term conditions observed during a particular day, or week, or month. Weather varies considerably. Climate, on the other hand, remains essentially stable over long periods, as observers will discover by computing averages from weather data. Climate change is possible, even inevitable, but it cannot be inferred from a small sample of weather data. Even if, as was observed in the 1990s and early 2000s, average global temperatures register notably higher for nearly every year during a 20-year period, climatologists cannot say for sure that a climatic shift is under way. It may be, and politicians may be well advised to act as if it were, but scientists would need data from a far longer period than 20 years to draw conclusions about climate.
An explicit vocabulary question about this reading passage would be, "The word shift in the passage is closest in meaning to." Then you would have four options to choose from, as in this sample:
SAMPLE QUESTION
The word shift is closest in meaning to
a. the time a person spends working
b. a slow change
c. a loose-fitting type of clothing
d. part of a vehicle
If you know a lot about the word shift, you can see that the question is tricky. Every option (a, b, c, and d) is a real meaning of shift. It can mean all of these. So, if that's true, how can you decide which answer is correct? Are they all correct?
No. Only one is. You have to decide by looking at the context in the reading passage. An explicit vocabulary question on the iBT always includes the phrase, "in the passage." In our reading sample, only answer "b" matches the context of the passage. Therefore, "b" is the correct answer.
This brings up an important question: "If I study new words, do I have to learn ALL the meanings of each word?" The realistic answer is no. That would be a huge task. Even very common words like bank and count have 10 or more often-used meanings. Many college students who are native speakers of English do not know every meaning of every word in their vocabulary. So how are you supposed to know what to study?
Actually, we should divide that question into two:
a) What vocabulary should I study?
b) How should I study this vocabulary?
The first question is best answered by using your logic. Of course, the iBT is meant to measure academic English. It will ask questions about academic vocabulary. So if you Google "Academic Word List (AWL)" and look at the words on this list, that's a good start. Also, look at good ESL reading/vocabulary books at the high-intermediate or advanced level. What words do they target? This gives you a good indication of which words are at the right level.
The second question is harder to answer because every test-taker is different. A method that works for your friend may not work for you. In general, however, it is better to study vocabulary by reading than by using lists with no context. After all, the iBT always asks about words in context, not words alone. Read, read, read! And as you read, notice how common academic words are used.
Of course, don't spend your time on very basic words of English. You probably know the most important meanings of them already, and the iBT is not going to ask about them. Also, don't waste your time on very technical words related to only a few fields of interest. The word "anhydrous" is important to chemists but not in general academic reading. Forget about it. The iBT will not ask about it. As we said, use word lists like the AWL to alert you to possible words. Notice these words in action as you read.
One last piece of advice about building your vocabulary: True vocabulary learning includes remembering. The best way to remember a vocabulary item is to see it in many readings, over and over again. However, you can't be sure this will happen. After you learn a word in context, take notes in whatever form works for you--a notebook, note cards, a computer database, whatever. But don't just write the word and its meaning. Record the context in which you saw it. Then put it into your own context. Use it in a paragraph. If you use it, you won't lose it.
In our next article, we'll look at the iBT's speaking section.
Zwier teaches at Michigan State University and has written extensively about the TOEFL.
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