TOEIC preparation

If you’re thinking of taking the TOEIC test, you’re probably nervous. Don’t worry — all of us are. But today, let us look past these initial anxieties and find out, what you can do to maximise your chances of achieving your personal best on the TOEIC!

1. Forget school!

If you were like most people in school, you didn’t do much preparation. That’s because most tests could be passed by simply inhaling everything the night before and keeping it inside just long enough to spit it back out the next day. And hey — no judgement here, that’s fair game. But now, we need to forget school. Learning a new language requires at the very least six months of focused work. And even then, we’re far away from mastering it. Don’t cheat yourself by procrastinating. Unlike school, you’re doing this for yourself. So: Practice regularly, and when you do, focus.

2. Don’t study long, study smart

As with all things, when it comes to studying, more is not automatically better. Whilst you should study every day, don’t do it for hours on end. About 20 minutes daily is enough. You should also assess your strengths and weaknesses from time to time and design a study plan in accordance with those. Focusing on shaky areas is crucial in building a solid foundation. 

3. Collect nuggets along the way

This is a great way of learning English. Try to consume media in English: read books in English, watch TV in English, even try keeping a journal in English. If you’re feeling especially motivated, you can summarise episodes of the show you just watched. Doing this, you’ll automatically pick up nuggets along the way without even studying. Pro tip: Write cards with words or phrases on them. Add synonyms and antonyms to the words. Connecting new input with knowledge you already have, allows you to memorise much quicker. If you’re often on the move, maybe try an app. A good place to start is fluentU. With their enormous collection of video content, it will make the English learning process that much more interesting.

4. Know your battlefield

Alexander, Caesar and now you: All great tacticians are always aware of their surroundings. That’s why you need to know as much as possible about the format of the TOEIC. Since the TOEIC test is essentially a race against the clock, being familiar with the tasks and what is asked of you is crucial. This will save you important time. The TOEIC’s 2-hour time limit leaves no time for dawdling, so once again, time management is key. There is not a lot of room for figuring out what the test wants you to do. 

5. Attend a Business English class run by a TOEIC experienced teacher

Frankly, this is by far your best option for succeeding. In a class, you will have a professional teacher, who knows exactly what you’ll have to do to pass the TOEIC. A good teacher will be prepared to give you all the information you need, walk you through mock-tests and always give you constructive criticism. At the end of the day, English is a language, and languages are dependent on humans communicating. That is exactly what you can expect from a TOEIC-focussed Business English class.