Campuses in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will soon see TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) vans visiting them to serve as one-stop shop for test information that students planning to study abroad look for.
The ‘TOEFL vans’ is a new concept launched by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which conducts the test, to provide students with useful information about the TOEFL test including videos, tools and free resources to help students understand the test better. The vans will visit the colleges from August 1 to September 30 and over the nine weeks they are expected to cover nearly 100 institutions in South India.
Two TOEFL experts at the van will provide information about study abroad, the TOEFL test and registration. Another unique feature for the van would be a GPS-tracking device attached to the TOEFL van that will support students spot the van in their city and provide updates on van movement.
“We believe TOEFL van is a brilliant initiative and students will gain a much better understanding on their plans to study abroad and perform better at a TOEFL test,” said Vice President and COO Global Education Division- Mr David Payne. However, students cannot register for the TOEFL in the van.
The ETS has also introduced TOEFL Massive Open Online Courses and they are a great resource for Indian students to prepare for the test. “It provides general information about the sections of the test and the skills we test,” Mr. Payne said. It is developed by edX, an online learning destination founded by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He said a new test preparation course has been designed - The Insider’s Guide – which is a six-week course that started in June second week. “Each week will focus on different aspects of the test. There will be a general introduction in week one, followed by a week for each of the four skills tested - Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing - then concluding in week six with test-day information and other helpful tips. Students who register can expect a mix of short lectures, videos for each question type and sample questions from past tests complete with answer explanations. Participants will also get to meet and share information with other students from around the world through discussion boards. India figures in the top five countries of TOEFL test takers and majority of these apparently hail from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The numbers can be gauged from the fact that Indians are the second largest ethnic community on the US campuses after China and the number has been growing over the years constantly.
