There are more than 50 colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area and over 140,000 students attend college or university in just the City of Boston each year. This has resulted in Boston being the top city in the nation per capita for college enrollment. So what's the one thing that all these schools have in common? They are all Anglophonic institutions. This means that the primary language of teaching is English. Anglophonic schools must ensure that their perspective students have a strong command of the English language as well as the skills and abilities necessary for participating in an Anglophonic classroom setting. This is why about 80% of those 50 plus schools in and around Boston require their international students to score a certain level on the TOEFL.
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is designed and distributed by ETS (Educational Testing Services). There are currently two major standardized forms of the test, the Paper Based-Test (PBT), and the Internet-Based Test (iBT). The PBT is still offered and accepted by many schools but as technology advances and Internet access becomes more and more far-reaching, more schools are opting to only accept iBT scores. The major difference between the two test forms, besides the physical form (paper vs. internet), is that the PBT had a reading, listening, writing and grammar section whereas the iBT has integrated the grammar section throughout all of the sections and removed the stand-alone grammar portion. In addition ETS has added a speaking component to the iBT. All of this has allowed for a better-rounded assessment of the test-taker's command of English. Also the format of the questions themselves and the time restrictions on those questions calls into play the skills and abilities necessary for participating in an Anglophonic classroom setting.
Like any standardized test, study and practice are a must for scoring well. But unlike other standardized tests, the TOEFL iBT is difficult to study and prepare for on one's own, and the information to be studied along with the skills to be practiced are quite different. Studying English is the best way to get started but you will also need to practice the test and all of its structures, intricacies and quirks. There are many books out there to help with this but nothing can replace the guided study and practice of a Test Preparatory Course. Test Prep-courses offer the best in advanced English guidance as well as the latest in teacher-guided practice exercises and drills, building those afore mentioned skills and aptitude, and also giving the students the strategies they will need to be efficient and effective test-takers that are not only prepared for the test itself but in a small way, for the experience of studying in an Anglophonic institution.
Boston Academy of English has stellar intensive and part-time English courses as well as an amazing eight-week intensive TOEFL Prep-Course that offers top-notch teaching combined with an interactive classroom setting and Internet-based test simulators. As an accredited language school, BAE has had the privilege of graduating students from our TOEFL Prep-Course who have gained acceptance at some of Boston's most prestigious colleges and universities for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Whether you want to prepare for your first TOEFL iBT or improve your current scores, Boston Academy of English is the right place to begin and succeed.
