TOEIC TEST

The test

The Test Of English for International Communication is an English proficiency test that evaluates the ability of foreigners to communicate in English, especially in a corporate environment.

It has a Listening and Reading part and, if students want, they can separately take the writing and speaking parts too.

The candidates receive independent scores for the listening and reading parts in a scale of 5 to 495 points. The total score of the test will be from 10 to 990 points. There are five Toiec certificate colors, according to the scores:

· orange (10 - 215 points)

· brown(220 - 465 points)

·The Listening and Reading part is a multiple-choice test that lasts two hours and consists of 200 questions divided in listening comprehension and reading comprehension. It is a pen and pencil (or nowadays computer based), multiple-choice test with two timed sections of 100 questions each.

In the Listening part the students listen to a variety of questions and short recorded conversations in English and then, answer the questions based on what they’ve heard (100 items total).

· Parte 1: Pictures

· Parte 2: Questions & Answers

· Parte 3: Conversations

· Parte 4: Small talk

In the Reading part, students read a variety of materials and answer in their own rhythm (100 items total)

· Parte 5: Incomplete sentences

· Part 6: Error Recognition or Text Completion

· Parte 7: Text comprehension

The Written and Speaking test was introduced in 2006. Students receive separate scores for each of the two tests or they can also take the speaking test without taking the written one. The speaking test evaluates pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and fluency, while the written test examines vocabulary, grammar as well as coherence and organization. The tests are designed to reflect the real use of English in the workplace, although they do not demand any specialized business knowledge. The speaking test takes approximately 20 minutes to be concluded, and the written tests lasts approximately 60 minutes. Each one has a score range of 0-200, with students grouped in 8 levels of proficiency.

The speaking part

· Content: 11 questions

· Time: Approximately 20 minutes

· Score: 0 – 200

The writing part

· Content: 8 questions

· Time: approximately 60 minutes

· Score: 0–200

ü 5 tips to have a good score in the TOEIC test

1. In the Listening part, if your mind drifts off, and you think about something else, even if for a second, that will be enough to make you lose precious points, once you will miss information that can lead to the answer you need.

2. When you practice with simulations at home make sure the environment conditions are exactly the same as if you were taking the real test: no pauses, no background noise, no music, no snacks and with the ssame exact timing.

3. After taking the simulations, grab the key and correct the test, making sure you understand why you made the mistakes you made. This is where a teacher is crucial to help you and guide you when it comes to grammar, structure, organization and coherence. But the more simulations you take, the better prepared you will definitely be.

4. Avoid translation, at all costs. Simply because translating everything you read or hear, in your head, into your native language will delay your comprehension and take up precious time. Use only English-English dictionaries, watch a lot of TV series and movies without subtitles (or with subtitles in English), have lists of vocabulary only in English and practice by spotting and using chunks.

5. Learn how to manage time in each section and what parts are more difficult to you, which ones you should move on and come back later, or the ones you may end up getting right if you just stick with them for a little time. Again, this might require the help of a qualified teacher to hep you see where you can thrive and where you need to let go.

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