Online TOEFL Course
Many international students hear the different patterns, intonations, and the beats of American English through music, sitcoms, radio, or news events. They may not realize it, but they are hearing songs about love, characters bickering about dinner reservations, or radio announcers explaining points about the presidential election. The day that a person decides to learn American English is the day that they stop hearing, and they begin to listen.
Listening is a developed skill for native and non-native speakers of English. Proper pronunciation is but one of the many skills needed to begin speaking English. Listening for rhetorical cues, focus words, and pausing become ways in which a student can start to decipher among the many sounds of American English. There is an Online TOEFL Course called “The 7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT” that dedicates one step to listening: Step 4. Students taking the TOEFL iBT may think that they do not lack listening skills, but with each new endeavor, one can never do enough listening.
There is definitely a difference between listening to learn the sounds of American English and listening for the TOEFL iBT. Listening for the patterns of different accents of regions in the United States can be found in news shows, sitcoms about urban and rural life, or in the different types of music, and they are very helpful in terms of understanding or gathering clues to understand. In “The 7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT” Michael, the founder owner and materials writer, does suggest television, music, and the radio to improve listening skills in lessons like Lesson 3: National Public Radio and Lesson 15: Have Fun While You Listen. However, Michael also understands that the transition into academic listening must be made. That key point is what makes Michael’s 7-Step System unique. He focuses his listening tasks, lectures, and tests on academic material.
Students in his system like Falguni and Doom listen to academic lectures that span fields of study like Geography, Business, Marketing, History, and Biology. This is where students like Falguni and Doom work through academic listening lessons like Lesson 14: Discerning Transitions from Main Ideas that give them the steps needed to make the transition from novice listener of popular culture to a well-prepared listener of academic vocabulary and subjects. Along with the 40 listening practice test, 15 hours of video instruction, and personal grading, each student is directed to other lessons and tasks found in “the 7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT” that help them blend their new found listening skills with writing.
Listening skills will always be one part of learning American English and transitioning into academic culture. Step 4 is only one step of 7, and, if you want to have a structured and guided approach to the TOEFL iBT, Michael’s “7-Step System to Pass the TOEFL iBT” will do wonders, not only for your academic listening skills, but also for your speaking, reading, and writing abilities.
Online TOEFL Course