TOEFL iBT Webinar: Writing

Dear all,
I’ve just attended a TOEFL iBT Teacher Webinar (web seminar) on the Writing Section offered by ETS. The presentation focused especially on the Integrated task and reviewed its main features as well as general strategies, classroom activities and useful resources that can help students improve their writing performance.

As you already know, the TOEFL Writing section includes:

1 Integrated Task in which you’ll have to synthesize the information from a reading passage and a lecture in a written response. Time: 20 minutes Length: (150 -225 words)

1 Independent Task in which you’ll have to express and support an opinion in the form of a written essay. Time: 30 minutes Length (250-300 words)

Each task is rated on a 0-5 scale. The average score is based on the two tasks and then converted to 0-30 scale.

You can find the recommended resources on our Class WIKI (link on the sidebar).

Next month we will be focusing on the Integrated Writing and we’ll discuss some strategies that can help you excel in this new task.

Enjoy the resources!

Independent Writing: Brainstorming

Today we went over the main steps of the writing process:

-Brainstorming: generating ideas
-Planning: organizing ideas
-Drafting: writing several versions of the essay
-Editing: Correcting mistakes in content, organization, grammar, vocabulary and mechanics(spelling, punctuation, capitalization)

This week we are going to brainstorm ideas on a new topic:

The Best Source of News
“Due to the development of new technology such as satellite communication and the Internet, we can get updates on the latest breaking stories as soon as they happen. However, some people argue that these sources mainly report unconnected events while newspapers or weekly magazines provide a deeper and contextualized analysis of the news, helping us understand what those events mean.”

What do you think? What is the best source of news (newspaper, cable TV, the Internet, magazines, the radio)?



Let's brainstorm the pros and cons of the different sources!

Need some help to get started? Listen to six people from different countries talk about where they get their news from.

Remember we are going to use your contributions to start working on the essay next week!

A New TOEFL Year

Welcome to TOEFL iBT Prep!

It’s a pleasure for me to meet a new group of TOEFLers ready to experience and go beyond the possibilities of the English language in an academic context. Each of you is an essential part of the learning puzzle we are going to build together throughout the year.

To learn more about the new TOEFL format, let’s take the TOEFL iBT Tour.

In order to know each other better, it would be nice if you could write a brief personal introduction as well as the goals you wish to achieve by taking this course or the reason why you want to take the TOEFL. Setting clear goals always helps us focus and reflect on our work and keep track of our progress.

I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you.

Carla

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

.......

Best wishes to all of you...

Time for reflection

BubbleShare: Share photos - Delicious Christmas Recipes.

We've come a long way dear TOEFLers! It's been an amazing year with lots of excitement, new experiences, some disappointments, puzzling situations, great ideas, ... learning, learning, learning 24/7!

I strongly believe the new TOEFL is a breakthrough in EFL/ESL assessment since it really focuses on the development of integrated communication skills and critical thinking, resembling real life academic situations. Therefore, a TOEFL prep course should foster authentic interaction, knowledge sharing and collaborative learning.

I've tried to find some images to help us reflect on our learning process. How would you describe the TOEFl iBT Prep courses (regular and blended)? As a puzzle, a building process, a bridge, a race against time?

What do you think? Can you find your own metaphors for the TOEFL iBT?

A Vision of Students Today

It seems I'm still under the effects of Rosario BlogDay. Clicking my way through Rosario's blogosphere, I came across some unique spots like Potlatch or BlogPuntoAikawa. Now I've found this compelling video by Mike Wesch, the author of the masterpiece The Machine is Us/ing Us. It relates to some of the topics we discuss in class such as the educational system, overcrowded classes at University, the relevance of the content we teach and learn, etc.

The opening quote reminded of the thesis statement of Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Doubtful about my status of digital citizenship, I decided to share this video with you. It was created with the collaboration of 200 students at Kansas State University. Maybe we have something to add to the discussion...

For further information you can visit: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=119

Meet the Blended TOEFL iBT class

Dear all,

I’d like to introduce you to the Blended TOEFL iBT Course students.

Since August, we’ve been sharing a new, innovative experience called Blended Learning, a combination of face-to-face and online learning. We meet at ARICANA every Saturday morning and work throughout the week on a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Moodle. They also have lab sessions and have done some of the same assignments you’ve worked on, but, most importantly, they share many of your goals, fears and dreams.

Together, we’ve faced the challenge of teaching and learning online, of becoming a community, of learning through the language and beyond it.

I’m sure you’ll have a lot to discuss and learn from each other.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Here comes Halloween!

Early Spring Musings

Is it all coming to an end? I wonder…
An amazing bunch, the TOEFL group fills up my life with challenging questions, compelling discussions and endless correction hours. As the end of the year approaches, some of you have to leave early to meet required deadlines and achieve your most cherished goals.
The TOEFL test is definitely not an end in itself, but a point of departure. Just like a crowded platform before a journey, filled with promises, hurried good-byes, a bit of anxiety and anticipation, it is a path to new beginnings.
After Vani’s farewell party , I have to confess I felt a bit sad, but before I could get too gloomy, it dawned on me that this space is a treasure box where some of those unique moments we spent together will be kept. And then I thought we can keep it rolling for new groups, new stories…
Why let this channel of communication dwindle when it can thrive and bloom with new voices?
What do you think? How do you feel about sharing this blog with another TOEFL group?

Mrs. Dalloway

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

If you want to find out more about Vanina's book, you can check out the following links:

. . Mrs._Dalloway . . . . . Virginia_Woolf . .

Class Project

What is the difference between a group of students and a community of learners?

"In a community of learners, teachers and students together construct a culture that values the strengths of all participants and respects their interests, abilities, languages, and dialects. Students and teachers shift among the roles of expert, researcher, learner, and teacher, supporting themselves and each other." Aída Walqui, West Ed, San Francisco, California

I think one of the strengths of our class is the possibility of learning form each other's knowledge and experience. Although this is exactly what we've been doing since the very first day, the aim of the present project is to create a collection of mini-lectures on specific academic topics related to your fields of study and close to your hearts. Topics that matter.

The start couldn't have been more powerful. Delivered with great clarity, passion and commitment, Maxi's presentation aroused great interest on a topic that is both too important and too painful to be forgotten.

Remember you can read a summary of his presentation on the wiki and you can also give your feedback or ask more questions there. Each presentation will then contribute to a kind of TOEFL iBT wikipedia we are building together.

I look forward to the rest of the presentations!