 |
| Surfal Medemdemia, Kurubel Medemdemia, and Hirut Erge take a practice test in Blair's new TOEFL preparation class. |
By Quynh Nguyen
Blair is offering a new course to help students
prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam starting this
semester.
The TOEFL exam is a test that colleges use to measure
the English ability of non-native English-speaking students. This exam gives
students another chance
to get into a college that requires the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) if
they are not native English speakers and they don't do well on the English
part of the SAT. The test is mainly for non-native English-speaking students
who have been in the U.S. for 5 years or less and students who live in other
countries and want to come to the U.S. for college.
Other high schools in Montgomery County have had a TOEFL course for a few years.
Mr. Bill Donnelly teaches the course at Sherwood High School to juniors and
seniors in ESOL level 4 and 5. He stated that many students get various benefits
from
taking the TOEFL course. Mr. Donnelly, who is in his third year of teaching
the TOEFL course at Sherwood, said, "It gives the students a more advanced
exposure to English, as well as helps them with test-taking skills."
Another ESOL teacher, Mr. William Bolin from Wootton High School who used to
teach the course at Einstein High School said, "Offering this course provides
more information about each student's English proficiency and may assist
him or her in getting into college."
The teachers prepare the students
on the English grammar, reading comprehension, writing skills, listening
skills and give practice for the real test. "We
use several TOEFL books as well as give the students a lot of practice tests
to help them overcome their fear of the test as well as show them their strengths
and weaknesses," Mr. Donnelly said. "Everything is covered in
the TOEFL booklets which we get it in our career center."
The teacher who is teaching the TOEFL course at Blair is Ms. Tomesek an ESOL
teacher. "I hope that it will be a good prep for people who take the class.
They will know what to expect from the TOEFL test," Ms. Tomesek said.
Ms. Tomesek has major plans for the TOEFL class. "I want to cover the
main part on the test. Give them the overall expectations like practice on timing
and other test-taking skills." Ms. Tomesek believes that test-taking
strategies are helpful for anyone who takes any tests.
Another part of the course is helping students
sign up to take the test. Mr. Bolin said that at Einstein High School, students
needed to call the testing
center to make an appointment in order to take the TOEFL test. Online registration
is also a convenient way to make an appointment for the test. There is a
fee for this test. The test costs $130, but there are usually fee reductions
for
certain students. Students can get more information about this program from
their counselor and career center.
