Today we’re covering:
- The *real* reason 26 is required on TOEFL iBT Speaking 🔥
- Pronouncing 5 “Must-Use” Words Correctly 🔥
- The New Way to Crush The Errors that Have Been Ruining Your TOEFL S/W Scores (Free Instant-watch Presentation)
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ In the Measurable Progress Review, you may see emojis, slang and super casual English. This is not the writing style I would use for one of my high-scoring essays for TOEFL iBT… but it is the way I would talk to a peer.
S26 and Healthcare Industry Requirements
Last week, while I was preparing a few slides for my free presentation (which I’m going to tell you about in a minute, further down), I was trolling through Google for supporting documentation…
And I found some super interesting documents from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
Are they super interesting? Some people will say I’m a nerd but I feel like they would (or should) matter to anyone who is in healthcare.
Did you know that these documents exist??? I’ve been tutoring TOEFL full time since 2011 and last week was literally the first time I ever saw them. Thank you, Google.
These documents are from 2009 and 2016 justifying WHY a Speaking score of 26 is required of healthcare professionals.
Why do they want you to score 26?
It’s not to punish you.
It’s not a conspiracy.
It literally has nothing to do with them not liking you or them not thinking that you’re good enough.
The score of 26 is 100% about maintaining patient safety and avoiding potentially life-threatening “dispensing errors.”
Don’t take my word for it! Here are the original reports and articles on their official websites:
- Nurses: Click here to read A Minimum English Proficiency Standard for TOEFL® iBT (August 2009) NCLEX Psychometric Research Brief
- Pharmacists: Click here to read Report on the Task Force for the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test Passing Standards (2016)
It’s interesting because maybe 1 day before I found those articles, I saw this post from the third or fourth student who I ever helped get Speaking 26… waaaaay back in like 2011 or something. She has been a full-time licensed pharmacist for years.
And she recently posted this on her Facebook wall…
My main reason for sharing her post is to question the widespread belief that I see repeated over and over in the online community of TOEFL iBT test-takers:
“The score is unfair.”
“26 is too high.”
“They don’t want foreigners to work here.”
What if the requirement of 26 isn’t some awful form of punishment that was dreamed up to destroy the life of every foreign-trained healthcare professional?
What if they’re not trying to devalue your degree?
What if they’re not saying you can’t do the job?
What if the score is simply a protection mechanism? For the patients and for you. 💖
If you see the point that I’m trying to make… now, let’s talk about how to develop automatic accuracy. 💪📈
How to Correctly Pronounce 5 "Must-Use" Words for TOEFL iBT
Pronunciation is one aspect of what makes your accent.
Yes, your accent impacts your TOEFL iBT Speaking score.
No, you don’t need to sound 100% fully “American.”
HOWEVER in order to get a TOEFL iBT Speaking score of 26, your listeners (also known as the small group of TOEFL iBT Raters / Graders who hear your Task 1, 2, 3 and 4) need to be able to understand you the first time you say something. Just like someone at work (a sick patient who feels terrible, for example) would need to be able to understand you the first time you say something.
So… when you get that score of 26, it indicates that your accent is clear.
If you have time, I’ll teach you the correct pronunciation for 5 sets of words that you absolutely cannot avoid in your TOEFL iBT responses (or at work for that matter)
Click below to access my free pronunciation lesson…
You can get a sense of what it’s like to study with me if you go through my free pronunciation lesson:
5 “Must Use” Words for TOEFL iBT Speaking.
You can get it by clicking the green button below. I’m super stoked about these new pronunciation videos. The last time I did this series, it was back in like 2012… and since then, my capacity as a teacher has grown SO MUCH.
I’m way better at teaching vowel sounds than I used to be so buckle up!
The 3 Secrets of Finishing with TOEFL iBT and Moving on with Your Career
It’s time to talk about the new way to crush the errors that have been ruining your TOEFL iBT Speaking and Writing scores. I know that sounds dramatic but seriously…
Everyone has their own unique combination of errors. If your previous tutors couldn’t tell you what yours were (or if they couldn’t tell you how to stop making the mistakes in the first place), you need to keep searching.
In this free, 75-minute presentation, you’ll find out information that that took me years, actual, literal, years to discover.
If you don’t feel like getting a PhD in TOEFL iBT, you should click the green button below and register. Even if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing right now, I’ll email you the link so you can come back later.