Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own.

These activities are based

on the tips presented in the Inside the TOEFL® Test videos.

1. Do an online search to find a list of common Greek and Latin roots, such as 60+ Greek
and Latin Prefixes Arranged by Meaning(opens new window). Pick 5 roots, and find the
definitions of at least 3 words that use each root.

2. Select an article such as "The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the Telegraph"(opens
new window) about Samuel Morse, and outline the main points using one of the
outline formats shown at the end of the Prose Summary/Fill in a Table video.

3. Using the Reading passages from TOEFL iBT Quick Prep Volume 2 (opens new window)
(pages 4-5 and 10-11), select a paragraph to read. As you read, make a list of what
information is important, and what is not as important. Have a partner do the same
thing separately, then compare your lists.

4. Using "The Heartbreak That May Have Inspired the Telegraph"(opens new window),
find all of the pronouns that aren’t "he" (since most of those obviously refer to Samuel
Morse), and determine what nouns they refer to. For example, in this excerpt, you can
find the pronoun "it" and determine that it refers to "the invention".

Soon, all types of news and messages were being tapped out across the country. The invention
transformed communication, business, and the idea of news. It sped up the world, cutting the
delivery of a message from Washington, D.C., to New Haven from four days to under four
seconds.

Resources
If you’re looking to practice more and would like additional reading materials that have some
similarities to TOEFL® Reading passages in tone and content, here are a few examples (the links
will take you outside of the course and the edX platform):

Articles about archaeology from Smithsonian Magazine:

 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeology/(opens new
window)

News articles about science and culture from National Geographic:

 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/(opens new window)

An Encyclopedia Britannica article about the history and techniques of mountain climbing:

 http://www.britannica.com/topic/mountaineering(opens new
window)

Also, check out these reading survival guides from a university in Australia:

 http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/274813
2/IE5-Reading-in-English.pdf(opens new window)

 http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/274814
3/TN3-Read-effectively.pdf
Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own. Most of these activities
are based on the tips presented in the Inside the TOEFL® Test videos (the links will take you
outside of the course and the edX platform).

1. Find a friend or study partner, and listen to a short audio clip, like this one about
butterflies(opens new window) from Smithsonian.com. When it’s finished, each of you should
write down as much as you can remember about what you heard. Then compare notes to see
who remembered more of the important points and supporting details.

2. Listen to a podcast that has several speakers, like those from the TED® Radio Hour(opens
new window). Ask yourself what each speaker is really trying to accomplish by saying certain
things. The speaker may be trying to do things like:

· Direct

· Recommend

· Complain

· Agree/Disagree

· Question

· Confirm

3. Listen to a recording of a classic story from English literature, like this excerpt from a
Sherlock Holmes mystery story(opens new window). Stop the recording at various points, and
try to summarize what has been said. Then try to predict what will be said next.

4. Find academic lectures in introductory online university courses, like the courses offered
by edX(opens new window). Listen to 3 or 4 lectures of increasing length, starting with topics
that you are familiar with, and building up to longer ones on topics that are not familiar to you.
Listen to them multiple times if you need to, and identify the main idea and the speaker’s
purpose for each.

5. Listen to a TOEFL Listening conversation or lecture

at http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/prepare/quick_prep/(opens new window). Try to predict what
kinds of questions will be asked, as well as what the answers to those questions will be. Are any
of the TOEFL questions the same or similar to your questions? What about the answers? The
more you practice predicting what questions will be asked, the better you will get at predicting
and the better you will get at listening for important information. This will help you improve
your confidence about taking the Listening section of the test, as you realize you know what to
expect, and what to listen for!
Resources

If you’re looking to practice more, you can use these resources to practice listening to the kinds
of materials that are similar to TOEFL® Listening passages. The links will take you outside of the
course and the edX platform.

Podcasts about technology, space exploration and other topics:

· http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510298/ted-radio-hour(opens new window)

· http://www.npr.org/podcasts/470937634/are-we-there-yet(opens new window)

Recorded programs and podcasts about news and culture:

· http://learningenglish.voanews.com/programindex.html(opens new window)

· https://www.englishclub.com/efl/category/podcasts/(opens new window)

· http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/news-report(opens new window)

Educational videos on a variety of academic topics:

· http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/
Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own.

1. Practice speaking in conversations using our spoken dialogue system on the next tab.
Each conversation is something you might encounter as a student. The system will use
speech recognition to listen to what you say and speak back to you.

2. Think for 20 seconds about what you did yesterday, then record yourself talking about
it for 45 seconds. Remember to use verbs in the past tense. You can do the same thing
to talk about what you will do tomorrow, using verbs in the future tense. Share your
response with other learners in the course by uploading your audio file to a global
video or audio sharing website such as Google Drive, SoundCloud, YouTube or YouKu,
then post the link in the Discussion Forum.(opens new window)

3. (opens new window) Collect pictures from magazines, newspapers or the Internet.
Look at each picture, and describe it in one minute. Try describing the same picture
more than once, using different adjectives and adding details.

4. Think about a problem that has more than one possible solution. Talk about which
solution you think is best. Make a recommendation on how a person should proceed
with handling the problem.

5. Find an online newspaper from an English-speaking university. Look for topics like
admissions, housing, student activities, registering for classes, school-improvement
plans, sports, and more. Then choose an article to discuss with a speaking partner or
study group.

6. Find listening and reading material that are both about the same topic. The material
can contain similar or different views. Then prepare an outline for a one-minute talk
that includes your opinion, two points to support your opinion, and one detail or
reason to support each point.

7. Read a short news article, and record yourself summarizing it. Then create a transcript
of the recording by writing down exactly what you said. Review the transcript, and
think of other ways of saying the same thing.

8. Find textbooks in English that include study questions at the end of each chapter, and
practice answering the questions out loud. Start with subjects you’re familiar with,
then move on to less familiar subjects.
Resources

Here is a list of additional speaking resources. These resources offer information about spoken
English and ways for you to practice speaking in English. The links will take you outside of the
course and the edX platform.

Find a conversation partner for free, and chat using your preferred software (such as Skype ®,
WeChat® or Google® Hangouts):

· http://www.conversationexchange.com/(opens new window)

Practice your English and receive feedback from a community of speakers:

· https://www.reddit.com/r/JudgeMyAccent/(opens new window): Here you can post

sound files of yourself speaking in English. Other users can listen to the sound files and provide
feedback on your pronunciation and intonation. You can also comment on their speech.

Read about the features of spoken English:

· http://www.uefap.com/speaking/feature/complex.htm(opens new window)

· http://britishenglishcoach.com/5-things-you-should-know-about-spoken-english/(opens
new window)

Work on your pronunciation:

· http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation(opens new
window)

· http://www.dictionary.com/(opens new window) or translate.google.com(opens new

window): Access an online dictionary or translator that gives you the option to hear a speaker
pronounce the words you look up. After you look up a word or phrase and listen to the
pronunciation, you can then try to pronounce it just like the speaker.

Focus on the intonation patterns of native English speakers, as well as on their pronunciation of
words, by listening to conversations at normal or slow speed:

· http://esl.culips.com/(opens new window)

Work on building your speaking confidence:

· https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicSpeaking/(opens new window): Here you can read tips

for public speaking that are posted by users, including how to build confidence for speaking in
front of a group. You can also post questions and receive answers, or comment on the
questions of others.
Pick two of the following activities and complete them on your own.

1. Keep a vocabulary journal that includes synonyms of useful words. Type in a word
at www.thesaurus.com(opens new window) to find synonyms and explore how words
with similar meanings relate to one another. Share a few new words and their
synonyms with your fellow learners in the Discussion Forum.(opens new window)

2. Find a short news article from a news website like cnn.com, bbc.com, or reuters.com.
Practice paraphrasing by rewriting the article in your own words.

3. Find a recorded lecture from an online course website, such as edx.org. Listen to the
lecture and write down what the main points are. This is a great activity to do with a
study partner, because you can both do it separately and compare notes.

4. Read two articles on the same topic, and write a summary of each. Then explain the
ways in which they are similar and the ways in which they are different.

5. Find an essay in a news magazine or on a website that expresses an opinion. Read it

and write about why you agree or disagree. Give yourself 30 minutes to plan, write,
and revise the essay.
Resources

Here is a list of additional writing resources. These resources offer information about written
English and ways for you to practice writing in English.

Explore these online handbooks and other resources on academic writing from universities in
the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia. The links will take you outside of the course and the
edX platform.

· https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/process.html(opens new window)

· http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/resources(opens new window)

· http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice(opens new window)

· http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html(opens new window)

· https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter/resourcesforwriters(open
s new window)

· http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc/resources/writing-support/445(opens new window)

· http://www.une.edu.au/current-students/resources/academic-skills/fact-sheets(opens
new window) (Look at the fact sheets on writing and paragraph types.)

· http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources(opens new
window)

· https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/(opens new window)

· https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/678/01/(opens new window)

· https://kb.myport.ac.uk/Article/Index/12/4?relparticId=1091&relpname=Academic
%20writing%20support&id=2072(opens new window)

Read short essays, then look for the questions at the end of each essay. Write responses to the
questions. Try to incorporate some of the key words that were used in the essays in your
responses:

· http://blogs.voanews.com/confessions/(opens new window)

Read short lessons, then apply what you learned by writing responses to a wide variety of
tasks:

· https://www.englishclub.com/efl/category/writing-prompts/