ELTPR019: Candidate Briefing for TOEIC Reading

English Language Test Prep Ep19

English Language Test Prep Radio: Episode 19

Episode Webpage: https://englishlanguagetestprep.com/eltpr19

English Language Test Prep Radio: Episode 19

Get Your Candidate Brieng for TOEIC Reading

Hello.

I’m Professor Winn, a certied English instructor for more than 12 years.

I’m the host of English Language Test Preparation Radio and author of the blog – the blog dedicated to strengthening both your English and test skills so you’re ready for the big exam day.

Are you planning to take the TOEIC Reading test?

englishlanguagetestprep.com

You and I are going to review essential TOEIC Reading skills and three example questions.

You’re going to learn how you can score high by outsmarting the TOEIC test makers.

For more TOEIC Listening and Reading tips, please join my email blog with lessons to boost both your exam and English skills at:

http://bit.ly/toeiclrblogs

First, if you haven’t please subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen on Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify, or Tune In.

You can nd links to all these venues on my podcast homepage:

. https://englishlanguagetestprep.com/podcast

Now let’s help you to score higher on the TOEIC Reading exam.

The TOEIC Reading test is divided into three parts:

1. Incomplete Sentences

2. Text Completion

3. Reading Comprehension

First, for about 40 , a word or phrase is missing and you have to select the best answer among four (4) answer choices.

Incomplete Sentences

These are questions that test your grammar and vocabulary.

Second, for the questions, again you have to choose among four (4) answers. Text Completion

You could see, for example, emails, recipes, shipping bills, or menus, to ll in the missing text.

These questions are related to one document and your ability to understand context is essential.

Finally, Reading Comprehension.

You answer questions with four (4) possible answers about the main ideas from the reading passages.

Be careful here – you could be presented two passages to read and to answer questions, the so-called double passage tasks.

Now, let’s turn to these six (6) essential TOEIC Reading skills.

I’ve prepared a special YouTube playlist to get you started at:

https://bit.ly/toeicread

The rst of three (3) skills are: skimming, scanning, and chunking.

These are more needed for Part 7 - Reading Comprehension.

First -

You skim a text to discover the main idea of a text.

For example, are you reading a menu, recipe, email?

And what is the menu about – dinner or lunch?

Is the recipe for a cake, casserole, or cannoli?

Is the email about nancial matters, a complaint, or from a friend?

Second –

Scan. Find specic details in your document when you scan.

Read the question on the test and then scan the passage for the key information.

Third

– Chunking. Increase your reading speed for success on the TOEIC Reading test.

Chunking is grouping your text into logical units to aid your comprehension.

Read faster and learn faster what you read? Yes – exactly!

See the video in the TOEIC Reading Playlist at for more. https://bit.ly/toeicread

Other Three Skills

The other three (3) skills are: time management, vocabulary, and reading uency.

First - Time Management is essential for TOEIC success.

If there is one comment I get from TOEIC students who have taken the test once, it is the lack of time to complete the whole test.

If you don’t have time to complete the test, you can’t get the maximum number of points.

That’s why it’s very important for you to practice the TOEIC exam under real test time conditions during your preparation.

You have 75 minutes to answer 100 questions for TOEIC Reading.

Make sure you can complete the test within that allotted time.

Second - Vocabulary

The Incomplete Sentences and Text Completion sections are all about your vocabulary.

For the TOEIC, you need a broad base of vocabulary including but not totally about business-related concepts.

The best way to enrich your word power is - to read!

Read during your TOEIC test preparation.

Read outside your comfort zone. If you’re in business, read about travel, entertainment, or food.

Read every day. Establish a solid reading habit right now. This helps you for the TOEIC, but also for your life in general.

If you don’t have a lot of time to prepare for the TOEIC Reading exam, study vocabulary in lists attached to topics.

Research shows students who study, say, vocabulary by subject – like the environment, travel, technology, etc. are better able to remember these terms.

That’s how I organize my own e-Text – at 303VocabularyWordsYouNeed

http://bit.ly/303vocab

30 chapters with 10 words each arranged by topics.

Third- Reading Fluency

Reading uency is a combination of vocabulary, comprehension, and speedy reading.

This is why a reading habit is so important.

The more you read, the better your reading experience on the exam.

So, if you’re going to take a reading test – isn’t it logical that you should become a good reader, right?

3 Examples – Example 1

Now, let’s turn to examples of test questions from Parts 5, 6, and 7 of the TOEIC Reading exam.

You and I are going to answer – well you mostly! – some TOEIC Reading test examples questions.

First – download the document I’ve prepare for us at https://bit.ly/toeicreading1

You’ll notice questions from each of the three reading sections.

Let’s begin with Example One - the Incomplete Text question about France on the rst page.

You see the four answer choices. Clearly a vocabulary question.

The question reads:

InFrance,______educationstartswithrstgradeofelementaryschool.

You need an adjective to describe .education

Plus, this phrase is a collocation.

Read the sentence without the word. Read the answer choices.

Which seems totally wrong? Eliminate that answer choice.

Think of the collocation in English with “education.”

Now…I’ll give you a few seconds to provide your answer. [5 seconds]

So, what’s your answer?

Did you choose letter A – “compulsory?”

Compulsory education is a collocation, too.

Compulsory means of course in this case – required.

See now why a good vocabulary is your friend on the TOEIC exam?

Example 2

Look at the document below in the Text Completion section.

Quickly – what do you think you see? An email, right?

Now, that’s a good start.

And you have two lines from the text that you need to complete.

For #1, the question reads:

Iwishtocancelmy(1)toInternationalTravelmagazineeectiveimmediately.

Your vocabulary skills are tested here.

What are the clues in the sentence?

Well…cancel – the main verb. Magazine.

So ask: what do we cancel with magazines?

And also ask: what form of the word do I need to t this blank?

Adjective? Adverb? Noun? Verb?

A noun – right?

That eliminated answer (D) – to subscribe – a verb.

And letter (A) – subscribe – that doesn’t t either. There is no “subscribe.”

So, that leaves either (B) or (C).

Since we cancel subscriptions – another collocation I might add – the answer is (C) – subscription – the noun and only logical answer.

Now, Question 2.

Ireluctantlymust(2)readingsuchawonderfulmagazinebecauseIlostmyjob.

Watch out here – “must” is a modal verb.

Your grammar skills come in here.

So – what’s your answer? I’ll give you a few seconds [5 second pause]

Remember with modals, the following verb must not have the innitive “to” attached.

That eliminates answer choices (A) and (D).

That’s ½ of the answers gone! Your job is much simpler now.

Stoporprohibit?

Well, “prohibit” can mean “to stop” but say to yourself – “I reluctantly must reading…” prohibit

Doesn’t sound quite right, does it?

“I reluctantly must reading…” stop

Bingo! Stop reading – that’s the answer

So if you chose letter (B) you’re correct! Congratulations!

Example 3

Now, let’s move on to page two of your downloaded document.

The last question type – Reading Comprehension.

First thing – what do you see?

A menu? Recipe? Email? Memo?

Well, it appears to be a memo or some type of sales literature from an IT company to a customer who is a business.

There are two questions to answer – the rst about reading comprehension and the second about vocabulary in context.

See – yet another reason to start a reading habit during your TOEIC preparation.

To answer a reading comprehension question, you need to understand the whole passage.

Look at the capitalized NOT word in the question.

When I see a question like this, I look for the choices that DO answer the question.

When you nd a choice that does NOT answer the question, you’re done.

So, of the four choices, which three (3) are advantages.

You need to be able to nd a paraphrase for the word “advantage.”

How would you paraphrase ? The word “benet” is used in the passage – bingo! advantage

Now, scan the document for the word “benet” or other words that could be the paragraph of . advantage

Pay particular attention to the rst sentence in each paragraph – which should be the – the main idea.

topic sentence

Careful – don’t read too quickly so that you might miss any understanding of the passage.

There is a slight of hand here in the passage. So take a few seconds to scan – not read – scan the passage and let me know what you believe is the answer.

You might want to pause the recording and start again to hear the answer.

1 – 2 – 3

So, what is your answer?

Did you guess letter (C)?

The second sentence in the second paragraph directly contradicts Letter C answer:

Thereshouldbesomecondentialinformationinyourbusinessrecordswhichyouwouldnotliketoshare withanyone.

This is not an advantage – A, B, and D are benets of IT service.

Now…question #2 – vocabulary in context

Find line #2 in the paragraph and the word “condential.”

How is “condential” used in this sentence?

You may want to read the sentence before this word and the sentence after this word to be more secure in your answer.

So, what’s your answer? I’ll give you 5 seconds.

[5 seconds]

The closest word would be “restricted” – answer A – among the choices.

Conclusion

Wow – there you are: we’ve covered 6 TOEIC reading skills and covered examples from each three (3) test sections.

Are you reading steadily now?

Building your vocabulary?

Practicing the TOEIC reading questions?

Let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a message:

@englishlanguagetestprep

I look forward to seeing your message

Thanks for being with me today to be better prepared for the TOEIC test.

https://bit.ly/eltpr019

Please visit to get the transcript for this podcast episode for all of links mentioned as well as the presentation.

Please tell your friends about this podcast so they can boost their exam scores as well.

BTW – I have an ask for you – can you let me know how much you enjoy the podcast and what test topics you’d like to know more about?

I would appreciate it – just visit https://bit.ly/epodsurvey - for a short survey.

Thanks.

I’m Professor Winn.

Good luck on the TOEIC Reading exam!

Prepare for TOEFL, IELTS, or TOEIC Excellence –

Subscribe to exam email blog full of tips and resources: your

https://englishlanguagetestprep.com/10