When the head of my department first gave me the assignment to teach a TOEFL class back in 2018, I was reluctant because I was sure that teaching a test prep course would be boring and less fulfilling than teaching fluency courses. But I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things.
First, the students tend to be much more motivated (naturally, because they have an important goal with a deadline in mind). And having highly motivated students in your classroom is a benefit that any...
When the head of my department first gave me the assignment to teach a TOEFL class back in 2018, I was reluctant because I was sure that teaching a test prep course would be boring and less fulfilling than teaching fluency courses. But I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things.
First, the students tend to be much more motivated (naturally, because they have an important goal with a deadline in mind). And having highly motivated students in your classroom is a benefit that any teacher can appreciate. It made me want to work harder to make sure the students had a good experience.
Second, the fact that I had a natural aptitude for the relevant skills surprised me. It's true that I'm a native English speaker, which is a huge advantage. But in addition to that, I have found that I have a knack for understanding the reasons why standardized test designers ask the kinds of questions they ask. This helps me to effectively coach my students in order to help them know what to expect on the exam and to manage their time carefully.
My students are often very appreciative of my efforts and very pleased with the results. I never ask them to, but they sometimes take a picture of the entrance to the university of their choice and send it to me as a way of letting me know that they got accepted.
Having taught in foreign language departments at the university level on three continents for more than eleven years has given me a clear understanding of how to design a lesson plan and deliver a class especially to young adults and working professionals. My experience providing TOEFL lessons (both in a university classroom and in a private tutoring context) has taught me what expectations test prep students have and what tools and dynamics work well to help them achieve their stated goals.
My degree in Linguistics and fluency in multiple languages provide me with some knowledge of the kinds of language challenges students are likely to have (especially Spanish, French, and Chinese speakers).
