Sometimes it's really great to change your routine even for a brief break. Usually on Fridays I teach 2 courses from 8:30am until 14:30pm - TOEFL & IELTS - and have been doing this for a year now with ongoing courses, each course is 10 lessons.
Today is between courses - the next one starting next week - and so I've just been taking it nice and easy. We went down to the beach and had a coffee me, Orit, Rhona & Dekel. It's a gorgeous day weather-wise.
Let's talk about teaching classes for the TOEFL & IELTS exams.
TOEFL 1
There is loads of stuff on the web and I try to put links to useful sites here on my blog. When I start a course I tell the group that they've got to leave their brains outside the door, it's not an IQ test, no previous knowledge is neither necessary nor relevant for this exam. Everyone who takes this exam has a specific reason for doing so - visa, work, studies etc. It's all about techniques, method and attitude.
Vocabulary is a key but most of all you must understand the concept of what it is the exam is testing you for. Each section is a test of that skill and it's that skill of using the language that you have to highlight as best you can.
Trust yourself. Confidence and instinct are critical and are skills that can be both learned and honed.
As I add posts I will be suggesting tips which are never foolproof but could help as guidelines to focus on what is really important to get the required score for your own specific need.