<p>I took the TOEFL a few months ago without any studying and I got 25 on reading, writing and listening. Unfortunately, I got a 14 on the reading section. I couldn't answer many of the questions and I ran out of time for one passage. I have about a month to study and I'm gonna do anything that is possible. What can I do to increase my reading significantly? Also, I'm taking the SAT in a couple of months and I want to get at least 600 on the reading, so I really need to improve a lot in reading. Any advice? I really appreciate your help and thanks a lot.</p>
<p>The only way to improve your reading is to read a lot in English. It doesn’t matter what you read… read a lot, every day, preferably long form (novels, non fiction, essays… but books) although reading websites, blogs, and magazines can also help.
You should also learn some specific vocabulary (use Direct Hits for instance) and go through a basic prep book of your choice (Princeton Review, Barron’s, Kaplan…) Buy Official TOEFL Tests with Audio and practice, pacing yourself, keeping at least 3-4 days between each practice test to go over your errors.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 thanks a lot for your help. !!</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 just a quick question. Do you know any books and magazines that might be so helpful??
P. S. I love classic books.</p>
<p>The titles don’t matter. Read a lot, books you love.
Some classics many Americans (may) have read include: To kill a mockingbird, Romeo & Juliet, I know why the caged bird sings, A tale of two cities (or another novel by Dickens), A Separate Peace, Lord of the Flies… Others may suggest some more!</p>
<p>You can take a look at the CollegeBoard recommended reading book list:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.alevel-sz.com/Attachments/product/201404/college_board_recommended_books.pdf”>http://www.alevel-sz.com/Attachments/product/201404/college_board_recommended_books.pdf</a></p>
<p>@MYOS1634 @spincrus Thanks a lot. That was great help.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily recommend novels to prepare for the TOEFL. I remember TOEFL reading sections to be rather short, focused and dense, more like articles from a magazine or an introductory chapter in a textbook than fiction books.</p>
<p>While you prepare for the TOEFL, I’d recommend you stick to a diverse array of shorter readings, like magazines and newspapers. That would also introduce you to vocabulary from a much wider range of topics. It’s also important to learn how to read texts when you don’t know some of the key words. For example, you might get a text about F****** and G******, two words you don’t recognize. You can still do well and answer all of the questions without knowing what the text is about. Just keep track of everything you learn about the F-word, everything you learn about the G-word, and how the F-word and the G-word relate to each other. </p>
<p>@b@r!um yeah it’s true. I think in this case magazines will be so helpful. Thanks !</p>
<p>When you watch TV shows, just stop every time you hear a new word or idiom and find out what it means (in Friends, the Big Bang Theory etc etc). Reading and writing are both essential to improving your facility w/ the English language, but listening to the language and speaking are very important too. Oh well, that’s how I improved my French. :)</p>
<p>@International95 I second this ^^^^</p>
<p>Watching TV shows helps you significantly with being able to listen and speak a language, and it’s something you can enjoy in your free time too. One of the best English speakers I have ever met has never even lived in an English speaking country. He just told me that he would watch a lot of American movies, so now he practically sounds like a natural born speaker. </p>
<p>However, if you want to go hard core, listen to and read audiobooks. Write down words you don’t understand. This way you actually get to read and hear the language. Obviously, depending on what you are reading, you may not catch on to certain colloquialisms. But who doesn’t sound awesome using outdated 19th century vocab? Audiobooks did wonders for my Russian and Spanish.</p>
<p>While the above posts are useful in general, they don’t apply to the OP’s situation. A 14 on the reading section indicates a CEF B1 level at best, for instance. The advice in posts 9 and 10 are excellent for C1 level students working within that level.
For instance, I wouldn’t recommend comedies from a language-learning perspective. They’re good at A1-A2 (lots of visuals that give the impression of understanding, with little bits grasped) or C1 (implied meaning and jokes can be understood). Language use in dramas is less referential, there’s less implied meaning, and therefore it’s easier to acquire vocabulary and sentence structures from dramas (dramedies count too but sitcomes are especially difficult - you get the visual gags but linguistically you gain less.) Therefore it’s most useful at B1-B2 level and to a certain extent is quite useful at C1 too.
Also, 19th century vocabulary is NOT what a learner needs to focus on. TOEFL and SAT/ACT English is contemporary and fairly colloquial, even if there is a portion of literary texts and terms.
Audiobooks require one to have a minimum of CEF B2 and preferably C1 level before being attempted, that is, the ability to separate sounds into chunks of meaning, otherwise it’s just gibberish. For a reference point, being able to comprehend 3mn of native audio in a foreign language is roughly CDEFB2.</p>
<p>I recommend reading Time Magazine and the New Yorker if they are available to you. The New York Times is another good option.</p>
<p>Are you international student in the US?</p>
<p>I actually recommend SAT than Toefl simply because it’s cheaper than Toefl…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. All of the things that you have said are so helpful and have significantly helped me. Fortunately, I succeed to get a 25 on the reading in practice tests with the help of different resources.</p>
<p>@paul2752 yes I am an international in US. We have to take both :((</p>
<p>yes I am too. You DONT have to take both Toefl and SAT if your SAT reading is high enough, at least 640.
Or if you finished your high school with English language you can be waived too. I know this because I was a senior like you too.</p>