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How AI Transforms TOEFL Prep: Smarter Strategies for Success

When preparing for high-stakes exams, students often feel anxious and look for ways to ease their nerves, usually by practicing as many test questions as possible. To keep up with their need for more practice, they frequently turn to their teachers, expecting a steady supply of new materials. However, constantly creating or sourcing additional test items is not always easy. It requires significant time and effort, adding to an already demanding workload.

While teachers understand the importance of practice, balancing this expectation with their other responsibilities can be a real challenge. Fortunately, artificial intelligence tools can offer valuable support by helping teachers generate extra practice materials and provide targeted feedback. In this article, we will explore how AI can assist in developing Academic English receptive skills to help students prepare effectively for the TOEFL iBT® test.

Finding academic texts for TOEFL Reading practice: where to look?

As we all know, the Reading section of the TOEFL requires students to read two academic passages and answer 10 multiple-choice questions. To help with preparation, TOEFL® TestReady™, the official ETS preparation portal, provides students with the opportunity to practice through both full-length mock tests and targeted section practice. These resources offer detailed feedback on both correct and incorrect answers, helping students understand their mistakes and improve while also reinforcing what they did right. For those who need even more practice, additional Section Practice and Focused Practice materials are available for purchase across all test sections, including Reading and Listening.

But what if students ask their teachers for even more reading practice? Here’s how, for example, ChatGPT can help you support them:

  • Simulating Passages: AI can generate reading passages on a variety of academic topics.
  • Feedback on Answers: ChatGPT can create comprehension questions for practice and provide feedback, explaining why an answer is correct or incorrect.
  • Vocabulary Analysis: It can explain the meaning of difficult or context-specific words.

Let’s take the first two examples: while many academic texts can be found online, TOEFL reading passages are specifically designed as excerpts from university-level textbooks that introduce a topic without requiring any prior knowledge. This is a crucial aspect, yet with random online texts, teachers can never be entirely sure that this condition is met. However, by using ChatGPT with a well-crafted prompt, this issue can be eliminated. Additionally, teachers can personalize the experience by asking students about their interests and having AI generate passages on topics they might enjoy, find relevant to their coursework, or even consider challenging – helping them build familiarity with complex subjects. In short, teachers can maintain control over key factors: the topic, the requirement that no prior knowledge is needed, and the overall similarity of both the text and questions to actual TOEFL test tasks. A well-designed prompt can be simple yet highly effective. For example:

Generate a TOEFL-style reading passage on [topic], written at a university level. The passage should introduce the topic clearly without requiring prior knowledge. It should be approximately 700 words long and structured like an excerpt from a textbook. Then, create ten multiple-choice comprehension questions, each with four answer choice.

This prompt ensures that the generated passage aligns with TOEFL standards while allowing teachers to customize the topic based on students' interests or learning needs. Teachers can also specify the types of questions they want students to practice, ensuring targeted skill development.

What about using AI to improve TOEFL Listening Skills?

When it comes to training for Listening, students may have a variety of needs, ranging from accent training to additional practice with relevant audio tracks and comprehension questions, as well as improving their note-taking skills. In addition to the free and paid materials available on TOEFL TestReady, a few AI-powered tools can help meet these needs. Some of these tools operate on a freemium model, meaning they offer basic features for free while requiring a subscription or a one-time purchase to access premium content or enhanced services.

- Allows students to listen to American, British, Australian, and New Zealander accents, which appear in the TOEFL.

- Helps develop accent recognition and improves listening comprehension of different English varieties.

  • Twee – Level-Based Question Creation

- Generates custom listening comprehension questions based on difficulty levels.

- Helps students focus on main ideas, details, and inference skills, similar to TOEFL-style questions.

  • Otter.ai – Transcription for Note-Taking Practice

- Converts audio lectures and conversations into text, helping students check their notes for accuracy.

- Allows students to compare their notes with AI transcripts to improve listening and summarization skills.

Can AI Be a Game-Changer for Educators?

When used wisely, AI can be a powerful tool for educators, helping them support their students in a smart and efficient way. From generating TOEFL-style reading passages to providing targeted listening practice, AI can save time while offering personalized and engaging learning experiences. However, the key to making AI truly effective lies in how it is used. Teachers must maintain control over the tool, guiding its use to ensure that the materials it generates are accurate, relevant, and aligned with learning objectives. With the right balance of human oversight and technological support, AI can become an invaluable asset in preparing students for high-stakes exams like the TOEFL iBT.