Reading Comprehension

This cohort comprised some missing aspects of Part B related to grammar structures, and Part C focused on reading comprehension strategies and tips. Since it was the end of the semester, it was the time in which the real TOEFL exam took place. All previously mentioned is described in detail as follows:

Partners’ presentations: At the beginning of the term my partners and I got the chance to be the main teachers in the classroom and to either present or clarify a certain grammatical structure that most of us were familiar with. The point is that there is something new to learn, although we may have learned these topics before, we did not know some of the rules and exceptions when it came to specific words or phrases.

I think it was quite helpful to have taken a look to these structures. It somehow made our English improve. Besides, the fact of putting into practice what was said through exercises became the acquisition of the language in use more understandable and the got the chance to learn from mistakes through immediate feedback for our partners. I really enjoyed this activity!

Teacher’s presentations: Clauses, clauses, clauses! I consider it was the hardest time in this term, I did not understand many things; I think it had to do with the fact of being awake at the crack of dawn so I just wanted to sleep and no more, for me everything was so confusing. Suddenly, I heard such a magic words and I immediately caught up with my partners: “If it has a subject and a verb that is a clause, that’s it”. It was like a divine spirit taking control of everything around, I just couldn’t imagine being able to deal with this, but guess what, at the end I did do it!

In addition to noun clauses, it becomes necessary to express the exceptions with certain adjectives and verbs of importance. If I hadn’t studied them before the quiz about these presentations, I would have missed the items in the quiz concerning this section. I knew I had to learn them by heart and it was not such a big deal since they were not many of them, and some of them were related to each other.

Reading strategies: To start with this section we were asked to read some paragraphs and identify the main topic or idea in each of them. I realized that if I had done this activity at home, the results would have been better; I had forgotten to do that assignment so I had to do it in class, as a consequence I misunderstood some pieces of reading and I chose wrong options.

In terms of the second assignment I had to say that I did do it previously; I was sure about what I had done and therefore, most of the answers were right. I felt like doing a good job in the reading part, it was easier for me to get the strategies and know how to use them. In addition, the quiz about this section was not a difficult matter; I think that once you start putting into practice what you have learnt before everything flows. I was able to choose most of the right answers and identify the answers without much effort.

TOEFL exam: The day of the exam cam and I was calm and relaxed. The problem here had to do with the time at which I arrived to St Martin University. When I got there, there were no people outside the classroom. I felt scared, I had to look for the classroom assigned and did all the things that I had missed because of my unpunctuality.

Having entered in the classroom and noticed that everyone had already filled in the answer sheet form was for me such a desperate moment. I knew I must hurry up. The worst thing when professor Nieto told us that we were about to start and I had not finished filling in the form. I do not know how but when he decided to start the exam I had my form filled.

The listening section was a little bit hard for me since I am not good at listening but I tried to do my best and made the best of it. When it comes to structure and written expression, I felt like most of the questions were easy because I could get the right answer without much effort, I felt so sure about this section and also I finished before the time was called so I started reading section. Finally, in the reading part I was able to answer all the questions. I got enough time at the end of the exam to check some items I was not sure enough and finished in time.

I just hope to have gotten a good score!