At last, I have taken the test. I left my job for it … I went through grueling, monotonous hours of study time for the last four months. I showed ascetic refusal to the luring calls for “Adda” of my friends and here is the result. I am not fully satisfied with it. However, I need to remember the adverse situations I had to wade through – specifically the fact, that leaving job without getting a higher salary job (no matter what work you do) is still a social stigma in Bangladesh. People used to see others leaving study for job – not job for study.

Anyway, I’ve got 800 in Quantitative Part and 450 in Verbal Part. A total score of 1250. Score on Analytical Writing Ability (AWA) is yet to come.

Admittedly, I have not done very well in the verbal part. But this is somewhat “hard-earned” for a non-native English speaker in such a short period of time. Although it is true that some of my friends got 650 some even 800, yet, that requires a very long term preparation. Even native English speakers find this verbal part very hard to score.

After several correspondences with ETS it turned out that there is no point of not taking the test again. What I feared earlier is the fact that in case they cancel my current test scores then I would not be able to apply for my intended universities because it is much late for registering TOEFL now and most test centers are busy till the last of February.

However, ETS confirmed me that they will not cancel my November 9, 2008 TOEFL score. It will remain valid. Therefore, I expressed my interest for retaking the test. Consequently, ETS has sent an e-voucher (A number to register for TOEFL test without money) in my email address. I have just registered for TOEFL few moments ago. This time, I am going to take the test in AAA (American Alumni Association) which is known as the best test center.

My TOEFL result has been published. To my consternation, I’ve done quite well in speaking which I feared about not being recorded. On the other hand, I’ve got a poor score in writing. Only 18! I believe that the writing score is not representative to my capability. It is an effect of all the mental pressure, tension and tiredness.

My Result is as follows:
Reading = 25
Listening = 27
Speaking = 24
Writing = 18
Total = 94

Anyway, ETS has given me a chance to retake the test. The following is what they have said as a reply of my complaint.

“Due to the nature of your complaint, we would like to provide you with a voucher to take the TOEFL test again free of charge.“

Although they have offered the opportunity, yet I don’t have enough time to retake the test. Because, if I want to schedule a date now, I have to take it in middle of February (No test center is free before that). It will be too late for me. However, I liked their approach that they at least took an action to mitigate the effect of the incident.

In TOEFL practice examinations, there is a common question. “Some people believe planning and hard work is all that you need to be succeeded. Others believe that good luck is more important than hard work. Which one do you believe?” To answer this question, I always spoke for planning and hard work. Apparently, that is the reason why luck betrayed with me and proved its existence and inevitability. Continue reading →

We, KUETIANS, always feel an obvious lagging in our vocabulary. One of the main reasons for this is our apathy towards English books, magazines and novels etc. During my 4 years in KUET, I never saw anybody to read an English novel (including me). Nobody even advised to do so. This bad habit eventually lead to a lack in confidence in the English skill measuring tests (like TOEFL and IELTS) as well as the aptitude tests (like GRE). Our teachers also show severe antipathy for learning English. Although the medium of instruction is English, they deliver lectures in Bengali. Moreover, the one semester English course is not up to the mark in quality. As a result, our students are seriously lagging behind in competition when the question of higher education and research comes. Continue reading →

As we all know, there are four basic skills associated with a language – Writing, Reading, Listening and Speaking. Different processes of learning a language emphasize on different skills. My question is which one is the most important to learn a new language and to master about its stylish use? Continue reading →