TOEFL reading practice
This page describes what currently works in DexterLearn for TOEFL. What is missing is written out at the end.
What is there
- TOEFL Reading: 20 passages where you read an academic text and answer questions. Level up to CEFR C1.
- The reading sets sit on the same exam page as the IELTS Reading sets, so you can work on both together.
- Vocabulary and grammar are linked to the learning path: a word you stumble on goes into the review system.
How to study
- Open the exam page and pick a TOEFL Reading set. You can try once without an account.
- Read the text once, answer the questions, look at the result.
- Study the words behind your wrong answers in the learning path; the review system brings them back at the right interval.
- To build academic reading speed, read a little every day from the stories at your level.
Who it suits
It suits someone working on speed and accuracy in the TOEFL reading section. The material is academic and goes up to C1. For listening, speaking and writing, read the section below.
What you can do about listening
There is no TOEFL listening module. If you want general listening practice you can use the listening sets on the IELTS side: the format is not identical to TOEFL, but it builds the same habit of listening once and answering. For speaking and pronunciation there is spoken practice with the RoRo teacher, which is also not in exam format.
How your level is set
DexterLearn is built on a CEFR path from A1 to C1. Before you go into the exam sets you can see where you stand on that path; each chapter assumes the vocabulary and grammar of the one before it. Age bands are 4-6, 7-9, 10-13 and 14 plus, so material at the same level arrives with different examples depending on age. The exam sections continue from the 14 plus band.
If you are not sure of your level, an exam set is itself a measurement: do one reading set, then look at how many mistakes came from not knowing a word and how many came from misreading the question. The first kind sends you back to the learning path; the second kind improves with practice.
A weekly rhythm
Short every day and one longer session a week works best. A concrete rhythm:
- Every day: the daily word and sentence practice, then whatever the review system brings up. The review system returns a word close to the point where you would forget it, which is why skipping days costs more than it looks.
- Two days a week: one reading set, then ten minutes on the words behind your wrong answers.
- One day a week: a listening set and spoken practice with the RoRo teacher. Speaking earns no score here, but it shortens the time it takes to find the words you mean.
- Spare time: stories and games. Both draw on the same word pool.
Devices and your account
The account is shared between web and phone: a set you do on a computer shows up on the phone. The subscription starts in the Android app and payment goes through Google Play; buying from an iPhone or a computer is not available for now. You cancel from your Google Play account, not from inside the app.
What you can do for free
- You get one try without an account, and you can use it on a TOEFL reading trial.
- The free plan includes the CEFR roadmap, daily word and sentence practice, the review system, grammar lessons and 3 chapter credits per day (one credit returns every 4 hours).
- All stories are open; you can look up 5 word meanings a day.
Price
Study is 30 TRY a month, 1 TRY for the first month, or 270 TRY a year. Premium is 199 TRY a month and 1.680 TRY a year. Payment goes through Google Play, the subscription starts in the Android app, and the account is shared between web and phone. Buying from an iPhone or a computer is not available for now.