Bell Curve

We've had very strong scores during September ~ November 8, and we achieved bell curve distribution on October 26. Here is the Top Scores graph:

The graph includes all E4TG in 2014 who took at least 8 weeks of classes. It includes a few people who applied for 2014 admissions, and a few people who will apply for 2016, but 90% are 2015 applicants.

The results are similar to other years, and I hope we can get a few more students up to the 24-26 range.

Good job!

E4TG and IELTS

This has been quite a year with the ETS scandal in England. We thought about it, but ultimately decided not to offer an IELTS class this year.

I've never taken IELTS, but from what I've heard, it's easier to get IELTS 6.0-6.5 than TOEFL 100, but it's easier to get TOEFL 105 than IELTS 7.0-7.5.

Regardless, the same strategies can be used on both speaking sections. Here's what a former student wrote to me a few days ago:

Since my TOEFL score didn’t improve so much, I finally switched to IELTS in May. And I got 7.5 (Listening: 7.5, Reading: 7.0, Writing: 7.0, Speaking: 8.0). Additionally, I got 8.5 for speaking on the next IELTS. Although speaking for TOEFL is a little different from the one for IELTS, I used a lot of the strategies which I learned at E4TG for IELTS. That’s why my speaking score was higher than other sections, which is really rare for Japanese students. 

Please use English well!

The Stages of Competence

A student wrote the following email to me concerning his March 2 TOEFL speaking score:

I've just received TOEFL score. I got 23 in speaking section, which is the highest ever. I can't understand this good result because I totally lost the first reason of SP3 due to listening problem. In addition, I'm not good at speaking in detail of SP6.

I think what is happening is that this guy is progressing through the Stages of Competence.

Stage 1: Unconscious incompetence.
When you start to do something, you are bad at it, but you don't even realize how bad you are. This is when someone says, "My first TOEFL score last month was 45, so I'll study every weekend this month, and get 110 next month." That's not realistic.

Stage 2: Conscious incompetence.
Then you get feedback on your strengths and weaknesses, and you become conscious of your incompetence. You become aware of what you need to do to get a better result.

Stage 3: Conscious competence.
The student above who wrote the above email to me has worked hard on his English, is strategically sound, has clear pronunciation, and has become pretty fluent (few hesitations). He has to focus when speaking English, but it sounds pretty good. He is aware of what he missed on task 3 and 6, and that's why he probably underestimated his performance.

It's a pattern I see every year. Whenever students say the TOEFL test (especially the listening section) was EASY, I don't believe them. It's never easy, they just weren't aware of their incompetence. But conversely, when people say the TOEFL test was DIFFICULT, scores often go up, and I believe that this is a sign that people are developing competence.

Please use English well!

Former Student at Michigan

I just ran across this video from a former student at the 2 year Ross MBA at the University of Michigan. I strongly recommend this. If all Japanese were as motivated and hard-working as Kanayama-san, Japan would be a much more vigorous country!

2012 Applicant Results

I thought I'd summarize my 2012 applicants' TOEFL speaking results so future students can know what to expect. If you have a clear voice and don't use templates, you should expect a similar score.

Here are the results of 2012 applicants who have taken my class for at least 2 months (many of the best performers have taken my classes for 6-9 months):

Here are the results of the students who started in June, 2011 (after one month of class):

And here are the scores of the new students in July, 2011 (before taking my classes):

All in all, at least 34 of my 2012 applicants have scored 100+ on TOEFL iBT as of the June 25, 2011 test. The top score so far this year is 110. I have had no 帰国子女 this year.

If anything, the figures above are lower than the real score attained by my students. Some students get busy with GMAT/essays/etc. and don't update me on their score progress after finishing classes.

Golden Week Start Results

These are the results so far of 11 students who started during Golden Week. This will give you an idea of what to expect if you prepare for TOEFL Speaking with me.

There were 14 new students who started at GW. I did not include 3 students. One lived abroad for 5+ years when he was younger and scored over 115 on his first TOEFL test. One is a student who hasn't taken TOEFL since he started my classes, so there is no objective measure of his improvement. The third was very busy at work, so he didn't practice daily, and he left after one term. He picked up a point (SP19 to SP20), but I'm not sure if that was due to my classes or luck.

As always, I have used the masculine pronoun (he, his), although several of these students are women.

1. Works at a trading company, started at SP18/T88. Clear voice, but lots of hesitations and time management problems. Up to SP19 in 5 weeks, and SP22/T90 in 8 weeks. Should get SP23+ when his listening skills improve.
2. Finance guy, SP16/T76 at start. Had a lot of hesitation and some choppiness in his voice, but has worked hard on it. Up to SP19/T88 in 5 weeks and SP20/91 in 8 weeks. Has improved a lot and is ready for a breakthrough to SP22-23 soon. It will be tough for him to get SP24 without improving his 複合名詞 word stress.
3. Finance guy, pretty clear voice, started at SP19/T99, then got SP19/103 soon after joining the class. He is starting to focus on GMAT. There’s no reason he shouldn’t get SP23 with a little work. [6/26 update: SP23/T106. Once again, Donald successfully predicts the future! Have fun on GMAT, dude!]
4. Finance guy, very slow voice at first, but a real competitor with a clear voice. Guys like this always get motivated by my class and perform well. SP13/T58 at start, up to SP19/T79 in 5 weeks, and SP20/T85 in 8 weeks. I'm very happy with his progress, and would not be surprised by SP22-23 soon.
5. Finance guy, slow at first, and voice clarity needed some work. SP15/T70 at start, up to SP17/82 in 3 weeks, and should improve rapidly because he’s been doing really well in class. Strategically very smart. [June 26 update: SP19/T97 in 8 weeks and SP should be higher soon]
6. Trading company guy, very clear voice and strategically smart. Started at SP20/T91, up to SP22/96 in 3 weeks and SP23/T96 in 5 weeks. Should get 100 soon, and SP24 would not surprise me. [6/26 update: SP24, but total score didn't improve due to the super-hard LS section on that test. ETS should be concerned about the inconsistent level of difficulty on the TOEFL listening section. It calls into question the validity of the TOEFL test]
7. Finance guy, SP17/70 at start. Has improved speed a lot and should do better soon. Up to SP18/T75 on 6/26. Based on his recent performance in class, his LS skills have improved, so I expect SP20+ soon.
8. First 2012 applicant of the year. Busy finance guy with speed problems, but a clear voice. SP19/T77 at start. Will do better when he has more time to practice. Up to SP20/T86 on 6/26.
9. Consultant with international company. Slow voice, but clear. SP19/T88 at start, and speaking improved to SP20 in 3 weeks. Waiting for more recent results.
10. Trading company guy, a little bit older than most of my students. It’s often difficult for older students to improve, but this guy is the exception. SP20/95 at start, up to SP23/95 in 3 weeks, and SP26/T99 in 5 weeks, and never lived in an English-speaking company. [SP24/T101 on 6/26! Woo hoo!]
11. Finance guy, slow speaker but very clear voice at start. No TOEFL at start, SP19/75 after 3 weeks, up to SP20/81 in 5 weeks. Speed has rapidly improved, and SP23 soon would not surprise me. [6/26 update: SP23/T89].

I hope what you notice about these results is that the SP score is moving in one direction: UP! People who use speaking templates have inconsistent scores, but my students are developing presentation skills and making steady progress (the exception was the June 12 test, on which the SP section was really tough).

Expectations

What kind of TOEFL SP progress should you expect? I am posting some details from 17 students who started working with me in January and February (with their permission). If you are motivated and work hard, I think anyone can make the kind of progress my 2010 students have made so far.

I omitted only 2 students from this list. One hasn't taken TOEFL yet, so there is no objective measure of his effort. The other didn't take TOEFL because he doesn't need it, but heard that my classes were the best way to improve his English speaking in general.

In order to maintain anonymity, I have used the masculine pronouns (he, his) in all the descriptions, though several of these students were women.

1. Started at SP22/T93, but SP was not consistent. Works at an international company. He has very good LS skills and is a very strategic student. Scored SP22 consistently, despite imperfect pronunciation (lisp), and got T104 in about 15 weeks.
2. 2010 applicant looking to pick up a few points on TOEFL SP. Started at SP22/T97. I don’t recommend that people join my class looking to pick up points quickly because it usually takes 3-6 months to get up to SP23-24 consistently, but he wanted to try. Got SP24/T101 and quit after 5 weeks in order to finish his application essays for the third round. Accepted to a top ten program! Congratulations!
3. Government company, started at SP17/T80. Good speed, random intonation patterns at first, but greatly improved with shadowing practice. Scored SP23 consistently by March, and got T104 in May. [Edit June 26: got T106 and is enjoying his GMAT journey!]
   
4. Government company, started at SP17/T85. Clear, deep, masculine voice. 12 weeks to SP24, and 14 weeks to SP24/T103. If you have a voice like this guy, it’s possible to get a consistent SP23-24 score even if your strategies aren’t always perfect. [Edit 6/29: picked up a point to T104.]
   
5. No TOEFL at start, but has a clear voice. He didn’t like the competitive classroom environment at first, but got used to it. His first TOEFL was SP17/T76 in February, up to SP20/80 in April. The major problem is the listening part of the INT tasks, not IND SP (and the RD/LS sections of TOEFL).
6. International Japanese company, SP17/91 at start. Speaks too fast, which hurts pronunciation, but managed SP22/T98 after 14 weeks. Should get SP23-24 if he slows down.
7. Domestic Japanese company, so no chances to speak English. SP15/T76 at start. Very slow at first, but voice was clear and intonation got much better. Speed improved a little bit, but not a lot. Developed efficient summarizing skills, which is very hard to do. Kudos! SP23 in 14 weeks, SP24/T95 in 16 weeks. Donald is impressed!
8. Government company, clear voice, strategically very clever. SP17/T77 at start. Worked very hard at recycling and got SP23/T97 in 12 weeks.
9. International company, SP19/T68 to start. Very clear voice. Improved to SP24/T75 in 12 weeks. T84 in May. SP isn’t his problem. SP score was higher than RD/WR.
10. This student has been here 20 weeks and has improved a lot from a low base. Current best is S19/T66, but SP is the highest section score. When his workload gets lighter, he will have more time to focus on TOEFL and should make good progress.
11. Very slow speaker, SP14/T64 at start. Quit job and prepare for TOEFL and GMAT full-time. SP22/T70 in 6 weeks. Left after 10 weeks for the USA.
12. Slow voice, but good intonation at start, SP18/T83. Very inspiring student! SP23/T93 in 9 weeks.
13. Slow speaker at first, SP18/T81. Very hard worker and strong strategically, got SP22/T100 in 9 weeks.
14. Gov. employee, slow speaker at first, SP15/T71. He needed T80 for sponsorship by his ministry. Left after 10 weeks with SP19/T81!
15. Inspiration Man! Good speaker with bad “template” strategies. SP17/T86, up to SP19/T92 in 6 weeks and SP22/T106 in 9 weeks. Woo hoo! Have fun studying GMAT, dude!
16. Gov. worker, SP17/T75 at start. Too busy to practice a lot, but he got S19/T83 and qualified for government sponsorship.
17. This one shows the value of practice. Very slow speaker at start, SP11/T58. My class was too hard at first, but he worked very hard and got up to SP19/T79 in 9 weeks, and SP20/T86 in 11 weeks.

As always, please compare my students' results to students in any other TOEFL preparation program!