An ESL blog

I have received couple of emails asking about TOEFL preparation courses offered in Canada after I wrote about preparing for TOEFL post . I didn’t take any courses because they are very expensive, instead I prepared myself using various materials(CDs and books). I found some additional resources while I was searching for some books on the internet.

Peterson’s TOEFL success is also on the amazon bookstore for $25, but in the publishers site there are more books specific to each area writing skills, reading skills and TOEFL vocabulary. In addition to TOEFL they provide resources for various exams like GRE,GMAT, LSAT, NCLEX ,MCAT and MAT. Canadian users can take advantage of strong Canadian dollar by buying in US dollars.
Study Guides :

Master the TOEFL Writing Skills

Master the TOEFL Reading Skills

Master the TOEFL Vocabulary

Here are some tips from Peterson’s TOEFL guide.

Prepare with a Practice Test
Practice tests are an ideal way to begin your preparation. They’re affordable and will give you instant results to see how you might score if the test were today. You’ll learn your strengths and weakness, and be able to develop a personalized study plan. Try prepping with Peterson’s practice tests for the TOEFL.

Approach the test with a plan
Spend enough time preparing that you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Having this kind of understanding can help you decide where to focus your energies. Work first on questions that deal with your strengths and make sure to answer them correctly. Then move on to questions that are more challenging for you. The only way you’ll be able to use your time wisely is to know where your abilities are beforehand.

Be well-rehearsed
Practice makes permanence! If you set aside time in a quiet place to take some practice exams, you’ll be ready for the rigors of sitting in a chair and focusing on test material for a few hours. You can also use this opportunity to assess where you need to spend more time studying.

Be ready for test conditions
It’s a good idea to dress in layers and bring a sweater or sweatshirt because the temperature in the testing room may be warmer or colder than you anticipated.

Reading Comprehension
Skim the passage first to get a sense of the main idea. You can always go back and look up specifics. Answer the questions that ask about vocabulary words and details first. Then work on questions that ask you about the main idea or require you to make inferences.

Structure and Grammar
Think about the simplest, clearest way to express an idea. If an answer choice sounds awkward or overly complicated, chances are good that it’s wrong.

Speaking and Listening
Become as familiar with the English language as you can, including learning vocabulary words and idioms. Practice working with the language in everyday life; this will help you become more comfortable with it and understand it better.

Writing
Planning for a few minutes before writing will help you to write a more focused and organized essay. It is also important to develop your ideas and express them clearly, using examples to back them up. Although the essay doesn’t need to be grammatically perfect, try to make as few errors as possible. Always save a few minutes at the end to proofread.

Follow this link to Prepare For The TOEFL Test
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Update : 2007 - 2008 list of Universities which accept TOEFL results for English competency.

I always think about how other people think about me. But it is not easy to ask other people and find out. Who is going to tell our not so positive traits on our face?. Encharacter offers a solution for us. It has pretty simple interface. After the sign up we can send email requests from that site to our friends and family. Any one who goes to that unique address given to us can rate our personality traits.(whether we are friendly,lovable,honest …etc etc). From all of the ratings each character displayed as percentage. I found this tool very cool to play with.

It happens to every one of us every now and then,our good spirit get spoiled my some people’s acts. Here is a good story by an unknown author which I got from a newsletter. It is worth sharing.

The Law of the Garbage Truck
How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood?

Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what’s important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab and here is what happened. I hopped in a taxi and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident whipped his head around and started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly.

So, I said, ‘Why did you just do that, this guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’

This is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

‘Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it.If you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.’

So this was it - The ‘Law of the Garbage Truck.’

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me and how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home or on the streets!

It was that day I said, ‘I’m not going to do it anymore.’ I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie ‘The Sixth Sense,’ the little boy said, ‘I see Dead People.’ Well, now ‘I see garbage trucks.’ I see the load they’re carrying and I see them coming to drop it off and like my taxi driver, I don’t make it a personal thing. I just smile, wave, wish them well and I move on.

One of my favourite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting and good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Good leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful and happy people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. What about you?

What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here’s my bet - I am sure you’ll be happier.

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so - love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don’t. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance - take it! If it changes your life - let it!

Nobody said it would be easy . . . they just promised it would be worth it!

A federal jury in Duluth, Minn., United States ordered Jammie Thomas of Minneapolis to pay $222,000 to six recording companies for illegally downloading and sharing 24 music files with others over a Kazaa file-sharing network. These 24 music files were in her computer’s Kazaa shared folder and shared to others.
But according to this CNET article it is not illegal in Canada to share files over P2P networks.