Studying for the TOEFL can become very expensive, especially when you’re simultaneously studying for other standardized tests. Luckily, there are many excellent materials online—in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the best free TOEFL resources available for your TOEFL training regimen!
Here is a list of the best free TOEFL materials to help you with TOEFL prep. Enjoy, and good luck!
Best Online Free TOEFL Preparation Resources
As we said, TOEFL prep can get expensive fast. When combined with the cost of taking the GRE, GMAT, ACT, SAT or other entrance exams and the costs of school applications, your application cycle can tax your wallet. It can be tempting to not spend any money on TOEFL test prep and for some test takers that’s a strategy that works. However, for most TOEFL takers a mix of paid prep–either in the form of books, online courses, tutoring, or all three–and free resources will be the surest path to their target score.
Free TOEFL resources have a place in every test-takers aresenal, but you want to be extremely careful about the quality of those free resources. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad free materials floating around that at best take time away from your studying with quality materials. At worst, they can actively harm your test prep by introducing bad information or confusing explanations into your prep. We’re here to help you cut through the noise and find quality free resources to crush your score goals!
Magoosh
If you’re reading this blog, then you’re probably already familiar with Magoosh’s free resources for TOEFL students, like our vocabulary flashcards, our Practice Questions PDF, our full-length TOEFL practice test set, and our downloadable and printable TOEFL Vocabulary PDF. You can also sign up for a free trial of Magoosh’s TOEFL prep product!
TOEFL Study Schedule (1 Month) Video Post
If you only have one month to go before the TOEFL, it’s time to get your ducks in a row! Learn how to create a study schedule that will maximize your time and minimize your effort, all while getting you that higher score. And if you have longer than a month to go before your exam, that’s awesome—and you can still benefit from the expert advice you’ll find here.
Even better? You won’t have to go far to find it. Check it out:
For our full post on how to make the most of this schedule, check out our advice here!
Podcasts
Listening to educational podcasts from respected universities can help you become accustomed to hearing native English speakers discuss topics using formal, academic language. This is especially good preparation for the TOEFL listening section, but is also a great way to improve your vocabulary and general comprehension. Try these ones from Oxford University, check out some TEDx Shorts, and listen to what Scientific American has to offer.
TED.com
TED hosts a huge library of video lectures by brilliant and inspiring people. Listening to TED Talks on a range of topics will help improve your listening comprehension while teaching you fascinating things about life, science, technology, and current events. You can also read short TED Books to improve your reading comprehension skills. (This type of learning is actually really fun. Add it to your daily routine.)
Documentaries
Watching television, movies, and YouTube is a useful way to practice English, but watching documentaries will help you learn how real people speak in a non-stylized way. Plus, the topics covered in documentaries are closer to the types of things you’ll read and hear about on the TOEFL. Watch free documentaries online here or search for documentaries on your favorite streaming platform.
Purdue OWL
Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides free writing guides and resources, a grammar blog, and has tutors to answer your brief writing questions. It’s a great resource as you practice TOEFL writing.
ETS Resources
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has lot of TOEFL-specific resources for students including a TOEFL iBT resource library. You should also check out ETS’s free sample test to get a taste of what you will experience on test day. ETS has also introduced a new online feature called TOEFL TestReady™ that is free to sign up for and has some daily free offerings. You can also purchase prep directly from ETS via the TestReady™ portal.
The Learning Network
The New York Times’ Learning Network posts educational and education-related articles each day. The articles utilize advanced vocabulary and sentence structures, and are an excellent example of the types of formal writing that you’ll encounter on the TOEFL. Reading these articles is not only intellectually stimulating, but also offers great English practice.
Read Online
Reading in English is the best way to learn new vocabulary and prepare for the TOEFL reading section. Improving your reading comprehension requires practice, but not all reading material is created equal. Reading The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, and other reliable publications online will provide better practice than reading random blogs by strangers who might not be using perfect grammar or advanced vocabulary.
Arts & Letters Daily
The aldaily site, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, contains lists of articles of note, essays, opinion pieces, and books on all sorts of topics. These lists are updated daily, and offer a rich assortment of academic reading materials with which you can practice your English reading comprehension skills.
Takeaways
Prepping for the TOEFL can be overwhelming and expensive. We hope these resources help make your prep a little easier. Consider giving our Magoosh TOEFL Premium Plan free trial a spin to see how the best, most affordable TOEFL prep around can help you reach your score goals.
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