{"id":966,"date":"2014-11-17T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=966"},"modified":"2014-11-14T13:50:34","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:50:34","slug":"intensive-english-programs-and-the-toefl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/intensive-english-programs-and-the-toefl\/","title":{"rendered":"Intensive English Programs and the TOEFL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes the best way to master English is to study it full time in an English-speaking country. Intensive English programs, or IEPs, are courses of full time English study abroad. They are designed to help you pass the TOEFL and other university entrance exams. True to their name, they require an intense amount of class time. Most programs involve 25-30 classroom hours per week. If this sounds appealing to you, an intensive English program might be right for you.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, an IEP is not the only way to successfully pass the TOEFL. Let\u2019s look at some of the pros and cons of these programs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Intensive English Program Pros<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>IEPs can sometimes let you bypass the TOEFL altogether. IEPs that are hosted by universities (such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.winona.edu\/elc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this one<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esl.ou.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this one<\/a>) usually let you study at the host university without taking the TOEFL, once your English improves.<\/li>\n<li>IEPs let you dramatically improve your English in a short time. I have taught and tutored for intensive English programs for about four years now. Some of my students raised their TOEFL scores from low to passing in as little as one semester. I\u2019ve also seen many beginner-level students become fluent and ready for degree courses in just a year.<\/li>\n<li>Many intensive English programs offer direct TOEFL support. To give one example, the Global Language Institute in Minnesota offers TOEFL iBT practice in their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gli.edu\/intensive-english-toefl-ibt\/intensive-english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">regular IEP Program<\/a> and offers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gli.edu\/intensive-english-toefl-ibt\/toefl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a special TOEFL-focused program<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Once your TOEFL score is high enough, Intensive English programs will help you find and transfer to a university of your choice. Most IEPs have admissions and transfer specialists, as well as academic advisers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Intensive English Program Cons<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>IEPs are expensive. Studying in the U.S. in general is not cheap. Intensive English programs tend to cost as much or more than tuition in a regular degree program.<\/li>\n<li>IEPs take up time as well as money. If you are already close to your TOEFL target score, enrolling in an IEP could add months to your journey to TOEFL success.<\/li>\n<li>IEPs require you to relocate to a foreign country. You may need to relocate again once you graduate from the IEP, if the degree program that accepts you is not nearby. Relocation takes time, money, thought, and energy. It can be a distraction from your actual studies and long term goals.<\/li>\n<li>Many IEPs do NOT offer much TOEFL support. In the West, especially in English speaking countries, there is a strong cultural belief against \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Teaching_to_the_test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">teaching to the test<\/a>.\u201d Additionally, many of the students in Intensive English programs are not ready for TOEFL study. And many other IEP students enter the program specifically to avoid taking the TOEFL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Intensive English programs can be a rewarding path to a high TOEFL score and fluent English. On the other hand, IEPs also require a lot of commitment and vary greatly in TOEFL preparation offerings. If you decide this might be a good option for you, I suggest you \u201cshop around\u201d for a program that will meet your needs. Here is a pretty good list of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intensiveenglishusa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">IEPs in the U.S.<\/a> You can find a similar list for Canadian intensive English programs <a href=\"http:\/\/www.esl-guide.com\/dir\/canada\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes the best way to master English is to study it full time in an English-speaking country. Intensive English programs, or IEPs, are courses of full time English study abroad. They are designed to help you pass the TOEFL and other university entrance exams. True to their name, they require an intense amount of class [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13605],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-skills"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Intensive English Programs and the TOEFL - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/intensive-english-programs-and-the-toefl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Intensive English Programs and the TOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes the best way to master English is to study it full time in an English-speaking country. 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Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C50&amp;q=Recine+magoosh&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=966"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}