TOEFL

One of the most troublesome sections in English exams is reading comprehension. The challenge is that most of us are not used to reading, let alone reading with full concentration. If you are looking for a 'tip' to improve your RC performance, here it is - read more often. It does not sound much like a tip, but you will be surprised at how beneficial following the tip can be. Putting in an effort to read, for even 30 minutes each day, can dramatically improve your levels of concentration and und

We at First Academy have the fortune of learning on the job. As teachers of English, we are naturally among the first to encounter the most common mistakes people make and encounter them on a regular basis. The one mistake that usually takes the cake is the difficulty most people face in understanding the difference between there, they’re (they are) and their.Here is a short primer on what these words mean and how to use them correctly. Be it IELTS or PTE or CELPIP or any other English test wh

Question 1 Many newspapers and magazines feature stories about the private lives of famous people. We know what they eat, where they buy their clothes and who they love. We also often see pictures of them in private situations. Is it appropriate for a magazine or newspaper to give this kind of private information about people?Give reasons for your answer. Write at least 250 words. The purpose of newspapers, as their name suggests, is to present news. The issue however, is how th

Question 2 More and more qualified people are moving from poor to rich countries to fill vacancies in specialist areas like engineering, computing and medicine. Some people believe that by encouraging the movement of such people, rich countries are stealing from poor countries. Others feel that this is only part of the natural movement of workers around the world. Which viewpoint do you agree with? Why? Write at least 250 words Here is an analysis of the question The

Question #3 Climate change is a phenomenon that affects countries all over the world. Many people strongly believe that it is the responsibility of individuals, rather than corporations and governments, to deal with this problem. To what extent do you agree? Write at least 250 words Here is an analysis of the question The questions asks about the extent of your agreement. It could be partly, fully, not at all, or anything else that falls between those. Remember The ques

To listen to the audio click onto this link : https://firstacademy.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Matching-Lists.mp3?_=1

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause which functions as an adjective or an adverb to describe a word or make its meaning more specific. It is one of the most common errors students commit in tests that include a writing module. Take this short quiz to know where you stand. Good Luck!

Wondering about what the right phrase would be in the context? This quiz is for you. Be it for speaking in the IELTS test, or understanding the meaning of a piece of written text, knowing how subtle differences in usage can alter meaning can be vital.

The listening test contains multiple choice questions. As with most multiple choice questions in most listening tests, the answer options will have words and phrases that are a part of the conversation. This is a [tooltip tip=”Done on purpose; intentional; planned”]deliberate[/tooltip] measure to force candidates to focus on the understanding of the passage rather than marking an answer based on words or sounds of words that have been heard. As always, read the instructions thoroughly before

🗣️Speaking Part 2 – Talking about an event from your life This post gives you an idea of what you could do in the IELTS speaking section, with specific focus on how to handle a cure card that requires you to talk about an event from your life.  Note: While this is more in tune with the IELTS test, you can use many of the pointers to help you with speaking in other tests like the PTE and TOEFL!  Here are the pointers 💡Get some ideas by asking yourself Who? What? Where? When? a

Active to passive conversions (or vice versa) are more than a grammar exercise that we do in school. While we are never taught the purpose of these conversions, knowing how to convert a sentence from active to passive and back is essential for being able to score well on the ‘Grammatical Range’ parameter of tests like PTE, IELTS, OET, and TOEFL. Grammatical range looks at the variety of sentences you can construct to convey precise meanings and opinions. This is helpful not just in t

If there is proof that certain aspects of English appeal to the aesthete, it is parallel structures. Parallel structures can make what you write and what you say memorable. If you closely observe most the quotable quotes, you will start noticing that most of them have parallel structure hidden in them. Take a look at this for instance:So, how are these relevant to IELTS, GRE, or PTE coaching? For language tests, they will help you get a better score in speaking and writing. And in tests like GRE

1. What is the purpose of this audio file? 2. Why is there a text transcript? Instructions listen to the tape, then listen to the tape as you read the text note down the words you do not know figure out what they mean observe voice modulation record yourself reading the same thing notice the difference Yayy!

This quiz is the third installment of our eight part series focusing on sentence variety. Hope you find it enlightening! For those of you who have missed the first two tests, the links are at the page below!InstructionsFor the questions in the set, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given.Here is an example:  It's true that the company might go into liquidation if it's not careful. DANGER  There is a danger of the company

This article is details 6 pointers which will help you score high on the OET writing subtest. 1. Who are you writing to? ❔ The answer to this question has the potential to completely change the geography of the letter you are going to write. Are you writing to a doctor or a caretaker or a nurse? If you are writing to a doctor, are you writing to a general physician, or a gynaecologist, or a neurologist? Understanding this will give you an understanding of what to look for in the case notes.

Reading in the IELTS, GRE, PTE, OET, TOEFL tests is not about reading aloud but being able to understand the texts. Sometimes understanding texts can be difficult due to unfamiliar words or challenging sentence structure.There are various reasons why words might be  unfamiliar to a reader. One of them could be culture. An American, for instance, might not immediately figure out what lorry is, since Americans use the word truck. The same goes with biscuits and cookies. This could be a hurd

The test is in 4 Parts. Answer the questions as you listen. Fill in the answers in the blanks below!Audio : https://firstacademy.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Paraphrase-Listening.mp3?_=1The full PDF of the test is available here:  https://firstacademy.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FULL-LISTENING-TEST.pdf

Understanding how sentences work is very important. For you to be able to do that, you will have to know how to construct them. This short quiz will present you with 8 different sentences. Try and reconstruct those sentences using the word in bold. You might have to use phrases and idiomatic expressions where necessary.

If you want to read better, you will absolutely need to understand how a sentence works. This will allow us to break a sentence down into easily understandable pieces. Each of these bite-sized pieces is called a clause. A clause is the basic unit of grammar. Usually, a main clause is made up of a subject (s) (a noun phrase) and a verb phrase (v). [Subject]Ram [Verb]called.  This is an example of a simple sentence. However, when one is reading, we do not just encounter simple sentences. Most

We at First Academy have the fortune of learning on the job. As teachers of English, we are naturally among the first to encounter the most common mistakes people make and encounter them on a regular basis. The one mistake that usually takes the cake is the difficulty most people face in understanding the difference between there, they’re (they are) and there. Here is a short primer on what these words mean and how to use them correctly. Be it IELTS or PTE or CELPIP or any other English test

The only problem with my sister is that she is always splitting hairs. Does it mean that she’s a hair dresser? Or does her hair have split ends, and that she needs to visit a salon or a hairdresser? Not really. Expressions of this kind have become part of everyday English, and have naturally filtered into language that is used in tests. If you are not aware of what these expressions mean, there is a danger of you misunderstanding what has been presented. The 12 idioms listed here all fall

Here are 20 Expressions and words that you need to know to ace you exam.There are a few words and phrases that occur fairly commonly no matter what exam you take. Understanding these phrases will make it easy for your to crack the reading comprehension section or might just be able to help you understand the question better. In many cases the fifteen expressions that follow are used in contexts where many questions appear. Be familiar with these and you will ace the competitive tests. GRE? Sure.

Topic on Arts Some people think that art is an essential subject for children at school while other think it is a waste of time Discuss both sides and give your opinion

What is a collocationA collocation is a combination of two or more words which frequently occur together. If someone says, 'She's got yellow hair, they would probably be understood, but it is not what would ordinarily be said in English. We'd say, 'She's got blond hair'. In other words, yellow doesn't collocate with hair in everyday English. Yellow however collocates with flowers, or jacket, or brick road. It can be difficult for learners of English to know which words col

Most people have forgotten the meaning behind traditional or religious festivals; during festival periods, people nowadays only want to enjoy themselves. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?Sample Answer:Some argue that the original meaning of festivals is no longer remembered, and for most of us they are just opportunities to have fun. While enjoyment seems to be the priority during festival times, it might not be because people have forgotten what these festivals mean.F