To the Teacher:Area-Specific contents word

Introduction
Step Up to the TOEFL® iBT for Intermediate Students is a skills-based textbook that helps
low to mid-intermediate students prepare to take a step up toward the Test of English as
a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This is not a test-preparation book: instead, it teaches
some of the grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills necessary to successfully
use a TOEFL®-level preparation book, such as The Michigan Guide to English for Academic
Success and Better TOEFL®
Test Scores.
The Internet-based Test (iBT) assumes a high level of linguistic competency, and
many students may not have the language skills necessary to follow a test-preparation
book or to attempt the reading, writing, listening, and speaking tasks on the test. Therefore, Step Up to the TOEFL® iBT focuses on the underlying abilities that students will
need before they prepare to take the test. Specifically, students learn key grammar
points of academic English, high-frequency vocabulary (both content and function
words) that may occur on the test or be useful in the productive sections of the test, and
pronunciation skills that will improve listening and speaking ability. Although the iBT
does not directly score grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, weaknesses in these
areas will severely impair students’ performance on all areas of the test. Therefore, every
point covered in this textbook will benefit test-takers on one or more sections of the
iBT.

Unit Tour
Each of the eight units addresses one rhetorical function and includes:
• learning targets and their relevance to the four sections of the test
• two Grammar You Can Use topics that strengthen students’ receptive and
productive language
• samples of test-level use of the grammar from The Michigan Guide to English
for Academic Success and Better TOEFL®
Test Scores
• two Vocabulary You Need sections highlighting common language functions
seen on the iBT
• a list of high-frequency and useful Words to Learn from the unit
• two Speaking Clearly points focusing on comprehension and fluent delivery
• Skill-Building Exercises that practice the language point through highinterest reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities

ix
Step Up to the TOEFL (R) iBT for Intermediate Students: A Michigan Guide
Nigel A. Caplan
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=323193
Michigan ELT, 2009

 • iBT Practice Exercises that give students practice using the language point in
tasks similar to those on the test (including the integrated speaking and writing tasks) but at their level of competency
• Step Up Notes with useful hints and tips about stepping up to the TOEFL®.

Grammar You Can Use
Since the Educational Testing Service has removed the discrete grammar test from the
TOEFL®, it is no longer useful to study grammar rules and exceptions as a form of
preparation for the test. However, it is also unrealistic for low-intermediate learners to
study every possible grammar structure in English. As a result, Step Up to the TOEFL®
focuses on grammar points that express the language function of the unit, are often dif-
ficult for learners, and/or increase the complexity of students’ production.
The Grammar You Can Use sections do not provide the final word on these grammar points. Most areas of English grammar can be studied in increasing depth at higher
levels (for example, Unit 7 only discusses subject adjective clauses; object clauses and
objects of prepositions are reserved for future study). The goal of this book is to give
students the confidence to understand these structures and use them accurately in order
to step up to the next level of proficiency.

Vocabulary You Need
The distinction between grammar and vocabulary is an artificial one, and this text
shows learners the connections between grammar structures and the words that fit
them. The vocabulary topics are therefore connected to the grammar structures in that
they all serve the function of the unit. For example, verbs describing effects are often
used in the present perfect tense (Unit 4). By studying the vocabulary in these sections,
students will solidify their general vocabulary and begin to develop their academic
vocabulary.
Some words from the grammar and vocabulary sections of each unit appear in the
Words to Learn list. These words have been selected because they are either: (1) highfrequency content words from the General Service List (West 1953); (2) commonly
occurring words in university English from the Academic Word List (Coxhead 2000); or
(3) useful words for talking about higher education. According to vocabulary experts,
students need to learn a basic vocabulary of the General Service List and the Academic
Word List plus area-specific content words (Nation 2001). The TOEFL®
no longer
specifically tests vocabulary knowledge, but it assumes competence in this basic
vocabulary.

Step Up to the TOEFL (R) iBT for Intermediate Students: A Michigan Guide
Nigel A. Caplan
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=323193
Michigan ELT, 2009

To use the Words to Learn list, students can be asked to search for the use of the
item in the unit and study it in more detail. For instance, they could work out the word
class (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.), look up a definition, write the sentence from
the textbook, or create an original sentence.

Speaking Clearly
The main focus of this section is improving students’ delivery score on the speaking section of the iBT by highlighting learnable features of English prosody and pronunciation. Students use the accompanying audio CD as a model to improve their fluency. If
possible, it is beneficial for learners to record their voices using a computer, voice
recorder, or cassette player. Teachers and students can then compare the recording to
the models and easily see areas of strength and weakness.

A Word about the Listening Exercises
Test-takers can only listen to each lecture and conversation once on the TOEFL®. In
class or for self-study, learners studying this book are encouraged to listen more than
once to most exercises for practice. However, to simulate the test conditions more
closely, they can be restricted to one playback of the recording.
I hope you enjoy teaching Step Up to the TOEFL® iBT, and I wish your students
good luck as they prepare for the test and their future studies!
—Nigel A. Caplan

References
Coxhead, A. “The New Academic Word List.” TESOL Quarterly, 34, no. 2 (2000):
213–38.
Nation, I.S.P. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
West, M.A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman, 1953.
To the Teacher xi

Step Up to the TOEFL (R) iBT for Intermediate Students: A Michigan Guide
Nigel A. Caplan
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=323193
Michigan ELT, 2009

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