How to study for TOEFL using children's resources

If you’re at home with your children because of Covid-19 and you’re trying to combine their home-schooling with your own TOEFL studying, then this post is for you. If you don’t have children, or you’re not at home with them, read on anyway. There’s a section at the end for you!

As you probably know, I believe in using all possible resources to get better at English and prepare for TOEFL. I like to find creative ways to use resources and also to use them in different ways to get the most from them.

So firstly, I’m a big fan of children’s books and I often read them. Story books written for children are brilliant! They are usually clearly written in a lively, interesting way and they often have great pictures to help with understanding. They have good stories, straightforward plots and they don’t make things over-complicated in the way that some adult books do. When I taught general ESL in my local community, I always recommended children’s books for my students!

I also recommend reference books or non-fiction books that are written for children. They take difficult concepts and explain them in a clear way by focusing on the essential information, and they have lots of illustrations too. If your children’s school has provided other learning materials such as worksheets, then you can use those as well.

There are lots of ways you can use children’s books and resources in your TOEFL studying. Here are some ideas.

• Hunt for new vocabulary and useful phrases in children’s books.
• Enjoy reading for understanding.
• Read a chapter or a small section then explain what you’ve just read.
• Read aloud to your children from their books.
• Get your children to explain concepts from their books to you. Ask questions like, “How does that work?” Listen carefully to the transition words and phrases they use in their answers.
• Read learning materials and worksheets from school. Look at the vocabulary used for explanations and use similar vocabulary in your own explanations.
• Use reference and non-fiction books to help in your understanding of difficult topics.Look carefully at the pictures and other images. These really help with understanding.

If you don’t have children, or they are not with you right now, then this next bit is for you!

In this current lockdown, many museums and institutions worldwide have made their resources available online. Institutions that already had resources available online have added more. Many of them are designed for children but you can use them too! 

If you have a particular topic that you find difficult in TOEFL studying, then check out the resources that these institutions are offering. Many of them are designed for children but as we’ve already discussed, resources for children are perfect for learning about new or difficult topics.

Also, many museums and institutions have made their collections available through virtual tours. Take a few minutes away from studying and enjoy these too.