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The new TOEFL 2026 exam is different. But you know this already! Do you also know that it requires a completely different approach to exam preparation?
This new exam is less about exam strategy and more about English proficiency. In other words, you can't just be good at TOEFL, you need to be good at English to get the scores you want.
In the past, students had many strategies to use in the TOEFL exam. Some of them were good and some of them were really bad. I know because I saw many of them in lessons. There were templates for speaking and writing, and lists of tips and tricks for reading and listening.
Students became very good at doing TOEFL but many didn’t improve their English proficiency and as a result, they got stuck and frustrated. Serial test-takers emerged. These were students who had dozens of attempts at the exam without achieving their target scores.
I can think of many examples of old students (especially students who came to work with me after years of being frustrated) who were really good at TOEFL. They knew all the strategies, had hundreds of templates and free resources, watched all the videos, and knew exactly what they should do in the exam. They were TOEFL experts.
The problem is that they weren’t English experts. They had gaps in their knowledge which had never been addressed. They struggled with speaking and while they could sometimes cover up their lack of fluency with strategies, it wasn't enough for them to get their target scores.
But it gave the appearance of being enough. And that's why they kept studying in the same way for months and even years.
Exam Preparation for TOEFL 2026
In the new TOEFL 2026 exam, there is no preparation time. You don't have the chance to think and prepare your response (or remember your templates) in the speaking section. Time is deliberately limited for the short tasks in the writing section. The new reading and listening sections contain short to-the-point tasks, and again, time is severely limited.
You have to be able to quickly access your English language knowledge, select which grammar construction or item of vocabulary you need, then accurately apply it. Basically, you have to react + go. There is no time for doubt, second guesses or trying to remember strategies. It's just you and your English proficiency.
If you are around a B1 language level or lower, and you need 4.0 or higher in TOEFL then you shouldn’t start with exam preparation. You should start by improving your English proficiency.
First, be really honest about your English language level. You might be able to communicate easily with your co-workers and friends, but do you have the level of English that you really need?
Then, take time to renew your English grammatical knowledge and work on accessing your English vocabulary. These are skills that can be built.
There are probably areas of English you're comfortable with, especially if you've had years of English language instruction in school, but there may be things you haven't used recently or that you need to refresh your knowledge of. Be honest with yourself.
The goal is to be able to access the information you need from your brain quickly and accurately. You need to be able to react spontaneously to the information in the question.
Then, when you get to exam preparation, you’ll have already done the work on proficiency and that will help you pass.
Despite what some tutors might be posting, TOEFL 2026 isn’t all about strategy. Your English proficiency will allow you to succeed.
If you've read this far, then congratulations!! You are definitely committed to achieving TOEFL success. You might be interested in my English Foundations course which will give you an excellent grounding in the kind of English grammar and vocabulary that you need for TOEFL.
If you have any questions, then please get in touch.
Written by me, not AI, so I can be clear, precise, and say exactly what I mean.
Header photo by Dimitar Belchev on Unsplash