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ACADEMIC Vocabulary for TOEFL you NEED: 37 words in 13 minutes
TOEFL Test
Overview
This video focuses on essential academic vocabulary crucial for the TOEFL exam, particularly for the reading and listening sections. It presents 37 high-frequency words that often appear in academic texts and lectures, explaining their meanings with examples and suggesting how they can be used in speaking and writing tasks. The video emphasizes that mastering this vocabulary is key to improving test scores, alongside understanding test strategies. It encourages active learning by having viewers track words they know and don't know, aiming for a comprehensive understanding of academic English.
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Chapters
- Limited vocabulary is a major reason for errors on the TOEFL reading and listening sections.
- Academic vocabulary, common in tests but not daily conversation, is essential.
- Knowing these specific words helps in understanding texts, lectures, and performing better on all TOEFL sections.
- The video provides 37 key words to help learners achieve their target scores.
Understanding the importance of specialized academic vocabulary highlights why general English fluency isn't enough for high TOEFL scores and motivates focused study.
Words like 'arduous,' 'mitigate,' 'decay,' and 'hamper' are often encountered in academic contexts but might be unfamiliar to those not exposed to academic texts.
- Abruptly means suddenly or unexpectedly; useful for describing events in speaking and writing.
- Derive from means to originate or come from a source; often used for technologies or revenue.
- Facilitate means to make something easier or more efficient; calendars can facilitate organization.
- Abandon means to leave behind or give up; can refer to jobs, people, or objects.
- Date back to signifies existence from a past time; common in historical or archaeological contexts.
Learning these foundational words provides tools to describe cause-and-effect, origins, and actions precisely, enhancing clarity in test responses.
The sentence 'The ancient ruins date back to the Roman Empire' illustrates the usage of 'date back to' in an academic, historical context.
- Accumulate means to gather or collect over time; applicable to energy, knowledge, or money.
- Viable means capable of working successfully or growing; describes feasible plans or businesses.
- Rely on means to depend on or trust someone or something; essential for describing relationships or dependencies.
- Ban means to officially prohibit something; useful for discussing policies or rules.
- Compelling means convincingly interesting or persuasive; describes engaging content.
These words enable nuanced descriptions of processes, potential, and dependencies, crucial for analyzing information in academic settings.
Solar panels accumulating energy from the sun demonstrates the concept of 'accumulate' in a scientific context.
- Boost means to increase or improve something; energy or performance can be boosted.
- Adjust means to change slightly for better fit or suitability; used for settings or plans.
- Curtail means to reduce or limit something, often before completion; companies might curtail spending.
- Contribute to means to add something to a larger whole; volunteers contribute time.
- Deliberately means intentionally or on purpose; actions can be done deliberately.
This set of words allows for precise communication about changes, intentions, and contributions, vital for discussing actions and their consequences.
A company deciding to 'curtail' its spending illustrates the meaning of limiting expenses.
- Address means to deal with or tackle a problem; teams address issues.
- Anticipate means to expect and prepare for something; problems can be anticipated.
- Extinction means the complete disappearance of a species; the dodo bird is an example.
- Decay means to rot or disintegrate over time; organic matter undergoes decay.
- The first reason for TOEFL errors is not knowing test-taking strategies, not just vocabulary.
Understanding words related to problems, natural processes, and the concept of extinction is key for science and history topics, while recognizing strategy's importance is crucial for overall test success.
The dodo bird's extinction is a classic example used to explain the term 'extinction'.
- Extract means to remove something from a larger source; juice is extracted from lemons.
- Arduous means very difficult and requiring great effort; climbing a mountain is arduous.
- Attribute to means to consider something as caused by something else; success can be attributed to hard work.
- Consensus means general agreement among a group; teams reach consensus.
- Fertile describes land capable of producing abundant crops; fertile soil is good for farming.
These words are essential for analyzing causes, describing effort, and discussing agricultural or environmental topics with precision.
The fertile soil in a valley being perfect for growing vegetables clearly illustrates the meaning of 'fertile'.
- Hamper means to hinder or make difficult; weather can hamper deliveries.
- Counter means to respond with an opposing action or opinion; evidence can counter a claim.
- Deceive means to make someone believe something untrue; magicians deceive audiences.
- Customize means to change something to fit personal needs; phone settings can be customized.
- Dense means tightly packed or having much material in a small space; dense fog reduces visibility.
This vocabulary allows for describing opposition, manipulation, personalization, and physical properties, enriching descriptions in various academic contexts.
A blizzard hampering the delivery of packages provides a concrete scenario for the word 'hamper'.
- Enable means to make something possible; new technology can enable progress.
- Deficiency means a lack or shortage of something needed; a calcium deficiency is a health issue.
- Eradicate means to completely destroy or get rid of; scientists work to eradicate diseases.
- Disruption means a major disturbance or interruption; power outages cause disruption.
- Expose means to make something visible or reveal it; documentaries expose truths.
- Distinguish means to recognize differences between things; cats and dogs are distinguishable.
- Durable means built to last and withstand wear; stainless steel is durable.
- Estimate means to make an approximate calculation; paint needed can be estimated.
These final words cover concepts of possibility, lack, elimination, disturbance, revelation, comparison, longevity, and approximation, rounding out a robust academic vocabulary set.
Scientists working to eradicate malaria shows the application of 'eradicate' in a global health context.
Key takeaways
- Mastering specific academic vocabulary is crucial for achieving high scores on the TOEFL, especially in reading and listening.
- Words common in academic texts (e.g., 'arduous,' 'mitigate,' 'derive') are often different from everyday conversational vocabulary.
- Understanding the nuances of words like 'accumulate,' 'facilitate,' and 'curtail' allows for more precise academic expression.
- Active learning techniques, like noting known vs. unknown words, significantly improve vocabulary retention.
- Beyond vocabulary, familiarity with TOEFL test-taking strategies is the primary factor influencing test performance.
- Many academic words can be effectively integrated into TOEFL speaking and writing sections to demonstrate a higher level of English proficiency.
- Consistent study and focus on high-frequency academic terms are key to TOEFL success, rather than just general language knowledge.
Key terms
AbruptlyDerive fromFacilitateAccumulateViableRely onCompellingCurtailExtinctionArduousConsensusFertileHamperCounterCustomizeEnableDeficiencyEradicateDisruptionDurableEstimate
Test your understanding
- How does limited academic vocabulary specifically hinder performance on the TOEFL reading and listening sections?
- Explain the difference between a word used in daily conversation and an academic word like 'arduous,' providing an example of each.
- How can understanding words like 'facilitate' and 'enable' help you better analyze complex processes in academic texts?
- What is the relationship between mastering academic vocabulary and understanding TOEFL test-taking strategies for overall success?
- Describe a scenario where you might use the words 'curtail,' 'disruption,' and 'counter' in an academic discussion or essay.