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Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition is the latest release from Dr. Pamela Sharpe. An esteemed expert on teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). The 17th Edition was published in 2020 to meet the current structure of the TOEFL iBT, which was revised in 2019.
In our comprehensive review of the best TOEFL preparation books, Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition was our best overall pick!
In this blog post, we'll highlight the pros and uncover the cons of the Barron's TOEFL iBT, 17th Edition, to help you get the most out of this book as you prepare for your TOEFL exam.
Barron's TOEFL iBT prep book video review
For an authentic review experience and a sneak peek into what's in this book, you can watch our in-depth review video below.
Features of Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition
The book includes access to a digital resource. This digital resource contains video explanations, quick quizzes, audio files, flashcards, and on-screen practice tests.
You can gain access to the online material by registering the book here on the publisher's website. Once you register your book, you will be given access to this digital resource for up to 2 years from the date of registration.
As you can tell from the title of the book, there are a total of 8 full-length practice tests. In addition to these full-length practice tests, you will also find 8 short practice tests designed to be completed in one hour.
Screenshot of the digital resource from Barron's TOEFL iBT book (Image Credit: Sojourning Scholar)
Review of TOEFL iBT Sections
Let's now take a look at how the book performs on each section of the TOEFL iBT exam.
Reading Section
The book does a good job of reviewing the reading section by describing the different types of questions you will see on the TOEFL exam, and explaining how to answer each correctly. In this section, you will find references to presentation slides in the digital resource. These presentation slides provide a more interactive way of understanding the content in this section.
Next, some general strategies for the reading section are discussed, followed by a quick quiz that reinforces your understanding of the different types of reading questions.
A slight flaw we found in the reading section of the book was that the references to presentation slides online were mismatched.
Listening Section
Here, the types of questions on the listening section are described in great detail. Practice examples are provided in the book that require you listen to the audio files in the online resource. You'll also find general strategies for the listening section
You will need to listen to the audio tracks to perform the quick quiz at the end of the lesson about the listening section.
Speaking Section
The book presents a good overview of the Speaking section, highlighting the types of questions you'll find on the independent and integrated speaking tasks. A brief discussion of general speaking strategies is then provided. At the end of the lesson, you'll attempt a quick quiz for the speaking section.
Writing Section
Here, an overview of the Writing section is briefly discussed, as well as specific writing strategies for the integrated and independent essays. However, we did not find helpful templates for the writing section, like we found on the TOEFL iBT Prep 2021 by The Princeton Review.
Chapter on Academic Skills
Overall, if you are looking for a ton of test taking strategies for each section of the TOEFL iBT exam, you would find that in the TOEFL iBT Prep Plus 2020 - 2021...
And not in the Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition.
However, where this book excels over every other TOEFL preparation book is in the lessons taught in Chapter 5, titled Academic Skills. We found this chapter on Academic Skills to be worth its weight in gold!
This chapter will teach you the most important academic skills you need to master to succeed on the TOEFL exam. Some of these academic skills include: campus vocabulary, note-taking, paraphrasing, summarizing, and synthesizing.
Not only would your mastery of these skills help you on the TOEFL iBT exam, they will also help you when using English in an academic environment.
The chapter emphasizes how each of these skills can be applied successfully to the different sections of the TOEFL iBT. At the end of each lesson, you'll find practice questions, with answer explanations.
These are the lessons from each of the 5 academic skills taught in this chapter.
- Campus vocabulary: On this lesson, readers will learn the definition and pronunciation of common words used in an academic environment.
- Note-taking: This lesson teaches you how to improve your note-taking skills. Which will help you tremendously on the listening, speaking, and writing sections. You will master how to organize your notes, identify important information, and take notes quickly.
- Paraphrasing: You will learn paraphrasing skills by mastering how to choose synonyms for words/phrases, use alternate grammatical structures, and cite expressions and ideas.
- Summarizing: Readers learn how to condense ideas, identify main points, and report information. These skills are especially useful in the speaking and writing sections, where test takers are asked to provide summaries.
- Synthesizing: Here readers learn skills such as how to analyze a task, include information from both sources, and follow a plan. Your ability to synthesize information from readings and lectures will help you prepare for the integrated speaking and writing sections of the test. According to the chapter, this skill is the most difficult, as it relies upon the skills of note-taking, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
Quality of practice Tests in Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition
As the title suggests, there are 8 full-length model tests in this book. It is highly recommended that you take these practice tests in the same way you will be taking the real TOEFL iBT test. Set 3 hours of quiet time for your practice test. And for a simulated test taking experience similar to the real TOEFL iBT, take the practice tests online using the test mode.
The reading and listening sections practice tests are alternated such that the odd numbered tests have short reading and long listening sections while even numbered tests have long reading and short listening sections respectively.
In this way, you will be well prepared for the unscored experimental passage that appears on the reading and listening sections of the real TOEFL iBT test.
Reading Passage from Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 practice tests, 17th Edition (Image Credit: Sojourning Scholar)
When taking the online practice test, we really liked that the responses on the speaking section were automatically recorded and downloaded to our computer. These recorded responses could then be sent to a tutor for assessment. We did not find this feature in any other TOEFL prep book.
Overall, we found the user experience of the online practice test to be very similar to that of a real TOEFL iBT.
When we compared the practice questions in this book to those found on the real TOEFL iBT exam, we found some interesting differences. The integrated speaking questions from the conversations and lectures don’t always follow the format of the real TOEFL iBT exam.
For example, task 1 of the integrated section you will hear a conversation from a single speaker on a topic, instead of 2 speakers sharing their ideas on what was presented in the short passage.
Also, passages on the reading section are easier to read - as determined by our readability score analysis - than those on the real TOEFL iBT test.
Given these differences, we recommend that you review speaking practice questions from The Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT in addition to this book.
How to use the Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition in your TOEFL prep
The best way to study with the Barron's TOEFL iBT with 8 Online Practice Tests, 17th Edition is to start by taking Model Test 01 using the online resource. This will be your diagnostic practice test.
You should do this before you study the any chapters of the book. This diagnostic test will show you where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
Once you've reviewed your performance on the diagnostic test, make a TOEFL study schedule. Depending on how much time you have to prepare for the TOEFL iBT, this could be a 4-week, 8-week, or 12-week study schedule.
You should plan to spend the majority of your study time on the section(s) of the test where you're weak. Study and put to practice the concepts taught in chapter 5 on academic skills. When you feel like you've improved on these academic skills, take Model Test 02 online.
In addition to studying Barron's TOEFL iBT, you should also be reading academic articles in English, listening to podcasts, or watching lectures like TED Talks. As you read, listen, or watch these types of content ask yourself, "what is the main idea of the topic being discussed?".
Don't just listen to be entertained. By doing this, you will be building your reading and listening skills required to ace the TOEFL iBT.
To build your skills in speaking and writing, seek opportunities where you can talk to speakers fluent in English. You can join groups on social media platforms where you can interact with native English speakers.
You can ask them to give you feedback on your speech. If you need professional feedback on your writing consider investing in a quality TOEFL prep course. Some of the best TOEFL prep courses we recommend include Magoosh, PrepScholar, and BestMyTest.
You can also find TOEFL tutors on website like italki and verbing who can review your writing responses.
For more unique tips for a high TOEFL score, check out our article on improving your TOEFL score.
Final thoughts
Overall, we found the content of this book invaluable. This book offers the best balance of strategy and skill building required for success on the TOEFL iBT exam.
With 8 practice tests available online, you will have more than enough material to prepare for the TOEFL iBT. In our opinion, this is the best TOEFL preparation book on the market!
