February 16, 2025 • 16 mins
Welcome to the first episode of Think in English: The Deeper Approach, where I break down English learning beyond rigid grammar rules! In this episode, host Matt Pierce, a journalist and language expert, reveals the key to scoring high on TOEFL and IELTS—and it’s not memorizing complicated grammar.
🔹 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary matter more than grammar rules
✅ How TOEFL & IELTS test communication skills, not just accuracy
✅ The best strategies for improving speaking, listening, reading, and writing
✅ Why thinking in English helps you learn faster and perform better
🚀 Whether you’re preparing for the TOEFL iBT or the IELTS Academic/General Training, this episode will help you develop the right mindset to master English like a native speaker.
📢 Subscribe now and start your journey to real English fluency!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fluent-english-mindset-podcast--6526211/support.
🔹 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary matter more than grammar rules
✅ How TOEFL & IELTS test communication skills, not just accuracy
✅ The best strategies for improving speaking, listening, reading, and writing
✅ Why thinking in English helps you learn faster and perform better
🚀 Whether you’re preparing for the TOEFL iBT or the IELTS Academic/General Training, this episode will help you develop the right mindset to master English like a native speaker.
📢 Subscribe now and start your journey to real English fluency!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fluent-english-mindset-podcast--6526211/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hey, everybody, it's Matt And you know, one of the
things that really aggravates me about the TOFO and about
the eye olts is that there's a lot of podcasts
out there, and there's a lot of companies and a
lot of teachers out there trying to tell you what's
right and what's wrong. Right. It's a vicious space, it
(00:35):
really is. And the problem is is most of these
people don't know their elbow from their bunghole about any
of this. I'm just gonna talk straight with you, and
most of these people are seeing that this is easy
(00:55):
money to be made because a lot of people want
to talk English and they want to speak English. They're
leading you down a wormhole. So I want to dispel
some of these myths surrounding the tofal and surrounding the
(01:16):
eye ELTs and learning English in general. I think this
is one of the things it needs to be done.
There's just too much, excuse me, there's just too much
out there. And this series of lectures I think is
hopefully going to help you with this. So let's dive
(01:37):
into the first and foremost the biggest question, the tofal
and the eye ELTs. So the tofal in the ILTS exams.
What these do is they measure your understanding, and they
do this differently due to their structure, and they both
(01:58):
score very differently, and they both have very different purposes.
In this segment, I want to go over the test
format and structure of both because i ELS and tofo
are the most popular. Dual lingo is trying to establish
itself as something, but it's low hanging fruit, right, it's
(02:21):
the the weak links, Okay, it is, That's what it is.
I mean, it's just an app that tries to sell
subscriptions and now US universities and stuff, or who are
needing to sell you on tuition or getting into dual lingo.
So I'm not even going to talk about dual lingo.
(02:43):
But the tofoal itself is primarily computer based, and there's
some locations that do offer a paper based test, but
primarily the tofol ibt is computer based. It has four sections,
the reading, the listening, and the speaking and the writing.
(03:03):
Right now, the speaking section is going to require some
live recorded responses, but the reading and listening have multiple
choice questions. And then, of course the biggest difference here
with between the ie ELTs and the tofol the TOFO
(03:25):
is more American English focused. Primarily it's used for American
universities until due Lingo comes along. I mean really that's
a whole other topic. Now. The i ELTs is more
for academic, for university entry, some general training, for immigration
(03:48):
work and stuff like that. Again, just like the TOEFOL,
there's four sections reading, listening, speaking and writing. A lot
of times the speaking is going to be face to
face an interview with an examiner. Right, You're gonna get
varied question types like short answers, diagram labeling, stuff like that.
(04:12):
It uses a combination of British, Australian and English accents
because it's a more internationally focused exam. Here's what I've learned.
East of Istanbul, Turkey, most people focus on the e
(04:34):
ELTs west of that line TOFO. I don't know why
this is, but it seems, you know, I've been doing
this for a long time. There's outliers, of course, kind
of the stray stray fish, if you will, But for
the most part is Denbul, Turkey is the line. Everybody
(04:58):
east is eye ELTs. Every you know, majority west or TOFO.
Now the IBT the tofal scoring range of course is
zero to one hundred and twenty points. No half scores,
only whole numbers. Universities generally require a score between eighty
and one hundred plus the ielts it's a little different,
(05:22):
zero to nine bands each section zero to nine. It
does allow for half scores, and universities often require six
point five to seven point five bands score. The TOFAL
takes about three hours iolts two hours and forty five
minutes or so, so roughly the same there. The TOFAL
recorded responses on a computer. I ELTs life conversation with
(05:47):
the examiner. Usually when it comes to writing, the TOFO
is typing based. It's kind of incorporates independent writing tasks.
The i ELS is handwritten or type essays. A little
bit different. Here's what you need to know. The TOFO
(06:13):
is more widely accepted in the US and Canada. I
ELS is more commonly used in the UK, Australia and
most of Europe. Now, which test did you take? That's
the next question. I would suggest taking the TOFO if
you're applying to American or Canadian universities and you prefer
multiple choice questions, if you're going to the UK, Australia, Europe,
(06:42):
somewhere like that, maybe you need it for immigration. I
ELTs is your best option. So that's kind of the
difference between the two. Now, for tofol In Ilts, mastering
the English is a tool for communication is far more
(07:02):
effective than obsessing over complicated grammar rules. I don't want
you to sit here and obsess yourself with complicated grammar rules.
Don't get me wrong, Grammar is still important, but I'm
gonna tell you something. Ninety nine percent of these people
who are teaching this shit pardon my French, but I'm
(07:24):
just you know me, I'm gonna be blunt with you.
These people have no freaking clue what they're doing. None
Preply for sure, Cambly, all these other places, most of
them have no clue what they're doing. They're just mills
(07:45):
to try to get people to take classes so they
can collect money. This is why it's so important to
work with an English coach and take somebody who's going
to teach you beyond that, because mastering English as a
tool for communications is far more effective than obsessing over
(08:07):
the grammar rules. Like I said, grammar is still really important.
But the key to success in all of this, no
matter what you're doing, lies in practical usage. Fluency and
comprehension rather than a bunch of rule memorizations. Stop memorizing rules.
(08:29):
It's not gonna help you. It's not gonna help you. Now.
I want you to understand. Run with me here. Both
tests focused on communication, not just grammar. Both of these
(08:52):
tests the total in the AILS, they evaluate how well
you can express ideas, not just grammatical rules. They are
far more worried about fluency understanding in natural speech than
they are about you using perfect grammar. That's contrary against
(09:16):
what a lot of people will tell you on here,
because they want to confuse you and keep you as
a student longer. That's the way they make money. I
want you from this point forward to focus more on
speaking writing, and I want you to prioritize this single thing, clarity.
(09:39):
I want you to perfect your clarity over perfection. Examiners
for the AYLS are going to really value natural, confident speaking.
They're going to devalue robotic accuracy. Okay, it's just true.
(10:07):
So you need to respond quickly and smoothly, even if
there's going to be minor grammatical mistakes. Listen, when it
comes to the writing a well structured essay with really
good arguments, is far far better than an essay full
(10:28):
of complicated grammar that lacks any clarity. That's totally one
hundred percent true. And I want you also to walk
away from this class, from listening to this to understand
that listening and reading require comprehension understanding, not just a
(10:53):
bunch of rules. Understanding all of these rules make no
point if you don't know how to play the game.
That's a fat jat. You need to understand the meaning
and context rather than just knowing how to analyze grammar.
(11:15):
I want you to focus on vocabulary, idioms, collocations, things
like that, because this is going to help you much
more the memorizing some obscure grammar rules. So what should
you focus on instead? I've got an answer for you.
(11:36):
Listen to podcasts like these, watch interviews, listen to ted talks,
get used to natural speech. Record yourself speaking, don't be
afraid to do it. Record yourself speaking, and focus on
fluency and pronunciation. Stop worrying about grammar. Stop it. I
(12:07):
think you should read widely, read everything, newspapers, articles, essays,
and I want you to absorb how English is actually used.
I want you to write essays, journals, summaries, I want
(12:28):
you to focus more on being clear and presenting a
logical idea. Then well, should I use a comma, a
hyphen or a semicolon? Just get it out one of
(12:50):
the big things that's going to help you improve your
vocabulary instead of focusing on the grammar rules to learn
how these words naturally fit together. I'll give you an example.
Make a decision, not do a decision. Strong coffee not
(13:13):
powerful coffee. You see the number one thing you can do.
Stop translating in your head. Learn the process of English naturally.
Learn the process of English naturally. It's going to help
you a lot. You see a student who masters English
(13:37):
as a whole through listening, reading, speaking, and writing, I
am convinced, will always score higher than one who just
memorizes complicated grammar rules. You need to be focusing on
effective communication, fluency, and comprehension, all these things. The grammar
(13:58):
is going to naturally improve along the way it will.
I promise you the grammar will get better as you
go along. That's an absolute fact. But why do people
(14:19):
want to keep pushing these grammar ideas easy? They need
students are too lazy to go out and look for
students totally that's the truth. That is the absolute truth.
(14:40):
If you don't believe me, just think about how business works.
Think about it. Their paychecks depend on you staying subscribed.
My philosophy is very different, very different. So look, I
(15:00):
don't do a lot of one on one coaching. I
do a little bit, but not a lot. You're welcome
to go to my website Matt pierceblog dot com mattpierceblog
dot com. Go check out some of the work I do.
I'm telling you I'm not gonna sit here and waste
my time on endless rules. I want teach you how
(15:24):
to play the game. That's what we need to focus on.
Visit my blog www dot Matt pierceblog dot com. There's
a lot of free stuff on there. I don't charge
for any of this. I'm not out here just trying
to keep you subscribed to make some money off of you.
It's pointless. I actually want you to succeed. All right,
(15:48):
We'll see in your next video or next audio lecture.
Take care of everybody. We'll see it. Z
Hey, everybody, it's Matt And you know, one of the
things that really aggravates me about the TOFO and about
the eye olts is that there's a lot of podcasts
out there, and there's a lot of companies and a
lot of teachers out there trying to tell you what's
right and what's wrong. Right. It's a vicious space, it
(00:35):
really is. And the problem is is most of these
people don't know their elbow from their bunghole about any
of this. I'm just gonna talk straight with you, and
most of these people are seeing that this is easy
(00:55):
money to be made because a lot of people want
to talk English and they want to speak English. They're
leading you down a wormhole. So I want to dispel
some of these myths surrounding the tofal and surrounding the
(01:16):
eye ELTs and learning English in general. I think this
is one of the things it needs to be done.
There's just too much, excuse me, there's just too much
out there. And this series of lectures I think is
hopefully going to help you with this. So let's dive
(01:37):
into the first and foremost the biggest question, the tofal
and the eye ELTs. So the tofal in the ILTS exams.
What these do is they measure your understanding, and they
do this differently due to their structure, and they both
(01:58):
score very differently, and they both have very different purposes.
In this segment, I want to go over the test
format and structure of both because i ELS and tofo
are the most popular. Dual lingo is trying to establish
itself as something, but it's low hanging fruit, right, it's
(02:21):
the the weak links, Okay, it is, That's what it is.
I mean, it's just an app that tries to sell
subscriptions and now US universities and stuff, or who are
needing to sell you on tuition or getting into dual lingo.
So I'm not even going to talk about dual lingo.
(02:43):
But the tofoal itself is primarily computer based, and there's
some locations that do offer a paper based test, but
primarily the tofol ibt is computer based. It has four sections,
the reading, the listening, and the speaking and the writing.
(03:03):
Right now, the speaking section is going to require some
live recorded responses, but the reading and listening have multiple
choice questions. And then, of course the biggest difference here
with between the ie ELTs and the tofol the TOFO
(03:25):
is more American English focused. Primarily it's used for American
universities until due Lingo comes along. I mean really that's
a whole other topic. Now. The i ELTs is more
for academic, for university entry, some general training, for immigration
(03:48):
work and stuff like that. Again, just like the TOEFOL,
there's four sections reading, listening, speaking and writing. A lot
of times the speaking is going to be face to
face an interview with an examiner. Right, You're gonna get
varied question types like short answers, diagram labeling, stuff like that.
(04:12):
It uses a combination of British, Australian and English accents
because it's a more internationally focused exam. Here's what I've learned.
East of Istanbul, Turkey, most people focus on the e
(04:34):
ELTs west of that line TOFO. I don't know why
this is, but it seems, you know, I've been doing
this for a long time. There's outliers, of course, kind
of the stray stray fish, if you will, But for
the most part is Denbul, Turkey is the line. Everybody
(04:58):
east is eye ELTs. Every you know, majority west or TOFO.
Now the IBT the tofal scoring range of course is
zero to one hundred and twenty points. No half scores,
only whole numbers. Universities generally require a score between eighty
and one hundred plus the ielts it's a little different,
(05:22):
zero to nine bands each section zero to nine. It
does allow for half scores, and universities often require six
point five to seven point five bands score. The TOFAL
takes about three hours iolts two hours and forty five
minutes or so, so roughly the same there. The TOFAL
recorded responses on a computer. I ELTs life conversation with
(05:47):
the examiner. Usually when it comes to writing, the TOFO
is typing based. It's kind of incorporates independent writing tasks.
The i ELS is handwritten or type essays. A little
bit different. Here's what you need to know. The TOFO
(06:13):
is more widely accepted in the US and Canada. I
ELS is more commonly used in the UK, Australia and
most of Europe. Now, which test did you take? That's
the next question. I would suggest taking the TOFO if
you're applying to American or Canadian universities and you prefer
multiple choice questions, if you're going to the UK, Australia, Europe,
(06:42):
somewhere like that, maybe you need it for immigration. I
ELTs is your best option. So that's kind of the
difference between the two. Now, for tofol In Ilts, mastering
the English is a tool for communication is far more
(07:02):
effective than obsessing over complicated grammar rules. I don't want
you to sit here and obsess yourself with complicated grammar rules.
Don't get me wrong, Grammar is still important, but I'm
gonna tell you something. Ninety nine percent of these people
who are teaching this shit pardon my French, but I'm
(07:24):
just you know me, I'm gonna be blunt with you.
These people have no freaking clue what they're doing. None
Preply for sure, Cambly, all these other places, most of
them have no clue what they're doing. They're just mills
(07:45):
to try to get people to take classes so they
can collect money. This is why it's so important to
work with an English coach and take somebody who's going
to teach you beyond that, because mastering English as a
tool for communications is far more effective than obsessing over
(08:07):
the grammar rules. Like I said, grammar is still really important.
But the key to success in all of this, no
matter what you're doing, lies in practical usage. Fluency and
comprehension rather than a bunch of rule memorizations. Stop memorizing rules.
(08:29):
It's not gonna help you. It's not gonna help you. Now.
I want you to understand. Run with me here. Both
tests focused on communication, not just grammar. Both of these
(08:52):
tests the total in the AILS, they evaluate how well
you can express ideas, not just grammatical rules. They are
far more worried about fluency understanding in natural speech than
they are about you using perfect grammar. That's contrary against
(09:16):
what a lot of people will tell you on here,
because they want to confuse you and keep you as
a student longer. That's the way they make money. I
want you from this point forward to focus more on
speaking writing, and I want you to prioritize this single thing, clarity.
(09:39):
I want you to perfect your clarity over perfection. Examiners
for the AYLS are going to really value natural, confident speaking.
They're going to devalue robotic accuracy. Okay, it's just true.
(10:07):
So you need to respond quickly and smoothly, even if
there's going to be minor grammatical mistakes. Listen, when it
comes to the writing a well structured essay with really
good arguments, is far far better than an essay full
(10:28):
of complicated grammar that lacks any clarity. That's totally one
hundred percent true. And I want you also to walk
away from this class, from listening to this to understand
that listening and reading require comprehension understanding, not just a
(10:53):
bunch of rules. Understanding all of these rules make no
point if you don't know how to play the game.
That's a fat jat. You need to understand the meaning
and context rather than just knowing how to analyze grammar.
(11:15):
I want you to focus on vocabulary, idioms, collocations, things
like that, because this is going to help you much
more the memorizing some obscure grammar rules. So what should
you focus on instead? I've got an answer for you.
(11:36):
Listen to podcasts like these, watch interviews, listen to ted talks,
get used to natural speech. Record yourself speaking, don't be
afraid to do it. Record yourself speaking, and focus on
fluency and pronunciation. Stop worrying about grammar. Stop it. I
(12:07):
think you should read widely, read everything, newspapers, articles, essays,
and I want you to absorb how English is actually used.
I want you to write essays, journals, summaries, I want
(12:28):
you to focus more on being clear and presenting a
logical idea. Then well, should I use a comma, a
hyphen or a semicolon? Just get it out one of
(12:50):
the big things that's going to help you improve your
vocabulary instead of focusing on the grammar rules to learn
how these words naturally fit together. I'll give you an example.
Make a decision, not do a decision. Strong coffee not
(13:13):
powerful coffee. You see the number one thing you can do.
Stop translating in your head. Learn the process of English naturally.
Learn the process of English naturally. It's going to help
you a lot. You see a student who masters English
(13:37):
as a whole through listening, reading, speaking, and writing, I
am convinced, will always score higher than one who just
memorizes complicated grammar rules. You need to be focusing on
effective communication, fluency, and comprehension, all these things. The grammar
(13:58):
is going to naturally improve along the way it will.
I promise you the grammar will get better as you
go along. That's an absolute fact. But why do people
(14:19):
want to keep pushing these grammar ideas easy? They need
students are too lazy to go out and look for
students totally that's the truth. That is the absolute truth.
(14:40):
If you don't believe me, just think about how business works.
Think about it. Their paychecks depend on you staying subscribed.
My philosophy is very different, very different. So look, I
(15:00):
don't do a lot of one on one coaching. I
do a little bit, but not a lot. You're welcome
to go to my website Matt pierceblog dot com mattpierceblog
dot com. Go check out some of the work I do.
I'm telling you I'm not gonna sit here and waste
my time on endless rules. I want teach you how
(15:24):
to play the game. That's what we need to focus on.
Visit my blog www dot Matt pierceblog dot com. There's
a lot of free stuff on there. I don't charge
for any of this. I'm not out here just trying
to keep you subscribed to make some money off of you.
It's pointless. I actually want you to succeed. All right,
(15:48):
We'll see in your next video or next audio lecture.
Take care of everybody. We'll see it. Z
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