The MBAExchange has established strategic alliances with a number of service providers who complement our MBAadmissions consulting work. We’re pleased to highlight these firms and their capabilities.
First, some background. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) evaluates non-native English speaking applicants to use and understanding English in an academic setting. This exami is an admission requirement for most MBAprograms that use English as the language of instruction. For our admissions consulting clients who need additional help preparing for this potential obstacle to their MBAgoals, we’re pleased to introduce Jon Hodge.
Jon Hodge, founder of Strictly English, describes how the typical applicant can benefit from their TOEFL tutoring services.
The “ideal” Strictly English tutoring candidate is anyone with a history of successful TOEFL study — either independently, in a group class, or with another tutoring firm — who has plateaued and cannot achieve the TOEFLscore he or she needs. These students tend to be smart and self-motivated, which is what brought them initial progress, but now they need 1-on-1 personalized instruction to get over the last of their TOEFLchallenges.
Jon not only designs the curriculum for Strictly English’s tutors, but he’s also a professor at a Boston-area business school. So his students learn communication skills that go far beyond TOEFL. Case in point:you don’t just learn how to score a 26 or above on your TOEFLSpeaking section; you’re also taught valuable public speaking strategies that translate directly into real-world communiques, such as effective “Rocket Pitches.”
1-ON-1 ATTENTION, ONLINE FLEXIBILITY, REAL-TIME IMMEDIACY
Strictly English features only 1-on-1 tutoring rather than group classes. They have found that group classes usually return scores in the low to mid 80s — far below what the typical MBAapplicant expects and needs to gain MBAadmission.
Another differentiator at Strictly English is that they’re both online and live. Most online services have what they call “a-synchronic” teaching, which means you have a real person looking at your writing or commenting on your speaking, but you send them recordings and they email you back their responses. Strictly English, however, finds this ineffective, so their clients pay for rea-time interaction with a live tutor.
The benefits of online vs. face-to-face tutoring are obvious, such as the possibility of early-morning and late-night classes and the chance to squeeze in tutoring between other obligations. Perhaps most importantly, since the TOEFLtest is online, it makes good sense that the tuturing should be, too, so that students learn in an environment that emulates the actual test environment.
ALL TOEFL, ALL THE TIME
Strictly English is a TOEFL-only company. Some other services support a variety of standardized tests (GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT, SSAT, TOEFL, etc.) which can dilute the strength of their TOEFL instruction — especially for those firms that have just one tutor. The staff at Strictly English know every nuance of the TOEFLbecause of their dedication to this one test.
So, if the TOEFL requirements of your targeted MBAprogram seem overwhelming at times, just give Strictly English a shout. And for an assessment of your TOEFL, GMATor GRE test prep needs, just complete the information form on our website, www. mbaexchange.com
A FREE SAMPLE FOR OUR CLIENTS
Strictly English invites all interested MBAExchange clients to sign up for one 30-minute assessment per section of the TOEFLtest (i.e., up to 2 hours if you need all 4 sections evaluated). Furthermore., you can also sign up for weekly blog articles or write an essay to receive a free evaluation from Strictly English.
You can’t beat free — in any language!
