Beginning Again

Vivian had studied English in her home country. And she studied it even more when she got to the States. But her challenge was that she wasn’t familiar with the TOEFL at all. 

Starting in October of 2018, she studied for the test using resources she found online. She even left her job so she could devote more time to studying. 

A friend of hers told her about NoteFull, so she signed up for more info. But she continued to use what she found online instead. 

Vivian struggled with the TOEFL for months leading up to 2019. She tested multiple times from October to December. But she wasn’t able to pass. The speaking and reading sections were really holding her back. She knew she needed professional help.

Finding Help

That’s when she started searching for a solution. Since she was signed up for NoteFull emails, she got an invitation to our Saturday Classes in early 2019. So, she decided to join up.

These classes covered the reading, listening, and writing sections. And they were a great learning experience for her! Especially when it came to tackling each reading question. 

But more importantly, she really enjoyed them. She liked the way Joseph spoke to the students. She found him to be very methodical and calm, yet confident. And she liked the way that he always took time to motivate his students. 

After spending time in the Saturday classes, Vivian was invited to join the Magic Speaking Course in May-June. She signed up and honed her speaking skills for 2 straight months. 

“I learned to speak calm. Because I used to speak fast and my heart was beating so fast. And I also told [Joseph] him that I learned from him that I need to speak calm, that I need to pronounce better. And I learned it from him.”

Afterwards, Joseph invited her to join again for the next two months. But she felt confident. She thought she could pass on her next attempt, so she didn’t attend the classes.

Also, remember, Vivian had left her job for the TOEFL. Money was getting tight. She didn’t want to spend any more money than she had to. Many of you know the financial stress that the TOEFL can put on you. It’s not an easy thing to deal with. Vivian was doing everything she could to best prepare herself while still looking out for her and her family.

She waited for the TOEFL to change in August to start testing again. When she started back up, she was booking 2 tests every month.

On her next attempt, she was able to score a 26 in the speaking section. But her writing score was short by 1 point. And when she asked for a recount her score still didn’t change…

Her next few tries only made things worse for her. Her speaking score dropped to a 25. And then in November 2019 it went down to a 22. Vivian was so disappointed. And she became very depressed. She had a family to support and she was running out of time…

Thankfully, her family was an incredible support system for her throughout her journey. Her children always encouraged her. Her husband booked her tests for her, and always helped her push through the hard times.

Over time, Vivian saw that she was devoting too much time to the speaking section. This gave her less time to study the other sections, which was hurting her scores. So she decided to create her own study schedule. This turned out to be a vital key to her success!

Joseph would always send her clips from classes on each section of the test so she could study them. She reviewed all the classes and questions over and over. Joseph also sent her links to success stories as well. Whenever she wasn’t feeling up to studying she would watch them for inspiration. 

“What made the difference was Joseph. The way he speaks in class. He is very calm, he is very positive, and the way he explains how to answer the questions. That’s what I found different. And also the fact to be part of the class and all those questions that I had for self-study that he grade those questions, those speaking questions, that helped me a lot. That’s why I like it. The way he teaches, the way he speaks, the way he helps the students to create an answer. All the tips he gives in class that’s what really made the difference for me…I kept listening to the recordings, I kept listening to his classes, and also the success stories, and I keep practicing and repeating the answers. One time. Two times. Three times. I enjoyed the class very much. That’s what made the difference. I recommend the class to everybody that I know.”

“When Joseph said, you need to speak careful, you need to speak slow, but you need to tell a story to another person that doesn’t know about the question you’re answering. Think of yourself as a teacher. Pretend that your grader doesn’t know anything about the topic that you’re talking about. For me this was crucial because I was so focused on speaking and creating the template that sometimes I forgot what I needed to say. For me it was MAGIC. That’s when everything clicked for me.”

Despite all the stress, Vivian kept pushing all the way through. She had many friends give up on their dreams because of the TOEFL. She saw how it affected them. And she wasn’t going to let that happen to her!

On Their Way

14 months and 13 attempts later, Vivian finally passed the TOEFL! On December 14th, she got the good news. 

Funny thing was, she didn’t even think that she would pass! She signed up for the Golden Treasure Chest course thinking she would need it. But she ended up getting her dream scores instead!

“I owe my success to Joseph and NoteFull. Without him and without the course, I couldn’t make it.”

Now Vivian plans to keep studying for her NAPLEX to advance further towards her dream job! Great work, Vivian! 14 months of focus and effort. It was wasn’t easy. But you did it! And we always knew you could 🙂

Here are Vivian’s words of wisdom to anyone stuck on the TOEFL:

“I would advise that person to get the help that she or her needs, and I also encourage them to join NoteFull because for me it worked 100%. Even though I only joined the course for the speaking part, I still received clips for the other sections. And by the end I was studying every section using NoteFull. So, TOEFL is a hard test. It’s a tough test. And you need professional help. So I would advise them to join the NoteFull team and start learning from NoteFull and from Joseph…He inspired me, he motivated me, and I felt really confident when I finish each class with him and as he says in the classes, ‘keep practicing and practicing’ and that’s what I did. So I would encourage them to look for professional help. And if the person can do it, join the NoteFull team.”

Here For You

Whether you’ve never taken the TOEFL before and need it for nursing,

—or have taken it more times than you can count for pharmacy,

—or need help in one section for physical therapy,

—or all sections for dentistry,

—or need to improve a little for teaching,

—or A LOT for graduate school,

—or any combination that’s stressing you out…

Take a deep breath, relax, and click here to read our getting started page with care. By the end of that page, you’ll know your next steps to your TOEFL success with NoteFull.

If you’re a current NoteFull student, take a deep breath, relax, and KNOW you will succeed JUST like Vivian. Keep following your courses and keep attending your monthly Gold Course of online TOEFL classes.

We CAN and WILL get you to your dream score!

Share your story

Your success IS coming too!

Review these success stories often to keep you inspired. Study the advice each success story gives for specific guidance. Register for the NoteFull courses you need to get your dream TOEFL score. And, stay in touch with us every step of the way.

We’re here to help and will support you UNTIL you pass. We want to be one of the FIRST to congratulate you when you earn your dream TOEFL score. And, when that happens, we can’t wait to invite you to be our next success story so YOU can inspire 100s of others just like Vivian.

To learn how NoteFull can help you: click here for our getting started with NoteFull guide.

To reach out to us for more personal guidance: click here to email us through our contact us page.