Dear IEP Students,

Can you believe that we have only 5 weeks of school left, including final exams? It seems like the semester just started! It has been a shorter semester than usual. Last spring our semester was 17 weeks long, including finals, and this semester is just 14 weeks long. That explains why your teachers have been trying to cram so much into your classes and why we haven't been able to finish very much in TOEFL class!!

Speaking of TOEFL . . . there is just one week before the Institutional TOEFL on Monday, November 11 at 9:00 a.m. in Student Center 215A. Please don't be late for the test, and don't forget to bring at least two pencils. In TOEFL class on Thursday, we will go over how to fill out the answer sheet.

If you are not in TOEFL class and you have never taken TOEFL before, please feel free to come on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 2:40 p.m. to learn how to fill out the answer sheet. If you know how to do this, it will make you less nervous on the actual day of TOEFL.

After the Institutional TOEFL, the TOEFL class isn't finished! We will start learning about the Computer-Based TOEFL (CBT) on Tuesday, Nov. 12. If you are not in the TOEFL class but you plan to take the CBT, you are welcome to come to the class and practice.

If you plan to take the CBT, you should make an appointment to do so VERY SOON. It takes about 3 or 4 weeks to receive your score, and you need your score by the time spring semester classes start on Monday, Jan. 13. I have CBT brochures in my office, so please stop by if you need one.

You can call the Prometrics Testing Office in Little Rock at (501) 663-8341 to make an appointment for the CBT. I really recommend calling this phone number rather than the free "800" number, even though you will have to pay long distance charges. A human being in Little Rock will answer the "501" number, and you will have a better chance of getting an appointment sooner. If you call the other number, you will have to listen to a very long, confusing recorded message and you will speak with someone in New Jersey (or some other faraway place) who will not have many choices of dates or times when you can take the test. If you want some help in making an appointment, please see me . . . but do it SOON!

I wish you all the best of luck on TOEFL. The best advice I can give you about taking TOEFL is to relax and just do your best. If you are stressed out on the day of TOEFL, you will not do as well as if you are relaxed. Please do not stay up very late studying on Sunday night before TOEFL. If you don't know the information by that time, you can't learn it in one night. Getting a good night's sleep will help you more than "cramming" for the test.

As usual, if you have any questions or problems, please feel free to talk to me. It has been a great semester so far, and I hope the next five weeks are just as good!

Sincerely,

Lynn Ramage Schaefer, Interim Coordinator
Intensive English Program
Department of World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Irby Hall #207J
University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR 72035
tel: (501) 450-3671
fax: (501) 450-5185
LYNNR@mail.uca.edu