Practice your pronunciation. Having an accent is no problem when taking the TOEFL, but the test evaluator must be able to understand you clearly enough. Make sure your pronunciation is easily understood by strangers, not just those who know you and are familiar with your speech habits. Private language schools, community centers and libraries offer courses in accent reduction that can be helpful. Rosetta Stone, a computer software program for language learning, offers an interactive feature for evaluating pronunciation, which records and compares your speech to that of native speakers.
Familiarize yourself with the type of vocabulary used in an academic setting. Because the test is designed to evaluate one's ability to succeed in an English language university, terms and vocabulary used in university courses will be widely used in the test. Study books containing lists of words commonly used in university courses, papers and publications, along with their definitions. You can also find lists of such terms online. Make your own flashcards, vow to learn and use a new word every day, and look online for some practice tests. The websites Test-Guide.com and ETS.org provide free practice tests for the TOEFL.
Before the test, give yourself some time to start thinking in English. Speak English with someone prior to the exam to warm up your brain; the tasks included in the speaking component involve spontaneous responses, so you will not be able to memorize something beforehand and recite it. The spoken component is composed of six tasks, which last 20 minutes in total.Two of the spoken tasks will be to express opinions on a given topic; four of the tasks require you to answer questions based on written and spoken material. If you don't have a native speaker to converse with the day of the test, read a newspaper article and then express your opinion to yourself, or watch the news and make comments to the television.
Take a TOEFL preparation course; there are courses available all over the world with the specific purpose of preparing English language learners to take and succeed in the TOEFL. The course will take you through the steps of sitting for a timed standardized test, familiarize you with the content and structure, and give several practice tests so you can anticipate what kind of score you will receive when it's time to take the real thing.
Consider taking a course related to your interest at a university or community college. You can take the class for a letter grade, or as an auditor, in which you will be present for class but will not receive a letter grade. Taking an actual university course will help you become familiar with the pace of a university lecture course, which you will benefit from in the listening and responding tasks in the speaking component of the TOEFL. You will also become familiar with the terms as they are used in context, which may be more helpful than memorizing vocabulary words with flashcards.