The One Study Habit That Separates High TOEIC Scorers From the Rest

🗝 Before you read:
Look at the article title and image. What do you think this article will be about?

Most TOEIC learners focus on input — watching videos, reviewing notes, and doing practice questions.

But high scorers all have one secret: they spend time reviewing what they got wrong and actively recalling what they’ve learned.

This isn’t just a lucky habit. Accelerated Learning research shows that the act of pulling information out of your brain, even when it's difficult, builds stronger memory pathways than simply reviewing or rereading. This process is called active recall.

High performers don’t just complete a quiz — they go back and ask, "Why did I miss that?" or "How else could I remember this better?"
They build mistake logs, create short reflections, and review their weakest areas more often.

It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing better.
If you review your errors, track what’s difficult, and test yourself regularly, you’ll learn faster, retain more, and feel more confident on test day.

📋 Understanding meaning

How well do recall and understand?

  1. What do high TOEIC scorers do differently after a quiz?

  2. What is the main purpose of active recall?

  3. Why is reviewing mistakes important?

  4. What question might a high scorer ask themselves after getting something wrong?

  5. How does Accelerated Learning research support this method?

  6. What is better than simply doing more questions?

🧠 Building Vocabulary

Match the meaning word

  1. Retain

  2. Distraction

  3. Ritual

  4. multitasking

  5. Concentrate

A .Focus

B. Routine

C. Doing many things at once

D. Remember

E. Interruption

✍️ Part 6 – Text Completion

Instructions: Choose the word or sentence that best fits the blank in the text.

Passage 1 – Short Blog Entry

I try to do a quick review after every TOEIC practice session.
I write down the questions I got wrong and then ______ them again the next day. This helps me avoid making the same mistakes.

Choices:
A. review
B. delay
C. celebrate
D. record

Passage 2 – Study Journal

After finishing my weekly quiz, I spend 10 minutes doing active ______. It forces me to remember the material and understand my weak points.

Choices:
A. recall
B. translation
C. writing
D. grammar

✍️ Part 5 – Incomplete Sentences

Instructions: Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

  1. Active recall helps students _____ information from memory.
    A. ignore
    B. hide
    C. retrieve
    D. translate

  2. Good learners _____ their errors and review them regularly.
    A. avoid
    B. celebrate
    C. forget
    D. track

✍️ Part 7 – Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage

Students who regularly test themselves and reflect on mistakes tend to improve faster than those who only do review drills.
This technique, called active recall, strengthens memory by forcing the brain to retrieve information.
Reflection helps learners see patterns in their errors and avoid repeating the same mistakes. High scorers don’t just study more — they study smarter. They use short, focused sessions followed by self-checks and error analysis. Over time, this leads to deeper understanding and higher TOEIC scores

  1. What learning habit improves test performance?
    A. Doing more grammar drills
    B. Watching vocabulary videos
    C. Using active recall
    D. Reading long textbooks

  2. Why is reflection helpful after studying?
    A. It improves pronunciation
    B. It prevents repeated mistakes
    C. It helps you guess better
    D. It reduces speaking anxiety

  3. What does active recall require you to do?
    A. Look up answers
    B. Read explanations
    C. Remember information
    D. Copy others' answers

  4. What is a common trait of high TOEIC scorers?
    A. They avoid difficult questions
    B. They do long study sessions without breaks
    C. They focus on quantity not quality
    D. They reflect and self-correct

🧠 Self-Reflection

The most important step in any lesson is not just completing the task, but making meaning from it. Take 2–3 minutes to reflect on your learning today. You don’t need perfect answers — just honest ones. This is how high performers grow.✍️ Write in a notebook, type below, or say it aloud — what matters is doing it.

  1. What did I understand better after reading this article?

  2. What mistakes or surprises helped me learn?

  3. 🧩 What new words or phrases did I discover?

  4. 🔁 How can I use these words in the next 7 days to help remember them?

  5. What is one action I will take tomorrow to improve my TOEIC skills?

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