Name: TOEFL狂聊：Rohit & Omar 的精彩對話！ (TOEFL Talk With Rohit & Omar)
Uploaded: 2026-01-12T17:42:05.000Z
Duration: 17 min 47 s

Welcome back to another episode of Breaking Boundaries, the world's premier podcast for international students.

歡迎回到 Breaking Boundaries 的最新一集，這是專為國際學生打造的頂級播客。

Or at least that's what I tell these guys.

I am joined today by two esteemed colleagues, Rohit and Omar, who lead the TOEFL exam.

今天有兩位我非常敬重的同事 Rohit 和 Omar 加入，他們負責 TOEFL 考試。

So they are the brains behind the entire TOEFL operation.

所以他們是整個 TOEFL 業務的幕後推手。

And, and this week we've announced really exciting updates to TOEFL that will kick into gear in January.

而，而我們這週宣佈了 TOEFL 的一些令人興奮的更新，將在明年一月開始實施。

But before we talk about the TOEFL updates, I want to take a moment just to introduce the world to Rohit and Omar, both of whom have super interesting backgrounds.

但在我們聊 TOEFL 更新之前，我想先花點時間向大家介紹 Rohit 和 Omar，他們兩位的背景都超級有趣。

So I grew up in India and we had the benefit of the British colonial past where English was part of the fabric of society.

我在印度長大，我們受益於英國殖民時期，英語是社會結構的一部分。

並不是每個人都說一口流利的英語，但

we had people spoke English and I had the benefit of attending a school that was English medium.

我們有說英語的人，而我剛好就讀了一所英語授課的學校。

So we learned different subjects, whether it was history, geography, science in English and that continued even in my undergrad as engineering.

所以我們用英語學習各種科目，像是歷史、地理、科學，這在我的大學工程學系也持續著。

But as all of us know that developing any skills, especially communication skills, it's all about practice.

但就像我們都知道的，培養任何技能，尤其是溝通技巧，全都是靠練習。

So while there was an element of learning and doing my formal education in English, but.

所以雖然我接受了英語的正規教育，但。

But the moment you stepped out of the classroom, you were speaking in Hindi or your local language in India.

但一走出教室，在印度你就會說印地語或你的在地語言。

And so it was perhaps not until the time I entered the professional part of my career, but

所以可能直到我進入職涯的專業階段，但

also got the opportunity to come to the US and study in a fully native English speaking environment where English was spoken not just inside the classroom, but

也有機會來到美國，在一個全英語的環境中學習，英語不只在教室裡說，

also interacting in day to day life that, that muscle strengthened.

還有日常生活中互動時，那個能力也變得更強了。

And then after that I feel privileged to have had the benefit and opportunity of living and working in many different parts of the world where English was the de facto language of business.

在那之後，我感到很榮幸能在世界各地許多地方生活和工作，那裡英語是商業的通用語言。

And Rohit, that's a nice bit of foreshadowing.

We'll discuss in a bit how we're modifying the TOEFL exam to capture English speaking on campus both in the classroom and in the cafeteria.

我們稍後會討論如何修改TOEFL考試，以捕捉校園內課堂和餐廳的英語口說能力。

And I enjoy hearing you say that was a key part of your own study abroad experience.

我很開心聽到你說那段經歷是你留學經驗的關鍵部分。

Omar speaks English better than a native speaker, just like Rohit.

Omar的英文說得比母語人士還好，就像Rohit一樣。

But Omar, I know you didn't start speaking English, so tell us about how you learned to speak this strange language.

但Omar，我知道你一開始並不會說英文，所以請告訴我們你是怎麼學會說這門奇特語言的。

所以我是到比較晚的年紀才開始學英文的。

I immigrated to Canada, Montreal, you know, French speaking part of Montreal, went to high school in French.

我移民到加拿大蒙特婁，你知道，蒙特婁的法語區，高中都是讀法文的。

I was in beginner's English throughout my high school.

高中時期我的英文程度都是初學者。

And you know, being In Montreal to immigrant parents are quite strict.

而且你知道，在蒙特婁，移民父母管教通常比較嚴格。

So TV was an absolute no, no at home until I found an angle, as I usually do, where my teacher required us to watch a 30 minute, one hour episode of anything in English and summarize it as homework daily.

所以在家裡看電視是絕對禁止的，直到我找到一個方法，就像我平常一樣，我的老師規定我們每天必須看30分鐘到一小時的英文節目，然後寫摘要當作業。

And so I discovered Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

然後我就發現了《新鮮王子妙事多》。

And so that was my golden excuse to watch television during the week.

這就成了我平日看電視的絕佳藉口。

And even as a 16 or 17 year old back in the day, again, to immigrant parents, it was a little bit more of a no screen policy during the week, irrespective of your age.

即使在我16、17歲那時候，對移民父母來說，不管你幾歲，平日都有點螢幕禁令。

And so I started watching TV in English and this is how it all started.

所以我就開始看英文電視，這就是一切的開始。

You know, I was allowed to watch television in English and so I started doing that during the week.

你知道嗎，我被允許看英文電視，所以我就開始在平日看。

Of course, they didn't know that I only had to watch 30 minutes.

當然，他們不知道我其實只能看三十分鐘。

I ended up watching three, four hours of English television every night.

結果我每晚看了三、四個小時的英文電視。

But that also gave me the ability to kind of familiarize myself with the language, be a lot more comfortable with it.

但這也讓我更熟悉這門語言，對它感到更自在。

Repeat after someone, you know, sing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air jingle alongside Will Smith.

跟著別人重複，你知道的，跟著 Will Smith 一起唱《新鮮王子妙事多》的片頭曲。

And then one thing led to another and obviously, you know, here we are.

然後就這樣一回事，很明顯，你看，我們就走到這一步了。

For our Gen Z listeners, Fresh Prince was this first star vehicle for Will Smith, who is now a mega star.

對我們 Gen Z 的聽眾來說，《新鮮王子妙事多》是現在超級巨星 Will Smith 的第一個代表作。

But it was set in West Philadelphia and it was a really important sort of cultural touchstone in the us.

但它發生在西費城，而且是美國一個非常重要的文化指標。

I also grew up watching the Fresh Prince.

我也是看著《新鮮王子妙事多》長大的。

Now, Rohit, I know that you took TOEFL in the past and perhaps taking over TOEFL now was your act of revenge.

好的，Rohit，我知道你以前考過 TOEFL，也許現在接手 TOEFL 是你報復的行動。

But tell me about your experience taking toefl, what I imagine was a few months ago.

但請告訴我你考 TOEFL 的經驗，我想應該是幾個月前的事吧。

Yes, just a few months and a couple of decades back, if you add to that.

是的，就幾個月前，如果再加上幾十年前的話。

But just like many other people who are preparing to study abroad, that becomes almost a requisite at that time.

但就像許多其他準備出國唸書的人一樣，那時候 TOEFL 幾乎是必備的。

So you approach it as one of the things that you have to do.

所以你把它當成是必須要做的一件事。

But as I evaluated the options and it was clear that TOEFL was the right assessment for me to take at that time.

但當我評估這些選項時，很明顯 TOEFL 是我當時應該要考的測驗。

And as I dug into it, like I mentioned before, having had the benefit of having my formal education in English medium educational institutions, there was an element of digging deep into certain aspects.

而且就像我之前提到的，因為我受過英語教學體系的正規教育，所以我在深入研究某些方面時，有很大的幫助。

You know, coming from India, I think we are generally good at listening and reading and perhaps not as a tribe in terms of the production skills, as we call it, in terms of speaking and writing.

你知道的，來自印度，我覺得我們通常聽力和閱讀都還不錯，但在口說和寫作這些「產出技能」方面，我們可能就沒那麼擅長了。

So that was where I ended up spending a bit More of my time and focus in making sure that I enhanced those aspects of my application and ultimately putting in the right effort going through the test script materials that TOEFL had put out, as well as using the opportunity.

所以那時候我花了很多時間和精力，確保我加強了申請上的這些面向，最後也投入了適當的努力，去研究 TOEFL 提供的測驗教材，同時也把握了這個機會。

At that time, I was living in Singapore and practicing with other colleagues who were native English speakers as, as well as other people who were preparing for the TOEFL helped me prepare for it.

那時候我住在新加坡，跟其他母語是英語的同事以及其他準備考 TOEFL 的人一起練習，這對我準備考試很有幫助。

And ultimately I gave a test that got me admitted to my institution of choice.

最後我考到了一個成績，讓我進入了我心儀的學校。

You've lived all around the world, including your current domicile in Dubai.

你住過世界各地，包括你現在居住的杜拜。

There's the Canada connection now in Paris.

現在在巴黎也有了加拿大的連結。

TOEFL 真的算是個全球性的組織。

And when we schedule calls here, we have to use complex time zone instruments to ensure that we're actually scheduling a time when someone is awake.

而我們在這裡安排通話時，得用複雜的時區工具來確保我們安排的時間真的有人醒著。

But Omar, I'm curious, beyond your English language journey, what was your favorite place to live and why?

不過 Omar，我很好奇，除了你的英語學習歷程，你最喜歡住在哪個地方？為什麼？

Because you've been all around the world.

我在那裡度過的時光真的太棒了。

而且你知道，杜拜是一個很特別的地方。

An amazing melting pot where the UAE has about 10 million people that live there, of which only 1 million are from there.

一個很棒的大熔爐，阿拉伯聯合大公國約有 1000 萬居民，其中只有 100 萬是當地人。

You have people from India, from the Philippines, from the US From Italy, from France, from Japan, from China, et cetera, et cetera, all kind of living together.

你可以看到來自印度、菲律賓、美國、義大利、法國、日本、中國等等各式各樣的人，大家一起生活。

Obviously people spoke Arabic, but the common language is English.

當然大家會說阿拉伯語，但通用語言是英語。

That's how 100 plus nationalities communicate for the most part.

這就是 100 多個國家的人們，大部分是如何溝通的。

One last question for you both before we talk about the TOEFL exam itself.

在我們討論 TOEFL 考試本身之前，想再問你們最後一個問題。

You have very diverse experiences from West Philadelphia to the uae.

你們的經驗非常多元，從西費城到阿拉伯聯合大公國都有。

Any tips for students who are adapting to a new culture, whether it's a European destination or in Southeast Asia.

對於適應新文化（無論是歐洲目的地還是東南亞）的學生，有什麼建議嗎？

Any tips you have for students as they try to hit the ground running when they begin their studies in a place that's often foreign?

當學生們剛開始在一個陌生的環境讀書時，有什麼建議可以幫助他們快速進入狀況？

Yeah, I think first and foremost is to shed any inhibitions that are there.

嗯，我認為最重要的一點是，要放下所有顧慮。

Oftentimes in a foreign place, you tend to also sometimes be hesitant in reaching out lest you make a fool of yourself.

在一個陌生的環境裡，我們常常會因為害怕出糗而不敢主動聯繫。

So, you know, I think I would say number one, shed any inhibitions.

所以，我想說第一點，放下所有顧慮。

You know, any kind of learning only happens when you have an immersive mindset.

任何學習都只會在我們抱持著沉浸式的學習心態時發生。