[AlistDakisa]

Certainly most people know what is meant by a Toefl test I think. The abbreviation Toefl when I first saw seemed something similar to Teufel the German word for Devil. It made me laugh when I thought what could be a devil test?

Thank God I never had to go through the devil test in my days. Any way there were no cellphones in those days. Everything was taught in English medium from the Kindergarten onwards in Sri Lanka. My grandfather who was a postmaster in Thirukattupalli spoke in English too when I was a kid.

First the British left, then came Independence and a decade and half later a tumor called patriotism attacked the brains our politicians. So here we are taking the devil test. Well I wish all of them lots of fun with Toefl test.

Language lessons on cellphones
CHENNAI: Vedaswarup Pavan wants to see words everywhere. He has stuck post-its with English words on the shaving mirror, walls of his room and on the toilet door. He wants to be fully prepared for his upcoming Toefl test. So, when he received a message on his mobile phone asking if he would want to learn a word a day paying Rs 30 a month, he jumped at the offer.

Youngsters are now finding that their mobile phone could now be used to do more than just texting, taking pictures or listening to music. They are improving their English vocabulary or learning other languages such as Spanish.

Parents are happy to allow their sons and daughter to subscribe to such services. "When my son's phone usage became excessive, we limited his allowance. He told us that he would like to subscribe to a service that would allow him to learn a Spanish word daily. So, we have increased his credit limit. It is encouraging to know that he is trying to do more on his mobile phone than just use it as an entertainment tool," said Sharada Narain, mother of 19-year-old Sanjay.

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Destination UK - The Times of India

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