Real Life, Real Students

I am an International dentist from Syria. First of all, I want to thank Sherlen for the help and support she provided me to achieve the desired score 104 in TOEFL.

After finishing the boards, I started preparing for TOEFL and attempted the test 4 times back to back as I was advised by some people. Then I realized that there must be something missing here and decided to get professional help. Sherlen is the key to this success. She helped me to improve the reading from 18 to 28 in one month, and in speaking, I got 26 for the first time after being stuck in 24 trap.

I really appreciate your effort in helping us (International Professionals).

I had seen many follow-ups, real people who passed the TOEFL and you were and still are the key factor in this success, and now they are in the right place, helping and interacting effectively in their society. Since I am one of them, I would like to share my journey after you helped me.

After finishing the application process for dental schools, I received two school interviews so far and got accepted in both schools. There is more to come, but I will stop here because the school of choice is one of top 10 dental schools in the USA and I got it (the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine).

Just a brief review of the interview that got me accepted in this school, in which your teaching methods in speaking and writing helped me to earn this acceptance.

In the interview there was a writing task, mine was about music, a topic that I had never learned to write or talk about it, but I did. My point here is that your methods help in any situation ( Toefl, professions, and life experiences).

In the personal interview, the program director literally said” I have interviewed a lot of candidates, but none of them speaks fluently as you do”. Here again, I remember your advice and guidance in speaking naturally.

My experience in TOEFL with you taught me that what you give us is not just for the test, but for lifetime success in our professions.

Thank you again and again.

I tried many tutors before, but my scores did not change at all. Sherlen’s teaching methods ultimately worked for me. She tested me for every skill and wrote down my specific plan. She wanted to improve my reading and writing scores first. She was very flexible in teaching me. Whenever the method did not work for me, she tried a new one to help me get through it.

After one month, I took a test and improved from 73 to 84. We worked together for another month, and I got my desired scores of 94 and 95. Reading: my score went up from 14 to 26; writing scores: 20 to 27. We did some classes on speaking, and my score went up from 20 to 22.. Not only is she a good teacher, but she is also a responsible tutor. She cares more about the quality and my result than my money. I can’t explain what she did to help me win my Toefl battle and I want to say a big “thank you.

I am very happy that I am able to leave the TOEFL exam behind in 2022 and start a new chapter in my life in 2023. Board of pharmacy I am coming! TOEFL is done!

Working with a professional teacher is important. I would like to thank and recommend Sherlen Tanner. She opened my eyes on many grammar and pronunciation mistakes and helped me to increase my score from 24-27 in speaking. She has a plan for every student and intensive homework that you need to complete. She really pushes you to practice and practice and makes sure you finish your assignments every week. She evaluates and tracks your skills and improvements during the course, especially, she makes sure that you are getting rid of your fossilized mistakes.

I would like to take an opportunity to thank my best teacher, Sherlen Tanner, who changed my life, and played a considerable part in my success. Indeed, I can’t find suitable words to express how much I am grateful to know you. You are not just a normal teacher, but you are a great , caring, and honest person .

Her friendly and inspirational smile made me take everything easy and felt comfortable dealing with the difficulties. She was an excellent teacher and close friend when I felt hopeless.

With her support and care, I always felt confident that I would be able to get all the scores one day and I did.

Dear Sherlen! I am overflowing with joy. I was accepted to dental school of my dream and was selected from 1500 applicants to be a part of class that consists of 20 international trained dentists. It was extremely stressful and difficult process. TOEFL® score was one of the decisive aspects dental school were looking at in order to extend interview invitations. I don’t even know what I did without your TOEFL® personal classes. You are an amazing teacher who was accompanying me through the every single assignments during preparation. Thank you very much for your professionalism.

Only those TOEFL takers who need 26 on speaking and 24 on writing understand the frustration that I had for more than a year. Writing a success story had become a dream for me, and I didn’t know who I would be honored to write for. I had so many coaches.

On August 2017, I received my result, speaking 24 and writing 21, which I was stuck in. I promised myself to pass in the next exam that I had booked, September 21.

I chatted with Sherlen via Facebook and asked: ” do you guarantee that I get 26 if I get the intensive package with you?” She answered, ” do you guarantee that you do whatever I ask you to do ?“

Guess what! I got 26 both for speaking and writing on September 21st; however my reading and listening were not satisfying. I took three more exams after that every other week without continuing classes with Sherlen. My speaking was 24, 23, and 27, which was my last TOEFL exam in my life. I admit that for the last exam, I reviewed my homework with Sherlen two days before the exam. Good news: She doesn’t abuse and degrade students like some teachers do. She doesn’t play games with students, and she doesn’t charge overpriced. She is sincere, calm and realistic. I was truly comfortable to have 18 classes with her, and I feel my accent jumped into a less embarrassing level within a month. If you like to know how her class works for you, you should answer this question sincerely, ” do you guarantee that you do whatever an experienced teacher asks you to do?”

I tried many tutors but I made no progress. Finally, I met the right tutor, Sherlen. She is the one who motivated me and helped me get my scores! After 4 months of classes with her, I finally received all the scores I needed for my pharmacy license. She made me feel confident. I was calm and less stressed when I was taking the exam. Sherlen always told me to be patient and not give up! She would say, “Act like a warrior , and not as a loser! Keep studying consistently with a routine every day”. I am glad I listened to her!

First of all, I want to thank Sherlen for her effort not only to let me pass TOEFL with the scores required for my license but also for improving my language skills.

Here is my story with TOEFL. I have been taking the exam since 2015 to get 26 in speaking which is the required score to pass the language requirements for my license. I took it 11 times and my score ranged from 23-24. I became financially and psychologically drained. But, God is always good. He sent me the miracle Sherlen. She evaluated me with a score analysis and we started together to tackle each aspect of the speaking section to improve it.

I took private sessions for 2 months. During this time, I took the exam and I still got 24 but I was not angry at all, however, I was surprised that I got 3.5 out of 4 ( good) in question 4 and 6. That’s why I invested my money for another month with Sherlen Solen Tanner. In these private sessions, I knew her method of teaching was very effective. Also, she helped me out psychologically which was really helpful to pass my exam. I took the exam the second time and I passed with a total score of 106 and speaking score 26. That’s why I advise all to invest their money with her instead of attempting to take the exam many times.

Sherlen really works on the weaknesses that you currently have and creates a very effective plan to correct them. I had a lot of grammar mistakes and accent problems. Although I had 23 in speaking in my first TOEFL exam, with repetition and studying hard, I ended up scoring 29 in speaking after 4 months. Sherlen has very unique strategies that help not only for English language proficiency but also for teaching the brain how to make connections for fast progress. She will help you and give you feedback on your answers but you need to work with her to really benefit from her knowledge and her ways of teaching. It’s all about precision and doing your part of this equation. She really cares for all of her students and if you really suffered a lot from this stressful exam, it would be amazing to start working with Sherlen. I really appreciate the effort and the warm support that I had from Sherlen during this time when TOEFL exam results were very critical for my life. If I didn’t meet them when I first moved to the US, it would be hard for me to pass the exam in such a short time.

I tried TOEFL one time when I was in India but couldn’t get the required scores. I got 24 in Speaking at that time. I received my TOEFL result recently. I was surprised to see 26 in speaking, thanks to Sherlen! One of my friends recommended me her classes. I was worried and anxious about TOEFL because my requirements were high to become a licensed physical therapist in Washington state. After joining her individual session classes, I felt confident that I could do it and achieve my goal. She not only gave me proper guidance about how to speak like a native speaker, what phrases were important to use in speaking, but also helped me to improve my grammar and pronunciation. She also found my weaknesses which I needed to focus on. When I was doing practice with her, she always corrected my mistakes and told me to do shadowing, which really helped me a lot to speak smoothly like native English speakers. I definitely respect her hard work and recommend her classes if you really want to achieve your targeted scores.

First of all, I want to take my hat off to teacher “Sherlen” for her patience and effective guidance during my review. Here is my story…After trying several (around 6) TOEFL online review courses, I finally found ESA. The Nursing commission in the state of Washington requires me to have a TOEFL speaking score of 26, and I got it. It took only 1 test. I passed the test without any difficulty and I got a speaking score of 27. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to especially my teacher SHERLEN and of course to JAIME MILLER in providing consistent support throughout the review.

I graduated from Dental School in Cuba, and like many other foreign dentists who live in the United States, I wanted to continue my professional field and be able to practice dentistry in the U.S.

About six months ago, I took the TOEFL test, and my score was low. I got a total of 73 getting 17 on Reading, 21 on Listening, 20 on Speaking and 15 on Writing. When I received the results, I felt depressed and hopeless because I knew that the application open date would come soon, and I didn’t have the necessary score for being accepted in any program. That was the moment when I realized that I was heading in the wrong direction regarding my preparation for TOEFL.

I thought working with a private TOEFL teacher would be the best way to get a high score and Sherlen seemed to be a competent and knowledgeable teacher with experience. So, we worked together for five months, and our classes turned out to be extremely effective. Professor Sherlen taught me not only the English language, which is hard by itself, but also the needed tips to nail the exam. She focused on my weaknesses in every specific topic and she helped me to be more analytical. At the same time, she guided me to apply strategies in a smart way for improving all my reading, listening and writing skills. After a while, I felt more confident with the English language. Also, I was able to communicate my ideas in the complex writing part using the amazing study materials that Sherlen provided.

I finally took the TOEFL test, I ended up getting 102 at the end. My score went from 73 to 102, with 26 in Speaking, which was much higher than what I expected to have, so I’m really happy and blessed about that. A 26 in speaking allows me to apply to a university like Howard or Michigan.

If you are a foreign dentist who is trying to apply to the international dental programs and you need a competitive score in TOEFL, I am pleased to highly recommend professor Sherlen. She will contribute greatly to your success as a dentist in the United States.

Thank you so much for your help, Sherlen. It was an honor being your student!

Christmas present comes earlier this year!!!! Nothing could make me feel happier than this great news!!!! After a year of studying, I did nothing except study, cry, and stress over and over. It finally ends.

Thank you, Sherlen Solen Tanner, for being a great mentor, for being with me from the beginning until the end. You have taught me so much.

I’m so lucky to have Sherlen as my TOEFL tutor. We worked together on and off for almost one year and she is a big part of my success helping me go through this long, arduous journey.

Before I met her, I was so desperate to get 26 in speaking. My first score is 18 and I knew that I spoke with incorrect grammar but I had no idea about how to fix it. Because of her experience, she was very confident that she could help me to improve.

During the time I worked with Sherlen, she was able to identify my weaknesses and helped me fix them. I followed her advice completely. I studied really hard and never gave up.

Getting 26 on speaking is a very difficult part. My main goal is to speak English more fluently with the correct grammar and pronunciation. I practiced tone and pronunciation. I fixed my fossilized grammar mistakes through flashcards. I realized that I have to speak with confidence and understanding.

Sherlen is not just a teacher but also a family member who encourages me to keep fighting. I attribute my success to her!

Thanks, TOEFL for bringing me to meet with Sherlen. She improved my accent, pronunciation, and grammar. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be as fluent as this.

She an amazing teacher. I learned so much from her about how to be prepared for a difficult test like TOEFL. I’m so lucky that I have her as my teacher and she also played a big role in my success.

At first, studying with Sherlen was like I was in a new world. She introduced me to OneNote which is a software that could help me practice and study TOEFL easier. My target score was overall 85 + speaking 26. We worked together as a team, and she helped me improve my English skills in every section.

During our classes, in reading a section, Sherlen and I went through what kind of questions that I had trouble with, and then she explained how to think and identify the reading articles and answered those questions correctly. In a Listening section, when I had a question, I would ask her about the meaning of what the professor said in the lectures or some unusual vocabulary. The main focus was on speaking questions. I had a lot of problems in speaking because of my pronunciation, my grammar, and my intonation. Sherlen helped me by introducing me to the “accent reduction” concept to help me with my pronunciation. She taught me how to reduce words and some rules that I needed to remember, and pointed out when I made mistakes. Also, when we practiced, she fixed my grammar and taught me to use it how to use it correctly. We made flashcards of my pronunciation and grammar mistakes so I could remember them and never make the same mistakes again. Because of all of these, I speak more fluently, naturally, and confidently. In the writing section, Sherlen helped me to create more specific thesis sentences. They helped improve my writing scores because they were clearer and easier to understand than I wrote.

Thank you Sherlen so much for being such a great teacher. I remember the time that I wasn’t confident if I would be able to get the speaking score that I needed. Sherlen listened to my responses together and told me that it was a great response and they both encouraged me to keep doing it. She treats me like I’m part of her family and I very much appreciate it.

Thank you Sherlen for being part of my journey. Finally, I did it. I’m so proud and honored to be one of her successful students.

The first time I took the TOEFL test my score, 76, was not good. I did not have any tutor at that time. After that attempt ,I was very disappointed. A friend of mine recommended that I take private classes with Sherlen. My friend worked with her in the past and increased her TOEFL score by 25 points.

I’ve been attending Sherlen’s classes for three months. During this time, Sherlen has helped me a lot. She gave me the strategies for improving my reading, listening and writing skills. Here are some that helped me to improve my score by 20 points:

Understanding the passage and connecting information while reading is really important. I applied all the Active Reading strategies she taught me.

I worked in my vocabulary. I used to make Flashcards with the words I did not know the meaning and at least 3 or 4 days per week I used to review all the new words by reading them in sentences out loud.

Working with the listening transcripts of the lectures in the listening part helped me a lot. Sherlen always recommended me that I use the transcripts to improve my listening skills.

Getting feedback on the writing essays that I wrote is the best way of improving writing.

I still need to work on my speaking and writing skills but I am more than happy with the results.

Thank you Sherlen again and I will continue with your class until I get the score that I need.

Glory be to God forever! Jesus sent me my Christmas present.

The day that I was dreaming about came true. Every time Sherlen was posting a new testimonial for one of the TOEFL warriors, I was telling myself that I must be one of them. It was a long journey, and I kept fighting with the TOEFL for more than 4 years. I took the test 19 times and I passed it on the 20th.

First of all, thanks to the wonderful, powerful, and professional teacher Sherlen Tanner. Sherlen was always on my side. She surrounded me by her professional knowledge, great support, and love. If you want a teacher to motivate, support, and help you in your journey, you won’t find someone better than Sherlen. Sherlen is a knowledgeable person and her strategies are very effective. She was able to detect my weaknesses from the first class. Her advice was the way to succeed and make such great improvements to get 28 in Speaking after being stuck at 23, 24 for a long time! Thank you Sherlen.

For TOEFL warriors: please never give up. I remember when I was feeling frustrated, I told Sherlen ” you know what, I will never give up.” Sherlen believed in me, and she told me that I would pass.

My advice about the exam; -practice, practice, practice…practicing and repetition are the keys to be confident.

Use flashcards to get rid of your fossilized mistakes (one of powerful Sherlen’s tips.)

Shadow questions 3,5,4,6 with audio transcripts and hunt phrases and verbs that you can use and write them down on your flashcards. That is very helpful to improve your pronunciation and vocabulary (Thanks Sherlen for teaching me that)

Finally, but the most important thing, believe in yourself. You don’t have to be 100% correct to pass. But, you need to sound intelligible and clear. (Sherlen teaches how with many strategies)

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE.

I am really excited and thankful to Sherlen for my TOEFL scores. She is an amazing professional teacher. The way she gives her lessons is unique. Her students never feel distracted while learning from her. Her classes are attractive, engaging, and enjoyable. She will remain one of my favorite sources of inspiration.

I would definitely recommend every TOEFL warrior to join Sherlen’s classes. I am glad to be her student. If you want to be successful or need your desired scores, you have to be determined and work under some guidance. I did the mistake of not taking help from any teacher in my previous 2 attempts. But after joining Sherlen’s classes, I realized where my mistakes are, and she is the reason why I achieved my TOEFL scores.

Learning a language is not easy. We will keep making mistakes if no one corrects us. TOEFL is not an academic exam where you have your syllabus and you just have to read it. It is about knowing your errors and correcting them with an expert. We really need to erase our mistakes in English from our unconscious mind, which can only be possible with the help of a good and polite teacher like Sherlen. So, if you want to achieve your goals soon, then, please don’t overthink and join Sherlen’s classes.

I was only expecting speaking 26 but because of her, I also got 24 in writing.

Thanks for all the support. I really appreciate your help. I’ve never seen such a passionate and kind teacher.