TOEFL

Molly took the TOEFL on Sunday. She spent the 16 days, even weekends, leading up to it at a prep class from 3 to 9 p.m. On days when practice TOEFLs are scheduled, kids take them from 11 a.m. to 3 and enter class as usual. She said the classes are made so that kids have fun in them, so much fun, that some kids sign up for the 3,000 yuan ($443) class even if they aren't taking to TOEFL. Just a nice way to break up Chinese kids grueling day. The first week of TOEFL class was during the winter holiday so school wasn't an issue then, but the second week of class interfered with her high school. To solve the problem, Molly just left school two blocks early every evening and returned home around 9:30 after six hours of class to start her homework.
This TOEFL prep company is one of the most, if not the most, popular in China. It was started by man who was kicked out of Beijing University, the best university in China (Molly didn't know why he was kicked out). He made it his mission to start an university with a different teaching style than every other school in China. In the interim, he started a TOEFL-prep course, which became so successful he stuck with it. Apparently, kids in his classes do very well on the TOEFL.
Molly loves the classes. She says they're way better than classes at Jingshan, because the teachers understand that kids are busy. At Jingshan, much like at South, teachers tend to act like their class is the only one you're taking. The last day of classes, a day or two before students actually sit down to take the official test, is a day for the teachers to preform to their class and thank them for signing up. Some teachers are famous across Beijing for their scandalous dance performances: http://play.hupo.tv/tvb/424985.html. Others, like Molly's just sing to their class: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/zfcvy2FPHA0/.