TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities and other English-speaking academic and professional institutions.
TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the IELTS.
TOEFL iBT (Internet-based test)
Reading The Reading section consists of questions on 3-5 passages, each approximately 700 words in length. The passages are on academic topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an undergraduate university textbook. Passages require understanding of rhetorical functions such as cause-effect, compare-contrast and argumentation. Students answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, essential information, sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas. New types of questions in the TOEFL iBT test require filling out tables or completing summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer. Listening The Listening section consists of questions on six passages, each 3–5 minutes in length. These passages include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. The conversations involve a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. The lectures are a self-contained portion of an academic lecture, which may involve student participation and does not assume specialized background knowledge in the subject area. Each conversation and lecture passage is heard only once. Test-takers may take notes while they listen and they may refer to their notes when they answer the questions. Each conversation is associated with five questions and each lecture with six. The questions are meant to measure the ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications, relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and speaker attitude. Speaking The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent and four integrated. In the two independent tasks, test-takers answer opinion questions on familiar topics. They are evaluated on their ability to speak spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently. In two of the integrated tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and answer a question by combining appropriate information from the text and the talk. In the two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and then respond to a question about what they heard. In the integrated tasks, test-takers are evaluated on their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey information from the reading and listening material. Test-takers may take notes as they read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses. Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin speaking. The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN), and evaluated by three to six raters. Writing The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated and one independent. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss it. The test-taker then writes a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explains how these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task, the test-taker must write an essay that states their opinion or choice, and then explain it, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices. Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by at least 3 different raters
The TOEFL® paper-based Test (PBT)
Available in limited areas. Scores are valid for two years after the test date, and test takers can have their scores sent to institutions or face time.
Listening (30 – 40 minutes) The Listening section consists of 3 parts. The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part has 8 questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions about lectures or talks. Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes) The Structure and Written Expression section has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying errors. Reading Comprehension (55 minutes) The Reading Comprehension sections has 50 questions about reading passages. Writing (30 minutes) Test of Written English (TWE) - This is one essay question with 250–300 words in average
Frequently asked questions:
Is the TOEFL test timed? The TOEFL test takes about 4 hours. The reading section is 60 or 80 minutes; the listening section is either 60 or 90 minutes (depending on whether you have an experimental section); the speaking section is 20 minutes; and the writing section is 50 minutes.
Is the TOEFL required? It depends on the schools you’re applying to and your level of English (some schools will waive the requirement if you have a high GRE/GMAT verbal score). Instead of searching the internet for “is the TOEFL required,” you should visit the admissions requirements pages of the schools you’re applying to — they’ll have your answers there.
Is the TOEFL hard/easy? The TOEFL is easy if you have strong English skills and have already cleared standardized tests like the SAT and IELTS with good scores.
For many people, especially for non-American / British people, listening section may be difficult for two reasons:
1. The recordings in the listening sections are generally slower than natural speech. You need to be able to pick the unnecessary stuff such as 'Ummm...' etc out to filter only necessary information.
2. Some recordings are short, some are long. And you only get to listen to the recordings once. You also need to take notes while fully paying attention to the listening. And sometimes, when the recordings are too long, it is harder to pay attention for the whole amount of time.
The Reading section has the most difficult vocabulary.
If you can have an everyday conversation and write academic papers in English, you will be comfortable with the test.
During the speaking test, since everyone is speaking it is harder for you to concentrate on whatever part of the test you are doing.
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