The test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardised test used to assess the English language proficiency of non-native speakers seeking admission to English-speaking universities.
This test evaluates your reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills, which are necessary for academic pursuits, scholarships, immigration, and visa processing. The TOEFL test is recognised and accepted in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and across Europe, and Asia.
More than 11,500 universities and other institutions in over 190 countries and territories accept the test. TOEFL is one of the world's two major English-language tests.
Test Format
Your TOEFL scores accurately reflect your abilities and demonstrate to admissions officers that you have what it takes to succeed. TOEFL offers two types of tests: TOEFL paper-based (PBT) and TOEFL Internet-based (IBT) (IBT).
TOEFL iBT and PBT Availability and Administration
In terms of availability and administration, the TOEFL internet-based test (iBT) and paper-based test (PBT) are vastly different. The iBT was developed in the late 1990s and released to the public in 2005, and it has nearly totally superseded the PBT in the years thereafter.
The TOEFL iBT is now taken by more than 97 percent of students, and the PBT exists solely because internet testing is not yet universally available. The iBT is offered exclusively in most countries throughout the world, and because of the convenience of internet testing, finding a test date for the iBT is much easier than for the PBT. The iBT can be taken practically any Friday or Saturday of the year, whereas the PBT is only given once a month at most in the few sites that provide it. The fact that paper tests are more expensive to proctor, transport, and assess explains why they are less widely available.
TOEFL iBT and PBT Content and Structure
There are also significant content differences between the iBT and the PBT.
The iBT has a separate section for assessing spoken English, whereas the PBT does not assess speaking skills at all. The Structure and Written Expression section of the PBT, in which test-takers must complete or correct sentences, does not exist on the iBT. The iBT writing section is twice as long as the PBT's Test of Written English (TWE), with two distinct writing tasks rather than a single essay, and it assesses a broader range of writing skills. In general, the iBT requires test takers to demonstrate their ability to synthesize English-language skills, whereas the PBT is a much more limited assessment (since the former was designed to improve on the latter, this is to be expected). The iBT requires more time to complete than the PBT (the iBT can last from three hours and 20 minutes to four hours and 10 minutes, compared to two hours and 20-30 minutes for the PBT). The variability in test timing is due in part to the inclusion of experimental questions, the number of which varies across TOEFL administrations, and the larger range of iBT test times suggests more liberal use of these experimental questions on the iBT.
Scoring for the TOEFL iBT and PBT
The PBT scoring system involves converting correct answers (raw scores) for each section into scaled scores, which are then used to calculate total scores using a simple mathematical formula. PBT sectional scores range from 31-68 (Listening Comprehension, Structure, and Written Expression), 31-67 (Reading Comprehension), and 1-6 (Comprehension) (TWE).
The PBT total score ranges from 310 to 677. The iBT has a much simpler scoring system, with four sectional scores ranging from 0 to 30 (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and a total score that is the sum of all four sectional scores (0-120).
TOEFL iBT® Test Content
The TOEFL iBT® test has 4 sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. During the test, you'll perform tasks that combine these 4 English communication skills, such as:
The total test takes about 3 hours to complete, but you should plan for 3½ hours, allowing 30 minutes for check in
Section
Time Limit
Questions
Tasks
Reading
54–72 minutes
30–40 questions
Read passages and respond to questions
Listening
41–57 minutes
28–39 questions
Answer questions about brief lectures or classroom discussions
Break
10 minutes
—
—
Speaking
17 minutes
4 tasks
Talk about a familiar topic and discuss material you read and listened to
Writing
50 minutes
2 tasks
Read a passage, listen to a recording, type your response
TOEFL SYLLABUS
Reading, Listening, Speaking, and
Writing. All four sections are designed in a way to check the overall English
proficiency of the candidate. It takes about 3 hours to successfully complete
the exam with a 10 minutes break after attempting two consecutive
sections.
A candidate
basically has to perform the following three functions while taking the TOEFL
test:
·
Read, listen, and
then speak in response to a question.
·
Listen and then
speak in response to a question.
·
Read, listen, and
then write in response to a question.
TOEFL Exam Pattern
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TOEFL
Reading Syllabus
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*Read passages and respond to
questions.
TOEFL Listening Syllabus
Question Type |
No. of Questions |
Total time |
3-4
lectures |
6
questions each |
3-5
minutes long, about 500-800 words |
2-3
conversations |
5
questions each |
About
3 minutes long, about 12-25 exchanges |
*Answer
questions about brief lectures or classroom discussions
·
Detail
·
Function
·
Attitude
TOEFL Speaking Syllabus
Question Type |
No. of Questions |
Total time |
1 independent
task |
One |
Prep
time: 15 sec; |
3
integrated tasks |
Three |
17
minutes |
*Talk
about a familiar topic and discuss material you read and listened to.
TOEFL
Writing Syllabus
Question Type |
No. of Questions |
Total time |
1
independent task |
One |
20
minutes |
3
integrated tasks |
One |
30
minutes |
*Read a passage, listen to a
recording, type your response.
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