ABOUT TOEFL

Internet Based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT™)

 

About the TOEFL iBT™ Test

The TOEFL iBT™  test, administered in an internet-based format, is an important part of your journey to study in an English-speaking country. In addition to the test, the ETS TOEFL Program provides tools and guides to help you prepare for the test and improve your English-language skills.

What Is the TOEFL iBT Test?

The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.

There are two formats for the TOEFL test. The format you take depends on the location of your test center. Most test takers take the Internet-based Test (iBT). Test centers that do not have Internet access offer the Paper-based Test (PBT).

The four-hour test consists of four sections, each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks require integrating multiple skills) and all tasks focus on language used in an academic, higher-education environment. Note-taking is allowed during the iBT. The test cannot be taken more than once a week.

1.     Reading

The Reading section consists of 3–5 passages, each approximately 700 words in length and questions about the passages. 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 iBT require filling out tables or completing summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer.

2.     Listening

The Listening section consists of six passages 3–5 minutes in length and questions about the passages. These passages include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. A conversation involves two speakers, a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. A lecture is 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 stimulus 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.

3.     Speaking

The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent tasks and four integrated tasks. 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.

4.     Writing

The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated task and one independent task. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss the same topic. The test-taker will then write a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explain how these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task, test-takers must write an essay that states, explains, and supports their opinion on an issue, supporting their opinions or choices, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices.

Task	Description	Approx. time
READING	3–5 passages, each containing 12–14 questions	60–100 minutes
LISTENING	6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions	60–90 minutes
BREAK	-	10 minutes
SPEAKING	6 tasks and 6 questions	20 minutes
WRITING	2 tasks and 2 questions	55 minutes

One of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted material. Educational Testing Service includes extra material in order to pilot test questions for future test forms. When test-takers are given a longer section, they should give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which question will count and which will be considered extra. For example, if there are four reading passages instead of three, then three of those passages will count and one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four passages could be the uncounted one.

Who Takes the TOEFL iBT Test?

Each year, nearly a million individuals of all ages take the TOEFL test to demonstrate their English-language proficiency. More than 25 million people from all over the world have taken the TOEFL test since it was first offered. The average English skill level ranges between Intermediate and Advanced.

·         Students planning to study at a higher education institution

·         English language learning program admissions and exit

·         Scholarship and certification candidates

·         English-language learners who want to track their progress

·         Students and workers applying for visas

Who Accepts TOEFL iBT Test Scores?

More than 7,500 colleges, agencies and other institutions in over 130 countries accept TOEFL scores. Other organizations rely on TOEFL scores as well:

·         Immigration departments use them to issue residential and work visas

·         Medical and licensing agencies use them for professional certification purposes

·         Individuals use them to measure their progress in learning English

Where and When Can I Take the TOEFL iBT Test?

The TOEFL test has more test dates (30 – 40) and locations (4,500 test centers in 165 countries) than any other English-language test in the world. You can retake the test as many times as you wish.

What Resources Can Help Me Prepare for the TOEFL iBT Test?

ISMA offers a variety of paid courses to help you get ready for the TOEFL test.

What Does the TOEFL iBT Test Cost?

The cost of the test can range from US$150 to US$225 and varies between countries. For information on registration, fees, test dates, and locations and formats, select your test location.