In case you’re a non-local English speaker and you’re pondering concentrating in an English-talking country, you may have caught wind of a test called the “TOEFL.” But what is the TOEFL test, precisely, and what do you have to think about it?
In the event that you have inquiries concerning the TOEFL, you’ve gone to the perfect spot! This aide will take you through what the TOEFL is, the means by which it works, regardless of whether you’ll have to take it, and how to plan for it.
What Is the TOEFL?
The TOEFL (“Test of English as a Foreign Language”) is a state-sanctioned test that actions a test taker’s authority of the English language. TOEFL scores are fundamentally utilized by colleges as a component of the affirmations cycle.
Commonly, the individuals who take the TOEFL need to go to college or graduate school abroad. Yet, any individual who needs to exhibit a dominance of English for a scholastic reason can take the TOEFL. This incorporates anybody applying to an unfamiliar secondary school, trade program, junior college, or for an understudy visa.
The TOEFL centers around how English is utilized in a scholarly setting, which is the reason schools and colleges use TOEFL scores for confirmations purposes. The perusing entries in the TOEFL utilize formal, scholarly language and undeniable level jargon instead of easygoing or conversational English
The TOEFL is intended mainly for students looking to attend a university or graduate school program in an English speaking country. But people can also take the TOEFL for other purposes. Those who may take the TOEFL include:
- Students entering into a high school in an English speaking country
- Students attending 2-year community college programs in an English speaking country
- People who are looking to be licensed or certified in a particular field
- People who need to demonstrate their mastery of the English language for immigration purposes
- Those who simply want to assess their English language skills in a formal setting
The creators of the test recommend that students be at least in the 11th grade (or 17 years of age) before attempting to take the TOEFL. The test requires you to read some difficult passages and be familiar with some high-level vocabulary and most students are not exposed to this type of language before the 11th grade.
Not every college or university requires incoming international students to take a TOEFL. Those that do generally ask for the TOEFL if:
- English is not your primary language
- If your primary language of instruction hasn’t been English for at least five years
Some schools will waive the need for you to take a TOEFL test if you have:
- Scored in a certain percentile on the English, reading, and writing sections of the ACT or SAT
- Taken a TOEFL sometime in the past two years
- Earned a diploma or degree from an English-speaking country
TOEFL Syllabus
TOEFL Reading:
- Duration: 60-80 minutes
- Score range: 0 to 30
- Total number of questions: 36 to 56
- May have three or four passages
- Each passage is followed by a set of questions based on the passage which need to be answered.
TOEFL Reading Question Types
Factual Information and Negative Factual Information: The major ideas, supporting facts, and definitions are targeted by the Factual Information question structure. The main distinction between negative factual information questions and factual information questions is identifying the single wrong answer from a list of 4. When answering negative factual information questions, keep the words ‘NOT’ and ‘EXCEPT’ in mind.
Inference and Rhetorical: The TOEFL exam pattern and reading syllabus inference questions are intended to explain and identify the ambiguous statement of the passage. Words like ‘INFERRED,’ ‘IMPLIES,’ and ‘SUGGESTS’ can help you identify inference questions. Rhetorical purpose questions are very similar, with the exception of answering the question ‘WHY,’ which states the purpose.
Recognizing Vocabulary: Probably the easiest questions to answer, vocabulary questions in the TOEFL latest reading pattern require candidates to discover and answer the meanings of particular highlighted words in the passage.
Sentence Explanation: These type of questions in the TOEFL reading pattern requires candidates to detect the difference between two very similar sentences and choose the one that is explained in a simpler manner.
Insert Text: The purpose of this sort of reading question is to evaluate the logical placement of ideas in a specific reading passage. In each of the reading portions, there is one insert text question.
Prose Summary: These type of questions in the TOEFL reading question pattern requires applicants to identify the major concepts and relevance of the reading passage.
TOEFL Listening:
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Score range: 0 to 30
Total number of questions: 34 to 51
You will be required to carefully listen to audio recordings of academic lectures, classroom discussions, and conversations
Each recording will have questions based on the lectures/discussions which will need to be answered.
TOEFL Listening Question Types
Gist Content/Purpose: The gist content requires you to provide the main idea of the recording you just listened to. The gist purpose, on the other hand, asks you to identify the main purpose of the recording. This question type is identified by terms such as ‘MAINLY ABOUT’, ‘MAINLY DISCUSSING’, ‘WHY DOES THE STUDENT’, and ‘WHAT IS THE MAIN PURPOSE.
TOEFL Speaking:
Duration: 20 minutes
Score range: 0 to 30
Total number of speaking tasks: 6
You will be required to express your opinion on a familiar topic
You will be required to speak based on the listening and reading tasks
3 sections with 2 questions in each section.
Section 1 –
Part 1: Personal Preference
Part 2: Choose an option. You will get a few seconds to prepare and then speak.
Section 2 –
Part 1: Campus Conversation – Reading + listening and then speaking – You will be required to read a short passage, listen to a conversation between two people on the topic read and then speak. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) is the body that conducts the TOEFL test with an aim to measure the level of proficiency of a non-native English speaker to communicate in English in all forms, whether reading, writing, speaking or listening.
Part 2: Academic Lecture – You will be required to read a short passage about a specific topic, listen to a lecture related to the topic read and then speak or summarize the topic that was read and heard.
Section 3 –
Part 1: Listening and Speaking – Campus Conversation – You will be required to listen to a conversation and then speak about the problem discussed and provide your opinion on the problem discussed.
Part 2: Academic Lecture – You will be required to listen to an academic lecture and summarize the lecture.
TOEFL Speaking Questions Types
The TOEFL iBT speaking exam pattern consists of two tasks:
Question 1: Independent Task: In this task, test takers are asked to present their own ideas, opinions, and experiences.
Questions 2: 4 Integrated Task – This is a cross-functional task that includes listening, writing, and reading skills in addition to speaking skills.
TOEFL Writing:
Duration: 50 minutes
Score range: 0 to 30
You will be required to write essay responses based on the reading and listening tasks
You will be required to support an opinion in writing
Total number of writing tasks: 2.
Task 1 – You will need to read a passage on a specific topic, listen to a lecture about the topic read and then write an essay summarizing the points in the passage and the lecture.
Task 2 – You will be required to provide your viewpoints or provide a response as required for the specific task.
You will get a mandatory break for 10 minutes after the Reading and Listening sections. According to a certain modification done in March 2013, the Listening and Speaking sections of the TOEFL iBT include different accents of Native English speakers besides those from North America. You may listen to people with different accents from the UK, New Zealand or Australia. The test and scoring patterns remain unchanged and are consistent across the globe. The TOEFL does not follow any particular TOEFL syllabus, so the test-takers need to focus on developing the skills required to complete the modules/sections successfully and need not refer to any particular subject.
TOEFL Writing Questions Types
TOEFL writing pattern is classified into two types:
Integrated Writing Task: similar to the speaking test, this requires applicants to thoroughly read a paragraph, listen to a brief lecture, and then respond to the listened and read materials.
Independent Writing Task: As with the speaking task, the candidate must present their own ideas, opinions, and experiences through writing.
