The full form of TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language. This exam evaluates the candidate’s English language proficiency. If a candidate wishes to pursue higher education in Foreign countries and is a non-native English speaker then he/she can take this exam. Some important details about the examination are provided below.
Conducting Authority: Educational Testing Service (ETS) is Conducting Authority for TOEFL and administrates all processes regarding the exam. ETS is a US-based non-profit organization. ETS provides various tools to promote educational progress and these tools are used globally.
Popularity: More than 9,000 colleges, universities and organizations recognize this exam. It is also recognized by other participating institutes across 130 countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the United States.
Frequency: ETS conducts TOEFL more than 50 times a year at 4500 test centres in 165 countries worldwide. But candidates can sit for the exam at most five times a year by choosing their preference of exam date.
Validity: TOEFL Score remains valid for 2 years from the date of the exam.
Attempts: There is no limit to a number of times you can take the test. But you can retake the TOEFL Exam after 21 days from the previous test date. If you have already booked a test then you cannot register for one more test within 12 days of the previously booked test.
Difficulty: The difficulty level of TOEFL is that of high school or in Indian standards, it will be that of 10+2 levels.
Duration: TOEFL test time may vary from 3 hours and 20 Minutes to 4 Hours and 10 Minutes (including 10 Minutes break in between). In the exam, some sections may take a longer time for one candidate compared to another. This is because in the reading section duration will vary between 60 to 80 minutes. And in listening section time duration will vary 60 to 89 minutes.
TOEFL Exam Pattern: This exam is a Descriptive type exam with no negative marking. You can take advantage of this by attempting all tasks.
Mode: Applicants can take the test in both online and offline mode. You can take it as an online test known as the TOEFL iBT test (internet Based Test) or Paper-delivered Test.
Changes: ETS launched a revised Paper-delivered Test in October 2017. This newly revised test is more closely aligned with the TOEFL iBT Test.
Score Range: Score range of this is 0 to 120 and this is the cumulative score of all 4 sections. Each section has a range of 0 to 30.
What is a Good TOEFL Score?
A total score of 90 to 100 is considered as a good TOEFL score. Most of the top-notch reputed universities will accept this score. With these scores, you can also get a position as an RA, TA, or GA on the campus.
But in the US, the average score to get admission in most universities is 78. However, to get admission into universities like Ivy League, you will need a score of 100. Having said that, 100 is often considered as a decent score but not a very great score. It will anyhow help candidates to fetch admission in prominent universities.
TOEFL Exam Dates
ETS allows students to choose TOEFL exam dates throughout the year according to their convenience. Candidates should plan properly and choose their exam date. Candidates should plan such that the test score will reach recipient universities on time. Candidates can reschedule or cancel this exam. Rescheduling and Cancellation details are given below.
Rescheduling: ETS TOEFL even provides an option for students to reschedule their scheduled exam. But the students have to reschedule the exam 4 days before the given exam date.
Cancellation: If you want to cancel your exam, you can cancel your exam 4 days before the test. You will only get half of your fee as a refund.
ETS has not prescribed any eligibility criteria to take this exam. The candidates will be using TOEFL score to apply for further graduate or postgraduate programmes. Candidates should focus on scoring well in this exam. However, the institutes in which they further plan to apply may have set some eligibility criteria. The candidates are advised to refer to it on the official website of that institute. Some generally implied eligibility criteria are given below:
Eligibility: Candidates should at least have an undergraduate degree.
Age Limit: Candidates should be at least 18 years old.
Eligibility Required by Universities: Candidates does not need to satisfy any eligibility criteria for this exam since there are none. But candidates should keep in mind that they should satisfy eligibility set by Universities.
Candidates can visit this page regularly for keeping track of the changes and other information regarding the TOEFL Eligibility and other associated events.
The TOEFL Syllabus is stated by the organizing body, which is the ETS. Candidates are required to go through the syllabus in order to understand the overview of the topics and also to get an insight into the types of questions that can be asked in the TOEFL question paper. They can go through each of the topics and prepare accordingly.
ETS tests English Language Ability of candidates, hence there is no proper prescribed TOEFL exam syllabus. ETS tests 4 different aspects of the English Language. These aspects are:
Candidates can focus on these four aspects of English Language while preparing for the exam. By focusing on these aspects candidates can try to ace the exam.
TOEFL Exam Pattern
The TOEFL Exam Pattern is set by ETS. Candidates are required to go through the exam pattern very well prior to starting the preparation for the same. Knowing and understanding the TOEFL Exam Pattern will allow the candidates to get an insight into the types of questions that are being asked in the exam and how it is being distributed throughout the question paper. Candidates will also be able to prepare accordingly to score high in the exam.
Candidates can take the exam either through online mode or offline mode. The online mode is called TOEFL Internet-Based Test (iBT). ETS also offers paper or pencil on a paper test called Paper-delivered Test for the candidates to take up.
Skills Tested: TOEFL tests a non-native English speaking candidate in 4 different aspects of the English Language. These aspects are his/her reading ability, listening and understanding, speaking proficiency and writing mastery with respect to the English language.
Score Range: ETS tests his/her proficiency by dividing the TOEFL Exam into four skills areas. Each of these areas has scores which range from 0 to 30.
Candidates can visit this page regularly for further updates and information regarding any changes about the TOEFL Exam Pattern and other associated events.
For the official website, click here.