Importance of TOEFL
TOEFL or Test of English as a Foreign Language is an English Proficiency test, conducted to evaluate the English speaking and understanding ability of a candidate. TOEFL is required by most US and Canadian Universities to prove proficiency in English.
TOEFL measures your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks in English. TOEFL is conducted more than 50 times a year by Educational Testing Service (ETS) – a US-based non-profit organisation.
There are two formats for the TOEFL test. The format you take depends on the location of your test centre. Most test takers take the TOEFL iBT test, which is the internet-based test. Test centres that do not have Internet access offer the Paper-based Test (PBT).
Eligibility and Registration of TOEFL
There are no official required qualifications for taking TOEF:. If you are a non-native English speaker and your target college is in a English speaking country then you might have to show your proficiency in English and TOEFL score might be required.
While there are four ways to get TOEFL Registration -Online, by mail, by phone and in person – a majority of candidates apply for TOEFL online.
TOEFL test is conducted round the year and has more than 50 test dates per year. You can retake the test as many times as you wish, but to take a re-test you have to wait for a 12-day period after attempting the first test.
Importance of TOEFL
TOEFL is a pre-requisite by most US and Canadian Universities to prove proficiency in English, especially for international students coming from countries where English is not the native language.
Many Universities in Europe and other countries also accept TOEFL. More than 10,000 colleges in 100+ countries accept TOEFL score.
Moreover, TOEFL is also widely used for Immigration in New Zealand as well as Australia!
Test Pattern of TOEFL
Both the versions of TOEFL have four sections- Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. The test takes about 4 hours to complete.
The pattern of TOEFL is as follows:
Break 10 minutes
| Section | Time Limit | Questions | Tasks | Score |
| Reading* | 60-80 minutes | 36-56 questions | Read 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions. | 0-30 |
| Listening | 60-90 minutes | 34-51 questions | Listen to lectures, classroom discussions and conversations, then answer questions. | 0-30 |
| Speaking | 20 minutes | 6 tasks | Express an opinion on a familiar topic; speak based on reading and listening tasks. | 0-30 |
| Writing | 50 minutes | 2 tasks | Write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks; support an opinion in writing. | 0-30 |
The TOEFL score requirements are set by individual educational institutions. The total TOEFL test score is between 0–120. Most universities require TOEFL score ranging from 80-100.
TOEFL results are valid for two years after the test. TOEFL test scores are posted online within 2 weeks of the test date.
You can select up to four institutions to send your score for free (its included in TOEFL Test fees). You can send your scores to as many institutions as you choose for a fee of US$20 per report. Scores are mailed approximately four to seven days after receipt of your request and payment.
Tips to crack TOEFL
Some of the tips to crack TOEFL are:
Read regularly university textbooks or other materials that cover a variety of subject areas (e.g., sciences, social sciences, arts, business, etc.) and are written in an academic style. A wide variety of academic texts are available on the Internet as well as in magazines and journals.Practice frequently to increase reading rate and fluency.
Increase vocabulary and learn to use idiomatic speech appropriately.
Learn grammatical structures and use them naturally when speaking.
Work on pronunciation, including word stress, intonation patterns, and pauses.
