Test of English as a
Foreign Language or TOEFL is a standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native
English language speakers wishing to enroll in U.S. universities. The test is
accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions. TOEFL
is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being
the IELTS.
The purpose of the
TOEFL test is to evaluate the English proficiency of people who are non-native
English speakers. In addition, international companies, government agencies,
scholarship programs, and recruitment agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate
English proficiency.
FORMATS
AND CONTENT
1. Internet-based test
Since its introduction in late 2005, the TOEFL
Internet-based Test (iBT) format has progressively replaced the computer-based
tests (CBT) and paper-based tests (PBT), although paper-based testing is still
used in select areas. The TOEFL iBT test has been introduced in phases, with
the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Italy in 2005 and the rest of
the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly. The CBT was discontinued
in September 2006 and these scores are no longer valid.
Initially,
the demand for test seats was higher than availability, and candidates had to
wait for months. It is now possible to take the test within one to four weeks
in most countries. 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 TOEFL iBT test. The test cannot
be taken more than once every 12 days.
a.
Reading
The Reading section consists of questions on 4–6 passages,
each approximately 700 words in length. 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 TOEFL iBT test require filling out tables or completing
summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to
come to the correct answer.
b.
Listening
The Listening section consists of questions on six passages,
each 3–5 minutes in length. These passages include two student conversations
and four academic lectures or discussions. The conversations involve a student
and either a professor or a campus service provider. The lectures are 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 passage 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.
c.
Speaking
The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent
and four integrated. 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. The responses are
digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN), and evaluated
by three to six raters.
d.
Writing
The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write
in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated and one
independent. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic
topic and then listen to a speaker discuss it. The test-taker then writes a
summary about the important points in the listening passage and explains how
these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task,
the test-taker must write an essay that states their opinion or choice, and
then explain it, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices.
Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by at least 3 different raters.
2.
Paper-based
Test
The TOEFl paper-based Test (PBT) is available in limited
areas. Scores are valid for two years after the test date, and test takers can
have their scores sent to institutions or agencies during that time.
a.
Listening
The Listening section consists of 3 parts. The first one
contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part has 8
questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions about
lectures or talks.
b.
Structure
and Written Expression
The Structure and Written Expression section has 15
exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying
errors.
c.
Reading
Comprehension
The Reading Comprehension sections has 50 questions about
reading passages.
d.
Writing
The TOEFL PBT administrations include a writing test called
the Test of Written English (TWE). This is one essay question with 250–300
words in average.
EXAMPLES TOEFL TEST
1.
Juan quietly watches the bird _____ perches on his
windowsill so he won't scare it away.
a.
that
b.
who
c.
which
d.
whom
2.
Walking along the side of the road, ______.
a.
the car nearly hit me as it went by
b.
I was nearly hit by a car as it went by
c.
the car, which nearly hit me, went by
d.
it was the car that nearly hit me as it went by me
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