What Type of Test Is the TOEFL?
Offered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) evaluates a person's ability to speak, write and understand English. It is typically administered to potential students or workers seeking education or employment in an English speaking environment. The TOEFL is used by colleges and universities around the world to determine whether or not students should be accepted into certain programs.
Other People Are Reading
-
Test Sections
-
The TOEFL is broken up into to four sections--listening, reading, speaking, essay writing--that test a student's mastery of English. The student is given recorded material for the listening portion of the test that she must listen to and answer questions about. She must read samples of academic writing for the reading test and then answer questions pertaining to what she read. The student must speak proficiently on an assigned topic to complete the speaking test and then she must write an essay on an assigned topic to complete of the writing test.
Test Preparation
-
Students can prepare for the TOEFL in several ways. English as a second language (ESL) classes are taught throughout the world in many secondary and postsecondary schools. Self-directed learning with electronic language learning programs can be an alternative or a supplement to ESL coursework. ETS sells an official practice guide, practice tests and online services designed to assist English students.
-
Registration and Test Day
-
The TOEFL is administered worldwide and generally taken at an online testing center. Fees vary by region. Test registration costs $170 as of February 2011. Internet testing is offered several times per month. Paper-based tests are only offered six times per year at a limited number of locations. The test generally lasts 4 1/2 hours with a 10-minute break at the midway point.
Test Results
-
TOEFL scores from the Internet-based test are available two to three days after the testing date; paper score reports will be mailed out to everyone who took the test approximately two weeks after the testing date. Each of the four sections that make up the TOEFL are scored out of 30 points and the entire test is scored out of 120 points. Score requirements vary by institution and department. Some U.S. schools allow conditional admission for scores as low as 53, but half of postsecondary schools require scores in the 70's or above; more prestigious schools require a score of 100 or higher. The applicant may repeat the test as many times as necessary.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit taking test image by Petro Feketa from Fotolia.com
