You have probably come across TOEFL quite a few times when you have looked at education in the USA or another English-speaking country such as Canada, Australia or the UK. It is not accidental. The test has a history of more than 50 years as an entry requirement for international students in English-language programs. Today, there are more than 10,000 universities in the world that require you to have passed TOEFL with a certain score to get through the eye of the needle for their degree programs.
TOEFL stands for “Test of English as a Foreign Language”. It is a language test that aims to assess your ability to use and understand English. You will go through four categories that include writing, listening, reading and speaking in English.
Do you need a TOEFL test to get through the eye of the needle for your dream education abroad? Here we guide you through the process from registration until you are presented with your TOEFL test results.
TOEFL IBT Score
It takes between two weeks and a month before you receive your TOEFL test result. You will receive an overall score of the four sub-tasks. 0 to 30 points are given to each of four sub-tasks. You can therefore get a maximum total score of 120 for a real TOEFL test. To view your test results, log in with your ETS ID at www.ets.org.
TOEFL Score Range
The TOEFL iBT score ranges from 0 to 120 points. As mentioned above, each of the Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing sections receives a scaled score from 0 to 30 respectively. The scores from the four sections are then added together to determine the total score of TOEFL exam.
On Test Day
Arrive well in advance of the day itself. It is recommended that you are there 1 hour before the test starts, as it can take up to half an hour to be registered. You then have four hours to complete the four test areas in random order. This also applies in relation to the other test participants. Therefore, do not get stressed if your sidekick is doing a whole other part of the language test.
TOEFL Test Structure
1: The reading part of TOEFL (50 – 70 minutes)
You get three or four passages from university-level textbooks that you need to read. You must also answer 10 questions for each passage. All answers are in the text, so you do not need to have prior knowledge of the topics.
2: The listening part of TOEFL (40-60 minutes)
In the first part of the test in listening comprehension, you will hear excerpts from 3-4 academic lectures of 3-5 minutes, afterwards you must answer 6 questions for each excerpt.
In the second part of the listening test, you will hear 2-3 conversations, each lasting 3 minutes, after which you will have to answer 5 questions per conversation.
3: Speech part of TOEFL (20 minutes)
You get a total of 4 questions that you have to answer via the microphone in your headset:
- 1 question within “Independent Speaking Tasks” that requires you to draw on your own opinions and experiences in the answer
- 3 questions within “Integrated Speaking Tasks”, where you must use the four language skills in interaction with each other
Your answers will be recorded and sent to the ETS Scoring Network (the company behind the TOEFL test), where they will be assessed. The focus is on your ability to complete the task at hand effectively. You can therefore get a high score, even if you do not speak fluent English.
4: The writing part of TOEFL (50 minutes)
Like the listening task, the writing task also consists of two parts.
- In the “Integrated Writing Task” section (20 min.) You get a short text and a short sound clip from a lecture, after which you have to write about what you have just read and heard.
- In the “Independent Task” section (30 min.), Write a draft of an essay based on a given topic.