What is the TOEFL IBT?

The Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand English as it is spoken, written, and heard in college and university settings.

The TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) tests all four language skills that are important for effective communication: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The test helps students demonstrate that they have the English skills needed for success.

TOEFL iBT emphasizes integrated skills and provides better information to institutions about students' ability to communicate in an academic setting and their readiness for academic coursework. With Internet-based testing, ETS can capture speech and score responses in a standardized manner.

Test structure:

Section	Internet – Based TOEFL	Timing
Reading Comprehension	3 – 5 passages, 12 – 14 questions each	60 – 100 minutes
Listening Comprehension	4 –6 lectures, 6 questions each 2 – 3 conversations, 5 questions each	60 – 90 minutes
Break	-------------------------	5 minutes
Speaking	6 tasks: 2 independent and 4 integrated	20 minutes
Writing	1 integrated task 1 independent task	20 minutes 30 minutes
Total Testing Time (approximate)	-----------------------	4 hours and 25 minutes

TOEFL® IBT Reading Section:

The reading section measures your ability to understand academic reading matter. You must read through or scroll to the end of each passage before receiving questions on that passage. Once the question appear, the passage is located on the right side of the computer screen, and the question are on the left.

You do not need any special background knowledge to answer the questions in the reading section correctly; all the information needed to answer the questions is contained in the passages. A definition may be provided for difficult words or phrases in the passage. If you click on the word, a definition will appear in the lower left part of the screen.

The 60 to 100 minutes allots for this section include the time spent reading the passages and answering the questions.

TOEFL® IBT listening section:

The listening section measures your ability to understand spoken English from North America and other English-speaking parts of the world. In academic environments students need to listen to lectures and conversations. Listening material in this test include academic lectures and long conversations in which the speech sounds very natural. You can take notes on any listening material throughout the entire test.

TOEFL® IBT speaking section:

The speaking section measures your ability to speak English. This section is approximately 20 minutes long, including questions and answers. It includes six tasks.

The first two tasks are independent speaking tasks that focus on topics familiar to the test takers

The remaining four tasks are integrated tasks, and you must combine more than one skill when responding. You first listen to and read some brief material. You can take notes and use those notes when responding to the speaking tasks. Then a question is asked that requires you to relate the information from the reading and the listening material.

For all speaking tasks you use a headset and a microphone. You speak into the microphone to record your responses. Responses are digitally recorded and sent to ETS´s online scoring network.

TOEFL® IBT writing section:

The writing section measures your ability to write in a way that is appropiate for college and university course work. There are two different writing tasks in this test section.

An integrated task in which you read a short passage for 3 minutes (about 230 to 300 words), you listen to a short lecture that directly addresses the points made in the reading (2 minutes), and you write a summary of what the speaker said about the reading passage.

An independent writing task in which you are asked to give an opinion about a general topic or a topic of interest to students. You are asked to support your opinion with specific reasons and examples.

Score:

The results of your test will be reported to you and to colleges and universities in the following score form. The TOEFL IBT score is a range between 0 and 120. Each section of the test is scored separately.

Overall score: 0-120
Scores are posted online 15 business days after the test date and then mailed to you and your designated score recipients

Section 1. Listening Comprehension: 0-30

Section 2. Reading Comprehension: 0-30

Section 3. Speaking: 0-30

Section 4. Writing: 0-30

NOTE: There is no passing and failing scores in TOEFL. You get what you get. However, you have to think about admission scores to colleges and universities where you are applying.