TOEFL PREPARATION
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL, /ˈtoʊfəl/, toh-fəl)
is a standardized
test to measure the English
language ability of
non-native speakers wishing to enroll in American 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.
TOEFL
is a trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private non-profit organization,
which designs and administers the tests. ETS issues official score reports,
sent independently to institutions, for two years following the test.
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2006 and these scores are no longer valid.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.[8] 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.
Task
|
Description
|
Approximate time
|
Reading
|
3-5 passages, each
containing 12-14 questions
|
60-100 minutes
|
Listening
|
6-9 passages, each
containing 5-6 questions
|
60-90 minutes
|
Break
|
Mandatory break
|
10 minutes
|
Speaking
|
6 tasks
|
20 minutes
|
Writing
|
2 tasks
|
60 minutes
|
One of the sections of the test will include extra,
uncounted material. Educational Testing Service includes extra material to pilot test questions for
future test forms. When test-takers are given a longer section, they should
give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which
question will count and which will be considered extra. For example, if there
are four reading passages instead of three, then one of the passages will not
be counted. Any of the four could be the uncounted one.
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
(30 – 40 minutes)
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 (25 minutes)
The Structure and Written Expression section has 15
exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying
errors.
c. Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)
The Reading Comprehension sections has 50 questions
about reading passages.
d. Writing (30 minutes)
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.
Test scores
1.
TOEFL iBT Test
·
The TOEFL iBT test is
scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.
·
Each of the four
sections Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score
from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to
determine the total score.
·
Each speaking question
is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is initially
given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores of 0 to
30.
2.
Paper-based Test
·
The final PBT score
ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68),
Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the
Writing component (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part
of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.
·
The score test takers
receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not
the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into account
the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores
correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate
reflection of the ability than the raw score is.
Accepted TOEFL
Scores
Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their
admission process, with a college or program within a college often setting a
minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61
(Bowling Green State University) to 110 (University of Oxford). ETS has released
tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.
TOEFL ITP
Tests
TOEFL ITP ("ITP" stands for
"Institutional Testing Program") tests are paper-based and use
academic content to evaluate the English-language proficiency of non-native
English speakers. The tests use new and previously administered TOEFL test
questions and are used for placement, progress, evaluation, exit testing and
other situations. The test scores, format and content of the test matches the
"TOEFL PBT",[16] with the exception of not including
the TWE (Test of Written Expression).
Unlike
the TOEFL iBT and PBT tests, TOEFL ITP tests are administered by the
institution and for internal use. It should not replace the need for the TOEFL
iBT test, which is administered securely and includes Speaking and Writing
components. There are two levels of TOEFL ITP: Level 1 (intermediate to
advanced) and Level 2 (high beginning to intermediate).TOEFL ITP scores
are mapped to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of
achievement.
TOEFL Junior Tests
ETS
also offers the TOEFL Junior tests, a general assessment of middle
school-level English-language proficiency. It is intended for students aged
11+.The tests are administered in two formats: TOEFL
Junior Standard (on paper)
andTOEFL Junior Comprehensive (via computer). The TOEFL
Junior Standard test has
three sections: Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension and Language
Form and Meaning. The TOEFL Junior Comprehensive test has four: Reading
Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Speaking and Writing. TOEFL
Junior scores are mapped
to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of achievement.
IELTS
|
TOEFL Score
|
IELTS Description
|
9
|
118-120
|
Expert User
|
8.5
|
115-117
|
Very Good User
|
8
|
110-114
|
|
7.5
|
102-109
|
Good User
|
7
|
94-101
|
|
6.5
|
79-93
|
Competent User
|
6
|
60-78
|
|
5.5
|
42-59
|
Modest User
|
5
|
35-41
|
|
4.5
|
32-34
|
Limited User
|
0-4
|
0-31
|
Extremely Limited /
Intermittent / Non User
|
Study Skills
Maybe it’s been
a while since you last studied
for
an exam, or maybe you have never had to prepare for a stan- dardized test like the TOEFL exam. In any case, you may be unsure about the best way to get ready for this important exam. How much time you spend
studying each week is important. But how you study is the key
to your success. Use the study skills described in this chapter to make the most of your study time.
Environment and
Attitude
To study means “to give one’s attention
to learning a subject; to look at with careful attention.” Notice that the word attention comes up twice in this definition. To study well, you need to be able to focus all of
your attention on the material. So the first step is to make sure you have the right kind of learning
environment and
attitude.
a. The
Right Mood
Studying can bring you wonderful
rewards. You can gain new knowledge.
You can do well on
tests like the TOEFL exam that enable you to achieve your academic and professional goals. But it can still be difficult
to get in the mood to study. After all, studying can be hard work, and you might be worried about how you will
score on the exam. You may have many other things you would rather do, or you might just have trouble get- ting
started. These are
all reasons that may lead you
to procrastinate—to put off work that you need
to do. But procrastinating can cause lots of trouble at test time. If you procrastinate too much or for too long, you won’t be prepared for the exam.
One
of the best ways to beat procrastination is to use a reward system. We all like to be rewarded for a
job well done. And if we know there’s
going to be a reward
at the end of our work, it’s easier to get started. So promise yourself a small
reward for each study session. For example,
you might promise yourself a trip to the gym or a phone call to a good friend as a
reward for an hour of study. You might promise to treat your- self
to a movie after you
finish a chapter in a test-prep book. Or you could give yourself
a nutritious snack after you finish
a difficult lesson. You can also think about the reward
you
will give yourself
when you pass the
TOEFL exam. Make sure this reward is a big one!
You can also get in the mood for studying by thinking about the short- and long-term rewards you will receive for your hard work. Keep in mind the benefits
you will receive from your TOEFL exam study time:
·
You will read and write better in
English
·
You will understand more of what you
hear
·
You will be able to apply to U.S colleged
and universities
·
You will get the education you need for
a successful future
Remember, your
attitude is very important. It can dramatically affect how much you learn and
how well you learn it. Make sure that you have a positive attitude. You will study, you will learn, and you will do well.
Your study time will be
time well spent.
b. The Right
Conditions
You can
have the best attitude in the
world, but if you are tired or distracted, you are going to have difficulty
studying. To be
at your best, you need to be focused, alert, and calm. That means you need to study under the right conditions.
c. The
Right Tools
Help
make your study session successful
by having the right learning tools. As you study for the TOEFL exam, have:
·
a good English-language dictionary, such as Webster’s 10th Edition
·
paper or legal pads
·
pencils (and a pencil sharpener) or pens
·
a highlighter, or
several, in different colors
·
index or other note cards
·
folders or notebooks
·
a calendar or Personal
Digital Assistant , such as a Palm Pilot®
Keep
your personal preferences in mind. Perhaps you like to write with a
certain kind of pen or on a certain kind of paper. If so, make sure you have that pen or paper with you when you study. It will help you feel more comfortable and relaxed as you work.
