TOEFL

What Is TOEFL?

            The  TOEFL  is the product of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). TOEFL, pronounced "toe-full", evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand standard American English at a college level. TOEFL is required for non-native applicants at many US and other English-speaking colleges and universities. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is widely used by colleges and universities, scholarship agencies, and professional licensing organizations to assess English language proficiency. Four skills are tested in TOEFL: Listening, Structure, Reading, and Writing. In the near future, Speaking will be added and Structure dispensed with. The test itself takes approximately four hours including the (required) computer tutorial.

Formats and Sections Of  TOEFL
            The paper-based TOEFL (PBT) test consists of three sections, similar to the first three sections of the computer-based TOEFL test. The TOEFL PBT contains only multiple-choice questions.

- Listening Section of TOEFL

            The Listening Section of TOEFL test is made up of three parts. In the first part you will hear short conversations usually containing two sentences which are followed by a single question. In the second part you will hear a longer dialogue between two people. After the dialogue you will hear four of five questions. Each of those questions is followed by four answers (A, B, C and D). Only one of those four answers is correct. You have to select the correct answer. In the final part of theListening Section you will hear longer pieces of spoken communication such as lectures, radio talks, TV announcements or other broadcasts. Each of those talks lasts between one to two minutes and it is delivered by a single speaker. After every piece of information you have listened to, you must answer four to five questions. There are also some questions that require you to re-arrange or match objects, phrases or words.

- Structure Section of TOEFL

            In the Structure Section of TOEFL you have to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in vocabulary, grammar and proper usage of standard North American written English. You will have to recognize vocabulary items of an academic nature, this means, there will be subjects related to science, the arts, literature, culture and history. To answer the questions correctly it will be sufficient if you have an average level of knowledge of those subjects. You will find two types of questions in the Structure Section of the TOEFL test. The first question type is a sentence containing a gap. You must select a word or phrase that fills in the gap appropriately. The second question type can be called "Errors in Sentences". Those questions consist of complete sentences with four separate underlined words. You must select which of the four underlinded words or word combinations contains an error in grammar or usage.

- Reading Section of TOEFL
In the Reading Section of TOEFL you will find short passages similar to the sort of texts used for academic purposes in the US, Canada or other internationally recognized universities. For example there will be texts about the arts, literature, biography of important people, science and scientific research as well as history related to North America. Even if you know a lot about any of the subjects covered in the Reading Section of TOEFL test, it will not necessarily be to your advantage in answering the questions correctly because the TOEFL measures your English language proficiency rather than your knowledge of a specific area. After all, you take the TOEFL test before you actually start your study program at university. So, your success on the TOEFL Reading Section depends on how well you understand the text passages and the attached questions. In addition there are also a number of computer-specific questions that either require you to match a particular word, phrase or paragraph from the text with a definition or to insert a sentence in the text where it is most appropriate.

- Writing Section of TOEFL

            In the Writing Section of TOEFL you have to compose an essay based on one single assigned topic. Your essay should include such elements as original thought, analysis, examples, evidence and organization in English. You can choose between composing your essay at a computer or using the traditional hand-written format. Because computer-adaptive testing is not possible on the paper-based TOEFL test (PBT), the PBT has three question difficulty levels. Thirty percent of PBT TOEFL test questions are categorized as easy, forty percent are medium and thirty percent are difficult. At the beginning of each section you will find easy-level questions which are followed by medium-level questions and difficult questions at the end.