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What Is the TOEFL Test?
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 test is offered in different formats depending on a test taker's location. The Internet-based TOEFL Test
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.
What Is the Benefit of An Internet-based Test?
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. Online registration and online score reporting make it easier for students to register for TOEFL iBT and receive their test scores.
When Will TOEFL iBT Be Available?
TOEFL iBT has been introduced in the United
States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Puerto Rico. The second phase of the rollout begins on March 25, when test centers in selected cities in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa will offer TOEFL iBT for the first time.
A list of cities where TOEFL iBT will be introduced on March 25, 2006 will be posted in the Learners and Test Takers section of this Web site on Friday, February 3. Registration for these locations will begin on February 8. This list will be updated every week.
The chart below indicates the rollout schedule for the remainder of 2006.
Location First TOEFL iBT Test Date
Selected cities in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa March 25, 2006
Selected cities in Asia and the Pacific Region April 2006
Selected cities in Japan and Korea May 2006
China August 2006
In all other locations, the current format of the test (computer-based or paper-based) will continue to be offered.
What Is Happening To The Current TOEFL Tests?
The computer- and paper-based (CBT, PBT) versions of the TOEFL test will be given at a particular location until the Internet-based version is implemented.
How Can I Learn More About TOEFL iBT?
Take the TOEFL iBT Tour.
Read the TOEFL iBT Frequently Asked Questions.
Take a practice test at TOEFL Practice Online.
Why Take the TOEFL Test?
Most people take the TOEFL test as a prerequisite for admission into colleges and universities where English is used or required. In addition, many government, licensing, and certification agencies and exchange and scholarship programs use TOEFL scores to evaluate the English proficiency of people for whom English is not their native language.
Who Should Take the TOEFL Test?
Nonnative English speakers at the 11th-grade level or above should take the TOEFL test to provide evidence of their English proficiency before beginning academic work. The test content is considered too difficult for students below 11th grade.Many institutions report that they frequently do not require TOEFL test scores of certain kinds of international applicants. These include nonnative speakers who hold degrees or diplomas from postsecondary institutions in English-speaking countries (e.g., the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand)
nonnative speakers who have successfully completed at least a two-year course of study in which English was the language of instruction
transfer students from institutions in the United States or Canada whose academic course work was favorably evaluated in relation to its demands and duration.
nonnative speakers who have taken the TOEFL test within the past two years
nonnative speakers who have successfully pursued academic work at schools where English was the language of instruction in an English-speaking country for a specified period, generally two years.
Students should contact their prospective institutions directly concerning their specific admission requirements.
Where Can People Take the Test?
TOEFL iBT is taken via the Internet at ETS-certified test centers. This makes it possible to greatly expand the number of locations where the test can be taken. Who Accepts TOEFL Scores?
More than 5,000 colleges, universities, and licensing agencies in 90 countries accept TOEFL scores. See a list of these institutions (PDF).
Test Content
The TOEFL® Internet-based test emphasiz
es integrated skills and measures all four language skills, including speaking. The content on the test is authentic, and the language is consistent with that used in everyday, real academic settings.
The test has four sections:
- Reading measures the ability to understand academic reading matter.
- Listening measures the ability to understand English as it is used in colleges and universities.
- Speaking measures the ability to speak English.
- Writing measures the ability to write in a way that is appropriate for college and university course work.
Test content is based on a “corpus,” or database, of spoken and written language that currently contains more than 2.7 million words, collected from educational institutions throughout the United States.
The spoken language in the database was collected from :
- Lectures and interactive classes
- Labs
- Office hours
- Study groups
- Everyday service interactions (for example, at the bookstore or registrar's office).
- The written language was collected from sources, such as textbooks and course materials.
- Listening and reading texts in the test conform to the characteristics of the language in the database.
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