What is TOEFL?

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. TOEFL tests knowledge of reading, listening, speaking, and writing in English. The test itself focuses on academic language, such as that encountered in school settings. TOEFL is widely accepted as proof of English ability in universities throughout the world.

Test Overview

TOEFL has four components, which are, in the order taken on the test, reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

• In the reading section, test takers are tasked with reading several passages and answering questions on those passages.
• The listening section involves listening to a recording of a native speaker or speakers and answering questions based on what was discussed. The majority of the speakers speak with an American neutral accent, although speakers with other accents may appear.
• The speaking section requires test takers to respond to several questions verbally. The speaker must speak for a certain amount of time for each question.
• Finally, the writing section presents the test taker with two questions, and each question is to be answered by writing or typing an essay.

Types of TOEFL test

There are two types of TOEFL test. The primary type is the Internet-Based Test (iBT), and is entirely done on a computer. The second is the Paper-Based Test, which only available in locations where the iBT, the primary type, is not available.

Scoring

The TOEFL iBT is graded on a scale from a minimum score of 0 to a maximum score of 120. Each of the four sections is worth a maximum of 30 points. As the number of questions that must be answered vary between sections and even between tests, the amount of points that the test taker receives for each section is scaled accordingly. Scores are valid for a period of two years, after which they will expire.

As of August 2019, multiple tests’ sections’ scores can be combined. This is officially known as MyBest, but is informally referred to as superscoring. Using this feature allows the test taker to take their highest scores from multiple tests and combine them together. It is important to consider that not all universities accept this feature, however. Please take care to verify if the university that you are applying to accepts MyBest scores.