Test of English as
a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized
English proficiency test that assesses English Language skills in the areas of
listening, reading, writing and speaking.
Candidates desirous of pursuing further studies at undergraduate
or graduate levels are required to take TOEFL to demonstrate their English
proficiency.
A Brief on every section
Reading: Reading tests candidates' ability to read and
comprehend the passages, and answer the questions based on the same. It
consists of 3 – 4 passages, and each passage having 13 – 15 questions on it. It
lasts for approximately 60 – 80 minutes.
Listening: Listening
tests candidates' ability to understand spoken English that is typical of
interactions in academic environment; it comprises the talks and lectures of
generally American speakers. Listening has two formats i.e. Short Format (SF)
and Long Format (LF), one of which appears in the test. SF comprises 6 talks of
which three are conversations and three are lectures. LF has 9 talks of which
three are conversations and 6 are lectures. SF will last for approximately 45 –
55 minutes, whereas LF lasts approximately 70 – 80 minutes.
Speaking: Speaking
tests a candidate's ability to converse in English, Speaking has 6 question
prompts which include independent speaking questions, as well as integrated
speaking questions. Candidates are given a few seconds to think and the time
allotted to speak keeps changing as per the question format. Approximately 45
seconds to 1 minute is the time limit, per question in speaking. Overall
speaking test lasts for 20 minutes.
Writing: Writing
tests a candidate's ability to express himself through written text. It
comprises of 2 tasks. In Task 1 i.e. integrated writing, candidates are
required to read a passage, listen to a lecture and compose a technical essay
based on the passage and the lecture. Time allotted is 20 minutes. In Task 2
i.e. Independent Essay, students are given a general topic to write an essay
on. Time allotted is 30 minutes.
Scoring
Each section of TOEFL is graded on a scale of 0 – 30 in 1 point
increment. Composite score is addition of all the scores. TOEFL is scored out
of 120. 80+ is considered a good score.