TOEFL Test Overview

TOEFL Test Information you Must have

The preparation for any examination begins with the gathering of information about it. This is especially important for international examinations like the TOEFL. The acronym TOEFL stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language and as the name suggests, it is taken by candidates who want to prove their prowess in the language. Thus, in order to help you understand the examination better, the following sections of this article have been so designed, to provide all the information, which you require.TOEFL FormatThe TOEFL is an examination, which analyzes your skill with the English language. The score you receive in this test is an indication, of how well you can speak, read, write and follow instructions provided in English. Nearly 8500 institutes, colleges and agencies, in nearly 130 countries accept your TOEFL score, as an indication of your expertise in the English language. Thus, for the benefit of students, ETS holds the TOEFL in both iBT and PBT formats. If you come from a country that does nothave Internet connection, then you can take the paper based format of the examination. This piece of  information is important, because based on the format of the examination; the question paper structure will also differ slightly.TOEFL Question Paper FormatThe next most important information is regarding the format of the question paper. If you take the test without proper knowledge about the type of questions that you have to answer, then you might as well enter the testing center blindfolded! Thus, to help you with yourtest with regard to the question paper format, the following list outlines certain basic features of the TOEFL question paper:

  • Reading: In this section of the test, you will have to read 3 to 4 passages in order to answer the questions. The reading comprehension passages are taken from academic texts. However, the topics can vary from literature, to humanities, science etc. After reading the passages, you will have to answer a total of 36 to 56 questions based on the information provided in the passages. You will get 60 to 80 minutes to solve all these questions.
  • Listening: This section of the TOEFL is unique. It analyzes your capacity in being able to understand the language in the spoken form. Here you will have to listen to conversations or discussions. After you have listened to the audio clips, you will have to answer nearly 34 to 51 questions. You will get 60 to 90 minutes to answer all the questions.
  • Speaking: The next piece of information is regarding the Speaking section of the examination. This section too is quite unique, because here you will have to speak, as per instructions, on the topics given. The score you receive in this section of the examination is an indication, of how well you can articulate yourself in English. In this section of the test, all that you speak is recorded and then graded. Hence, ensure that you speak clearly into the mouthpiece, so that you receive due credit. Here you will have to complete 6 tasks in 20 minutes.
  • Writing: The final piece of information, about the question paper structure, is concerning the Writing section of the test. In this section, you will have to write two essays, based on the topics given. You will get 50 minutes to complete both the essays. This section analyzes your capacity to write coherently (with minimum grammatical errors) in the English language.

The afore-mentioned list provides some basic knowledge. However, if you need more information then check the link provided in the following section of the article.Link to Help you Understand TOEFL BetterSince, TOEFL is primarily an English language examination, it is a test that you can easily ace with proper preparation. However, before you begin preparing, ensure that you have all the information that you require about the test. If you need more information then click on the following link:http://www.ets.org/toefl-home/ibt/about/ Understand the requirements of the test very well, as that will make preparing of the examination easier.