English Language Test accepted by colleges and universities in countries including the U.S, U.K, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is an international exam that is used to test the English language proficiency of non – native English speakers at the college/university level. The purpose of TOEFL is to judge the ability of a student to combine his/her English reading, writing speaking and listening skills so as to perform the required academic tasks in colleges and universities where the medium of instruction is English. It is used by colleges all over the world to judge whether a student will be able to comprehend what is being taught in class and whether English will prove to be a limitation in the learning process of the student or not.
TOEFL is accepted by around 8,500 colleges, universities and institutions in over 130 countries. It is conducted online (except in some areas) more than 50 times a year across 4,500 test centers present in 165 countries. TOEFL is designed and administered by ETS (Educational Testing Service), which is a non – profit private organization.
Every college has its own admission criteria and the minimum required score in TOEFL varies from college to college.
What are the eligibility criteria?
There are no specific eligibility criteria for the TOEFL exam. However, the administrating body, ETS (Educational Testing Service), recommends that 11th grade or above is a suitable qualification for TOEFL.
In India, most students choose to appear for TOEFL after they complete their Class 12th.
You are allowed to appear for the TOEFL exam as many times as you wish, but you will not be allowed to appear for it more than once within a period of 12 days.
How to apply?
You can apply for TOEFL online as well as offline.
You should apply for TOEFL 3 – 4 months before you want to take the test so as to reserve your seat as per your preference.
Online:
To apply online, please visit the following website: http://toeflgoanywhere.org/
Create a profile and fill in the details carefully as your details have to be exactly the same as they are in the Identification you will bring to the test center.
On your home page, click on ‘Register for a test’.
Select the Test Center and Dates as per your preference. You will have to specify a ‘Date Range’ within which you would like to appear for the exam. The system will search for all the available centers that are conducting tests within that Date range. Choose a particular center and date from the available options that come up. If you do not get a center of your choice within the options, try choosing another date range.
Please specify the 4 colleges/universities/institutions you want to receive your scores. After the declaration of the scores, ETS will send your ‘Test Reports’ directly to these 4 universities for free. You will also get one separate ‘Test report’ for yourself.
Mention how you want to receive your Test Report, i.e. only online or online as well as offline (post).
Click on ‘Confirm Order’ and make the payment through debit/credit card.
Print the ‘Order Receipt’ so as to keep a proof of payment.
Do not forget to print the ‘Registration Confirmation’ page. You will have to take this with you to the center on the day of the test.
After the result, if you wish to send your ‘Test Reports’ to other universities apart from the 4 institutions mentioned earlier, then you will have to make an extra payment to ETS. You can make the request for extra Test Reports online as well as offline. To apply online, go to your profile and click on ’Register for a Test/Order Test Reports’. Make the payment using credit/debit card. Online orders are mailed within 4 – 7 days after your request is received. It might take up to 4 – 6 weeks for your Test Reports to reach locations outside the U.S.
Offline:
To apply offline, download and fill the form available on the website mentioned below.
Give your top two location choices to indicate the city in which your preferred center should be located.
Also mention your most preferred five dates on which you would like to take the test. Please note that the timings of the test might be different for each date. You will be allotted a test center and date on the basis of availability while keeping your test location and preferred dates in mind.
Please specify the 4 colleges/universities/institutions you want to receive your scores. ETS will send your ‘Test Reports’ directly to these 4 institutions for free.
Also specify the method by which you are making the payment (credit/debit card, check or money order).
Send the registration form along with the proof of payment at the following address:
Prometric
2nd Floor, DLF Infinity Tower-A,
Sector-25, Phase-II, DLF City,
Gurgaon – 122002,
Haryana,
India.
Phone number: 91-124-4147700
Keep in mind that your registration form must reach the above address at least 4 weeks before the test date.
If you do not receive a confirmation from the RRC (Regional Registration Center), then call/contact them at the above address at least 3 working days before your deadline.
You can also choose to register in person at the above address or purchase a voucher that can be used to register online from the above address. You will not be allowed to register in person when there are less than 7 days left for the exam.
You can also register by phone by contacting your ‘Regional Registration Center’ which is the same as above for Indian students. You will be given a registration number when you call. Note it down along with the details of the test date and center address.
The Registration by phone will close 7 days before your test date.
After the result, if you wish to send your ‘Test Reports’ to other universities apart from the 4 institutions mentioned earlier, then you will have to make an extra payment to ETS. You can make the request for extra Test Reports online as well as offline. To apply offline, download, print and complete the ‘TOEFL iBT Official Score Report Request Form’ and send it along with the payment at the following address:
ETS-TOEFL iBT
P.O. Box 6153
Princeton, NJ 08541-6153 USA
Offline additional ‘Test Report’ requests will be mailed two weeks after your request is received. It can take up to 4 – 6 weeks for the Test Reports to reach the specified destination if it out of the U.S.
For any further information, please visit the following websites: http://www.ets.org or http://toeflgoanywhere.org
What is the pattern of the examination?
TOEFL is primarily an online examination but is conducted in a paper based format in some locations. The online examination is conducted through the internet at ETS approved test centers.
Please note that the pattern of the paper based test is not the same as the Internet Based Test. The following pattern is for the TOEFL Internet Based Test. The Paper based test is not conducted in India.
You will need to get your passport with your name, photograph and signature as your primary ID. You will also need to get the Registration Confirmation Page to the center on the day of the test.
The duration of the examination is approximately 4½ hours and is of 120 marks.
There is no passing or failing score. You will have to go as per the score requirements specified by the college /university you wish to apply to.
However, you will not earn a score in TOEFL if you do not do all of the following:
Answer at least 1 question in the Reading and Listening sections each, write at least 1 essay in the Writing section and complete at least one task in the Speaking section.
Your score will be evaluated using automated computer systems as well as by highly trained human raters.
The exam consists of 4 sections:
Section | Time Limit | No. of Questions | Tasks/Activities |
Reading | 60 – 80 minutes | 36 – 56 | You will have to read 3 or 4 academic texts and answer questions based on them. |
Listening | 60 – 90 minutes | 34 – 51 | You will have to listen to classroom discussions, lectures and conversations and then answer questions based on them. |
BREAK | BREAK | BREAK | BREAK |
Speaking | 20 minutes | 6 Tasks | You will have to express your opinion on a familiar topic and other tasks will include speaking based on the Reading and Listening tasks. |
Writing | 50 minutes | 2 Tasks | You will have to write essay responses based on the Reading and Listening tasks. You will also have to support an opinion in writing. |
There is a mandatory 10 minute break between the Reading, Listening and Speaking, Writing sections.
The result will be posted online within 10 days of you taking the exam and automatically sent to the 4 institutions you had mentioned earlier.
You will be marked on all the sections within a range of 0 – 30. The score range of 22 – 30 is considered to be good for the Reading and Listening sections. For the Speaking section, a score between the range of 26 – 30 is considered to be good. For the Writing section, a score between the range of 24 – 30 is ideal.
The result will be valid for two years after the test date.
For any further information, please visit the following website: http://www.ets.org
What are the prospects?
TOEFL is an internationally recognized exam that is accepted by hundreds of universities in English speaking countries like the U.S, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Doing well in the TOEFL exam is a pre –requisite for admission into various courses in these countries. There are more than 8,500 colleges and universities all across the world which accept the TOEFL exam as a means of judging the ability of a student to understand, comprehend and converse in the English language. More than 27 million people have taken the TOEFL test since its inception.
Dates on which the TOEFL is held:
The TOEFL exam is held on fixed dates around 50 times a year. These dates are different for different centers. So, a student might appear for the TOEFL in Delhi on another day and a student in Mumbai might appear for it on another day even if they registered on the same date.
To know about the dates on which the TOEFL exam will be held, click on the following link:
