TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is the most popular English language exam, recognised by more than 7500 educational institutions in over 180 countries. In addition to being accepted by various universities and colleges, TOEFL is also required by immigration departments when issuing work visas, as well as by many foundations that award scholarships.
Since 1964, the exam has been taken more than 20 million times. TOEFL assesses the ability of candidates whose native language is not English to integrate and use the four core language skills fluently – reading, writing, listening and speaking – in their future academic or professional environment. The TOEFL certificate is valid for two years.
What are the components of the exam?
- Reading – consists of 3-5 passages with an academic focus. Each passage is followed by around 12-14 questions. The total duration of this component is approximately 80-100 minutes. It tests your ability to answer questions and summarise key information, details, ideas and personal viewpoints.
- Listening – includes 4-6 lectures and 5-6 questions for each. Each lecture lasts 3-5 minutes. The passages include two conversations between students and four academic lectures or discussions. The recordings are played only once, and you are allowed to take notes while listening. The questions assess your ability to understand main ideas, important details, relationships between ideas, the organisation of information, the speaker’s purpose and their attitude towards the text. For this reason, questions often focus not on a specific word or sentence, but on the speaker’s intonation.
- Speaking – you have 6 tasks and 20 minutes. Two tasks are independent and 4 are integrated. In the first two, you answer questions that ask you to express personal opinions on familiar topics. Your ability to speak spontaneously, without preparation, and to communicate your ideas clearly and coherently is assessed. In two of the integrated tasks, you will read a short text, listen to part of an academic lecture or a conversation about university life, and then answer a question by combining information from what you have heard and read. In the other two integrated tasks, you read and listen to specific texts and answer questions about them directly.
- Writing – this section includes two tasks with two questions, and you have 55-60 minutes to complete them. Once again, there is one integrated task and one independent task. The first part includes an academic reading passage (200-300 words to be read in 3 minutes) and a lecture or discussion on the same topic to listen to (200-300 words in 2 minutes). You are asked to write a summary of the information presented and explain its connection with the written passage in 150-200 words. The second, independent task involves writing an essay (approximately 300 words) expressing an opinion based on life experience and personal experiences.
