LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE TOEFL

What is TOEFL ?

The TOEFL /ˈtoʊfəl/ TOH-fəl, formally known as Test Of English as a Foreign Language, is a test of an individual's ability to use and understand English in an academic setting.   The test is designed and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), and TOEFL is a registered trademark of ETS.  It was developed to address the problem of ensuring English language proficiency for non-native speakers wishing to study at U.S. universities.  It has become an admission requirement for non-native English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities.  Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, licensing bodies, businesses, or scholarship programs may require this test.  A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then will no longer be officially reported.

HISTORY of TOEFL

In 1962, a national council made up of representatives of thirty government and private organizations was formed to address the problem of ensuring English language proficiency for non-native speakers wishing to study at U.S. universities.  This council recommended the development and administration of the TOEFL exam for the 1963-1964 time frame.

The test was originally developed at the Center for Applied Linguistics under the direction of Stanford University applied linguistics professor Dr. Charles A. Ferguson.

The TOEFL test was first administered in 1964 by the Modern Language Association financed by grants from the Ford Foundation and Danforth Foundation.

In 1965, The College Board and ETS jointly assumed responsibility for the continuation of the TOEFL testing program.

In 1973, a cooperative arrangement was made between ETS, The College Board, and the Graduate Record Examinations board of advisers to oversee and run the program. ETS was to administer the exam with the guidance of the TOEFL board.

Formats and contents

Internet-based Test

Since its introduction in late 2005, the TOEFL iBT format has progressively replaced both the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based tests (PBT), although paper-based testing is still used in select areas.  The TOEFL iBT test has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly.  The CBT was discontinued in September 2006 and these scores are no longer valid.

Although initially, the demand for test seats was higher than availability, and candidates had to wait for months, it is now possible to take the test within one to four weeks in most countries.   The four-hour test consists of four sections, each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks require integrating multiple skills) and all tasks focus on language used in an academic, higher-education environment.  Note-taking is allowed during the TOEFL iBT test.  The test cannot be taken more than once a week.

1. Reading

The Reading section consists of 3–5 passages, each approximately 700 words in length and questions about the passages.  The passages are on academic topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an undergraduate university textbook.  Passages require understanding of rhetorical functions such as cause-effect, compare-contrast and argumentation.  Students answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, essential information, sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas.  New types of questions in the TOEFL iBT test require filling out tables or completing summaries.  Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer.

2. Listening

The Listening section consists of six passages 3–5 minutes in length and questions about the passages.  These passages include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions.  A conversation involves two speakers, a student and either a professor or a campus service provider.  A lecture is a self-contained portion of an academic lecture, which may involve student participation and does not assume specialized background knowledge in the subject area.  Each conversation and lecture stimulus is heard only once.  Test-takers may take notes while they listen and they may refer to their notes when they answer the questions.  Each conversation is associated with five questions and each lecture with six.  The questions are meant to measure the ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications, relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and speaker attitude.

3. Speaking

The Speaking section consists of six tasks : two independent tasks and four integrated tasks.  In the two independent tasks, test-takers answer opinion questions on familiar topics.  They are evaluated on their ability to speak spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently.  In two of the integrated tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and answer a question by combining appropriate information from the text and the talk.  In the two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and then respond to a question about what they heard.  In the integrated tasks, test-takers are evaluated on their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey information from the reading and listening material.  Test-takers may take notes as they read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses.  Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin speaking. The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN) and evaluated by three to six raters.

4. Writing

The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks : one integrated task and one independent task.   In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss the same topic.   The test-taker will then write a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explain how these relate to the key points of the reading passage.  In the independent task, the test-taker must write an essay that states, explains, and supports their opinion on an issue, supporting their opinions or choices, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices.   Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by four raters.

Task	Description	Approx. time
Reading	3–5 passages, each containing 12–14 questions	60–100 minutes
Listening	6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions	60–90 minutes
Break		10 minutes
Speaking	6 tasks	20 minutes
Writing	2 tasks	50 minutes

One of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted material.  Educational Testing Service includes extra material in order to pilot test questions for future test forms.   When test-takers are given a longer section, they should give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which question will count and which will be considered extra.  For example, if there are four reading passages instead of three, then three of those passages will count and one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four passages could be the uncounted one.

Paper-based Test

The TOEFL® paper-based Test (PBT) is available in limited areas. Scores are valid for two years after the test date, and test takers can have their scores sent to institutions or agencies during that time.

1. Listening (30 – 40 minutes)

The Listening section consists of 3 parts. The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part has 8 questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions about lectures or talks.

2. Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes)

The Structure and Written Expression section has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying errors.

3. Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)

The Reading Comprehension section has 50 questions about reading passages.

4. Writing (30 minutes)

The Writing section is one essay with 250–300 words in average.

Test scores

TOEFL iBT Test

• The TOEFL iBT test is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.
• Each of the four sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to determine the total score.
• Each speaking question is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is initially given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores of 0 to 30.

Paper-based Test

• The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.
• The score test takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate reflection of the ability than the correct answer score is.

Accepted TOEFL Scores

Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process. Each college or program within a college often has a minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University) to 100 (MIT, Columbia, Harvard).   A sampling of required TOEFL admissions scores shows that a total TOEFL iBT score of 74.2 for undergraduate admissions and 82.6 for graduate admissions may be required.

ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.

TOEFL ITP Tests

TOEFL ITP tests are paper-based and use academic content to evaluate the English-language proficiency of nonnative English speakers. The tests use new and previously administered TOEFL test questions and are used for placement, progress, evaluation, exit testing and other situations. Unlike the TOEFL iBT test, TOEFL ITP tests are administered by the institution and should not replace the need for the TOEFL iBT test. There are two levels: Level 1 (intermediate to advanced) and Level 2 (high beginning to intermediate).TOEFL ITP scores are mapped to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of achievement.

TOEFL Junior Tests

ETS also offers the TOEFL Junior tests, a general assessment of middle school-level English-language proficiency, and a distinct product within the TOEFL family. The TOEFL Junior is intended for students ages 11–14. The tests are administered in two formats — TOEFL Junior Standard (paper-based) and TOEFL Junior Comprehensive (administered via computer). The TOEFL Junior Standard test has three sections: Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension and Language Form and Meaning. The TOEFL Junior Comprehensive test has four sections: Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Speaking and Writing. TOEFL Junior scores are mapped to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of achievement.   TOEFL Junior is a trademark of ETS.

Linking TOEFL iBT Scores to IELTS Scores

IELTS Score	TOEFL Score
9	118-120
8.5	115-117
8	110-114
7.5	102-109
7	94-101
6.5	79-93
6	60-78
5.5	46-59
5	35-45
4.5	32-34
0-4	0-31
0-2	0-20

EXAMPLE

Reading Comprehension

Read the passage and choose one answer that best responds to each question below. Answer the questions based on information that is stated or implied in the passage.

The Amish, a denomination of Anabaptists, are known for their religiosity and for their social isolation. Not to be confused with Mormons or Mennonites, the Amish live primarily in the United States and Canada, with significant concentrations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. A subculture, the Amish largely shun the mores and folkways of modern society in favor of a way of life that they deem suitable.

Amish lifestyle can vary from one Amish community to the next; each community must follow its particular Ordnung, or Amish rules of living. The word is German (meaning "order"), reflecting the strong Swiss-German ancestry of the Amish. Though lifestyles can fluctuate across Amish communities, there are shared features of Amish lifestyles across the board. Specifically, all Amish isolate themselves from modern culture, maintain religious devotion, dress and behave in a modest manner, work hard, and consider the man as the dominant figure in the family. Probably the most famous attribute of this lifestyle is the general absence of technology, such as electricity and automobiles. However, in some Amish clusters, thoughtfully chosen types of technologies are allowed under certain circumstances, such as farming needs or that which sustains life, and does not disrupt the tradition of a simple life over one that places an individual's pining for possessions over one's community. Technology is not what Amish communities fear, but the vanity and lack of humility that often results from consumerism. The Amish regard such traits with distaste, as ego and pride clash directly with their religious beliefs, which value humility and community.

Determined to uphold these beliefs, along with their desire to maintain negligible contact with non-Amish, the Amish educate their young outside of the American public school system. American public schools, aside from exercising the palpable modern practices that the Amish shun, value autonomy and individual thinking, both of which go against the core of Amish philosophy. As a result, the Amish prefer to use schoolhouses within their communities, run by their own, maintained by their own, and attended by their own. Amish children are not educated beyond the eighth grade, as any more education is not pragmatic for farm life, and could even rouse ambition and greed in the young. Such education, like much of American society at large, is viewed as a threat to the way of life and the values that the Amish work hard to preserve. Though much of their culture is misunderstood and often attacked, most Amish families are content with their protected way of life.

1. The Ordnung is:

(A) the Amish rules of living

(B) a town in Pennsylvania with a large Amish population

(C) a religious sect within the Amish community

(D) the history of the Amish in America

2. According to the second paragraph, many Amish communities do not use technology because:

(A) they believe all technology is evil

(B) they fear electricity

(C) it can often result in individuals expressing materialism and pride

(D) their religious beliefs prohibit it

3. The third paragraph presents all of the following as reasons why the Amish don't educate their children within the public school system EXCEPT:

(A) they don't want to have too much contact with non-Amish people

(B) public schools often use modern practices and technology

(C) public schools encourage individualism

(D) other children would tease Amish children

Structure and Grammar — Part I

For the Error Identification questions, each sentence contains four underlined words or phrases. Select the one word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.

1. Last night, the director [A] finally wins [B] the award, after being nominated [C] more than [D] five times.

(A) director

(B) wins

(C) being nominated

(D) more than

2. Despite [A] Ed's threats of punishments [B], none of his sons were [C] willing to help [D] him mow the lawn.

(A) Despite

(B) punishments

(C) were

(D) to help

Structure and Grammar — Part II

In the Sentence Completion questions, one or more words are left out of each sentence. Under each sentence, you will see four words or phrases. Select the one word or phrase that completes the sentence correctly.

1. Juan quietly watches the bird _____ perches on his windowsill so he won't scare it away.

(A) that

(B) who

(C) which

(D) whom

2. Walking along the side of the road, ______.

(A) the car nearly hit me as it went by

(B) I was nearly hit by a car as it went by

(C) the car, which nearly hit me, went by

(D) it was the car that nearly hit me as it went by me

TOEFL Answers

Reading Comprehension

1. The correct answer is (A). The first sentence of the second paragraph states that the Ordnung is the term for the Amish rules of living: "each community must follow its particular Ordnung, or Amish rules of living."

2. The correct answer is (C). The second-to-last sentence of the paragraph states that "Technology is not what Amish communities fear, but the vanity and lack of humility that often results from consumerism." Also, the sentence preceding that one indicates that the Amish may use some technology when necessary (which eliminates choice D) but they don't want technology to cause an individual to value possessions over community. Therefore, many Amish communities do not use technology because it can often result in individuals expressing materialism and pride.

3. The correct answer is (D). Nothing in the paragraph suggests that the Amish don't send their children to public school for fear of them being teased. The paragraph doesn't mention anything about how the actual children in public schools would interact with Amish children. Choices A, B, and C are all supported by the paragraph.

Structure and Grammar — Part I

1. The correct answer is (B). The verb "wins" is in the wrong tense. The phrase "last night" indicates that the action took place in the past, so the verb should be the past tense "won."

2. The correct answer is (C). The sentence contains an error in subject-verb agreement. The subject of the verb "were" is the singular "none," not the plural "sons." Therefore, the verb should be the singular "was."

Structure and Grammar — Part II

1. The correct answer is (A). The correct pronoun to use is "that" because the pronoun is referring to a specific bird. "Who" and "whom" are only used to refer to people. "Which" is used to set off extra or unnecessary information.

2. The correct answer is (B). The first noun that comes after the given clause is modified by that clause. Choice B is the only choice that completes the sentence without creating a misplaced modifier. The phrase "walking along the side of the road" modifies the subject "I." Cars cannot walk, so the phrase cannot modify "the car." The pronoun "it" is not specific enough, so the phrase cannot modify it.

Source :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOEFL

http://www.petersons.com/college-search/sample-toefl-test-questions.aspx