TOEFL
v DEFINITIONS TOEFL
TOEFL stands
for Test Of English as a Foreign Language (Test of English as a foreign
language), which is organized by an institute in the United States called ETS
(Educational Testing Service). TOEFL is important for friends who want to study
or studying abroad to study. TOEFL is an indicator to ensure that my friends
come not from English-speaking countries, in order to follow the course well in
English-speaking countries.
TOEFL
is used to ensure:
·
Ensure that the students understand the
description given lecturer in English (listening skills).
·
Students understand the books that are required
textbook (reading skills).
·
Students are able to make scientific writing
with correct grammar (writing and grammar skills).
To
be accepted in Western countries, prospective students must have a TOEFL score
standards already set by each University in the Western countries. For example
the TOEFL minimum score for the countries in Europe are 500 (minimum), TOEFL
score for Australia is 500 (minimum), whereas the TOEFL score for countries in
the Americas are the required 550 (minimum).
v FORMATS AND CONTENT
ü Internet based test
Since its introduction in late
2005, the TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT) format has progressively replaced 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 The CBT was discontinued in September 2006 and these scores are no
longer valid.
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 every 12 days.
1)
Reading
The Reading section consists of questions on 4–6 passages, each
approximately 700 words in length. 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 questions on six passages, each 3–5
minutes in length. These passages include two student conversations and four
academic lectures or discussions. The conversations involve a student and
either a professor or a campus service provider. The lectures are 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 passage 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
He Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent and four
integrated. 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 and one independent.
In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and
then listen to a speaker discuss it. The test-taker then writes a summary about
the important points in the listening passage and explains how these relate to
the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task, the test-taker
must write an essay that states their opinion or choice, and then explain it,
rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices. Responses are sent
to the ETS OSN and evaluated by at least 3 different raters.
|
Task
|
Description
|
Approximate
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
|
Mandatory
break
|
10
minutes
|
|
Speaking
|
6
tasks
|
20
minutes
|
|
Writing
|
2
tasks
|
50
minutes
|
ü 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 sections has 50 questions about
reading passages.
4.
Writing (30 minutes)
The TOEFL PBT administrations include a writing test
called the Test of Written English (TWE). This is one essay question with
250–300 words in average.
