TOEFL is a widely popular English proficiency Exam conducted to check the reading, listening and writing skills of the English language. Universities accept this all across America and Canada. This test is undertaken by all the students who want to study at American and Canadian universities. The Educational Testing Service conducts the TOEFL Exams multiple times a year. This test is conducted at various test centres across multiple cities and in a remote or online mode.
TOEFL Eligibility
There are no particular eligibility criteria for taking the TOEFL Exam. Students who aspire to move to countries such as America and Canada are required to take this test to achieve a certificate proving their English efficiency.
This exam is also taken to get a student visa when applying to American and Canadian universities. There is no age limit for taking the TOEFL examination. Anyone who wishes to study in these specific countries can take the examination.
TOEFL Registration
Anyone who wishes to take the TOEFL examination can register for it through their official website. A candidate can take the examination five times a year. However, TOEFL conducts the exam several times a year. Candidates can reschedule their examination after an interval of 12 days.
The candidates first need to login into the official website of TOEFL and create an account. Then the candidate will need to fill in his/her details carefully in their profile/form. Next, the candidate needs to choose their exam dates and centre. Once all of these processes are successfully completed, the link directs you to an official payment gateway.
After the payment is made, you can take a printout of your form. You can also register for the exam via post, mail and phone call. Check the official website for more info.
Examination Fees
The TOEFL examination fees is a 185 USD investment. One registration will need you to pay one fee. Multiple registrations will require you to pay multiple fees. The payment can be successfully done at the payment gateway during form submission.
Mode of Examination
The TOEFL Examination is held in an offline and online mode. The online mode of exams has been introduced recently and accepted by most countries. Some countries are still on the paper-based system. Both the examinations are conducted under strict surveillance.
TOEFL Important Dates
The TOEFL exams are conducted multiple times a year. The date 2021 exam dates are:
- 30 January 2021
- 31 January 2021
- 6 February 2021
- 10 February 2021
- 20 February 2021
- 24 February 2021
- 26 February 2021
- 27 February 2021
- 28 February 2021
- 6 March 2021
- 10 March 2021
- 13 March 2021
- 14 March 2021
- 19 March 2021
- 24 March 2021
- 27 March 2021
- 9 April 2021
- 10 April 2021
- 24 April 2021
- 30 April 2021
- 1 May 2021
- 8 May 2021
- 14 May 2021
- 15 May 2021
- 22 May 2021
- 5 June 2021
- 18 June 2021
- 19 June 2021
- 20 June 2021
- 26 June 2021
TOEFL Exam Pattern
The exam consists of four different sections – reading, listening, writing and speaking. Each of the sections is specially designed to test the English proficiency skills of the candidates. The reading section consists of 30-40 questions with a time duration of one hour. Similarly, the other three areas consist of 30-40 questions with a time duration of one hour. The candidates are given a break of 10 minutes after two sections of the exams.
TOEFL Syllabus
The syllabus of the TOEFL Examination is relatively easy. Anyone who is well versed in the English language can score excellently in this. The four sections are brilliantly designed to test the various aspects of the language skills of a candidate.
Reading
This section requires the candidates to answer about 40 questions and read 3-5 passages. Following each passage, the candidate has to complete answering 11-12 questions relevant to the passage. About one hour is rewarded for the completion of this section of TOEFL.
Listening
In this section, you will be required to hear short and long conversations and answer relevant questions. The short conversation asks one question with multiple choice answers. The long conversation asks multiple questions. This is a very important section that needs to be carefully taken. You will be given around one hour to complete this section.
Speaking
This section consists of four questions and must be completed within 17 minutes. The sections involve the completion of tasks that can minutely check the listening, speaking, reading skills with intelligence. One independent task is given with a preparation time of 15 seconds and a response time of 45 seconds.
Three integrated tasks are given a preparation time of 30 seconds and a response time of 60 seconds. A student must excel in this section with minor mistakes to score a good grade.
Writing
This section demands the candidates to write an essay. This section consists of 50 minutes and two questions. One integrated task is given with three minutes of reading time, 2 minutes of listening time and 15 minutes of writing time.
You are also required to complete one independent task with 30 minutes of time. This is an important section that must be carefully taken so that the examiners know the potential of the candidates.
TOEFL Preparation Tips
TOEFL is not a very difficult exam to crack. Thus, it does not require much preparation. If you are well versed in English, you can take the exam confidently. There are offline materials such as books and previous year question papers that can be a help to the candidates.
There are numerous study materials available that can be accessed online. Some of the books to refer to are TOEFL iBT: The Official ETS Study Guide, Delta’s Key to the TOEFL iBT: Advanced Skill Practice and The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test iBT Edition by Bruce Rogers.
Result and Scorecard
The result of the TOEFL Examinations can be availed via their official website. The scorecard has a range of grades for the different section of the examination. Anything above 100 is considered a good TOEFL score. The scores are valid for two years.