TOEFL Exam

With the aspirations of studying abroad, students will have to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) entrance which evaluates their English language skills. Students can register for the exam on the official site and take the exam.

What is the TOEFL Exam?

When applying for higher studies abroad, the TOEFL exam, an English test for foreign students is required to be taken. American and Canadian universities and schools abroad accept TOEFL, the popular English exam. ETS is a conducting body for the exam and sets questions, conducts the tests and the scorecard is sent to every examinee.

Quick Highlights of TOEFL Exam

Exam	Test of English as a Foreign Language
Conducting Authority	Educational Testing Service
Exam Level	International
Documents Needed	Valid Passport
Difficulty Level	10+2 and above
Duration	3 hours

Why Take the TOEFL Exam?

Students who plan to pursue higher education abroad take the TOEFL exam. The exam enables students to be eligible for scholarships and helps with the visa application process as well. 

TOEFL can be taken either on the internet or on paper. The test is the same but in slightly different formats. To measure a student’s reading, listening, speaking, and writing, the language proficiency test is taken. The test is taken for various reasons like high school degree, bachelor’s degree, jobs, or higher education.

TOEFL Exam Updates

Due to the recent pandemic, ETS, the conducting body for the exam decided to have a special home edition TOEFL test for places where it is available. Candidates have to meet the needed requirements set by ETS for registration.

According to the latest development in the policy of the TOEFL examination, the timeline of the test will be reduced by 3 hours to less than 2 hours. 

The candidates will be witnessing a change in the structure or pattern of the exam which will be that the reading section will be shortened and the “ independent writing task” will be replaced by the “writing for an academic discussion”. And, removal of all unscored questions will be there. 

Test takers will see their official score release date upon completion of the test, in addition to receiving real-time notification of changes to their score status. 

This will have a great impact on the test takers as it will lead to the provision of an optimal experience for those who are undergoing the examination process.

The changes will be implemented from July 2023.

Eligibility for TOEFL Exam

There are certain TOEFL exam eligibility requirements that have to be followed, which include:

Students who plan to pursue their higher education abroad will have to appear for the test. Most agencies like the government and licensing agencies avail of the exam score to understand a person’s English communication skills.

The Age limit of the Candidate

There is no age restriction for the candidate. Anyone can give the exam.

Qualifications of the Candidate

Those who have cleared their secondary and higher secondary from a recognized university are qualified for the test.

Eligibility for Re-Attempts

The test is conducted several times a year and so a candidate can appear for it as many times as he or she wants to.

Documents Required for the TOEFL Test

The documents needed for the test are:

• The confirmation email from ETS that has the registration number
• An identification card
• Valid Passport

How to Apply For the TOEFL Test?

When registering for the test, there are a few steps that have to be followed, along with keeping the eligibility criteria in mind:

• Start with creating an ETS account on the official website
• Follow the various registration steps that include filling in personal and additional information, search services, username and password, review, and submit.
• Once the account is created, candidates will have to book the TOEFL exam test center close to them and fix a date for the exam
• The candidates will have to offer identification proof and a number
• The last step is to pay for the exam online

TOEFL Exam Fees

After applying for the exam, the candidates will have to pay the fees. The TOEFL exam fee varies from various places. The TOEFL registration fee for the exam in India is US$185. Students will have to pay extra for services like rescheduling the exam or score review.

Country Wise Fees

Country	Fee
India	$185
USA	$205
Australia	$300
Germany	$255
South Korea	$200

TOEFL Exam Pattern

The TOEFL exam pattern should be understood properly to achieve the desired results. Very often questions about the TOEFL test pattern could arise like what sort of questions will be asked? What is the structure of the test? The TOEFL exam pattern is decided by ETS (educational testing service). There is no specific TOEFL exam syllabus. Even though questions are asked from anywhere, candidates should know how to prepare for TOEFL.

The pattern includes 2 types which include:

• IBT (Internet-based test) and
• PBT (paper-based test).

The exam is divided into 4 sections: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The TOEFL duration is 3 hours and the TOEFL score will be posted a couple of days after the date of the exam.

Registering for TOEFL Exam

The TOEFL Registration for the exam can be done on the phone, online, by mail, or in person at the registration center for TOEFL 2021. Students can register for the exam at any time of the year.

Online Application for TOEFL Exam

Students have to visit the TOEFL website and create a profile for themselves. The registration fee will have to be paid online. Registration online is easy and fast.

• Create a profile on the official website
• Detailed information like name, address, and email id.
• Pay the application fee

TOEFL Exam Preparation

There are two methods of approaching the TOEFL exam preparation. One way of preparing is doing it on your own and the other way is TOEFL online coaching.

How to prepare for the TOEFL test?

• Candidates should have enough time to prepare for the test
• The candidate should converse in English and improve their grammar
• Write and Read English
• Understand the TOEFL test structure
• Making oneself aware of the questions to be asked in the exam
• The candidate should do practice TOEFL test

TOEFL Exam Dates

The exam should be taken a month before the first application deadline. It gives the student time to work on his or her application. The exam can be taken again after the 1st attempt. For instance, if the application deadline date is November, then the exam should be taken in October.

TOEFL Exam Cut off

Each university decides its own cut-off for the TOEFL exam, according to its own needs.

TOEFL Exam Results

The TOEFL result will be announced approximately 6 days after the test. The scores will be sent to the candidate’s email.

Who accepts the TOEFL English test?

The TOEFL score is accepted by universities all over the world including the US, UK, Australia, and France. 

Difference between IETLS and TOEFL

IELTS

The International English language testing system (IELTS) has two formats:

• IELTS Academic
• IELTS General Training.

TOEFL

TOEFL is a Test of English Foreign Language that can be taken two ways, which include:

• Paper-Based Test
• Internet-Based Test.

 Main Differences

• TOEFL needs either US or UK English during the exam. IELTS is more flexible.
• TOEFL has multiple choice questions and IELTS has quite a few variations in how the questions are formed.