Acceptance of TOEFL
TOEFL is the abbreviated form of Test of English as a foreign language. It is an English proficiency test accepted in Universities and colleges across the continent of North America. European universities also accept TOEFL but as compared to all other countries TOEFL has Maximum popularity in the United States. TOEFL is only for students who want to pursue their education in countries where English is the native language. TOEFL aspirants must confirm the requirements of the foreign university or college where they want to pursue their studies.
Versions of TOEFL
TOEFL is only for students and has 2 versions IBT and PBT. IBT means internet based test and PBT is the abbreviated form of paper based test. IBT is the most common version of TOEFL. PBT is rare and only conducted in areas where there is no internet connectivity and computer availability.
TOEFL Exam format
TOEFL has 4 sections of 30 marks each. The total maximum score is 120. Universities and colleges which accept TOEFL generally consider 80 to 100 as an acceptable score. All universities and colleges have their own minimum TOEFL score requirement.
TOEFL reading section is 60 to 80 minutes long with 36 to 56 questions based on 3 or 4 passages. Last few questions of the reading test carry 2 marks with 3 correct answers out of the 6 given options. Candidates who are able to mark 2 correct choices get 1 mark for such questions. Those who get all 3 correct get 2 marks. A candidate who marks 1 or none of the correct option gets a zero.
TOEFL listening section is 60 to 90 minutes long with 34 to 51 questions. Audio clips are based on lectures, conversations and discussions.
TOEFL speaking is 20 minutes long with 6 tasks. Candidates are required to express their opinions on topics integrated with reading and listening sections.
TOEFL writing section is 50 minutes long with 2 tasks. Candidates must write essays or express their opinions on topics related to the reading and listening sections
The scores of the candidate in each section add up to the total score out of 120. TOEFL score is valid for 2 years.