Offered globally, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardised test designed to evaluate a student's ability to understand and use English as it is used in a college and university environment -- particularly in USA and Canada. If a student is applying for admission to a University or college in these countries, his or her TOEFL score will help the admission authorities to determine whether he or she has adequate academic background of English language skills necessary for admission.

Though the TOEFL is primarily structured for students seeking admission in USA and Canada, the TOEFL is also the most widely accepted score for measuring proficiency in English worldwide. Over 5000 colleges and accredited educational institutions across 90 countries, including: UK, other European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore accept TOEFL scores. 

TOEFL is administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the testing organisation that also conducts GRE, SAT and other standardised tests.

The new Internet Based TOEFL Test (TOEFL iBT) has been designed to better prepare the students for academic study in an English speaking environment. TOEFL iBT measures both the receptive (reading and listening) and expressive (speaking and writing) skills of university aspirants. The TOEFL score is equally divided between receptive skills and expressive skills, and therefore, a student must do well in all sections.

• TOEFL gets a new format

Test Overview

• TOEFL iBT measures receptive and expressive skills equally. The student is tested for all the four English language communication skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking and  Writing.
  
• The exam has no grammar or sentence structure section. The student's knowledge of English grammar is tested through actual usage in speaking and writing sections.
  
• TOEFL iBT replaces the structure section with a speaking section in which students wear headphones and speak into a microphone. The digital recording is transmitted to ETS Online Scoring Network where human scorers rate the speaking.
  
• The exam also allows note-taking. The students can now take notes while they listen and/or read and they can jot down points before they start to speak or write. Students can use these notes while giving their responses, but they will not be allowed to carry them outside the examination center.
  
• The Writing section has been expanded to include one integrated writing task in addition to the independent writing task.
  
• The Reading section usually consists of 3 passages (sometimes 5), each of around 700 words. This section includes categorisation of information and/or filling in a chart or completion of a summary.
  
• Lectures and conversations in the listening section are a little longer than earlier, but  speech is more natural. Although the focus of the listening tasks remains American, there  is likely to be at least one lecture in British /Australian accent. There may be questions  that measure understanding of a speaker's attitude, degree of certainty and purpose.
  
• There will be fixed dates for TOEFL iBT and the students have to make their choice out  of the same. Depending upon the number of test takers and the capacity, a test center  will normally have 30 to 40 test dates in a year.
  
• TOEFL iBT scores are reported online. Students can view their scores within 15 working  days of the test and will also receive their score-sheet by mail.
  
• TOEFL iBT is not computer adaptive as was the case with TOEFL CBT (computer based test). Here all the test takers receive the same set of questions. There is also no computer tutorial.
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How to register

~ The fee for the exam is $150 (about Rs 6,500).

~ There are three ways by which one can register for the exam: online, by phone and by mail.

~ For the fastest and most convenient service, register online. One can get the online form by visiting the learners and test takers section of the TOEFL web site. A valid credit card is required (American Express�, Discover�, JCB�, MasterCard�, or Visa� card), or an electronic check (e-check) if one has a bank account in the United States or its territories.

~ To register by phone, call the Regional Registration Centre. Same payment options as online registration.

~ To register by mail, obtain a form through the TOEFL bulletin. Fill in all information on the Registration Form and mail it to the Regional Registration Centre. Mailing instructions are on the form. Registration forms must be received by ETS or your Regional Registration Center at least four weeks before your requested first-choice test date.

~ The Regional Registration Centre address is as follows:

Thomas Testing Private Limited
2nd Floor
DFL Infinity Tower -- A, Sector 25, Phase II
DFL City Gurgaon, Haryana -- 122002
India
Tel: (011) 26511649
Fax: (011) 26529741

Tomorrow: Test structure and tips for acing the TOEFL

-- Nidhi Mahajan is a post graduate (Gold Medalist) in Environmental Engineering and Language Training; she has been handling the English Language Proficiency training programmes in Top Careers & You for the last 5 years.