Tuesday 1 December 2015

TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL, is a test which measures people’s English language skills to see if they are good enough to take a course at university or graduate school in English-speaking countries. 

It is for people whose native language is not English. It measures how well a person uses listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks. This test is accepted by more than 7,500 colleges, universities, and agencies in more than 130 countries; which means it is the most widely recognized English test in the world.

The format of the TOEFL test has been changed three times. The first was the PBT (paper-based TOEFL test). It tests listening, reading and grammar skills with a perfect score being 677. Some centers where computers are not available still offer this format. 

The second format is the CBT (computer-based TOEFL test). People are each provided with a computer to take the test. A writing section was added as well as the three sections. The level of listening and grammar skills are automatically changed depending on a person’s English level. The third change is the iBT (Internet-based test) that is being brought in around the world which measures listening, speaking, reading and writing.

There are three procedures that people are following to take the test. First it is decided where and when you are going to take the test because the format of the test could be either iBT or CBT depending on location. 

People need to register 2–3 months in advance to get a place. Second is registration in person, online, by phone, or through email. Online registration is most common and payment will be required to complete the registration. The cost changes depending on what kind of exam is taken.

As more universities and colleges want a TOEFL more people are wanting to do the test. In Korea in 2010, nearly 115,000 people took the test to demonstrate their ability in English. 

This was 20% of the total for people doing the test. It is considered as one of the ways for middle or high school students to apply for the high ranked domestic universities. By studying at such an advanced level, it could help to improve their English skills to get high scores in other English exams.

Test scores

TOEFL iBT Test
  • The TOEFL iBT test is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.
  • Each of the four sections Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to determine the total score.
  • Each speaking question is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is initially given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores of 0 to 30.
Paper-based Test

The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing component (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.

The score test takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate reflection of the ability than the raw score is.

Accepted TOEFL Scores

Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process, with a college or program within a college often setting a minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University) to 110 (University of Oxford).

ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.

No comments:

Post a Comment