The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL, is the most widely accepted and respected test of English as a foreign language in the world, and the most comprehensive academic English test available. Thousands of colleges and universities, especially in the United States, accept it as a part of their admissions criteria for international applicants for whom English is a second language.
TOEFL measures the ability of non-English speakers to use and understand the English language as it is spoken, heard, read and written in an academic setting. TOEFL is designed for advanced learners who wish to prove their ability to function in an English environment. This English test is also used by the government agencies, international companies, recruitment agencies, and other institutions. A TOEFL score is often used as one of the criteria for awarding a scholarship.
The TOEFL test is administered by more than four thousand accredited test centers in hundreds of countries. The majority of test centers nowadays uses the internet-based TOEFL (iBT). This test, administered via the internet, is offered more than fifty times a year. In those areas where the iBT is not yet available, the paper-based version of the test is used. This test is given six times a year.
TOEFL iBT measures how well you read, speak, listen and write in English, and how well you integrate all those together in order to perform academic tasks. The test is given in English. It consists of four sections: reading, listening, speaking and writing.
Beginning in 2013, the TOEFL iBT test includes accented speech in its reading and listening section. There are native-speaker English accents not only from North America, but from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
There is one ten minutes long break. The test takes about four and a half hours. You can take notes, but your notes will be collected after the test.
TOEFL iBT is scored on a scale of zero to one hundred twenty points, with each section of the test receiving a scaled score. The scaled scores are then added together to determine the total score. There is no passing score: each university or program establishes its own TOEFL score requirements.
The cost of the test varies depending on the test location you choose. TOEFL scores are valid for two years. You can retake the test as many times as you wish, but not more than once a week.
These are the basics of the TOEFL exam [http://www.topmbacolleges.com/topic/toefl-exam] you’d need to know to study in an English-speaking country. If you’ve decided to study in India, you’d want to know about the JMET exam [http://www.topmbacolleges.com/topic/joint-management-entrance-test-jmet].
