International TEFL InstituteTesting English Proficiency: TOEFL
Students who plan to study in the U.S. will not be interested in British examinations. We will, therefore, look at the American ESL proficiency test – Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
This test is co-sponsored by the Educational Testing Service. The purpose of the TOEFL is to indicate English proficiency to colleges and universities, primarily in the United States and Canada. The test consists of three separately timed sections:
- Listening comprehension
- Structure and written expression
- Reading comprehension and vocabulary
Students take the test on a computer, and before the test begins, candidates are given a tutorial to familiarise themselves with the computer and the test programme. The first two sections of the test,
Listening and Structure, are computer-adaptive, with the difficulty of the questions depending on how well candidates answered preceding questions. The questions in these sections are in multiple-choice format. The third section, Reading, contains mostly multiple-choice questions, but there are also tests of discourse markers, insertions of missing sentences, etc. Finally, candidates write an essay on a single topic. TOEFL also has an Internet-based test. The TOEFL is given only on set dates and at approved testing centres.
Scoring is complicated. Most universities around the world recognize this exam as an indication of English language proficiency, and increasingly employers, too, are using this test. Different universities will stipulate different scores for entry purposes, depending on the type of course and the status of the institution. Visit the Learners and Test Takers section of the TOEFL Web site at www.ets.org/toefl for further information.
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