TOEFL course

Overview

Colloquially known as the TOEFL test, the Test of English as a Foreign Language is a English language proficiency test administered by ETS. This is a test usually taken by people who need to validate their command over the English language to an academic institution, potential employer, or immigration departments.

TOEFL is a popular language proficiency test. Still, there are other other tests that fundamentally serve the same purpose, like IELTS, PTE, or Duolingo. The onus of finding the perfect test for their need is upon the test taker though.

We have elaborate articles on those courses as well. Here, we will focus only on TOEFL iBT.
 

About TOEFL iBT

TOEFL is an English proficiency test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the same organization that administers the GRE tests. Much like other English proficiency tests, the TOEFL test also consists of 4 segments: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Each segment is designed to measure the aptitude of the test taker in the corresponding area of communication.

The exam is about 2 hours long, but the test taker would likely have to put aside 2.5 hours or so if they are planning to sit down for it. This is because the check-in process and the identity verification process takes time.

Apart from the break, you are not to leave your station at any time during the test. Each segment is worth 30 points for a total of 120 points for the whole test. You will even get an unofficial score at the end of your test and will be notified about when you will receive the official scores.

Let’s break the test down into it’s constituents:

1. Reading:
This segment of the test is designed to evaluate how well the test taker can comprehend academic literature. The examinee will have to answer a series of multiple-choice questions derived from university-level textbooks. There are two 700-word passages, each with 10 questions, that the examinee will have to answer.

The actual topic of the passage may vary greatly as they are picked from multiple disciplines. However, all the information that is required for the student to select the correct answer will be provided in the text itself. There is even a glossary provided for the jargons that might have been used in the text.

2. Listening
For this section, one’s ability to understand the spoken English language is tested. Meaning that the examinee must be able to comprehend the lectures, understand the speaker’s attitude and connect ideas from within the lecture. In the allotted 36 minutes of this section, the examinee will listen to 3 lectures and 2 conversations that are 3 to 5 minutes long and have 5 to 6 questions per audio clip. You will be allowed to take notes of anything that you think will be helpful to answer the questions.

3. Speaking
In the third section of the test, the examinee will have to demonstrate their English speaking skills. Although the questions are mostly personal and opinion-based, it is helpful to know what to expect.

For this part of the test, the test taker will show how well they can speak the English language. You will have to speak on 4 prompts during the test. The first prompt will be a personal question, and you will simply talk on your own. The remainder of the questions are called Integrated Speaking Tasks. Here, the test taker will be presented with a question prompt and 15 to 30 seconds to prepare. At the end of the preparation time, the mic will start recording your response. You will have to speak for 45 to 60 seconds.

4. Writing:

This is the final part of the test and here the examinee is presented with 2 questions. The first task is called an integration task where the test taker is expected to integrate a written passage and a lecture audio into a single written draft. They will have 20 minutes for this task. After that, the next question demands that the examinee present and defend their opinion regarding a classroom discussion. They will have 10 minutes for this task.

So, overall, your test day schedule will look something like this: 

Where to take the TOEFL iBT test?

With the updated test format, TOEFL has made it possible for candidates to appear for the exam from the comfort of their homes. You can register for a TOEFL iBT exam from the official website and make the necessary payments via your bank. Nepalese banks have recently made dollar cards available. So, if you have one, you can make the payment directly; if not, you can go to a bank and have them pay the exam fees with some added service charge from the bank.

Once you go to the official website, though, you will be presented with these two options:

1. Take TOEFL iBT from a Test Center:
Like the conventional exams, you will have to go to the exam center and sit down for the test there. You will have most of what you need taken care of and you can simply appear for the exam. The equipments required for the exam will be available in the exam center itself and it is a hassle-free kind of process. However, that statement is only true if you have a test location near you, which for most of Nepal is not true.

2. Take TOEFL iBT from Home:
Alternatively, you could register for the test from home and give the exam from the comfort of your home. However, you will have to meet a bunch of equipment requirements as well as environment & testing space requirements. You can check the list of requirements at the TOEFL website too.
 

Taking a TOEFL iBT Course in Nepal

To reiterate, if you are looking to take the TOEFL iBT exam, you should really go through their website and poke around for yourself. Besides useful information about the test, the administrators of this internationally recognized proficiency test have basically put up whole lectures on how you can attempt the test at your best. There are videos about the questions that would be asked and strategies that you, as the test taker, could implement. You can even take a 40-minute mock test to experience what the real thing would feel like.

However, if you think that you cannot do the whole thing going by videos alone and need a little bit of hand-holding, you can sign up for a TOEFL iBT Course in one of the many educational consultancies offering the course across the country. Just be sure to visit as many instructors and institutions as you can to find the right tutelage for you!