toefl

The Test Of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced "toe-full", or sometimes just "toffle") evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand Standard American English at a college level. It is required for non-native applicants at many United StatesAmerican and English speaking colleges and universities. The TOEFL is the product of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which is contracted by the private, non-profit firm, the College Board to administer the test in institutions in the US; they also produce the SAT college entrance testSAT.The test is usually taken on a computer in a test center, although paper versions are available where it is not possible to take it this way. TOEFL is administered worldwide. The Computer Based Test for TOEFL called the CBT, is an adaptive test; meaning that your next question's difficulty level depends on the correctness of your response to the current question. This helps TOEFL to grade the person's knowledge on the English language; by assuming him/her to be of an average capability at the beginning of the test, and with the responses received at the every question the program decides to give you a tougher or easier question based on whether your question was answered correctly or not. The CBT follows computer adaptive test strategy for the Listening and Structure section alone. The reading comprehension and Essay writing are not computer adaptive.The test consists of four sections:

Section I: Listening Comprehension

Section II: Structure and Written Expression

Section III: Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

Section IV: Essay Writing

Sections -

Listening Comprehension -

Objective: To test the candidate's listening capabilites

Type of Questions: Conversations between two or more people in academic environments. Short conversations between students, and lectures may be possible conversations. Questions are basically of the ''who said what'' type.

Duration: 45-70 minutes

Structure -

Objective: To check the candidate's knowledge of English grammar.

Type of Questions: Identify the erroneous words(s) in the sentence. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate word.

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary -

Objective: To test the candidate's reading and vocabulary skills.

Type of Question: Three or four long passages, typically 300 words long are given, and questions based on the content, intent of the author, and ideas inferred from the passage. Generally prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer; though ''a priori'' knowledge may help.

Duration: 70-90 minutes

Essay Writing -

Objective: To test the candidate's writing skills

Type of Question: To write an essay on some general topic, and your position towards it. eg: "Is stem cell research necessary? Explain your stand?"

Duration: 30 minutes. The test was first administered 1964 and has since been taken by nearly 20 million students. A revamped version of the test is slated for adoption in September 2005. This has been dubbed the ''Next Generation TOEFL'' and will include diagnostic reports on a student's strengths and weaknesses.Currently, the TOEFL does not include a test of speaking, although this will be introduced in 2005 when the ''TOEFL Academic Speaking Test'' (TAST) is integrated into the main TOEFL, replacing the current "Structure" section. Currently, a stand-alone TAST is available only as a practice test, which is taken using a telephone. With the upcoming retooled TOEFL, however, examinees will be asked to speak extemporaneously into a microphone; a digital recording of their speech will then be scored remotely. The purpose of the TAST is to assess a student's ability to speak English clearly and fluently.The new version of TOEFL is delivered through the Internet. It is known as the TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT). It is being introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006. The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is similar, but it emphasizes British English and Australian English. It is recognized primarily by Commonwealth universities and organizations, but also by many U.S. institutions.

Criticism - TOEFL, like many standardized tests, has come under increasing scrutiny as a measure of the ability to use English effectively. There are an increasing number of major English speaking universities that now only accept alternate tests or their own test as a measure of whether a student will be capable of using English in an academic milieu. Some of its weaknesses are:

Because English does exhibit some orthological patterns (such as the use of -ing on the end of many verbs), test takers can be taught strategies to look for the patterns without having an understanding of the underlying grammar involved.

Native speakers of English who take the test often find themselves with mediocre results, even in multiple choice questions. Ideally, a test for English proficiency should be simple and straightforward for a native speaker. Instead, such tests often focus on obscure rules of grammar and "proper" uses. For example, the use of "can" and "may" does have a formal use, but native English speakers not only ignore the formal use on most occasions, they are never confused when another speaker switches the two.

Until recently, TOEFL did not test the ability to speak English. In most environments, the ability to speak intelligibly and without undue delay is vital. Because TOEFL did not measure this, learners may neglect this part of their education to focus on the skills the test does measure. As a result, many universities request incoming teaching assistants who are not native English speakers to take additional tests (such as the Test of Spoken English or university-administered tests) to ensure their ability to communicate with their students. The TOEFL iBT, which does test speaking skills, seems to address this issue.

Score comparison - The following is the conversion table between paper-based and computer based scores chemistry.msu.edu.

677 300

673 297

670 293

667 290

663 287

660 287

657 283

653 280

650 280

647 277

643 273

640 273

637 270

633 267

630 267

627 263

623 263

620 260

617 260

613 257

610 253

607 253

603 250

600 250

597 247

593 243

590 243

587 240

583 237

580 237

577 233

573 230

570 230

567 227

563 223

560 220

557 220

553 217

550 213

547 210

543 207

540 207

537 203

533 200

530 197

527 197

523 193

520 190

517 187

513 183

510 180

507 180

503 177

500 173

497 170

493 167

490 163

487 163

483 160

480 157

477 153

473 150

470 150

467 147

463 143

460 140

457 137

See also -

List of admissions tests

Educational Testing Service

IELTS

TOEIC

English as an additional language

External links -

ets.org - ETS Official TOEFL Site

english.edulang.com - TOEFL Preparation Software

ielts.org - IELTS

dmoz.org - DMOZ listing of TOEFL related sitescategory:Language !testsar:توفلbg:TOEFLde:Tes t? of English as a Foreign !Languagees:TOEFLfr:TOEFLja:TOE FLpl:TOEFLzh:托福

Anglo-Continental School of English provides English language courses in Bournemouth, England
Anglo-Continental offers English language courses for adults, professionals and young learners. Courses include English for business, executives, senior citizens, academic purposes, teacher training and aviation.
http://www.anglo-continental.com/

Advanced English Academy of Canada
Study English or Spanish with us in Canada, Mexico, Spain, Latin America & many other countries worldwide. Receive Instant Quotes, Discounts, Register & more.
http://www.engcanada.com/

EC English - English as a Second Language
Learn English with students from over 60 countries and centres in top city locations, EC offers English language courses to suit all abilities, ages and study plans.
http://www.ecenglish.com

AVO-3 School of English
AVO-3 is the only school in the region authorised by Cambridge University to provide teacher training with the CELTA and DELTA We aim to give as stress-free a course as possible. The four and a half weeks course instead of four does a lot to minimize the anxiety and workload. In addition, AVO-3 tutors strive to assist trainees to achieve their potential, providing a supportive environment.
http://www.avo-3.com/

Shafston College
Shafston was established in 1996 and has grown to be the largest College of its type in Australia with over 50,000 students having attended since it's inception. The two Shafston campuses are unique! They are both located in the heart of Brisbane. The original Kangaroo Point Campus, which is centred on “Shafston House” a heritage-listed building constructed in 1851 - is located on the banks of the beautiful Brisbane River and covers an area of five-acres. The new purpose-built City Campus is five minutes away in Brisbane’s central business district. These campuses allow our students to enjoy a true university campus experience and atmosphere with beautiful outdoor spaces as well as excellent teaching and learning facilities. Shafston also boasts one of the most diverse student populations in the country.
http://www.shafston.edu/

TOEFL Preparation Course
Toefl prepration course in VAncouver BC Canada. Prepare for the TOEFL test with the TOEFL® IBT Specialist
http://www.toeflcourse.info/

Corsi di lingua in tutto il mondo
Il corso ideale per tutti, di inglese, tedesco, francese, spagnolo, russo, arabo e cinese. Corsi per adulti, per ragazzi, per tutta la famiglia
http://www.indirizzoinghilterra.it/

Okanagan Language School
In a small-school community, students have the opportunity to learn about the world as well as Canada. With classmates from a variety of countries, students make many friends from other cultures and use English as their primary mode of communication. The international network of friends lasts for a lifetime. OLS' staff, instructors, homestay families, study partners, and tutors give students close contact with Canadians; many long-term friendships are formed in this way also. Our instructors provide many different types of learning activities to accommodate the diverse learning styles of our students, and believe in combining plenty of fun and creativity with more traditional educational activities. Language and laughter both have their places in an OLS classroom. OLS is proud of the distinct specialties, background, and experiences which each instructor brings to his or her classroom, and students appreciate the variety of personality types and teaching techniques they experience with the OLS faculty. * A small school with a friendly environment * Close contact with Canadian instructors, study partners, homestay families, and tutors * Lasting friendships and memories
http://www.okanaganesl.ca/

TOEFL
Official site of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Includes tutorials, practice questions, downloads, and information on both the computer-based and paper-based versions of the test. Also markets test preparation materials.
http://www.toefl.org/

TOEFL Preparation Exams, Tests, and Lessons
Free access to a full-length practice structure examination, as well as demos of listening and reading sections. Also possible to receive a free, full-length practice examination.
http://www.free-toefl.com/

Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Assessment development and research organization. Directory of tests for a variety of age groups and subjects. Information for applicants with disabilities, research reports, conferences, careers, educational news.
http://www.ets.org/

ESL Department at Okanagan University College
Interactive and TOEIC preparation exercises, sample exercises from Canadian Concepts book series and grammar lessons on video. Many require QuickTime.
http://www.faceweb.okanagan.bc.ca/