Everything You Need To Know About New TOEFL iBT
ETS has changed the pattern of TOEFL iBT. The main change is that the duration has been reduced. Earlier TOEFL took over 3 hours. Now you can complete the test in under 2 hours.
TOEFL iBT has four sections – reading, listening, writing and speaking. You can complete the test in under 2 hours.
Here is a quick overview of the test sections.
Reading (35 minutes)
There are 20 questions in all. You have to read the passages and answer the questions accordingly.
Listening (about 36 minutes)
You have to listen to audio tapes containing brief lectures of classroom discussions. There are 28 questions in all.
Speaking (about 16 minutes)
You will have to talk about a topic that is familiar to you. You will also have to discuss material that you heard or read. The speaking module consists of 4 tasks.
Writing (29 minutes)
The writing module consists of 2 tasks. The first task requires you to read a passage, listen to an audio tape and then type your answer. The second task is to express and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion.
How is the new TOEFL iBT different from the previous version?
Reading section
Previously the reading section lasted 60 to 100 minutes. There used to be 3 to 5 passages and test takers had to answer 12 to 14 questions on each passage. Now there are only two passages and they are approximately of 700 words. You have to answer ten questions on each passage. The total allotted time is about 35 minutes.
These passages are taken from textbooks taught at university level. They may cover a wide variety of topics. It doesn’t matter whether you are familiar with the topic or not because all the information you need to answer the questions is included in the passage. They also provide a glossary of difficult terms used in the passage.
Listening section
Earlier the listening section lasted 60 to 90 minutes. The test takers had to listen to 2-3 conversations and answer 5 questions on each conversation. They also had to listen to 4-6 lectures and answer 6 questions on each lecture.
Now the listening section takes only about 36 minutes. You have to listen to 3 lectures of 3-5 minutes and answer 6 questions on each lecture. Some of these lectures may contain classroom discussion. You also have to listen to 2 conversations of 3 minutes and answer 5 questions on each conversation. You can take notes throughout the test.
Speaking section
Earlier the speaking section took 20 minutes to complete. There used to be two independent and 4 integrated tasks. The independent tasks required the test takers to speak about a familiar experience. The integrated tasks required them to read a passage or listen to an audio tape and summarize the information.
The new speaking section consists of 4 tasks and takes about 16 minutes. The first task is an independent speaking task. You have to use your own ideas and opinions to answer this question.
The next three tasks are integrated speaking tasks. You have to listen to a tape and summarize the information in your own words. Or you may have to listen, read and speak. You get about 30 seconds to prepare your answer for each question and your response should be 45 – 60 seconds long. On the speaking test, you have to speak into a microphone and they will record your response.
Writing section
Earlier the writing section took 50 minutes to complete. There used to be one integrated task and one independent task. Now you can complete the writing section in about 29 minutes.
The first task is an integrated writing task (20 minutes). You have to read a short passage and listen to a short lecture and then write an essay based on what you read and heard. You have to write between 150 – 225 words.
The second task takes about 10 minutes to complete. It is an academic discussion task. You have to state and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion. You will type your answers on a computer keyboard.
