Test of English as a Foreign Language
Test of English as a Foreign
Language
Test of English as
a Foreign Language (TOEFL /ˈtoʊfəl/ TOH-fəl)
is a standardized test to
measure the English language ability
of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The
test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and
professional institutions. TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests
in the world, the other being the IELTS.
TOEFL is a
trademark of the Educational
Testing Service (ETS), a
private non-profit organization, which designs and administers the tests. ETS
issues official score reports, sent independently to institutions, for two
years following the test.
History
n 1962, a national
council made up of representatives of thirty government and private organizations
was formed to address the problem of ensuring English language proficiency for
non-native speakers wishing to study at U.S. universities. This council
recommended the development and administration of the TOEFL exam for the
1963-1964 time frame.[7]
The test was
originally developed at the Center
for Applied Linguistics under the
direction of Stanford
University applied linguistics professor Dr. Charles A.
Ferguson.[8]
The TOEFL test was
first administered in 1964 by the Modern Language
Association financed by grants from the Ford Foundation and Danforth
Foundation.[7]
In 1965, The College Board and
ETS jointly assumed responsibility for the continuation of the TOEFL testing
program.[7]
In 1973, a
cooperative arrangement was made between ETS, The College Board, and the Graduate Record
Examinations board of advisers to oversee and run
the program. ETS was to administer the exam with the guidance of the TOEFL
board.[7]
To the present
day, college admission criteria for international students who are nationals of
some of the Commonwealth
nationsexempt them from taking the TOEFL exam.
Nations which are part of the English-speaking world (from most Commonwealth
realms to former British colonies e.g., Hong Kong SAR or former protectorates
of the United States (Philippines, Puerto Rico) where English is the de facto
official language automatically grants a TOEFL exemption with some restrictions
(e.g., residents of Quebec are required to take TOEFL while the rest of Canada
is exempt - also inclusive of Commonwealth nations where English is not an
official language e.g., Mozambique or Namibia (English is co-official but
spoken by 3% of the population)). However, this does not apply to some
Commonwealth nations outside the Anglosphere, such as India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh etc., even though they may have English as the de facto official
language.
Formats and content
Internet-based test[edit]
Since its
introduction in late 2005, the TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT) format has
progressively replaced the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based tests
(PBT), although paper-based testing is still used in select areas. The TOEFL
iBT test has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in
2006, with test centers added regularly. The CBT was discontinued in September
2006 and these scores are no longer valid[citation needed].
Initially, the
demand for test seats was higher than availability, and candidates had to wait
for months. It is now possible to take the test within one to four weeks in
most countries.[9]The four-hour test consists of four sections,
each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks require
integrating multiple skills), and all tasks focus on language used in an
academic, higher-education environment. Note-taking is allowed during the TOEFL
iBT test. The test cannot be taken more than once every 12 days.[10]
1.
Reading
The Reading section consists of questions on
3-5 passages, each approximately 700 words in length. The passages are on
academic topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an
undergraduate university textbook. Passages require understanding of rhetorical
functions such as cause-effect, compare-contrast and argumentation. Students
answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, essential information,
sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas. New types
of questions in the TOEFL iBT test require filling out tables or completing
summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to
come to the correct answer.
2.
Listening
The Listening section consists of questions
on six passages, each 3–5 minutes in length. These passages include two student
conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. The conversations
involve a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. The
lectures are a self-contained portion of an academic lecture, which may involve
student participation and does not assume specialized background knowledge in
the subject area. Each conversation and lecture passage is heard only once.
Test-takers may take notes while they listen and they may refer to their notes
when they answer the questions. Each conversation is associated with five
questions and each lecture with six. The questions are meant to measure the
ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications,
relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and
speaker attitude.
3.
Speaking
The Speaking section consists of six tasks:
two independent and four integrated. In the two independent tasks, test-takers
answer opinion questions on familiar topics. They are evaluated on their
ability to speak spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently.
In two of the integrated tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an
academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and answer a
question by combining appropriate information from the text and the talk. In the
two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers listen to an academic course
lecture or a conversation about campus life and then respond to a question
about what they heard. In the integrated tasks, test-takers are evaluated on
their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey information
from the reading and listening material. Test-takers may take notes as they
read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses.
Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin
speaking. The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring
Network (OSN), and evaluated by three to six raters.
4.
Writing
The Writing section measures a test taker's
ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one
integrated and one independent. In the integrated task, test-takers read a
passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss it. The
test-taker then writes a summary about the important points in the listening
passage and explains how these relate to the key points of the reading passage.
In the independent task, the test-taker must write an essay that states their
opinion or choice, and then explain it, rather than simply listing personal
preferences or choices. Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by at
least 3 different raters.
One
of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted material. Educational Testing Service includes extra
material to pilot test questions for future test forms. When test-takers are
given a longer section, they should give equal effort to all of the questions
because they do not know which question will count and which will be considered
extra. For example, if there are four reading passages instead of three, then
one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four could be the uncounted
one.
Paper-based Test[edit]
The TOEFL®
paper-based Test (PBT) is available in limited areas. Scores are valid for two
years after the test date, and test takers can have their scores sent to
institutions or face time.[12]
1.
Listening (30 – 40
minutes)
The Listening section consists of 3 parts.
The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part
has 8 questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions
about lectures or talks.
2.
Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes)
The Structure and Written Expression section
has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of
identifying errors.
3.
Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)
The Reading Comprehension sections has 50
questions about reading passages.
4.
Writing (30 minutes)
The TOEFL PBT administrations include a
writing test called the Test of Written English (TWE). This is one essay
question with 250–300 words in average.[13]
Test scores
TOEFL iBT Test
·
The TOEFL iBT test
is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.
·
Each of the four
sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score
from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to
determine the total score.
·
The reading and
listening sections are tested first, followed by a ten-minute break. The
speaking and writing sections are then completed following the break. A maximum
amount of 250 minutes is allowed to complete the whole exam process.[14]
·
Each speaking
question is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is
initially given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores
of 0 to 30.
Paper-based Test
·
The final PBT
score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening
(31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of
the Writing component (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not
part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.
·
The score test
takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test
is not the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into
account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted
scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more
accurate reflection of the ability than the raw score is.
Accepted TOEFL Scores
Most colleges use
TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process, with a college or
program within a college often setting a minimum TOEFL score required. The
minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University)[15] to 111 (University of Oxford).[16]
ETS has released
tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.
TOEFL ITP Tests
TOEFL ITP ("ITP"
stands for "Institutional Testing Program") tests are paper-based and
use academic content to evaluate the English-language proficiency of non-native
English speakers. The tests use new and previously administered TOEFL test
questions and are used for placement, progress, evaluation, exit testing and
other situations. The test scores, format and content of the test matches the
"TOEFL PBT",[18] with
the exception of not including the TWE (Test of Written Expression).
Unlike the TOEFL
iBT and PBT tests, TOEFL ITP tests are administered by the
institution and for internal use. It should not replace the need for the TOEFL
iBT test, which is administered securely and includes Speaking and Writing
components. There are two levels of TOEFL ITP: Level 1 (intermediate to
advanced) and Level 2 (high beginning to intermediate).TOEFL ITP scores
are mapped to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of
achievement.
TOEFL Junior Tests
ETS
also offers the TOEFL Junior tests, a general assessment of
middle school-level English-language proficiency. It is intended for students
aged 11+.The tests are administered in two formats: TOEFL Junior Standard
(on paper) and TOEFL Junior Comprehensive (via computer).
The TOEFL Junior Standard test has three sections: Reading
Comprehension, Listening Comprehension and Language Form and Meaning. The TOEFL
Junior Comprehensive test has four: Reading Comprehension, Listening
Comprehension, Speaking and thWriting. TOEFL Junior scores are
mapped to the CEFR and test takers are provided with a certificate of
achievement.
Linking TOEFL iBT Score Ranges to IELTS Scores[21][edit]
|
IELTS Score
|
TOEFL Score
|
IELTS
Description
|
|
9
|
118-120
|
Expert User
|
|
8.5
|
115-117
|
Very Good User
|
|
8
|
110-114
|
|
|
7.5
|
102-109
|
Good User
|
|
7
|
94-101
|
|
|
6.5
|
79-93
|
Competent User
|
|
6
|
60-78
|
|
|
5.5
|
42-59
|
Modest User
|
|
5
|
35-41
|
|
|
4.5
|
32-34
|
Limited User
|
|
0-4
|
0-31
|
Extremely Limited/Intermittent/Non User
|
TOEFL
Test of English as
a Foreign Language disingkat TOEFL adalah
ujian kemampuan berbahasa Inggris (logat Amerika) yang diperlukan untuk
mendaftar masuk ke universitas di Amerika Serikat atau
negara-negara lain di dunia. Ujian ini sangat diperlukan bagi pendaftar atau
pembicara yang bahasa ibunya bukan bahasa Inggris. Ujian TOEFL
ini diselenggarakan oleh kantor ETS (Educational Testing Service) di Amerika Serikatuntuk
semua peserta tes di seluruh dunia.
Jenis tes bahasa
Inggris TOEFL ini pada umumnya diperlukan untuk persyaratan masuk kuliah pada
hampir semua universitas di Amerika Serikat dan Kanada baik untuk program undergraduate (S-1)
maupun graduate (S-2 atau S-3). Hasil tes TOEFL ini juga
dipakai sebagai bahan pertimbangan mengenai kemampuan bahasa Inggris dari calon
mahasiswa yang mendaftar ke universitas di negara lain, termasuk universitas di
Eropa dan Australia. Secara umum, tes TOEFL lebih berorientasi kepada American
English, dan sedikit berbeda dengan jenis tes IELTS yang
berorientasi kepada British English. Tidak seperti tes IELTS,
tes TOEFL ini pada umumnya tidak mempunyai bagian individual interview
test. Selain itu TOEFL pada dewasa ini sudah mulai digunakan dalam dunia
kerja sebagai salah satu mekanisme rekruitment atau jenjang kenaikan pangkat.[1]
Biasanya tes ini
memakan waktu sekitar tiga jam dan diselenggarakan dalam 4 bagian, yaitu
bagian:
·
listening
comprehension,
·
grammar structure
and written expression,
·
reading
comprehension, dan
·
writing.
Jenis TOEFL dan skornya
es bahasa inggris
TOEFL terdiri dari dua jenis yaitu Computer-based Testing dan Paper-Based
Testing.[1] Model Computer-based
Testing adalah tes yang menggunakan media komputer. Skor penilaian
model ini berada pada kisaran 216-677. Sedangkan Paper Based Testing adalah
tes yang menggunakan kertas sebagai media pengujiannya.[1].
Skor penilaian dengan model ini berada pada kisaran 450-550 ke atas.[1] Nilai
hasil ujian TOEFL berkisar antara: 310 (nilai minimum) sampai 677 (nilai
maksimum) untuk versi PBT (paper-based test).
Sejak tahun 1998,
tes TOEFL ini diadakan secara online dengan menggunakan komputer (Computer-based
Testing/CBT), dan sejak tahun 2005 disebut iBT (Internet-based
Test). Di tempat-tempat yang belum bisa melaksanakan CBT atau iBT (karena
belum ada fasilitas komputer dan jaringan internetnya), ujian TOEFL ini masih
tetap diadakan secara manual menggunakan kertas dan potlot (paper-based
test atau PBT). Informasi lebih lengkap tentang tes CBT dan
paper-based TOEFL berkaitan dengan pendaftaran, lokasi penyelenggaraan, biaya,
dan bahan-bahan persiapan tes dapat dilihat di situs resmi TOEFL, http://www.toefl.org (hasil
ujian TOEFL versi CBT mempunyai nilai berkisar antara 0 sampai 300, sementara
nilai untuk iBT adalah dari 0 sampai 120) [2].
Akhir-akhir ini
penyelenggara tes TOEFL juga mengadakan jenis tes TWE (Test of Written
English) yang hasil nilainya terpisah dari nilai tes TOEFL. Tes ini
memakan waktu selama 30 menit, dan peserta akan diminta untuk menuliskan
karangan singkat yang menggambarkan mengenai kemampuan peserta untuk
mengekspresikan dan menuangkan suatu gagasan atau ide, serta mendukung gagasan
itu dengan contoh-contoh yang terdapat dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dengan
menggunakan bahasa Inggris yang standar. Bila TWE (Test of Written
English) termasuk bagian yang diujikan, biasanya tes ini dilaksanakan
sebelum ujian Listening Comprehension.
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