What is TOEFL iBT?   Major differences in TOEFL iBT TOEFL iBT Section Summary

What is TOEFL iBT?

The test is composed of 4 sections: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Regardless of time zone, the test is held on the same day worldwide, mainly on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. 30-40 tests are held each year.

The background of TOEFL iBT

The reason for adopting the TOEFL iBT just a few years after changing to PBT from CBT was because students who had achieved high TOEFL scores did not demonstrate communicative competence when attending North American universities. As a result, North American universities using TOEFL to screen prospective students demanded a test that would reflect a more realistic academic situation. ETS made the TOEFL iBT to meet these demands. Therefore, American universities that use the TOEFL to screen prospective students demanded a test that reflects a more realistic academic situation. ETS made the TOEFL iBT to meet these demands.

Major differences in TOEFL iBT

1. Speaking section added and structure section removed

In the new TOEFL, the structure section has been removed and a speaking section has been added to better test students for actual communication skills. Thus, the entire test consists of 4 sections: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. This doesn’t mean that speaking is more important than understanding sentence structure (ETS has made it clear that grammar skills will be scored via the speaking and writing sections) However, in EFL countries such as Korea, students have limited opportunities to use English. There is no doubt that studying grammar is essential for students in EFL situations. Therefore, grammar is still important for the new TOEFL.

2. Introduction of the integrated tasks

Integrated tasks combine skills that would be needed in an English-only classroom setting: - Providing a verbal answer to a question - Providing a verbal answer to a question after listening - Writing the answer to a question after reading and listening

3. Strengthening core academic skills

Reflect core academic skills - the ability needed in English classroom environments: - Note Taking - Paraphrasing - Synthesizing - Summarizing

4. Reading and listening sections are at the same level as those on the CBT

The new TOEFL has many different features, but the reading and listening sections mostly follow CBT question types. Additionally, sentence structures, vocabulary range, and test topics are the same as the CBT.

5. Two writing questions are given

In addition to the independent writing on the CBT, an integrated writing question has been added to the new TOEFL. Integrated writing requires students to summarize facts contained in the reading passage and the listening script. The topics in the independent writing section are from the same 185-topic list used on the CBT.

Summary of each section in TOEFL iBT

	Reading	Listening	Speaking	Writing
Time Given	Total passages : 3~5 Number of questions for each passage : 12~14 Length of each passages : About 700 words Total questions : 36-70	Conversation - 2~3 listening passages - 5 questions for each passages - About 400~600 words for each passage Lecture - 4-6 listening passages Interactive Lecture 2~3 Academic Lecture 2~3 - 6 questions for each passage - About 500~800 words for each passage Total questions : 34-51	Independent Speaking - 2 questions Integrated Speaking - 4 questions are given - Read, listen, and answer : 2 questions - Listen and answer : 2 questions - Reading: 75-100 words for 45 seconds - Listening 150~280 words for about 1-2 min Total questions : 6	Integrated Writing - 1 question - Read, listen, and write - Reading 230-300 words in 3 min. - Listening 230-300 words in 2 min - Writing 150-225 words in 20 min. Independent Writing - 1 question - Writing: more than 300 words in 30 min Total questions : 2
Time Given	About 60~100 min. (20 min for each passage)	About 60-90 min. (20-30 min, excluding the listening time)	About 20 min	About 50 min. (Integrated Writing: 20 min) (Independent Writing:30 min)
Question Types	1) Vocabulary Questions 2) Reference Questions 3) Sentence Simplification Questions 4) Factual Information Questions 5) Negative Fact Questions 6) Inference Questions 7) Rhetorical Purpose Questions 8) Insert Text Questions 9) Prose Summary	1) Main Idea Questions 2) Supporting Detail Questions 3) Organization Questions 4) Organization Rhetorical Connection Questions 5) Content-Identifying Relationship Questions 6) Stance/Attitude Questions 7) Function-Purpose Questions	1) Independent Speaking - Personal Preference 2) Independent Speaking - Paired Choice 3) Integrated Speaking - Campus Situation Topic (Reading/Listening/Speaking) 4) Integrated Speaking - Academic Course Topic (Reading/Listening/Speaking)	1) Integrated Writing - Academic Course Topic (Reading/Listening/Speaking) 2) Independent Writing - Based on Experience & Knowledge
Special Features	Glossary provided : Click on the word to see the meaning. Review : Unchecked questions can be shown to review once more. The title for each passage is given The questions are usually listed in order of the passage, questions are on the left and the passage is on the right side of the screen.	Note-Taking is possible Short conversation as on the CBT is no longer given. Cannot go back to previous questions The core topic of the lecture is provided on screen. Replaying certain parts of the lecture is possible.	Note-Taking is possible Independent speaking is about very familiar topics. Integrated speaking is about facts from the reading and listening scripts. 15-30 seconds of preparation time is provided, 45-60 seconds are for answering.	Note-Taking is possible. Integrated writing is about facts from in the reading and listening scripts. The topics in the independent writing section are similar to the CBT’s 185 writing topics.
Distribution of points	0 ~ 30 Normally 1 point is given for 1 question.	0 ~ 30 Normally 1 point is given for 1 question.	0 ~ 30 0 to 4 points are given based on the scoring rubric.	0 ~ 30 0 to 5 points are given based on the scoring rubrics.
Standards of points distribution	0 to 4 points are given for prose summary questions, classifying, categorizing, and organizing information questions. After adding up all points, convert them into a total of 30 points.	2 points can be given for supporting detail questions.? In this case, the points are shown on the question. After adding up all points, convert them into a total of 30 points.	Scored by 6 human raters. After adding up all points, convert them into a total of 30 points.	Scored by 2 human raters. After adding up all points, convert them into a total of 30 points.