TOEFL Advice

Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL is one of the first standardized tests that an aspiring grad school applicant needs to take. The test is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and can be taken in centers spread across the world.

Here is some info on TOEFL.

What is TOEFL?

TOEFL stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language. It is a test of the written English language skills of a foreign student.

US and most Canadian universities use TOEFL as a measure of competence of students from countries whose native language is not English.

For example, students from Britain, the Caribbean, Australia etc don't have to take TOEFL because it is assumed they all know English. Also, if you have studied in those countries for several years, you are exempt.

What is tested in TOEFL?

The test focuses on the following things:

English Grammatical Knowledge
Ability to understand spoken english
Ability to write proper english

Format and Scoring

The test has the following format:

Listening section
Structure Section
Comprehension Section
Writing section

In the listening section, there are some short dialog. You have to listen to it using the head phones. Then following the dialogs there
may be some questions. There is also a big 1/1.5 minute lecture on some topic, and then questions based on that topic. All you have to
do is to concentrate to answer the questions.

In the structure section, there are mainly some different types of questions. In one type, you have to fill in the blanks from 4/5 given
choices. In another type, you have to select the correct sentence. And in another type, you have to find which part of a given sentence
is wrong, by clicking on several choices.

In comprehension, they give you 4 or 5 passages. You have to answer them in about 1 hour or so.

In writing section, you are given a topic. You have to write in favor or against it. You can write it in paper, or type it.

The whole test is computerized, as of now, in BD. You are given headphones so during listening you can concentrate.

There is a catch.....some sections are adaptive, meaning if you make a mistake, the next question is going be easier, but you get less
points. (Ok, I'm not so sure about it, or remember it in detail, but you should check if or which sections are adaptive).

Scoring is done like this: total score is 300. Each section is about 30 marks. Essay is scored in the scale of 6.0 . The whole score is
scaled back to 300.

How/Where to take it?

A company called ETS conducts TOEFL (and most other standard tests). (As an aside, this is how clever americans make money...they force all students all over the world take this test, which is administered under them with a huge fee!!!). ETS has assigned some company in Malaysia to handle asian operations. They have a branch in Gulshan, behind Banglar Mela ... its called Prometric Testing Center.

You can go there anytime during office hours and get the TOEFL brochure from them. Or you can easily download it from the web at the TOEFL website. You can also order a copy of the brochure for FREE from the TOEFL site....they will send it to you by post for FREE.

To register, you can either go to prometric center and get a brochure or something with their approval or seal or some form (I didn't and so I don't know), the take it to Eastern Bank at motijheel and show it to them to make the draft. The fee is probably $120. Then you can
mail it by express mail from GPO. Or, you can use a credit card and fax the toefl registration form. There are 5 options for date selection. The test is conducted almost every working day at the gulshan center. Depending on rush, you can get a day as early as 1 or 2 weeks if you FAx. You can also phone and set a date. That's of
course a bit costly.

After you have sent the form, you will be emailed the date and some numbers like registration and test id etc. You MUST print a copy of the mail. If you don't get a reply, you should go to Prometric center to see if your name is on the list of examinees on the notice board. They probably don't answer queries over phone. You should go there in person.

Test Preparation

ETS provides excellent test preparation materials. If you are taking TOEFL, you should download Powerprep, and the sample tests from TOEFL website.

What items to take when you go for the test?

At the time of the test, you have to take your passport and the mail printout. And YES, you NEED a passport to apply for TOEFL or any other tests. So better apply for one right away. If you are not in a hurry, use the cheapest option for passport. You will surely get your passport in 2 to 3 months.

During the test, you are not allowed to take even a watch. There are about 10 computer cubicles in the test center. You can't look at others, and you will be videotaped. They will take a pic of you when you get in and that pic will appear in your report. So, make a happy face ;). The cam is terrible and makes your face round and circular. So don't get disappointed ;) :D

You have the option to send the test scores free to 4 universities when you take the test. So select 4 universities before hand. If you want to send test scores later, you have to spend $12 ++ per university.

After you take the test, you will get a range. This is because you can get scores from all but the writing section right away. The writing section will be read by human graders and so it takes 2 weeks if you type and 1 month if you write your essay to be scored. Then, hopefully you will get your scores mailed to you 1 month after taking the test.

What's a Good TOEFL Score?

Most good schools like scores above 250. Some want more than 215. Go to websites to check out what your university wants.

Conclusion and Disclaimer

I hope if you made it up to this line....you got some helpful information. By the way, always verify the information from the site. Don't depend on me (this was a disclaimer ;))

This article was written by Ragib Hasan from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CSE BUET Students and Alumni Web