TOEFL iBT ®
The TOEFL iBT® test helps you stand out confidently in English, and it comes with a clear advantage — universities know you are ready to succeed. That’s why it’s accepted by more than 11,000 universities and other institutions in over 150 countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, the U.K., and across Europe and Asia.
Conveniently offered weekly at authorized test centers near you, the computer-delivered TOEFL iBT test is the only test that measures all 4 academic English skills — reading, listening, speaking, and writing — the way they are actually used in a classroom. So your TOEFL® scores provide a true reflection of your abilities and show admissions officers you have what it takes to be great.
TOEFL iBT® Format
The TOEFL iBT® test has 4 sections:
Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. During the test, you’ll perform tasks that combine these 4 English communication skills, such as:
- read, listen and then speak in response to a question
- listen and then speak in response to a question
- read, listen and then write in response to a question
The total test takes about 3 hours to complete, but you should plan for 3½ hours, allowing 30 minutes for check in.
The TOEFL iBT® Reading section is designed to assess how well you can read and understand the kind of materials used in an academic environment. It includes 3 or 4 reading passages, each approximately 700 words long, with 10 questions per passage. You have 54 to 72 minutes to answer all the questions in the section.
Reading passages are excerpts from university-level textbooks that would be used in introductions to a discipline or topic. The passages cover a variety of different subjects. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the topic of a passage. All the information you need to answer the questions will be included in the passage. There is a glossary feature available to define words not commonly used, if you need it.
The TOEFL iBT® Listening section is designed to measure your ability to understand conversations and lectures in English. It includes listening for:
- basic comprehension
- pragmatic understanding (speaker’s attitude and degree of certainty) and connecting and synthesizing information
There are 2 types of listening items in the Speaking section — lectures and conversations. Both use campus-based language.
- 3–4 lectures, each 3–5 minutes long, with 6 questions per lecture
- 2–3 conversations with 2 speakers, each 3 minutes long, with 5 questions per conversation
You can take notes on any audio item throughout the test to help you answer questions. You have 41 to 57 minutes to complete the section.
Accents
The Listening section includes native-speaker English accents from North America, the U.K., New Zealand or Australia to better reflect the variety of accents you might encounter while studying abroad.
The TOEFL iBT® Speaking section is designed to measure your ability to speak English effectively in academic settings. It is composed of 4 tasks that resemble real-life situations you might encounter both in and outside of a classroom.
- Question 1 is called an “independent speaking task” because it requires you to draw entirely on your own ideas, opinions and experiences when you respond.
- Questions 2–4 are called “integrated speaking tasks” because they require you to combine your English-language skills — listening and speaking, or listening, reading and speaking — just as you would in or out of a classroom.
You’ll get 15–30 seconds of preparation time before each response, and your response will be 45 or 60 seconds long.
To respond, you’ll speak into the microphone on your headset. Your responses are recorded and sent to ETS, where they will be scored by a combination of AI scoring and certified human raters to ensure fairness and quality.
You have 17 minutes to complete the Speaking section.
Accents
The Speaking section includes native-speaker English accents from North America, the U.K., New Zealand or Australia to better reflect the variety of accents you might encounter while studying abroad. Only the first of the 4 items may have accented speech.
The TOEFL iBT® Writing section is designed to measure your ability to write in English in an academic setting, and you’re expected to be able to present your ideas in a clear, well-organized manner.
There are 2 writing tasks.
- Integrated writing task (20 minutes) — read a short passage and listen to a short lecture, then write in response to what you read and listened to.
- Independent writing task (30 minutes) — write an essay based on personal experience or opinion in response to a writing topic.
You’ll type your responses on a computer keyboard. Responses are sent to ETS, where they are scored by a combination of AI scoring and certified human raters to ensure fairness and quality.
You’ll have 50 minutes to complete the Writing section.