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Test Information |
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Test of English As a Foreign Language - TOEFL |
Test Information |
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Test
Of English A Foreign Language is a Standardized
test that evaluates the English Proficiency of
people whose native language is not English. Nearly
2400 education institutes in the United States
and Canada require TOEFL® scores from each
applicant. The test is also used by institutions
in other countries where English is the language
of Instruction. The TOEFL tests the ability to
understand North American English.
TOEFL test is administered as a computer based
test in India. |
Computer
Based TOEFL test : The test is designed in such
a way that it would be unlike any other test you
would have taken at school or college. First,
the test has no question paper or answer sheets,
nor does it have the same set of questions for
all the examinees. Further, it does not give you
the option of not answering a question (unless,
of course, you run out of time at the end). All
this because the TOEFL test is now an entirely
Computer based test - the keyboard and mouse do
the work of a pen or pencil. The test is scored
out of 300, and most scores fall in the range
of 200-250. |
The
TOEFL test is only to test your English proficiency.
A high score alone does not translate into an
admission offer from a great school. But the test
is mandatory and cannot be overlooked. |
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Who administers the TOEFL Test |
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The
TOEFL test is developed and administered by the
US-based "Educational Testing Service"
(ETS). This implies that ETS sets the questions,
conducts the test, and sends each examinee the
score report. For the conduct of the test, ETS
has appointed Testing Agencies in various countries,
which act as franchisee for ETS. In India, this
agency is the "Prometric Testing Services
Pvt Ltd" which administers the test at 9
centers in the country : Ahmedabad, Allahabad,
Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai,
New Delhi, and Trivandrum. |
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When is the TOEFL test held?
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Computer
based TOEFL test is held all-round-the-year. Unlike
other exams, you can choose your own date and
time for taking the TOEFL test! The test is administered
in the above cities five-days-a-week (Monday through
Friday), twice-a-day. September to December is
the high season for TOEFL test, so in case you
intend to take the test during this period, you
need to register very early (say 90 days in advance)
to get a date of your choice. Otherwise, registering
at least three days in advance is mandatory. The
test lasts roughly four hours. |
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Anyone
and everyone is eligible for taking the TOEFL
test - there are no restrictions based on age
or qualifications. The test scores are valid for
two years, i.e., most universities accept scores
up to two years old. |
Test
Fee/Service |
Amount |
TOEFL
Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
US$140
(includes 1 examinee score record
and 4 score recipients) |
TOEFL
Paper-Based Test (PBT) |
US$140
(includes 1 examinee score record
and 4 score recipients) |
Additional
Score Report Requests |
US$17
(per recipient) |
Rescheduling
Fee (CBT only) |
US$40 |
Essay/TWE
Re scoring |
US$50 |
TOEFL
Paper Answer Sheet Re scoring |
US$25 |
Reinstatement of
Canceled Scores (CBT only) |
US$20 |
Fee for Returned
Check or Declined Credit Card |
US$20 |
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Fees are subject
to change without notice. In India, this fee is
US $130, payable at the time of registration.
You cannot pay in Indian Rupees. |
The fees has
to be paid through a US Dollar denominated draft,
made out in favor of "ETS - TOEFL" payable
in the U.S. Such a draft is usually available
with the Main Branches of most banks (which have
a foreign exchange counter) in most of the big
cities for a nominal charge (around Rs. 200).
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Alternately,
the payment can also be made through a credit
card which has global acceptance. The credit card
need not necessarily be yours - you can get your
father to sign for you! |
Important : The
name on the registration form should be exactly
the same as in your passport or you may not be
allowed to test. It is advisable to attach the
photocopy of the Passport with the application
form to avoid any faulty registration. |
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Obtain
the "TOEFL Information Bulletin" available
free with Prometric Testing Services and USEFI.
You can also request the bulletin from Megway
at Request Test Forms and it will be delivered
to your given address. The Test Scheduling Form
comes with the bulletin. There are three ways
to register: |
Registering
by Phone : You may call up Prometric office until
12:00 noon to register. Make sure to call at least
THREE BUSINESS DAYS before the test date. |
Registering
by Fax : If registering by fax, you must send
your fax at lest SEVEN DAYS prior to your first
choice of a test day. |
Registering by
Mail/Courier: Fill in the form, get the draft
made (if you are not paying by credit card), and
submit these to the Prometric Centre either by
hand or by registered post/courier. You must send
the documents at least THREE WEEKS before your
choice of a test day. |
On receipt of
your documents, an appointment will be scheduled
for you to test at the Prometric Technology Center.
Confirmation of the date, time and location of
the appointment will be sent to you. If you do
not receive confirmation at least THREE business
days before your first choice of test day, please
call the Prometric office to verify your appointment.
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Prometric Testing
Private Limited
2nd Floor, DLF Infinity Tower - A
Sector 25, Phase ll
DLF City, Gurgaon
Haryana 122002
India
Tel: 91-124-5147700
Fax: 91-124-5147773
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You will receive
an admit card normally within a week of applying.
Remember to keep a copy of the form and the draft
with you. |
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What
is a Computer-Adaptive Test? |
In
a computer-adaptive test, the computer screen
displays one question at a time, which is chosen
from a very large pool of questions categorized
by content and difficulty. The first question
is always of a medium difficulty, and each subsequent
question is determined by your responses to all
the previous questions. In other words, the CAT
adjusts itself to your ability level - you’ll
get few questions that are either too easy or
too difficult for you. The number of questions
you get also depends on your previous answers.
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In
one section of TOEFL test, you are allowed to
go back to the previous questions. |
Most questions
in the TOEFL CAT has four answer options, and
you are required to select one of these four as
the correct answer by clicking on it. A subsequent
question is displayed on the screen only after
you have answered the previous question, so you
cannot skip a question. You cannot also go back
to a previously answered question to change your
answer. Thus, if you guess a correct answer or
answer a question incorrectly by mistake, your
answers to subsequent questions will lead you
back to questions that are at the appropriate
level of difficulty for you. |
Some questions
may have special directions which appear in a
box under the question. Like some questions may
have two answers and some may require you to make
more than two selections. |
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Content
and Format of the TOEFL Test |
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The
test has four sections : Listening, Structure,
Reading and Writing. |
The
number of questions and the time allocated to
each question may vary. Therefore, one student
may get 35 questions in Listening section while
another may get 45. But, the additional questions
are for research purposes only and the scores
of all test takers are based on the same number
of questions. |
The
following table gives out the format of the TOEFL-CAT
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Questions |
Timing |
Computer Tutorial
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NA |
NA |
Listening Section
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30 - 50 questions
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40 - 60 min.
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Structure Section
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20 - 25 questions
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15 - 20 min.
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Reading Section
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44 - 60 questions
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70 - 90 min.
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Writing Section |
1 Essay |
30 min. |
Total |
94 - 135 question
+ 1 Essay
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4 hrs. (approx.)
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The
tutorial is meant to make you feel comfortable
with the infrastructure and the environment and
does not have a prescribed time limit. You are
expected to be through with it in 40 minutes or
so : it makes sense to acclimatize yourself fully
with the setting even after you think you have
understood how the system works. |
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ETS
has the provision of reporting your TOEFL scores
to a maximum of four universities of your choice,
the cost of which is built into the TOEFL fee
you pay. But the catch is : you have to select
these four universities which will receive copies
of your score report BEFORE you begin to take
the test. This implies that even before taking
the TOEFL test, you need to do some homework on
which universities you’re finally going
to apply, based on the score that you expect to
attain. For reporting to each additional university,
the ETS charges you $15, payable by an international
credit card or a dollar denominated draft. |
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The
Scoring Pattern in TOEFL |
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The
TOEFL results comprise four different scores :
a total score (0-300), a separate score for Listening
section (0-30), a separate score for Structure/Writing
section (0-30) and a separate score for Reading
section (0-30). The total score is reported on
a scale from 0 to 300. |
Note
that your Essay score will individually be rated
(0-6). However the essay score is incorporated
into the Structure/Writing scaled score with the
rating of essay constituting approximately one
half of the Structure/Writing scaled score. You
get to know your Listening and Reading section
scores immediately after taking the test. You
will also see your Structure/Writing scores as
score ranges because your essay will not yet have
been read and rated. Your final score will be
within the range shown on the screen after you
finish the test. As the evaluation of essays take
about 2 to 4 weeks, your Official TOEFL score
reports, which include the Writing scores, are
mailed approximately two to four weeks after you
take the test and take another ten days or so
to reach your address. |
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Reschedule
Cancels and Refunds |
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If
you would like to reschedule your exam or need
to cancel you must contact us before 12:00 PM,
THREE BUSINESS days prior to your exam date. You
will receive a partial refund of US $ 65 on request
when canceling before the deadline. There is a
US $ 40 fee to reschedule the exam. |
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Materials
Required on the Test Day |
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You
are required to bring your valid passport on the
day of your exam. This is mandatory. |
Seconds
signature bearing identification, i.e., Driving
License, Notarized identification. |
Confirmation
letter or Number |
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