Syllabus for TOEFL & TOEFL Exam Syllabus 2020 /Syllabus for TOEFL The TOEFL iBT syllabus for students includes testing the candidates’ reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The TOEFL Exam syllabus and TOEFL Pattern are designed to assess various skills of the candidates and know their English language proficiency. Here is the TOEFL exam format covering writing syllabus, reading syllabus, listening syllabus, and speaking syllabus
- With the excellent availability of the internet, the exam has become an Internet-based test. The internet-based test has certainly dominated the computer-based tests and paper-based tests. The test consists of Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing.
- In the Reading section, there are 3-4 passages of 700 words each, where students have to answer questions about main ideas, details, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas.
- The listening section includes six passages of 3-4 minutes in length. In this section, there are passages that include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. Each conversation is heard only once. Each conversation will be associated with five questions, whereas each lecture with six. Questions in this section will be asked to determine the main ideas, important details, speaker purpose, and attitude.
- The speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent tasks and four independent tasks. In independent tasks, the candidate has to answer opinion questions on familiar tasks. Candidates are judged on their ability to speak spontaneously and clearly.
Syllabus for TOEFL
Reading Comprehension
- In this section, you will be required to read 3-5 passages and answer 12-14 questions on each passage. The section is scored based on the number of correct reading comprehension responses.
- Question type: 3–4 passages, 10 questions each
- Total no. of questions: About 40
- Total time: 54-72 minutes
Listening Comprehension
In this section, you will hear short conversations as well as long conversations. After the short conversation, you will be asked one question and multiple choices of answers will be given. You have to choose one answer. In long conversations, you will be asked multiple questions based on the conversation.
Question type:
- a) 3–4 lectures (3-5 minutes long, about 500-800 words), 6 questions each; About 30
questions in total - b) 2–3 conversations (about 3 minutes long, about 12-25 exchanges), 5 questions each; About 12 questions in total
- Total no. of questions: 40+
- Total time: 41–57 minutes
Speaking Section
For you to earn the highest scores in the Speaking Section, your responses must fulfill the demands of the task given with only minor mistakes or lapses. The test graders are looking for a highly intelligible and sustained conversation. There are three main factors that comprise scoring for the section.
Speaking Questions covered in TOEFL Syllabus:
- a) 1 independent task (prep time: 15 sec; response time: 45 sec)
- b) 3 integrated tasks – Read/Listen/Speak (prep time: 30 sec; response time: 60 sec)
- Total no. of questions: 4
- Total time: 17 minutes
Writing Section
The essay should effectively address a topic. The response should be well-organized and well-developed using relevant explanations and detailed support. Furthermore, it should also display unity, progression, and coherence. If you want to achieve a high writing score, make sure that you demonstrate the syntactic variety and appropriate word choice with minor grammatical errors.
Writing Questions Covered in TOEFL Syllabus
- a) 1 integrated task – Read/Listen/Write (20 minutes) (reading time: 3 min; listening
time: 2 min; writing: 15 min) - b) 1 independent task (30 minutes)
- Total no. of questions: 2
- Total time: 50 minutes
Highlights of TOEFL Exam Pattern 2020
Given below is a detailed TOEFL Exam pattern 2020 for the benefit of our test takers.
| Sections | Syllabus | Time duration |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 3–4 passages, 10 questions each | 54-72 minutes |
| Listening | 3-4 Lectures, 2-3 Conversations | 41-57 minutes |
| Speaking | 4 questions | 17 minutes |
| Writing | 2 tasks | 50 minutes |
How do I start preparing for TOEFL?
There are two ways in which aspirants can prepare for the TOEFL Exam 2020. Students can either go for self-study or prepare themselves, apart from this, they can go for TOEFL coaching. However, students should know when to start preparing for the TOEFL exam.
TOEFL IBT Test Pattern
The TOEFL iBT test is given in English and administered via the Internet. There are four sections (listening, reading, speaking and writing) which take a total of about four and a half hours to complete.
| Section | Time Limit | Questions | Tasks |
| Reading | 60–80 minutes | 36–56 questions | Read 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions. |
| Listening | 60–90 minutes | 34–51 questions | Listen to lectures, classroom discussions and conversations, then answer questions. |
| Break | 10 minutes | – | – |
| Speaking | 20 minutes | 6 tasks | Express an opinion on a familiar topic; speak based on reading and listening tasks. |
| Writing | 50 minutes | 2 tasks | Write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks; support an opinion in writing. |
TOEFL Preparation
One of the most important tips that will be conducive to crack TOEFL is familiarizing yourself with the format of the exam. Attempting mock test will be of great help as this will enable you to crack the nerdy moments during the actual exam.
Since the exam is conducted to test the students’ skills in understanding English as a language, it is recommended that students should improve their reading and listening skills by reading newspapers and magazines. Improve your typing skills as the exam will be proper internet based test, where student has to answer by typing on keyboard.
When you’re practicing to improve listening skill, don’t play the audio on tape recorder more than once. Train your ears to listen the audio in first attempt only.
FAQs
1. Where can I find the previous question papers for TOEFL?
You can find the previous year’s question papers from the website: http://entrance-exam.net/toefl-papers.
2. What are the best books for preparing for the TOEFL?
Some of the books recommended are Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test, Vocabulary, and Grammar for the TOEFL Test, Oxford Preparation for the TOEFL iBT Exam, NorthStar Building Skills for the TOEFL iBT.
3. Which universities accept TOEFL paper-based in the USA?
Almost all North American universities accept TOEFL. Many universities like Harvard University, Hofstra University, Howard University, Idaho State University, Samford University, Stanford University clearly accept the TOEFL PDF.
4. Does the test contain MCQs? If yes, what’s their score range?
Yes, most of the reading questions are multiple-choice questions format containing 1 raw point each.
5. Would I get a refund if I cancel the test?
You can get a refund of only 50% if you cancel 4 days before the conduction of the test.
6. What should I carry on the exam day?
You need to carry your identification documents like passport, photo identification card, your confirmation email printout, and a small snack.
7. What things should I not carry in the test center?
Don’t bring any valuables and a lot of money. Also, you don’t need to carry stationery as you’ll be provided with a pen, paper, and pencils at the test center itself.
8. What’s the fee of the test in India?
You’ve got to pay a fee of $180 to sit for the test in India in reference to the year 2019.
9. Can I get a review if I’m not satisfied with the test score?
Yes. You can send for a review at a fee of $80 for each section.
10. How can I improve my vocabulary for the test?
Using vocabulary flashcards, learning vocabulary words given on university websites, reading articles online, news stories and novels may help improve your vocabulary.
11. How should I manage my time in the reading section?
You should know the art of scanning important details by just going through the text once and not spend more than 20 minutes on each passage. This can be achieved through rigorous practice.
12. How can I perform well in the listening section?
You should understand what you heard in one go. There’s no way you can re-listen to the audio or pause it in between so you should practice the same way.
13. How are my speaking responses scored?
The recorded answers are sent to ETS where some certified human raters score you from 0 to 4. The average score of the 4 tasks is then calculated on a range of 0 to 30. They see the effectiveness of your communication and your ability to perform the given tasks.
14. Can I take notes during the test?
You are given a blank sheet of paper which is destroyed at the end of the exam during the test center only. You can make notes on it throughout the test.
15. Are headphones provided for the listening test?
A pair of noise-canceling headphones with a microphone is provided for the listening test.
16. How do I start preparing for TOEFL?
The preparation of TOEFL can take about a year for a very high and successful score. Students can join institutes that help in TOEFL preparation and also organize crash courses before the final dates. TOEFL related videos are also released online from which students can take help during their preparation time and can clear their doubts. There are lots of TOEFL books available from which students can start their preparation.
17. What is a good score on the TOEFL?
A2. 90 to 100 is the perfect range score a student can acquire to gain admission to any top university across the globe. With such a score range students can acquire a position in an RA, TA or in a GA campus as well. The top scores of TOEFL are from the 100-110 range.
18. Is TOEFL easier than IELTS?
A3. Both the exams are English Proficiency related exams and have equal importance and are needed by every foreign university. But as per the observations over the years TOEFL is considered to be tougher than IELTS. With so many sections individually it is very important to score equal good scores in every section so that the final score is good. Thus, TOEFL is considered to be harder than IELTS.
19. Is the TOEFL test hard?
A4. Yes, TOEFL is considered to be harder than the other English Proficiency exams conducted. As in TOEFL, there are sections and students need to score good marks in all the sections which in turn can raise the average and final score. Thus, to score a good TOEFL score range it is very important that in the individual section also students should score well.
20. Who is eligible for TOEFL?
A5. Students or candidates who have passed their high school from an Indian Board which is recognized by the government of India can take part in the exam and are completely eligible for the exam.
