.GENERAL OVERVIEW
The Computer-Based TOEFL ® Test has 4 sections:
According to ETS, the Listening Section has changed because the questions integrate
"visuals and reading skills." Also, questions are "more challenging"
because they involve such tasks as "classification, ordering, referring, and
insertion. New question types include:
Questions with 2 answers. Questions in which you must put steps in 1,2,3,4 order Questions
in which you must click on a figure, graph, or map.
The Listening Section is computer adaptive. This means that at the beginning of the
section, the person taking the test will answer one "moderately difficult"
listening question. If the person answers correctly, the next question will be more
difficult; if the the person answers incorrectly, the next question will be easier. There
is NOT a specific number of questions on this section. The number of questions the person
receives depends on the answers given to questions!
Part A: Dialogues and Short Conversations (11 to 17 dialogues-- 1 question each)(from 2-3
Short Conversations--2 or 3 questions each)
In this section, the questions are virtually the same in content as on the old paper and
pencil TOEFL ® Test. However, the format is multimedia. The student sees a picture on the
computer screen, hears a short conversation while looking at the picture, sees and reads a
question about the conversation, and then chooses the correct answer choice. Note that three major format changes on
the Listening Section of the test are:
Students can see the question about the
conversation.
Students cannot see the answer choices while the conversation is being played.
Students can spend as much time on a question as they need (within the parameters of the
overall section time limit).
Part B: Long Conversation and Mini-Talks (from
4-6 long conversations and/or Mini-Talks: 3-6 questions each)
This section generally contains at least one long academic conversation, and a number of
mini-talks. All of the conversations and talks are academic in content.
The long academic conversation typically consists of a professor talking to a class. The
professor will discuss a subject and answer questions about the subject. Thus, the
conversation has multiple speakers--usually the professor and 1 or 2 students. While the
conversation is being played, students will typically see a picture of the professor on
the screen, followed by pictures of students as they ask questions. A picture related to
the subject being discussed may be displayed on the computer screen.
Each minitalk typically consists of a professor lecturing to a class. Before the minitalk,
students will see a screen on which is written the subject area of the minitalk. While the
minitalk is being played, students will typically see a picture of the person speaking on
the screen, followed by a secondary picture related to the subject being discussed.
SECTION 2: STRUCTURE
20-25 Questions: 15-20 minutes long
This section of the test is also computer-adaptive. There is NOT a specific number of
questions on this section. The number of questions the person receives depends on the
answers given to questions.
This section contains a mixture of "fill in the blank with the correct answer"
questions and "identify the incorrect underlined part of a sentence" questions.
The two types of questions alternate back and forth; they are NOT separated as on the old
paper and pencil TOEFL ® Test into questions 1-15 and 16-40.
SECTION 3: READING COMPREHENSION
This part of the test looks different, but has changed little. The question types are
basically the same as on the paper and pencil test, but the method of choosing the answers
involves computer manipulation. For example, to answer pronoun referential questions, the
student must click on the noun or noun phrase in the passage that the pronoun refers to.
There are some new types of questions such as:
Questions that ask the student to insert a sentence into an appropriate place in a
paragraph
Questions that ask students to order information
This section is NOT computer-adaptive.
SECTION 4: WRITING
In this section, you will write an essay. You may type your essay, or handwritten it.
Every possible topic you may be asked to write about has been published by the Educational
Testing Service at their Website. A link to that Website location is included here.
SCORING
The score range on the computer-based TOEFL Test is: 0-300. In other words, the
highest possible total score is 300.
This breaks down as follows in terms of scaled score :
Listening: 0-30
Structure/Writing*: 0-30
Reading Comprehension: 0-30
TOTAL SCALED SCORE: 0-300
*Note that the score from the essay in the Writing Section is included in the Structure
score. The essay is graded on a scaled score of: 0-6. In other words, 6 is the highest
possible total score on the Writing Section. The essay score is one-sixth of the total
scaled score. |
