What is the TOEFL iBT test, from the perspective of a learner.
The test had four sections including reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The reading section was 60 minutes long and had 36 questions. I was required to read 3 passages from academic texts and answer questions. The listening section was 90 minutes long and had 51 questions. I was required to listen to an extra paragraph for test issuers to collect data, but not for scoring. I didn't know why they did that but I was unhappy because it took extra energy and the test was already very long.
During the listening sections, I was required to listen to lectures, classroom discussions, and conversations, and then answer questions. There was a 10 minutes break before the speaking and writing sections. The speaking section was 20 minutes long and had 6 tasks. I was requested to express an opinion on a familiar topic and speak based on the reading and listening tasks. I don't remember exactly what the topic was, as it was a long time ago, but it was probably something about campus life.
The writing section was 50 minutes long and had 2 tasks. I was requested to write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks, and to support an opinion in writing.
The total scores of the test was 120, which was divided in 4 sections, with 30 points per section. The reading and listening parts were scored by computer, and the speaking and writing parts were scored by human scorers. There was no passing or failing test score as score requirements were set by each university that I applied.
I am going to talk more about how poorly designed the test is based on my personal experiences, including the distractions that test takers give each other and how easy to cheat in the test, in my next blog post.
Shiyi Zhang
Literacy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
The test had four sections including reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The reading section was 60 minutes long and had 36 questions. I was required to read 3 passages from academic texts and answer questions. The listening section was 90 minutes long and had 51 questions. I was required to listen to an extra paragraph for test issuers to collect data, but not for scoring. I didn't know why they did that but I was unhappy because it took extra energy and the test was already very long.
During the listening sections, I was required to listen to lectures, classroom discussions, and conversations, and then answer questions. There was a 10 minutes break before the speaking and writing sections. The speaking section was 20 minutes long and had 6 tasks. I was requested to express an opinion on a familiar topic and speak based on the reading and listening tasks. I don't remember exactly what the topic was, as it was a long time ago, but it was probably something about campus life.
The writing section was 50 minutes long and had 2 tasks. I was requested to write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks, and to support an opinion in writing.
The total scores of the test was 120, which was divided in 4 sections, with 30 points per section. The reading and listening parts were scored by computer, and the speaking and writing parts were scored by human scorers. There was no passing or failing test score as score requirements were set by each university that I applied.
I am going to talk more about how poorly designed the test is based on my personal experiences, including the distractions that test takers give each other and how easy to cheat in the test, in my next blog post.
Shiyi Zhang
Social Media Intern, English at Large
Suffolk University, MA 2014
ENGLISH AT LARGELiteracy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
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