TOEFL or Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized English test conducted by the English Testing Service. The private organization conducts the test which acts as a certification for English proficiency. The TOEFL scores are accepted in over 150 countries and 8000 universities and institutions.
Much like the IELTS, TOEFL has emerged as a universal medium of assessing mastery of English, typically for the graduate level of study. The test solely assesses English proficiency based on an academic setting.
TOEFL is easy to get by if an examinee has clear directives. In addition to paid resources and test materials, there are useful free resources on the internet. Let’s have a look at them both.
Best Resources and Test Material for TOEFL Preparation
The TOEFL test is divided into four distinct sections – reading, writing, listening and speaking. The divisions are similar to IELTS. The article will be divided into each of these categories to better summarize the resource materials. To know more about IELTS resources, check out a comprehensive resource guide here.
Reading
There are about 3 to 4 passages in the reading section. Each of the passages is 700 words long with about 10 questions. The questions are designed in such a way that tests the colloquial and phrasal understanding of the test taker. Some free reading tests are available on the ETS website to get familiarized with the pattern.
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The Exam English website also has several free reading tests for the prospective test-takers. ETS offers a few paid mock tests for the applicants. An applicant will get access to real past questions and mock tests designed by the real examiners of TOEFL. Visit TOEFL Practice Online to get a more detailed idea.
In addition to these, an applicant should make the habit of reading English dailies and magazines to get better at reading. TOEFL is mainly an academic English-based assessment. An applicant should check out the AWL Practice Sheets to develop their vocabs. There’s a separate section for vocabs later in the article.
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Writing
The TOEFL writing test is designed to test the academic English writing capability. The test itself is divided into 2 sections. One is integrated and the other is independent. In the integrated section, the test taker reads an academic passage and listens to a discussion on the subject matter. Then they are required to write a summary of the passage. The independent section checks the free-flowing writing skills on any topic.
Since these writings are academic, a test taker should focus on structured preparation. TOEFL Resources has an amazing selection of writing samples and guidelines on how to summarize a topic. TST Prep also has several sample topics and essays tailored just for TOEFL. The ETS website and Goodluck TOEFL also have detailed guidelines and topics regarding the writing module. ETS also outlines tips to improve writing skills in the exam.
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The TOEFL iBT writing test may focus on the academic side, but it still checks for the sentence structures and overall writing fluency. As a result, Virtual Writing Tutor can be a great place to get your writing constantly checked for errors.
