Registering for the TOEFL

Thai Version

Many of you may have heard that registering for TOEFL is intricate. Normally, we get used to a traditional way, registering in person. But for the TOEFL, other methods of registration are more preferable.

You can choose registering method that you prefer from online registration, phone call registration, mail registration or walk-in registration [but this method is applicable only in some area]. However, the most popular and most convenient way is to register via ETS's website. (If you are a TOEFL pBT test taker, you can only register online or via mail.)

Online registration is the most convenient way. All you have to do is just to going to www.ets.org/toefl, reading all information until you understand general information about the test and the regulations. Then, create an account. This does not cost you anything. And then, click "register for the test". This includes selecting your test date and test center. The last step of registration is paying for the test fee. The payment method will be discussed further. Remember that you have to fill out your real name and personal information. If you are not confident doing all of these things online yourself, you can follow the steps in http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/4677_TOEFL_Reg_Guide.pdf.

Some people may hesitate about the test date. If this is the case, you can just create an account. Then log in to the system and follow the steps of registering online until you reach the steps of selecting the test date and test center or step 9 and step 10 in http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/4677_TOEFL_Reg_Guide.pdf. You will see the most updated available test date and test center. If you can take the test on that date, then you can register it at once. However, if you still cannot decided, you can come and check it out later. Note that the test date in the logging-in system is more real-time updated than that is shown in the webpage http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/tclists/IBT_a.html.

Phone call registration is another convenient way. You can call to your Regional Registration Center (RRC)  and inform your personal information, preferred test date and test center. The only difference between registering via the website and via the phone call is just typing on your own and telling the registrar to type the information for you. If you are not sure about your speaking, I recommend you to register online, since misspelling can happen if you do a phone call registration.

You can also register for the test via mail. First, download the application form from http://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/iBT_reg_form.pdf. Complete the form and send all documents including payment document to your Regional Registration Center (RRC). Nonetheless, you have to send the application form to the registration center at least four weeks prior the test date.

In some area, you can register in-person at the TOEFL iBT Resource Center. For the information of each center in your country, check it out in http://www.ets.org/toefl/contact.

Sometimes the test centers can be full quickly. Though the regulation states that you have to register at least seven days before the test for registering online and via phone, the best way to ensure that you will get a seat for the test is to register 1-2 months before the test.

The payment can be proceeded by credit cards, electronic banks and voucher. Credit cards with American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or VISA are acceptable. Electronic banks can be used only when you have a bank account in the United States. And voucher can be purchased at some TOEFL iBT Resource Center and can be used instead of credit cards. However, the voucher is used only for normal registration (registering seven days before the test date) and NOT for any late registration (registering during three to seven days before the test date, which requires a late registration fee).

For more info about registering for the iBT, find it out in http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/register?WT.ac=toeflhome_ibtregister_121127. And for the pBT, refer http://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/register/.

Those who need TOEFL ITP score, find your regional test centers in http://www.ets.org/toefl_itp.

TOEFL VS TOEIC

Thai Version

Should I take TOEFL? Or TOEIC? These questions are frequently asked. Well, due to the similarity of two words, TOEFL and TOEIC, a lot of people get confused which one is the right test for them. Though they sound almost the same, these two tests are totally different!

TOEIC stands for Test of English for International Communication. Its name implies us that the objective of the test is to measure the test taker's ability to communicate with foreigners. As a result, English in the test is mostly English for communicating in daily life and in working situation. On the other hand, TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, tests the examinee in understanding and using English in university level. Thus, the TOEFL score is used for applying for universities abroad, or applying for the visa, or applying for the scholarship, etc. For more information about TOEFL, please visit http://all-about-toefl.blogspot.com/2013/11/toefl-what-is-it.html.

The content of these tests still have nothing in common. TOEIC consists of Listening+Reading and Speaking+Writing, but normally people take only the Reading+Speaking part. (If the company requests for some special requirement, the test taker may need to take Speaking and Writing parts. But I'm not gonna talk about it here.) The reading content is about working or real-life situation, such as advertisement, announcement, short article. It also contains fill-the-missing-word-in-the-sentence part. For listening, daily-life conversation or announcement are parts of it.

However, for getting the TOEFL score, you need to take four parts of the test, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Reading and listening in TOEFL, undoubtedly, are much more difficult than those in TOEIC. As you may recall, the level of TOEFL is equal to university English; the contents are academic i.e. listening to lectures in the class, writing essay, making a speech in stating opinions or explaining analytically etc. More details about the content of TOEFL iBT will be discussed in the next post.

If you want to register for the TOEIC test, you have to contact your local ETS Preferred Network office in your country. Please follow http://www.ets.org/toeic/listening_reading/order/ for more information. If TOEFL (iBT) is the right test for you, go to https://toefl-registration.ets.org/TOEFLWeb/extISERLogonPrompt.do and create an account. Then log in and click "Register for a test". For those who needs the TOEFL ITP, please contact the ETS Preferred Network Office in your country. You can find it in http://www.ets.org/epn_directory. 

The total time is 2.5 hours for TOEIC and 4-4.5 hours for TOEFL (iBT). The range of TOEIC score is 10-990, and the range of TOEFL score is 0-120.

Some people may get worried about how to prepare themselves for the test. Well, I suggest that for both TOEFL and TOEIC, we can practice reading from reading English articles or news and practice listening from watching movies/series/documentary/news in English. TOEIC is easy to get the satisfied score if you practice it frequently yourself without paying for the tutorial. Yet, for TOEFL, you really need a hard work. Only merely practicing listening and reading is not enough. You also have to practice other skills e.g. note taking, just like the way that you learn in the university, speaking analytically or giving reasons to support your claim, and practicing writing essays. This requires a lot of self-discipline. (You'll realize that these skills are useful when you become a student and study in the school.)

In sum, TOEFL is used only for studying abroad or applying for the visa. If you want to use the score for applying for a job, consider TOEIC. Find out what is the purpose for taking the test first so that you will know which is the right test for you. You can read more about TOEFL in www.ets.org/toefl and about TOEIC in www.ets.org/toeic.

References:
http://info.dek-eng.com/TOEIC/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%9A-TOEIC/%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%9A-TOEIC.html

Modern TOEFL

Thai Version

Nowadays, there are many versions of TOEFL. Each is used differently depending on the organization that accepts the score. Thus, before applying for the exam, make sure that you know which version of TOEFL is right for you.

Let me begin with TOEFL iBT (TOEFL Internet-Based Test). An iBT examinee will take the test via computer, and the system is proceeded via the internet, i.e. sending questions to the test room and submitting answers back to the ETS. This version of TOEFL contains four skills, reading, listening, speaking and writing. The difficulty of the test is equal to English at the university level (Intermediate to Advanced). The duration of the TOEFL iBT is approximately 4.5 hours. The starting time of the test varies depending on the country.

Since the iBT is world widely accepted, in other words a global test, the test score is mostly used for applying for the higher education both in their own countries or abroad. Other than this, the TOEFL iBT score may be used for applying for visas, used for applying for the scholarship or even used for English assessment within the organizations.

On the other hand, some countries cannot provide the iBT. The TOEFL pBT (TOEFL Paper-Based Test) is offered instead. The pBT consists of 3+1 sections. The first three parts are Reading, Listening, and Structure and Written Expression. The other one part is called TWE (Test of Written English). This writing part is compulsory. ETS rules that if you take the pBT, you also have to take the TWE, since writing is an essential skill for studying in higher level. (Note that the pBT does not contain speaking part, while the iBT does not have Structure and Written Expression part.) The total testing time for the pBT is around four hours.

Therefore, pBT is globally accepted like iBT. Whether you will choose to take the iBT or the pBT depends on the country you are living. Although the score scales are different, they are comparable. (For the iBT, the score is 0-120, and for the pBT, it is 310-677) For more information, please refer the TOEFL score comparison table from ETS.

Another version of TOEFL that is still used is TOEFL ITP (TOEFL Institutional Testing Program). This version is the paper-based test, meaning traditional test by question books and an answer sheet. There are three parts in the ITP - Reading, Listening, and Structure and Written Expression. This version looks similar to the pBT, but it does not have the writing part. The duration of the test is about two hours, and the score range is 310-677.

The ITP can be classified as a local test which means that its score can be used only within the country (where you take the test). For example, if you take the ITP in Mexico, you can only use the ITP score for applying for the institutions in Mexico. Therefore, the ITP is used for people who want to apply for some programs of the schools/universities in their own countries or the countries they are living in or those who apply for the local scholarship or those who want to assess their English proficiency.

In summary, for applying for schools/universities abroad, you certainly have to take TOEFL iBT. But if you are not sure about applying for the institutions in your country, I recommend you to search for the information about the organization where you will send the score to so that you will know which type of TOEFL is required before taking the exam. Although the iBT can be used for applying every institute, it is more difficult and more expensive than the ITP.

For more information about each type of TOEFL, please refer the links below.
TOEFL iBT   :  http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about/
TOEFL pBT  :  http://www.ets.org/toefl/pbt/about
TOEFL ITP  :  http://www.ets.org/toefl_itp/about/

The Evaluation of TOEFL

Thai Version

You may have heard that there are many types of TOEFL, but have you ever wondered what is the difference among them? And which type is the appropriate one for you? I am another person who used to think that they are the same, but they're not!

Nowadays, TOEFL that is world-wide accepted is called TOEFL iBT, standing for TOEFL Internet-Based Test. This version of TOEFL is proceeded by computer; the questions and answers are sent via the internet. In case, some countries cannot provide the computer system for the iBT, another version of TOEFL named TOEFL pBT (TOEFL Paper-Based Test) is used instead. (For more details about types of TOEFL that are used nowadays, please refer from http://all-about-toefl.blogspot.com/2013/11/modern-toefl.html.)

For this post, let's talk about the most widely used TOEFL first.

TOEFL iBT is the most updated version of the TOEFL.The first predecessor of TOEFL is called TOEFL pBT (TOEFL Paper-Based Test). This pBT is similar to the pBT that is used in some countries nowadays in some ways. However, the obsolete pBT did not contain writing part as the modern pBT does. Thus, the old pBT had only reading, listening and grammar structure parts.Every part is in multiple choices format.

Then, ETS made a research and found out that the multiple choices format still had some weakness. The score that a test taker received did not measure his ability to study in the higher level. As a result, writing was added as another part into the test.This is because writing is another important skill for students in studying life. ETS also added the new types of questions in reading and listening (surely it made the test more difficult). They also replace the paper with the computer as a test medium, namely TOEFL cBT (TOEFL Computer-Based Test). Consequently, the listening part and grammar part became computer adaptive. This means that the current question will determine the difficulty of the next question. For example, if you answer question 2 correctly, question 3 will be adjusted to be more difficult. On the other hand, if your answer for question 2 is wrong, question 3 will become easier. However, the question that is more difficult values higher score than the question that is easier does.

While ETS continues their research, they found out that to be successful for studying (or real-life communication), students need to have good performance in four skills, reading, listening, speaking and writing. They deleted the grammar part from the test because they believe grammar is the important part that needs to be integrated in every skill of using English in real situation. Finally, ETS had improved the TOEFL and released the latest version of TOEFL as TOEFL iBT that is now used worldwide..

Next post, I'll talk about versions of TOEFL that are used nowadays.

TOEFL? What is it?

Thai Version

Yes. What is TOEFL? Many of you may have heard about the TOEFL. But do you know what it is? You may say that, well, it's a kind of English test to assess your English. And do you know what it is used for?

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. You can guess from its name that it is an English test for the foreigners whose mother languages are not English. Thus, you may see people from Asia, Europe, Africa or even some countries in America come and take the test in the same test room as you.

You may wonder who generates the test. The answer is ETS (Educational Testing Services), which is an American organization.

TOEFL is the test that measures your ability in understanding and using English at the university level. The test has many versions, but the one that is most updated is TOEFL iBT. This version tests your English performance in four skills, reading, listening, writing and speaking. (For more details of other versions of the TOEFL, please refer to the next post.)

Therefore, the content of the test is quite academic. So, most of the test takers are those who plan to study abroad, who use the score for admission to international schools, including the schools in their own countries, or those who need the TOEFL score for applying for visas.

If you think that you are going to use the TOEFL score for applying for universities, please do some research about your institutions. Although schools in many countries like UK or Australia tend to accept TOEFL more, some universities don't accept the TOEFL AT ALL(Well, they may accept only IELTS or other tests). So, my suggestion would be finding some information in the universities' websites before deciding to take the test so that you won't waste both time and money (in case your test score couldn't be submitted to any schools).

For those who know that you have to take TOEFL, don't be stressed and worried that it will be too difficult for you. I don't deny that the test is hard. But I'm going to tell you that the test itself has advantages that you may not realize before. If you prepare yourself well enough and your score is high enough to reach the minimum score that the university accepts, I'm pretty sure that not only your English is a lot improved but also you will get skills that are needed for university life (from practicing for the test). For example, you will learn note-taking skill from practicing listening to the TOEFL, or you will learn how to make a discussion or make an argument and support your ideas while practicing speaking. Therefore, don't make the difficulty of the test a barrier for you. Think about good things that you will gain/learn from it instead.

Reference: www.ets.org/toefl

Welcome to my Blog :)

Thai Version

Hello. My name is Nuch. I am Thai. I am the writer of this blog. Welcome everyone who wants to know more about TOEFL.

Since I used to take the TOEFL test and give advices to many people around me about the test, I found out that a lot of people still don't know much about the test. Even if the official website gives every information about the TOEFL, there are still some questions that you can't find in it. Furthermore, some people may have ever read a lot of blogs or articles about the test. But still, they couldn't get as much information as they need. Thus, it costs them plenty of time to look up in many websites.

For these reasons, I decided to create this blog to share everything about the TOEFL that I know or that I could find. If some information is out-of-date on the day that you read this blog, please let me know. I believe in knowledge sharing for the best sake of everyone. Also, if you have any positive or negative comments/feedback, please post in the comment section below each article. I set the comment section as public so that people, including those who don't have Google account, can give me comments, which will be used for blog improvement.

Last, I want to thank other writers who wrote/are writing the blogs about TOEFL that were good resources for me and for others who planned/are planning to take the test.