Introduction
A. Information on the TOEFL iBT
1.The Format of the TOEFL iBT
Section
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Number of Questions
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Timing
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Score
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Reading
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3~4 Passages
- approximately 700 words each
- 10 questions per passage
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54~72 min.
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30 points
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Listening
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2~3 Conversations
- 12~25 exchanges each (3 min.)
- 5 questions per conversation
3~4 Lectures
- 500~750 words each (4~5 min.)
- 6 questions per lecture
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41~57 min.
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30 points
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BREAK
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10 min.
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Speaking
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1 Independent Task
(preparation: 15 sec. / response: 45 sec.)
① 1 paired choice
2 Integrated Tasks: Read-Listen-Speak
(preparation: 30 sec. / response: 60 sec.)
① 1 campus situation topic
- reading: 80~110 words (45 sec.)
- conversation: 150~180 words (60~80 sec.)
② 1 academic course topic
- reading: 80~110 words (45 sec.)
- lecture: 150~220 words (60~90 sec.)
1 Integrated Task: Listen-Speak
(preparation: 20 sec. / response: 60 sec.)
① 1 academic course topic
- lecture: 230~280 words (90~120 sec.)
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17 min.
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30 points
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Writing
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1 Integrated Task: Read-Listen-Write (20 min.)
- reading: 250~300 words (3 min.)
- lecture: 250~320 words (2 min.)
- a summary of 150~225 words
1 Independent Task (30 min.)
- a minimum 300-word essay
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50 min.
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30 points
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2. What Is New about the TOEFL iBT?
(1) The TOEFL iBT is delivered through the Internet in secure test centers around the world at the same time.
(2) It tests all four language skills and is taken in the order of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing, with a 10-minute break in the middle.
(3) The test is 3 hours long, and all of the four test sections will be completed in one day.
(4) Note taking is allowed throughout the entire test, including the Reading section. At the end of the test, all notes are collected and destroyed at the test center.
(5) In the Listening section, one lecture may be spoken with a British or Australian accent.
(6) There are integrated tasks requiring test takers to combine more than one language skill in the Speaking and Writing sections.
(7) In the Speaking section, test takers wear headphones and speak into a microphone when they respond. The responses are recorded and transmitted to ETSs Online Scoring Network.
(8) In the Writing section, test takers must type their responses. Handwriting is not possible.
(9) Official scores are reported both online and by mail. All score reports sent after August 1, 2019 automatically include MyBest scores along with the traditional scores from your selected test date. This new feature combines your best scores for each section from all of your valid scores in the last two years to give you a way to show your best overall test performance.
B. Information on the Listening Section
The Listening section of the TOEFL iBT measures test takers ability to understand spoken English in English-speaking colleges and universities. This section has 2~3 conversations that are 12~25 exchanges (about 3 minutes) long and 3~4 lectures that are 500~750 words (4~5 minutes) long. Each conversation is followed by 5 questions and each lecture by 6 questions. Therefore, test takers have to answer 28 to 39 questions in total. The time allotted to the Listening section is 41 to 57 minutes, including the time spent listening to the conversations and lectures and answering the questions.
1. Types of Listening Passages
(1) Conversations
_ Between a student and a professor or a teaching assistant during office hours
_ Between a student with a person related to school services such as a librarian, housing director, bookstore employee, etc.
(2) Lectures
_ Monologue lectures delivered by a professor unilaterally
_ Interactive lectures with one or two students asking questions or making comments
* One lecture may be spoken with a British or Australian accent.
2. Types of Questions
Basic Comprehension Questions
(1) Listening for Main Ideas
_ This type of question asks you to identify the overall topic or main idea of a lecture or conversation.
(2) Listening for Main Purpose
_ This type of question asks you why the speakers are having a conversation or why a lecture is given.
(3) Listening for Major Details
_ This type of question asks you to understand specific details or facts from a conversation or lecture.
Pragmatic Understanding Questions
(4) Understanding the Function of What Is Said
_ This type of question asks you why a speaker mentions some point in the conversation or lecture.
_ This involves replaying part of the listening passage.
(5) Understanding the Speakers Attitude
_ This type of question asks you what a speakers feelings, opinions, or degree of certainty is about some issue, idea, or person.
_ This may involve replaying part of the listening passage.
Connecting Information Questions
(6) Understanding Organization
_ This type of question asks you how the listening passage is organized or how two portions of the listening passage are related to each other.
(7) Connecting Content
_ This type of question asks you to classify or sequence information in a different way from the way it was presented in the listening passage.
(8) Making Inferences
_ This type of question asks you to draw a conclusion based on information given in the listening passage.
3. Question Formats
There are four question formats in the Listening section:
(1) Traditional multiple-choice questions with four answer choices and one correct answer
(2) Multiple-choice questions with more than one answer
(3) Questions that ask test takers to make the order of events or steps in a process
(4) Questions that ask test takers to match objects or text to categories in a chart
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