TOEFL^® iBT

Orientation to the TOEFL^® iBT

(to use with Barron’s TOEFL ^® iBT 16th Edition)

The TOEFL® iBT tests your ability to understand and use English for academic purposes. There are four sections on the TOEFL, with special directions for each section.

Reading Section

The Reading Section tests your ability to understand reading passages like those in college textbooks. There are three passages on the short format and four passages on the long format.

Listening Section

The Listening Section tests your ability to understand spoken English that is typical of interactions and academic speech on college campuses. During the test, you will respond to questions about two conversations and three lectures on the short format and questions about three conversations and four lectures on the long format.

Speaking Section

The Speaking Section tests your ability to communicate in English in an academic setting. During the test, you will be presented with four speaking questions. The questions ask for a response to a single question, a talk, or a lecture. Two of the questions ask you to relate the information in a reading passage to that in a listening passage.

Writing Section

The Writing Section tests your ability to write essays in English similar to those that you would write in college courses. During the test, you write one essay about an academic topic and one essay about a familiar topic. The academic essay asks you to relate the information in a reading passage to that in a listening passage.