TOEFL is an acronym of the Test of English as a Foreign Language, which is the official name for the test. It assesses your ability to both speak and understand English by analysing your English ability in terms of reading, speaking, listening and writing. These are all skills which will be needed to carry out your academic studies and the test is used by institutions to ensure students are able to proceed and succeed on their chosen course in a country where the curriculum is taught in English.

1. Listening comprehension section is intended to “measure the ability to understand spoken English.” Test-takers are given 30-40 minutes to answer 50 questions. The questions in this section are all multiple choice, and they are based on audio recordings of conversations and lectures. Correct answers are converted to a scaled listening comprehension section score of 31 to 68.

2. The structure and written expression section of the PBT “measures the ability to recognize language appropriate for standard written English,” and it covers 40 questions in 25 minutes. Structure and written expression questions are also multiple choice.

3. Reading comprehension is designed to measure “the ability to understand non-technical reading material.” Students are allowed 55 minutes to answer 50 multiple-choice questions on reading passages intended for non-specialists.