1. effectively scanning text for key facts and important information

2. increasing reading fluency and rate

1. understanding the general topic or main idea, major points, important facts and details, vocabulary in context, and pronoun references1

2. making inferences2 about what is implied in a passage

1. recognizing the organization and purpose of a passage

2. understanding relationships between ideas

3. organizing information into a category chart or a summary in order to recall major points and important details

4. inferring how ideas throughout the passage connect

Listening material in the test includes 1)academic lectures and 2) long conversations in which the speech sounds very natural. Test takers can take notes on any listening material throughout the entire test.

The lectures in the TOEFL iBT reflect the kind of listening and speaking that occurs in the classroom. In some of the lectures, the professor does all or almost all of the talking, with an occasional comment by a student. In other lectures, the professor may engage the students in discussion by asking questions that are answered by the students.

The conversations on the TOEFL iBT may take place during an office meeting with a professor or teaching assistant, or during a service encounter with university staff. The contents of the office conversations are generally academic in nature or related to course requirements. Service encounters could involve conversations about a housing payment, registering for a class, or requesting information at the library.

After the listening material is played, test takers both see and hear each question before they see the answer choices. This encourages them to listen for main ideas.

There are four question formats in the Listening section:

1. traditional multiple-choice questions with four answer choices and a single correct answer

2. multiple-choice questions with more than one answer (e.g., two answers out of four or more choices)

3. questions that require test takers to order events or steps in a process

4. questions that require test takers to match objects or text to categories in a chart

Speaking Section

Students should be able to speak successfully in and outside the classroom. The Speaking section measures the test taker’s ability to speak effectively in academic settings.

The Speaking section is approximately 20 minutes long and includes six tasks.

The first two tasks are independent speaking tasks on topics familiar to test takers. They ask test takers to draw upon their own ideas, opinions, and experiences when responding. (However, test takers can respond with any idea, opinion, or experience relevant to completing the task.)

The remaining four tasks are integrated tasks where test takers must use more than one skill when responding. Test takers first read and listen, and then speak in response. They can take notes and use those notes when responding to the speaking tasks. At least one requires test takers to relate the information from the reading and the listening material.

The remaining four tasks are integrated tasks where test takers must use more than one skill when responding. Test takers first read and listen, and then speak in response. They can take notes and use those notes when responding to the speaking tasks. At least one requires test takers to relate the information from the reading and the listening material.

The total time for the Writing section is 50 minutes. Test takers write their responses to two writing tasks (see page 23). Responses are typed into the computer and sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network where they are scored by certified raters.

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