TOEFL is mostly undertaken by students who are planning to pursue higher education abroad. Appearing for the TOEFL test would also allow students to be eligible for several scholarships and also help students and candidates looking for employment abroad with their visa application process. Accepted in over 11,000 universities and institutions worldwide, including universities in Australia, universities in Canada, universities in New Zealand, universities in the UK, universities in the United States, and across Europe and Asia, TOEFL is one of the most preferred English-language tests for students wanting to study abroad.

Students wanting to study abroad and opting for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) comes with many benefits. TOEFL is a more preferred exam among students who want to pursue higher education abroad, as more TOEFL scores are sent to universities in the United States and Canada than all other English-language tests combined. Similarly, TOEFL is a more preferred English test among countries as more TOEFL scores are sent to German, French, US, and Canadian universities than other English tests. ETS – the conducting body of the TOEFL also guarantees students a fair and unbiased process of score reporting, making the test more authentic in nature.

Registration for TOEFL is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Candidates can register for their TOEFL exam via the online method, via phone or through the mail, or in-person (via an authorized agent). Candidates should keep in mind that TOEFL online registrations close seven days before the exam and late registration closes four days prior to the test date with a late fee of US$40.

The Educational Testing Services (ETS) – the conducting body of TOEFL has shortened the duration of the test by 30 minutes starting August 1, 2019. The conducting body has significantly reduced the number of questions in three sections – reading, listening and speaking. The previous duration of the exam was 3 hrs and 30 minutes, the current duration of the exam is 3 hours. ETS has also introduced ‘MyBest Score’ – which is basically taking the candidate’s best scores for each section from all valid TOEFL scores from the previous 2 years. ETS – the organizing body of the TOEFL test has rolled out another set of initiatives to enhance the TOEFL iBT® test experience for students. Students can now book TOEFL exam slots for afternoon testing sessions, worldwide.

Candidates should be aware that the TOEFL test is held in two formats, viz. TOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test) and TOEFL Paper-delivered test. The TOEFL iBT is a more preferred mode of the exam and represents more than 98% of the TOEFL tests given worldwide, while the revised TOEFL Paper-delivered Test is only available in locations that do not support the use of the Internet. There is no Speaking section because of the technological requirements of capturing spoken responses. Read on to know more about the two formats of the TOEFL Exam.

As the name suggests, the TOEFL Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) is the online version of the TOEFL test for candidates looking to appear for their exam. It is the more preferred medium of TOEFL due to its ease of convenience and uses fewer resources.

Candidates who do not have access to the TOEFL iBT test can opt for the revised TOEFL® Paper-delivered Test. The revised TOEFL® Paper-delivered Test has been made available for locations that cannot support testing via the internet. The paper test has been modelled closely with the TOEFL iBT test and requires candidates to combine their communication skills — for example, listening to a lecture, reading a passage, and then writing a response.  Candidates should be aware that in this format of the TOEFL exam there is no Speaking section because of the technological requirements of capturing spoken responses.