General TOEFL FAQ

No.  TOEFL and IELTS are two completely different exams.  If they were the same, then there would be no reason for two different exams.

The acronym “TOEFL” stands for “Test Of English (as a) Foreign Language” and was created and is administered by an American organization.

The acronym “IELTS” stands for “International English Language Testing System” and was created and is administered by a British organization.

The reason that someone might think that they are the same is because there are a lot of Universities that consider both of them to be acceptable for admission to that university.  But they are not the same.  They are “Equivalent”.

They test for similar skills, but the format of each exam, and how it is conducted is very different.

Also — the TOEFL Exam is more widely accepted than the IELTS exam.

No.  TOEFL Questions will NOT be repeated.  Every Question, Every Task, and Every Exam is completely new Every Time.

There may be questions that are similar to ones that you have seen or practiced before — but trying to memorize answers to specific questions is completely useless because the chances that you would get one that you “know” is almost impossible.

That is why practicing with past TOEFL questions is almost a complete waste of time.  The only thing that practicing with past TOEFL questions will be beneficial for is to get an idea of what KIND of questions are on The TOEFL Exam.

To be successful you need to know how to answer each question-TYPE, and how to fulfill each task-TYPE — not specific questions or tasks.  If you prepare in that way, it will not matter WHAT the question or task IS.  You will know HOW to answer or fulfill it.

And the best way to learn that is with The TOEFL Excellence Training System.

The best way to get help to prepare for The TOEFL Exam PROPERLY is to sign-up and get started with The TOEFL Excellence Training System by GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

There are other courses and text-book available.  But none of them are as up-to-date as TOEFL Excellence.  And none of them will teach you EXACTLY how to answer and fulfill EVERY Question and Task on the entire TOEFL Exam.  But TOEFL Excellence teaches you EXACTLY that!

The standard version of The TOEFL Exam is approximately 3.5 hours long.  But that is just the length from when the exam actually starts.

The whole process of being at the Official Testing Center;  showing ID and getting situated;  doing the equipment check;  And then whatever happens after you finish before you actually leave the testing center could be around 5 hours.

There is also The Extended Version of The TOEFL Exam.  Which is given to people randomly.  If you receive the extended version — that will be at least another 30-40 minutes longer.

And since The TOEFL Exam usually starts in the morning — you should plan that it will take until at least the early afternoon.

This is not even taking into consideration whatever you need to do to get ready in the morning and travel to the testing center…  But that is not something that I can help you with.  Just like being a student at university (which is essentially what the exam is for) you need to take the responsibility to do that on your own.

First of all — it depends.  There is not a standard number of questions for the whole exam.  That is because there is both a “Standard” TOEFL Exam (the one that most people receive) — and then there is an “Extended” TOEFL Exam — which the makers of the exam use for research purposes.  So there is not a set number.

But more importantly — focusing on the number of questions is not the way to look at it.  This is because there are both Questions & Tasks.  And there are four distinct sections that each have their own amount of Questions & Tasks.

The Reading Section has 3-4 Reading Passages with 10 questions each.

The Listening Section has 3 Lecture with 6 questions each & 2 Conversations with 5 questions each.

The Speaking Section has 4 tasks

The Writing Section has 2 tasks

The full exam takes between 3.5 to 4 hours to complete.

The TOEFL Exam tests your ability to function in an English-speaking environment in a University setting.

It directly tests your Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Speaking Skills, & Writing Skills.

But it does this by testing your ability to learn new information from written text, and spoken audio — and then tests your ability to report on the information that you have learned through your ability to speak about and write about it by answer questions and fulfilling tasks.

Sometimes the makers of The TOEFL Exam will give you an “Extended” version of The TOEFL Exam — which means that there will be an Extra Reading Passage in The Reading Section, or an Extra Audio File (or 2) in The Listening Section.

They say that they do this of “Research Purposes” — even though they do not disclose this to the person purchasing the exam, and they do not ask your permission to be a research subject.  Nor do you receive any financial compensation for being an un-willing participant in their research.

Furthermore — you will not be given any notification that you will be subjected to The Extended Version of The TOEFL Exam.  You just have to endure it.

(I’m pretty sure that there are some violations of your rights related to this.  And even if-not, it is still very disrespectful of their paying customers)  😐

You can read more about it in This Blog Post.

The TOEFL Exam is an exam that is designed to test your ability to function in an English-Speaking Environment, with a focus on a University setting.  It is used by Universities, Scholarship Organizations, Immigration Departments, and sometimes companies — to test the English-speaking abilities of people who are not native English speakers.

The TOEFL Exam happens every week all around the world.  However the schedule is different in each Country, State, and Province.  So you need to check that information on the page for your country.

Just go to the GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! TOEFL Testing Dates And Locations Page.  Click the letter for the name of your country (For Spain, click “S”, for Japan, click “J”).  If you are in The United States — click “U” and then chose your state.  And if you are in Canada — click “C” and chose your province.

On the page for your Country, State, or Province — you will see all the upcoming dates for each city that the exam is held in.

If you have any questions, just send me a message, and I will help you to the best of my ability.

You can find the official testing center by on the GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! TOEFL Testing Dates And Locations Page.

Just click the letter for the name of your country (For Spain, click “S”, for Japan, click “J”).  If you are in The United States — click “U” and then chose your state.  And if you are in Canada — click “C” and chose your province.

On the page for your Country, State, or Province — you will see all the upcoming dates for each city that the exam is held in.  At the bottom of the page, there is a link for the Testing Centers.  Click there for the actual addresses of each testing center.

Otherwise, you can just send me a message, and I will get you the information you need.

You will receive all the help that you need to PROPERLY prepare for The TOEFL Exam with The TOEFL Excellence Training System by GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

Everyone’s needs are different, so I can’t answer that for you.  But most people take The TOEFL Exam for the purpose of being excepted into a University, for obtaining a scholarship, or for immigration or employment purposes.

If you have been told that you need to take the TOEFL for any reason, then that is the reason.  If you have not been told that you need to take the TOEFL…  then you don’t.

YES!  You WILL See The Timer Throughout The Entire TOEFL Exam.

You will not be able to start, stop, or pause the timer.  But you will be able to use it to see how much time you have left in each section throughout the Exam — as well as for knowing how much time you will have to giver your responses in the TOEFL Speaking Section, and TOEFL Writing Section.