It will be hard to disagree on the fact that a small part of all of us have, at one point in time, had dreamt of enrolling in a foreign university. We have grown up seeing in movies or in our surroundings, that someone or the other has secured admission in a foreign university. How envious we were, back then. But as they say, it’s never too late for doing something great. The gateway for securing admission in a foreign or college or university is a TOEFL exam. However, if you are not aware of the TOEFL, now is your chance to gather all the information you need to sit for a TOEFL exam and top it with a near-perfect score. Trust us, decoding the myths around TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition will never sound easier than this. Want to know how? Read further to know!
What Is TOEFL?
To begin with, TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. As the name already suggests, it is an English Language Proficiency Test. The Educational Testing Services (ETS) is the governing body that conducts the TOEFL examination. Thus, ETS is responsible for preparing questions for the examination, conducting the examination, and declaring results to the examinees.
In recent times, TOEFL is the most prevalent test for international students aspiring to join a foreign educational institution. No matter how big or small the university is, the TOEFL test is a must for the majority of the colleges out there. Almost all universities in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom accepts TOEFL score. To make a long story short, more than 10,000 colleges, universities, educational institutions, and 130 countries across the globe accept TOEFL.
However, the ongoing pandemic has made it difficult to conduct TOEFL examinations from test centers. TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition ensures safe examination from the comfort of a candidate’s home. TOEFL’s iBT is practically similar to the offline version, consisting of similar formatting, content, and on-screen experience. Candidates can sit for TOEFL directly from their computers under the strict vigilance of a human proctor. Appointments are rolled out within 24 hours of registration with TOEFL. Moreover, TOEFL iBT is available 24 hours through four working days.
Features Of TOEFL
In addition to TOEFL being widely accepted across the globe, there are so many features to TOEFL that makes the test easily scorable and widely likable. As per the reports, nearly 2 million aspiring students take the TOEFL every year in more than 4500 test centers. Some of the exciting features of the TOEFL are listed below –
- TOEFL examination is universal in nature and everybody, irrespective of their native country, can give this examination. Since this is an English proficiency test you can always appear if you know and understand the language. English as a language has become a universal form of communication.
- Whenever you take a TOEFL examination and get a scorecard for the same, the TOEFL score remains valid for an extensive period of two years. As a student, if you wish to take the TOEFL examination just to gain experience, you can always do so. But, if you are fearing that you will not be able to join a foreign university anytime soon, you don’t need to worry! You can always use your scorecard to join a foreign university within a period of two years of receiving the scorecard.
- Recent circumstances have prompted TOEFL to launch the home version of test centers. TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition requires specific equipment and environment. Upon fulfillment of these requirements, candidates are allowed to take the test. The two-step registration process has made appearing for the TOEFL iBT examination easy. Make sure to choose the special home edition option and pay for it in particular. Thereafter, candidates will receive a link to get themselves scheduled with ProctorU. TOEFL has ensured maximum freedom to students by allowing them to fix their own time and date for giving the examination.
Features of TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
Keeping in mind the safety of millions of students who are scheduled to take the exam this year, TOEFL has come up with a much safer option to conduct the examination. Students who are unable to take the TOEFL exam due to public health concerns now can conveniently appear for the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition from the comfort of their homes.
- The TOEFL iBT exam is, on more occasions, available everywhere across the globe. Based on the country of your account address, a student can conveniently take the examination by staying within the four walls of their home. However, the TOEFL iBT exam is not available in Mainland China and Iran.
- The TOEFL iBT exam is almost identical to the original TOEFL exam which students take in test centers. The content, format, and online experience of the TOEFL examination are kept the same for the TOEFL iBT exam.
- The TOEFL iBT exam is available to students 24 hours in a day and 4 days a week. In order to get your appointment sooner, you need to apply for the same within 24 hours of account registration.
Eligibility for TOEFL iBT
If you are wondering whether you are eligible or not for the TOEFL examination, we have good news for you! Truth be told, literally, anyone and everyone can appear for this language proficiency test. According to the ETS guideline, there are no specific criteria for minimum or maximum age limit.
However, if you are an aspiring candidate for the TOEFL examination you must pass your higher secondary examination or any equivalent examination. Once the candidate qualifies for the said examination he or she can appear for the TOEFL examination.
Exam Syllabus for TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
Now coming to the main part of the examination, let’s discuss the exam syllabus which aspiring students need to prepare in order to give the exam. This is where most students become confused and become directionless. However, if we simplify the exam syllabus, it turns out, is pretty simple. All you need to do is have the right mindset to prepare for the examination in a step-by-step process. Without further adieu, let’s jump right into the TOEFL syllabus.
The TOEFL exam syllabus can be segregated into four different sections – reading, writing, listening and speaking. The above-listed four sections of the exam syllabus test the language comprehension of a student. Since the English language is globally used in academic communication, the exam syllabus aims at measuring basic language skills.
Reading
This section aptly tests the comprehension skills of a student. It consists of three to four passages, each having an approximate length of seven hundred words. A maximum of ten questions is asked in this section based on the given passages. Students are examined on the basis of how well they understand rhetoric functions. For example, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and argumentation is all part of rhetoric functions. Again, if a candidate wishes to take the test from home, he or she may come across certain new types of questions such as completing tables and finishing summaries.
Writing
In this section, students will get the opportunity to showcase their writing skills. The test syllabus asks the student to write on two tasks – one integrated and one independent. The integrated task requires the students to analyze a passage related to any academic topic. Afterward, the students must listen to a speaker discussing the same. Later on, the students are required to summarise the important points in the session in accordance with the significant points mentioned in the reading passage. In the independent task of the writing section, the students are asked to write an essay where their opinions are clearly stated and further explained.
Listening
This section perfectly tests the listening abilities of a student. Such types of questions evaluate a student’s ability to organize data, draw inferences, and comprehend the relationship between different ideas. Here, students find five questions each on a maximum of three conversations. Along with this, students find another six questions each on a maximum of seven lectures. The conversational questions are based on the interaction between a student and either a professor or a faculty member. On the other hand, the lecture-based questions are extracted portions of an academic lecture.
Speaking
In this section, students come across four tasks – one independent task and three integrated tasks. In the integrated tasks, the students are asked to read a short passage and hear an academic course lecture or a conversation. Afterward, students must prepare an answer to an asked question by amalgamating appropriate information. Additionally, in the independent task, students answer opinion-based questions on familiar topics. Both independent and integrated tasks are designed to appropriately process and produce information from the reading and listening procedures.
Exam Format for TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
As we already know, for the TOEFL iBT examination, we have to appear for four different sections – reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The time limit that you will receive for completing each section are listed below –
| Tasks | Description | Time Limit |
| Reading | 3 to 4 passages with 10 questions each | 54 to 72 minutes |
| Writing | 2 tasks | 50 minutes |
| Break | Mandatory | 10 minutes |
| Listening | 5 to 7 passages with 5 to 6 questions each | 41 to 57 minutes |
| Speaking | 4 tasks | 17 minutes |
Registration Fee for TOEFL iBT
In order to give the examination from your home, a student needs to pay a registration fee. At the time of requesting a TOEFL iBT examination, pay the complete amount. The governing body of TOEFL, known as the ETS, accepts all kinds of credit and debit cards, PayPal, Money Order, paper cheque, and Wester Union Quick-Pay.
However, students should keep in mind that ETS does not accept cash, demand drafts, and post-dated cheque as modes of payment. Also, ETS does not accept any other currency than the US dollar.
| Description | Charges |
| TOEFL Registration Fees | $180 |
| TOEFL Late Registration Fees | $40 |
| TOEFL Re-Scheduling Fees | $60 |
| Re-instatement of canceled TOEFL scores | $20 |
| Additional TOEFL score reports (per institution or agency) | $20 each |
| Speaking or Writing Section Score Review | $80 |
| Speaking and Writing Section Score Review | $160 |
Start Your Prep For TOEFL iBT
Once you have decided that you will take the TOEFL iBT examination at your home, you need to follow a few simple steps which are listed below. However, if one does not follow these steps, he or she may end up delaying the testing process, or in extreme cases, may not be permitted to appear for the test.
- Meet the Equipment and Environment requirements
- Complete your Registration with ETS
- Complete your Registration with ProctorU
TOEFL seeks to judge your mind’s agility and response to the language. Under the prevailing circumstances, TOEFL’S initiative to introduce the home edition format encourages students to stay productive and make the most out of it. Even if students don’t have a choice other than staying at home, TOEFL is facilitating the dreams of students joining a foreign university.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is Toefl iBT Home Edition still works?
Ans. TOEFL iBT Home Edition examination is available 24/7 all over the world, with sessions available as soon as 24 hours once you enrol. You must fulfil the Environment and Equipment Requirements Criteria to take an exam at home. To view open appointments, you must have an ETS profile.
Q2. Is the Toefl iBT exam difficult?
Ans. When compared to other standardised examinations like the SAT, ACT, and GRE, the TOEFL is often seen as simpler since it focuses on testing English abilities rather than mathematical calculations or writing skills.
Q3. What is the duration of Toefl iBT Home Edition?
Ans. The entire test takes roughly 3 hours to finish, so you must allow 3.5 hours, including 30 minutes for checking.
At ForeignAdmits, we understand how important this decision is. We are here to help you every step of the way, from finding the right school to getting admitted and securing scholarships.
ForeignAdmits have a team of experienced counsellors. We can provide you with customized guidance based on your individual needs contact us today to get started. We look forward to helping you achieve your educational and career goals!