Tuesday, 3 June 2008
TOEFL Updates
Harder Test
Many TestMagic students have commented that the computer TOEFL is much harder than they expect. For example, one student who could usually get from 18 to 23 on the Listening Section on the PowerPrep TOEFL, only got 13 on the official test.
Other people say that the Reading Comprehension is harder than ever.
Two Different Formats
TestMagic students have reported two different formats of the test:
First Format:
Listening Section: 30 questions
Structure Section: 25 questions
Reading Section: 55 questions (5 passages)
Second Format:
Listening Section: 50 questions
Structure Section: 20 questions
Reading Section: 44 questions (4 passages)
2000-2001 Bulletin
TOEFL has just released its new bulletin for 2000-2001. There are several changes that affect all people who are planning to take the TOEFL.
First, the price has gone up, again. The TOEFL now costs US$110 and US$118 in Canada.
Second, TOEFL has added some new essay topics. These topics are available for download by clicking here. Some of these topics are rather difficult. Here are some examples of the new essay topics:
- Some people think that it is acceptable for businesses to do anything to make a profit. What do you think?
- The 21st century has begun. What are some changes that you think will come in this century?
Third, ETS has finally released official computer TOEFL practice. TestMagic has it and has analyzed it thoroughly. Here are some general comments about the software:
Finally, TOEFL now requires test takers to leave the room for a five-minute break during the test.- most students say the reading is getting harder and harder
- vocabulary is becoming more important since many of the hard grammar questions have very difficult words
- there are fewer sentence insertion (black box) questions in the software than you will see on the real test
- there are very few questions that make you find another synonym in the same passage.
