Test of English as a Foreign Language is to be taken by almost all applicants to American Universities. TOEFL is administered as a Computer Adaptive Test. Candidates from UK, US, Ireland and Australia need not take the TOEFL.

The purpose of TOEFL is to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English. TOEFL scores are required for the purpose of admission by more than 2,400 colleges and Universities in United States and Canada. In addition, government agencies, scholarship programs, licensing/certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.

TOEFL is a simple test, which has four sections, viz. Listening, Structure, Reading and Writing, all of which are mandatory.

Listening - Listening measures the ability to understand English as it is spoken in North America. This section tests comprehension of main ideas, supporting ideas, important details, and inferences. You will both see and hear the questions before the answer choices appear.

Structure - It measures the ability to recognize language that is appropriate for standard written English. The language tested is formal, rather than conversational. When topics have a national context, they refer to United States or Canadian history, culture, art, or literature. However, knowledge of these contexts is not needed to answer the questions.

Reading - It measures the ability to understand short passages similar in topic and style to academic texts used in North American colleges and Universities. You will read a variety of short passages on academic subjects and answer several questions about each passage.

Writing - Writing measures ability to write in English on an assigned topic. You must compose an essay.

The duration of the test is approximately three and one-half to four hours.