TOEFL New Pattern: The TOEFL exam in 2024 has four parts: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing, and also gives a total score. It's made to check how well someone reads, listens, writes, and speaks English, especially in a college or university environment. Doing well on the TOEFL exam is important if you want to apply to a university in an English-speaking country.
In this article, we'll discuss the TOEFL exam's new pattern for people who wish to take it.
TOEFL Exam Pattern 2024
Starting from July 26, 2023, a new and improved TOEFL exam pattern has been introduced to enhance students' efficiency and make the exam easier to take. Although the time for each section has been reduced, the pattern and total marks remain the same at 120.
TOEFL iBT Paper Pattern
| Section | TOEFL Exam Pattern | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TOEFL Reading Section | Duration: 35 minutes Questions 20 | Read passages and respond to questions. |
| TOEFL Listening Section | Duration: 36 minutes Questions 28 | Answer questions about brief lectures or classroom discussions. |
| TOEFL Speaking Section | Duration: 16 minutes Questions: 4 tasks | Talk about a familiar topic and discuss material you read and heard. |
| TOEFL Writing Section | Duration: 29 minutes Questions: 2 tasks | Read a passage, listen to a recording, and type your response. State and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion. |
| Total Duration: 116 minutes |
TOEFL PBT Exam Pattern
Section | Duration | Number of Questions | Tasks |
|---|---|---|---|
Reading | 54–72 minutes | 30–40 questions | Reading 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answering questions. |
Listening | 41-57 minutes | 28–38 Questions | Listening to 3-4 lectures and 2-3 conversations and answering questions |
10 minutes BREAK | |||
Writing | 50 minutes | 2 tasks | Writing 2 responses one based on reading a passage, and another based on listening to a recording. |
Speaking (Home-Proctored Test) | 17 minutes | 4 tasks | Speak about a familiar topic and speak/discuss topics that are read and heard. |
Total duration = About 3 hours | |||
Solve Free TOEFL Practice Papers:
TOEFL Exam Syllabus: Listening
The Listening section of the TOEFL exam has 3 lectures, some with class discussions, each lasting 3–5 minutes. After each lecture, there are 6 questions. There are also 2 conversations, each about 3 minutes long, with 5 questions after each. You can take notes while listening to help answer questions. This section takes about 36 minutes.
- 3 Lectures (3-5 minutes each), 6 questions each
- 2 Conversations (about 3 minutes each), 5 questions each
- Total questions: 28
- Total time: 36 minutes
TOEFL Exam Syllabus: Speaking
In the Speaking section, you need to respond to tasks clearly with few mistakes. The graders are looking for clear, sustained conversation. Your score depends on your delivery, language use, and topic development. There are 4 questions in total: 1 independent task and 3 integrated tasks. You'll have 16 minutes for this section.
- 1 independent task (45 or 60 seconds to respond)
- 3 integrated tasks (45 or 60 seconds to respond)
- Total questions: 4
- Total time: 16 minutes
TOEFL Exam Syllabus: Writing
The Writing section has two essays. You need to write well-organized, well-developed responses with clear explanations and support. Your writing should flow logically and have few grammatical errors. There's 1 integrated task and 1 writing task for an academic discussion. You'll have 30 minutes for this section.
- 1 Integrated task (20 minutes)
- 1 Writing for an Academic Discussion task (10 minutes)
- Total questions: 2
- Total time: 30 minutes
TOEFL Exam Syllabus: Reading
In the Reading section of the TOEFL exam, you'll read two passages, each around 700 words long. After each passage, there are 10 questions. You'll have about 35 minutes to finish this section. Your score is based on how many questions you answer correctly.
- 2 passages, 10 questions each
- Total questions: 20
- Total time: 35 minutes
TOEFL New Pattern 2024: Latest Updates
The ETS, the organization that runs the TOEFL exam, has made some changes to the exam pattern for 2024:
- Registration for the TOEFL exam has become simpler starting from July 26, 2023. People who want to take the TOEFL can now sign up on the official ETS website.
- The TOEFL exam now takes less time than before. Instead of 3 hours, it's now less than 2 hours, which is about 116 minutes.
- The instructions and how to move through the test have been made easier for test-takers.
- The reading section of the TOEFL exam has been made shorter.
- They've removed questions that don't count towards your score from the new TOEFL exam.
- They're introducing new ways for people to pay for the TOEFL exam, making it more convenient.
- ETS is setting up a customer service centre that will be open every day of the week for 12 hours a day to help test-takers.
- They've also released a free app called TOEFL Go! This app helps people get ready for the TOEFL test anytime and anywhere. It gives feedback, scores your practice, provides coaching, tips, and lets you compare your progress.
TOEFL Test Scores
To understand your TOEFL exam score, it's important to know how each section is graded. After six days from taking the exam, ETS will email you when your scores are ready. You can also check your TOEFL scores online. If you need a printed score report, ETS will send it to you by email after 11 days from the test date.
Here's how the scores are divided for each section of the TOEFL exam:
Section | Score Range | Mean Scores* |
|---|---|---|
Reading | 0–30 | 20 |
Listening | 0–30 | 19 |
Speaking | 0–30 | 19 |
Writing | 0–30 | 20 |
Total Score | 0–120 | 78 |
TOEFL Exam Fee 2024
TOEFL Fees in India 2024: The cost of registering for the TOEFL exam differs depending on where you're located. In India, the TOEFL exam fee is ₹16,900 INR. Additionally, candidates may have to pay extra for other services like late registration, rescheduling the exam, or reviewing their scores.
Old TOEFL Format vs. New TOEFL Format
Here is an in-depth comparison of the old as well as new TOEFL Format:
| Test Section | Old TOEFL Format (Long version) | New TOEFL Format (Short Version) |
|---|---|---|
Reading | 3–4 reading passages 10 questions each 54-72 minutes
72/(10*4) = 1.8 min per question
| 2 reading passages 10 questions each 36 minutes
1.8 min per question
NO CHANGES TO QUESTION TYPES |
Listening | 3–4 lectures, 6 questions each 2–3 conversations, 5 questions eachRandom unscored questions41–57 minutes + unscored questions
0.8 min per question - unscored questions | 3 lectures, each 3–5 minutes; 6 questions each2 convos, each 3 minutes; 5 questions eachNo more unscored questions : 36 minutes
15-18 minutes to complete questions0.54-0.64 mins per question NO CHANGES TO QUESTION TYPES |
Speaking | 4 speaking tasks, 17 minutes - Speaking Independent Task 1 - Speaking integrated Task 2 - Speaking integrated Task 3 - Speaking integrated Task 4
| NO CHANGES TO THE SPEAKING SECTION |
Writing | 2 writing tasks, 50 minutes - Writing Integrated Task 1, 20 minutes - Writing Independent Task 2, 30 minutes
| 2 writing Tasks, 30 minutes - Integrated Task 1, 20 minutes - Academic Discussion Task 2, 10 minutes |
TOEFL Exam Pattern 2024 - Important Points
- Mode of Exam: The TOEFL exam in 2024 will be available in both Internet-based test (iBT) and Paper-delivered Test modes.
- Sections: There will be four mandatory sections in the TOEFL exam pattern 2024: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
- TOEFL Exam Duration: The total test time is approximately 116 minutes, divided into different sections.
- Break: After completing the first two sections (reading and listening), there will be a 10-minute break.
- Scoring: Reading and listening sections will be scored by computers, while speaking and writing sections will be scored by humans. The highest achievable total score in the TOEFL exam is 120.
Note: The TOEFL paper-based test pattern is offered in places where the iBT mode is not available.
Also Read: