A good English-language score is one of the necessary requirements for students aiming to get admission to universities and colleges worldwide. Students, including those from India, now have an option to take an engaging, home-based new English-language proficiency assessment test in the form of TOEFL Essentials.
Many universities worldwide are expected to accept the new TOEFL exam, which tests candidates on four skills – speaking, writing, listening, and reading. It also measures a mix of academic and general English skills (unlike the TOEFL iBT) aimed at helping students bag internships and crack interviews.
Conducted by educational testing and assessment company ETS, the test will be held starting August 2021. Interested students may now register and pay the USD 100 test fee.
Test-takers will get instant reading and listening scores once they finish, along with free, unlimited score reports.
The duration of the test will be between 60 and 90 minutes. To ensure transparency and accuracy, the writing and speaking sections will not be assessed by technology.
For institutions, the test gives them detailed insights through speaking and writing samples, besides providing unique personal video statements of applicants.
Srikant Gopal, executive director of the TOEFL Program, is optimistic that Indian students will overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation and will keep pursuing higher studies abroad.
In the coming weeks, ETS will publish the details pertaining to the scores to help institutions decide on their score needs and how they will accept and shortlist applicants.
Though several international universities have been accepting TOEFL scores, the past year has highlighted the importance of validity and reliability.
In another step meant to help Indian test-takers, the company has announced the acceptance of the Aadhaar card as a form of identification for applicants taking the TOEFL and GRE in India, until further notice.
This is applicable to candidates appearing for TOEFL Essentials, GRE General Test, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, TOEFL iBT test, GRE General Test at home, and GRE Subject Tests (beginning October 2021).
As per the testing agency, many students are not able to apply for a passport or renew old passports owing to the lockdowns and other restrictions. A government identification document that is widely accepted in India will help.
Google