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الشهادات العالمية
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL
Evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand
English in an academic setting. It sometimes is an admission requirement for non-native
English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities. Additionally,
institutions such as government agencies, licensing bodies, businesses, or scholarship
programs may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then will
no longer be officially reported since a candidate's language proficiency could
have significantly changed since the date of the test.
The TOEFL test is a registered trademark of Educational
Testing Service (ETS) and is administered worldwide. The test was first administered
in 1964 and has since been taken by more than 23 million students. The test was
originally developed at the Center for Applied Linguistics under the direction of
Stanford University applied linguistics professor Dr. Charles A. Ferguson.
Internet-based Test ( iBT )
Since its introduction in late 2005, the Internet-based
Test (iBT) has progressively replaced both the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based
tests (PBT), although paper-based testing is still used in select areas. The iBT
has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany,
and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly.
The CBT was discontinued in September 2006 and these scores are no longer valid.
Although initially, the demand for test seats was higher
than availability, and candidates had to wait for months, it is now possible to
take the test within one to four weeks in most countries The four-hour test consists
of four sections, each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks
require integrating multiple skills) and all tasks focus on language used in an
academic, higher-education environment. The test cannot be taken more than once
a week.
1.Reading
The Reading section consists of 3–5 passages, each approximately
700 words in length and questions about the passages. The passages are on academic
topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an undergraduate university
textbook. Passages require understanding of rhetorical functions such as cause-effect,
compare-contrast and argumentation. Students answer questions about main ideas,
details, inferences, essential information, sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical
purpose and overall ideas. New types of questions in the iBT require filling out
tables or completing summaries.
2.Listening
The Listening section consists of six passages 3–5 minutes
in length and questions about the passages. These passages include two student conversations
and four academic lectures or discussions. A conversation involves two speakers,
a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. A lecture is a self-contained
portion of an academic lecture, which may involve student participation and does
not assume specialized background knowledge in the subject area. Each conversation
and lecture stimulus is heard only once. Test-takers may take notes while they listen
and they may refer to their notes when they answer the questions. Each conversation
is associated with five questions and each lecture with six. The questions are meant
to measure the ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications,
relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and speaker
attitude.
3.Speaking
The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent
tasks and four integrated tasks. In the two independent tasks, test-takers answer
opinion questions on familiar topics. They are evaluated on their ability to speak
spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently. In two of the integrated
tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an academic course lecture or
a conversation about campus life and answer a question by combining appropriate
information from the text and the talk. In the two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers
listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and then
respond to a question about what they heard. In the integrated tasks, test-takers
are evaluated on their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey
information from the reading and listening material. Test-takers may take notes
as they read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses.
Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin speaking.
The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN)
and evaluated by three to six raters.
4.Writing
The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to
write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated task and
one independent task. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic
topic and then listen to a speaker discuss the same topic. The test-taker will then
write a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explain
how these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task,
test-takers must write an essay that states, explains, and supports their opinion
on an issue, supporting their opinions or choices, rather than simply listing personal
preferences or choices. Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by four
raters.
Task Description Approx. time
READING 3–5 passages, each containing 12–14 questions
60–100 minutes
LISTENING 6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions
60–90 minutes
BREAK - 10 minutes
SPEAKING 6 tasks and 6 questions 20 minutes
WRITING 2 tasks and 2 questions 55 minutes
One of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted
material. Educational Testing Service includes extra material in order to pilot
test questions for future test forms. When test-takers are given a longer section,
they should give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which
question will count and which will be considered extra. For example, if there are
four reading passages instead of three, then three of those passages will count
and one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four passages could be the
uncounted one.
Accepted TOEFL Scores
Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their
admission process. Each college or program within a college often has a minimum
TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green
State University) to 109 (MIT, Columbia, Harvard). A sampling of required TOEFL
admissions scores shows that a total TOEFL iBT score of 74.2 for undergraduate admissions
and 82.6 for graduate admissions may be required. It is recommended that students
check with their prospective institutions directly to understand TOEFL admissions
requirements.
ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and
PBT scores.
Registration
•The first step in the registration process is to obtain
a copy of the TOEFL Information Bulletin. This bulletin can be obtained by downloading
it or ordering it from the TOEFL website ( www.Toefl.com )
•From the bulletin, it is possible to determine when and
where the iBT version of the TOEFL test will be given.
•Procedures for completing the registration form and submitting
it are listed in the TOEFL Information Bulletin. These procedures must be followed
exactly.
IELTS
IELTS ( International English
Language Testing System) , is an international standardized test of English language
proficiency. It is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations,
the British Council and IDP Education Pty Ltd, and was established in 1989.
There are two versions of the
IELTS: the Academic Version and the General Training Version:
•The Academic Version
is intended for those who want to enroll in universities and other institutions
of higher education and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses who
want to study or practice in an English-speaking country.
•The General Training
Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or to
gain work experience, or for immigration purposes.
It is generally acknowledged
that the reading and writing tests for the Academic Version are more difficult than
those for the General Training Version, due to the differences in the level of intellectual
and academic rigor between the two versions.
IELTS is accepted by most Australian,
British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over
3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and various professional organizations.
It is also a requirement for immigration to Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
No minimum score is required
to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all candidates
with a score from 1 (no knowledge) to 9 (expert user) and each institution sets
a different threshold. Institutions are advised not to consider valid a report older
than two years, unless the user proves that he has worked to maintain his level.
In 2007, IELTS tested over a
million candidates in a single 12-month period for the first time ever, making it
the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration.
In 2009, 1.4 million candidates
took the IELTS test in over 130 countries.
IELTS test structure
All candidates must complete
four Modules - Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking - to obtain a band score,
which is shown on the IELTS Test Report Form (TRF). All candidates take the same
Listening and Speaking Modules, while the Reading and Writing Modules differ depending
on whether the candidate is taking the Academic or General Training Versions of
the Test.
Listening
The listening module comprises
four sections. Each section begins with a short introduction telling the candidates
about the situation and the speakers. They then have some time to look through the
questions. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing candidates
to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once.
Reading
In the academic module the reading
test comprises three sections, with 3 texts normally followed by 13 or 14 questions
for a total of 40 questions overall. The General test also has 3 sections. However
the texts are shorter, so there can be up to 5 texts to read.
Writing
This consists of two sections
with the second section taking the form of an essay.
Speaking
The speaking test contains three
sections. The first section takes the form of an interview during which candidates
may be asked about their hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well
as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet
or family. In the second section candidates are given a topic card and then have
one minute to prepare after which they must speak about the given topic. The third
section involves a discussion between the examiner and the candidate, generally
on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in part
2.
Duration
The total test duration is around
2 hours and 45 minutes for Listening, Reading and Writing modules.
• Listening: 40 minutes, 30
minutes for which a recording is played centrally and additional 10 minutes for
transferring answers onto the OMR answer sheet.
• Reading: 60 minutes.
• Writing: 60 minutes.
• Speaking: 10–14 minutes.
Note: No additional time is
given for transfer of answers in Reading and Writing modules)
The first three modules - Listening,
Reading and Writing (always in that order) - are completed in one day, and in fact
are taken with no break in between. The Speaking Module may be taken, at the discretion
of the test centre, in the period seven days before or after the other Modules.
The tests are designed to cover
the full range of ability from non-user to expert user.
Band scale
IELTS is scored on a nine-band
scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall
Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band.
The following rounding convention
applies: if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to
the next half band, and if it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band.
The nine bands are described
as follows:
9 Expert User
Has full operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with
complete understanding.
8 Very Good User Has
full operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies
and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles
complex detailed argumentation well.
7 Good User Has operational
command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness
and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well
and understands detailed reasoning.
6 Competent User Has
generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies
and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly
in familiar situations.
5 Modest user
Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning
in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle
basic communication in own field.
4 Limited User
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent
problems in using complex language.
3 Extremely Limited User Conveys
and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations.
2 Intermittent User No
real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated
words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs.
1 Non User Essentially
has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
0 Did not attempt the
test
No assessable information provided at all.
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