When you want to pursue your dream to study or even start your career abroad, there are very high chances you’ll be required to take a language proficiency test. Among so many language proficiency tests out there, there are two most popular ones. Yes, they are TOEFL and IELTS. These two types of English proficiency tests often appear in both university or school admission requirements and job requirements.
However, there are a lot of people who are still confused by these two tests. What is the difference between TOEFL and IELTS? Let’s check out these programs differences :
1. The LANGUAGE.
Although they are both English proficiency tests, the accents used in the test are different. TOEFL as the abbreviation of Test of English as a Foreign Language is an English proficiency test that accepts only an American accent, while IELTS or International English Language Testing System is an English test that uses mostly British accent for all of its materials.
2. The ACCEPTING COUNTRIES.
Even though both TOEFL and IELTS are accepted by universities internationally, some universities will take more consideration when you offer your score for a certain test. IELTS, for example, is more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand.. On the other hand, in the US, most American countries and Canada, TOEFL is preferred by some universities.
3. The TEST STRUCTURE.
Reading, listening, writing, and speaking sections are all included in TOEFL and IELTS test sections. So, how do they differ? First of all, the number of questions is slightly different for these tests. TOEFL will give 30-40 questions for reading, 28-39 questions for listening, 2 tasks for writing, and 4 tasks for speaking, while IELTS will give 40 questions for reading, 40 questions for listening, 2 tasks for writing, and 3 tasks for speaking. As the number of questions slightly differs, the time that is given to finish the tests also differs. You will be given 3 to 3,5 hours to do TOEFL and 2 hours 45 minutes for IELTS.
Types of reading passages and listening materials that will be found are also different for each type of test. In TOEFL, you mostly will find academic passages and hear university-based lectures, but in IELTS you will find various types of passages and hear daily conversations.
4. The SCORING SYSTEM.
IELTS and TOEFL have their unique scoring system. IELTS has named its score as a band and uses a range from 0-9, TOEFL on the other hand has a wider range which is 0-120. Each university or company has variety standards of IELTS or TOEFL scores for their future students and employer. While mostly TOEFL iBT Score of 90-100, TOEFL PBT Score of 550-600, or IELTS Band of 6.5 is used as the standard, it is still necessary to double-check the requirement of your targeted university.
Some of you might feel overwhelmed by the complicated test structure or the high-scoring standard. Well, don’t worry learners, you can prepare yourself for the best with experienced instructors of Calculus Education Center by joining an IELTS preparation class or TOEFL iBT preparation class. Grab your keys to support your future education now!