What are the differences between the new TOEFL and the old TOEFL?

This paper makes an in-depth analysis and comparison between the old and new TOEFL test from three aspects: test form, test item structure and test item type, hoping to show the whole picture of this test more clearly.

Examination form

The examination form is the most direct representation of any examination, and it is also the easiest for candidates to see and find. The test form of the old TOEFL is the traditional paper-and-pencil test, which is very familiar to the majority of candidates. And the new TOEFL

The examination form to be adopted is the advanced computerized examination based on the Internet, that is, the Internet.

Test, abbreviated as IBT. This kind of test form is something we have never been exposed to, but as the name implies, the new TOEFL test will be conducted on computers in a specific network environment, and the questions will be given through the Internet.

Two-way transmission of purpose and answer. Although computerized test has been used in GRE test, it is called CBT, which has only a simple computer adaptive mechanism and does not involve the concept of Internet, because

It is still fundamentally different from the IBT form adopted in the new TOEFL test.

Test question structure

The new TOEFL test has undergone a major reform on the basis of the old TOEFL test, which is very obvious from the structure of the test questions.

In the old TOEFL test, the test contents mainly included writing, listening comprehension, structure and written expression (commonly known as grammar) and reading comprehension. Among them, the score of writing is independent of the other three parts. In these four

Part, the writing test content is to write a propositional composition within 30 minutes, and the question bank is open, with a full score of 6. Listening comprehension includes three parts: short dialogue, long dialogue and paragraph comprehension. Part of it is 50

Road questions, with a total score of 68. There are 40 questions about structure and written expression, in which the structure is filled in 15, and the written expression is wrong in 25 questions. The examination time is 25 minutes and the total score is 68 points. Reading comprehension consists of five articles.

Articles of about 350 words, the examination time is 55 minutes, and there are 50 topics with a total score of 67 points. In addition, the old TOEFL test did not include the oral test, which was conducted separately in TSE.

Theme type

Due to the changes in test forms and test questions structure, the new TOEFL is also different from the old TOEFL. In essence, ETS hopes to focus on candidates' comprehensive mastery of English and practical application ability when designing new TOEFL test questions, so this idea has also been fully reflected in the test questions.

aural comprehension

In the old TOEFL test, listening questions were all multiple-choice questions, and the focus of the examination was the examinee's mastery of details, scenes and sentence patterns. In the new TOEFL test, besides multiple-choice questions, there are also

Multiple choice questions, true or false questions and formal multiple choice questions. Therefore, the new TOEFL is shifting to the direction of "understanding", that is, it focuses on testing candidates' understanding of listening words and their overall understanding of words.

Grasp the ability, and at the same time integrate specific sentence patterns, scenes and idioms into the overall comprehension ability test, rather than the focus of separate tests.

reading comprehension

Compared with the old TOEFL test, the reading questions in the new TOEFL test have also changed. Judging from the sample questions published by ETS, there are two kinds of questions that no longer appear in the new TOEFL reading: (1) topic questions. Because the new TOEFL reads articles with you.

Title, so the full-text theme that appeared in almost every article no longer appears. (2) The problem of row number correspondence. The new TOEFL reading articles are no longer marked with line numbers like the old TOEFL reading articles, and the topics corresponding to line numbers naturally disappear.

Yes In addition, the simple exclusion question corresponding to a vocabulary in the old TOEFL did not appear in the sample question, but we are not sure whether this kind of question will appear in the formal examination questions.

spoken language

The new TOEFL speaking test is basically an integration and improvement of the original TSE test. The basic test forms and questions in the TSE test have remained basically unchanged in the oral part of the new TOEFL. However, judging from the sample questions, the new TOEFL is

On the basis of TSE, two types of questions are added, namely "listen before speaking" and "read before speaking". The former requires candidates to listen to an article first and summarize and repeat it according to what they have heard; The latter requires candidates to read an article first.

Chapter, and then repeat according to the content of the article. Obviously, compared with the original TSE test, the new TOEFL oral test requires more candidates' oral ability and improvisation ability.

writing

Similar to oral English, the writing part of the new TOEFL is also reformed on the basis of integrating the original TWE test content. In the old TOEFL test, TWE required candidates to complete an article on a specific topic within 30 minutes.

Chapter, and ETS has opened its own TWE question bank, which contains 185 questions, and the questions for each exam must come from this question bank. In the new TOEFL, this type of question is reserved as a compulsory test for candidates.

Type B appears, but it is still unknown whether to continue to adopt the way of opening the question bank. In addition, the new TOEFL has added two new writing questions, and candidates will encounter a random one in an exam, that is, "listen first and then write" or

Read before you write. This is very similar to the oral part. This kind of topic not only examines the candidate's writing ability, but also examines the candidate's listening or reading ability and the ability to summarize. Therefore, this kind of examination is a kind of

This kind of comprehensive test also puts forward stricter requirements for candidates.