托福

托福（TOEFL）, 是由美国教育服务社(ETS)举办的一种英语能力考试。全名为检定非英语为母语者的英语能力考试The Test of English as a Foreign Language，简写为TOEFL，中文音译为“托福”。

大多数的美国大学或研究所要求外国学生在申请时提出过一定标准的托福考试成绩。从1964年创立以来，已有两千多万人次参加了托福考试。过去的托福是用纸笔测验，后来改为电脑测验，最近以改为网考，学生需付费参加此考试，在各国皆有ETS的分部负责在主要城市举办定期考试。

各种形式

托福网考TOEFL iBT

托福网考始于2005年末。TOEFL iBT已经有步骤地取代了TOEFL CBT和TOEFL PBT。网考首先应用于美国，加拿大，法国，德国，和意大利，并在2006年里在全世界普及。中国大陆于2006年9月15日举行了第一次托福网考，考场还在有计划地增加中。

时长达四个小时的网考由四个部分组成，每个部分侧重一种语言技能，不过一些试题需要多种技能综合使用。考试着重于在高等教育和学术环境下的语言使用。

1. 阅读

   在读过每篇文章后，(总共3-5篇), 有12-15个关于大概内容，作者意图，已经从文章得出的推断等，复述，填补图表，完成总结等是新加入的类型。不具备文章主题有关的背景知识不会妨碍得出正确的答案。

2. 听力

   听力内容为对话和讲座，问题一般着眼于内容，句义，同时也包括说话人的态度和用意。

3. 口语

   口语是新加入托福的部分。这个部分有有关于个人简历和偏好的问题，也有需要综合阅读材料和听力短文的问题。考生需要能够清楚的，完整的，和准确的复述内容，解释想法，和阐释观点。

4. 写作

   在写作部分中，一个题目One task requires test takers to defend a position relative to a specified general topic. In the other task, a reading passage and a lecture are presented, and test takers must answer a question relating the main points of both the passage and the lecture.

(Detailed descriptions and samples are available at the official website.)

托福机考TOEFL CBT

The computer-based test (CBT) was abolished on September 30, 2006. It is divided into four sections, measuring language proficiency in listening, structure (grammar), reading and writing. Note-taking is not allowed.

1. Listening Comprehension (45–70 minutes)
   • Type of Questions: Conversations between two or more people in academic environments. Short conversations between students and lectures may be possible conversations. Questions are basically of the who said what type.
2. Structure (grammar) (15–20 minutes)
   • Type of Questions: Identify the erroneous word(s) in the sentence. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate word.
3. Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary (70-90 minutes)
   • Type of Question: Questions are posed about content, intent of the author, and ideas inferred from each of the 3–4 passages given.
4. Essay Writing (30 minutes)
   • Type of Question: To write an essay on a given general topic and take a position toward it, e.g., "Is stem cell research necessary? Explain your stance."

The Listening and Structure sections are computer-adaptive, meaning that the difficulty level of each question depends on the correctness of previous responses.

Three subscores are obtained, each of which is given on a 0–30 scale: Listening, Structure/Writing (combined), and Reading. These subscores are averaged to obtain the final score, which is on a 0–300 scale. The Writing score is reported separately, on a 0–6 scale.

托福笔试TOEFL PBT

In areas where the iBT and CBT are not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. The PBT tests essentially the same skills as the CBT, albeit with some differences, noticeably the number of questions (which is higher in the PBT) and the score scales. The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.

ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.

批评意见

TOEFL, like many standardized tests, has come under increasing scrutiny as a measure of the ability to use English effectively. There is an increasing number of major English speaking universities that now only accept alternate tests or their own test as a measure of whether a student will be capable of using English in an academic milieu. Some of its weaknesses:

• Because English exhibits some orthographic patterns (such as the use of -ing on the end of many verbs), test takers can be taught strategies to look for the patterns without having an understanding of the underlying grammar involved.
• Native speakers of English who take the test often find themselves with mediocre results, even in multiple choice questions. Ideally, a test for English proficiency should be simple and straightforward for a native speaker. Instead, such tests often focus on obscure rules of grammar and "proper" uses. For example, the use of "can" and "may" does have a formal rule, but native English speakers not only ignore the formal use on most occasions, they are never confused when another speaker switches the two.
• Until 2005, TOEFL did not test the ability to speak English. In most environments, the ability to speak intelligibly and without undue delay is vital. Because TOEFL did not measure this, learners may neglect this part of their education to focus on the skills the test does measure. As a result, many universities request incoming teaching assistants who are not native English speakers to take additional tests (such as the Test of Spoken English or university-administered tests) to ensure their ability to communicate with their students. The TOEFL iBT, which does test speaking skills, attempts to address this issue.
• Candidates complain about the TOEFL iBT, mainly because of the high noise level during the speaking section: Everyone is responding orally to six questions at the same time. In addition, the number of seats available is limited (usually filled four months before deadline date).

相关条目

• 历届试题
• IELTS
• TOEIC

外部链接

• 托福考试官方网站