TOEFL examination

Payment for the test is made at the end of the online registration with a credit or debit card for which the bank allows online transactions. The card does not have to be issued in the candidate's name (it can be a parent's card, for example).
The cost of the test in Poland is USD 215 and is deducted from the card at the exchange rate of the bank concerned. At the final stage of online registration, you will need to provide the cardholder and credit card details. Payment is 100% secure. 

PLEASE NOTE - It is not possible to reserve a testing place without prior payment.

Enrollment online only: 
TOEFL registration

Registration for the TOEFL® iBT closes 7 days before each session date. Late registration for the exam is still possible 4 days before the session (not counting the day of the session) but involves a additional charge to the exam price. The possibility of registration also depends on the availability of seats. While you are registering for the exam, dates for which there are no more available seats will not be displayed. Therefore, it is always advisable to register for the test well in advance. It is not possible to pre-book a seat for the exam without payment.

The Distance Learning Center of Wrocław University of Environmental and life Sciences at Plac Grunwaldzki 24a, 50-363 Wrocław. (room no. 405, 4th floor) is an authorized ETS (Educational Testing Service) examination center for conducting TOEFL® iBT exams in the online form.

TOEFL® iBT scores remain valid for 2 years after the test date. 
Following the two year period from the date of the exam, the ETS cannot confirm the candidate's results or issue a duplicate Result Report. Whether a certificate 'older' than two years will be accepted it is already subject to the university or institution where the candidate submits the documents. For example, the Ministry of Education in Poland does not require a specific date for taking the exam, nor does the Civil Service. For the purposes of the candidate's resume, the TOEFL® iBT scores can be used for indefinite period of time

There is a waiting period of 10 business days for the descriptive TOEFL® iBT results. After this date, they are usually already visible online on the candidate's profile and a printout of the score report is sent. It is therefore necessary to plan the examination approach well in advance so that the results arrive in time for the organization that requires them from the candidate. Some institutions receive the results by regular mail sent from the US, so the delivery time can be as long as several weeks.
You should also take into account the fact that there may be a situation when the exam does not take place (technical problems) and is rescheduled. Although this happens extremely rarely, you should be prepared for such an occurrence and not register at the last minute.

Each candidate on the day of the exam must present an acceptable ID card. The list of acceptable documents is provided here.

PLEASE NOTE: the document MUST have the candidate's signature!

In the event that it is necessary to reschedule your exam, you must do so no later than 4 business days before the exam date. You will then need to provide your candidate registration number , name and date of birth when calling Customer Care, phone: 0031 320 239 540. The fee for rescheduling the exam is to be paid by card only. This is an operation that can be performed online on your registration account.

During the registration for the exam, you will need to enter the codes of the institutions and departments to which the official TOEFL® iBT exam results are to be sent. Institutions to which results are to be sent can be added or deleted online until 10:00 pm (local time) on the day before the exam. To add/modify recipients, log in to your online account, click "view orders" and then click on the link with the order number.

Additional Score Reports can be ordered online. To place an order, the candidate's registration number is required. The cost is USD 20 for each Score Report ordered.

Since 2006, a new online version of the exam, called TOEFL® iBT, has been available and valid in Poland, replacing all previous versions of the exam. In its new form, the exam is taken entirely on a computer and answers are electronically sent to the ETS Online Scoring Network for checking. The results (on a 0-120 point scale) are available approximately 10 days after the exam and can be sent directly to the university where the student is applying. The exam is divided into 4 parts: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. It takes about 3.5 hours to complete.

The exam takes approximately 3,5 hours with a 10-minute break in the middle. TOEFL® iBT consists of 4 parts. The first part: Reading contains 30-40 questions and lasts about 54-72 minutes. The second part: Listening contains 28-39 questions and lasts 41-57 minutes minutes. The third part: Speaking contains speaking assignments and lasts 17 minutes  minutes, The last part, Writing contains 2 assignments and lasts 50 minutes.

Exam sections

• Reading, duration: 54-72 minutes, number of questions: 30-40, scoring scale: 0-30
• Listening, duration: 41-57 minutes, number of questions: 28-39, scoring scale: 0-30
  (break, duration: 10 minutes)
  
• Speaking, duration: 17 minutes, number of questions: 4, scoring scale: 0-30
• Writing, duration: 50 minutes, number of questions: 2, scoring scale: 0-30

1. Listening Section - TOEFL® iBT tests comprehension of spoken utterances and dialogues in an academic context

   • 3-4 mini-lectures lasting 3-5 in length, 500-800 words (6 questions for each),
   • 2-3 dialogues lasting about 3 minute (5 questions to each)
   • Tested skills:
     - understanding of the topic, message of the text, main contents
     - understanding of the nature of the statement, the speaker's opinion
     - ability to connect facts and information.
     
     

2. Reading Section - TOEFL® iBT focuses on understanding written texts in an academic context

   • 3-4 texts
   • Text length: approximately 700 words
   • 10 questions for each text
   • 3 types of texts:
     - Exposition (description of a the topic)
     - Argumentation (presentation of opinions and supporting arguments)
     - Historical biographical/event narrative (description of an event or someone's life described by another person)
   • 3 types of questions:
     - multiple choice questions 1 of 4
     - completing texts with the sentence that best fits the context
     - multiple choice questions, more than 4 possibilities, more than one correct answer.
     
     

   • Additional questions
     

     The test you will take may contain additional questions in the Reading or Listening sections that do not count toward your score. These questions help ETS:
     
     • create comparable test scores across the different editions
     • determine how such questions function under actual test conditions.
       
       

3. Speaking Section - TOEFL® iBT tests speaking skills in an academic environment
   

   Candidates take the Speaking section by responding to tasks and exam questions into a microphone mounted next to their headphones. Their speeches are recorded by computer and sent to OSN (Online Scoring Network) for evaluation. OSN is a network of professional examiners who evaluate candidates' speeches. The Speaking module is evaluated by 3 to 6 examiners, which guarantees the objectivity of the evaluation.
   The Speaking section consists of 4 tasks that resemble real-life situations you may encounter both inside and outside the classroom. These are :
   
   • 1 independent task:
     - a statement arguing the opinion of the test taker
     - a statement arguing in favour of  the choice of one of the options
   • 3 integrated tasks (requiring the use of more than one skill - listening and speaking or listening, reading and speaking).
     
     

4. Writing Section -TOEFL® iBT tests writing skills in an academic context.
   

   There are 2 tasks in this section
   
   • 1 integrated task - read + listen ->write
   • 1 independent task - a written statement on a given topic, expressing an opinion and supporting it and arguing (for and against, opinion A or B)

The TOEFL® iBT exam is designed to test the level of English language proficiency in the context of study, academic career. Therefore, people who have recently started learning English may perceive this exam as difficult and complex. The recommended level for taking the exam is B1 according to CEFR levels and above. Obviously, the score obtained in the exam will be a more accurate indicator of the level of proficiency.

TOEFL® iBT tests the level of proficiency in English at the university, where English is used in classes, lectures and out of class. Therefore, preparation for this exam requires familiarization with academic vocabulary but also with the construction of academic texts and their degree of difficulty. Regular reading of such texts, memorizing and consolidating the vocabulary that appears there is the core of good preparation for the exam.
The next thing to do is a good language course, where the teacher will pay attention to the specifics of the exam and prepare the syllabus with this in mind.
In addition, due to changes in the structure of the exam, it may be a good idea to purchase exam preparation textbooks. They are available at ETS exam centers, the ETS office and major bookstores in Poland.

An invaluable help in preparing for the TOEFL® iBT exam is the TOEFL® mock exam, which can be taken on a computer, simulating the conditions of the real test. This mock exam is called TPO - TOEFL® Practice Online.

The TOEFL® iBT exam is the most widely taken test of English language proficiency in the context of study and academic environment. The score obtained on this exam is the primary admissions criterion used by more than 6,100 universities, colleges and educational organizations in the UK, Western Europe, the US or Canada, for a total of 110 countries worldwide. In addition, various government agencies and scholarship foundations use the score from this exam in decision-making processes regarding development programs, exchange programs or scholarship plans. Annually, 800,000 candidates take the exam.

Ewa Hajdasz MA
Head of the Centre for Foreign Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences
tel. 71 3205283
ewa.hajdasz@upwr.edu.pl
sjoinhs@upwr.edu.pl

More on: ETS official website