TOEFL Preparation
TOEFL is the test most US universities know best. Its distinguishing feature is the integrated task — you read something, hear something, and then have to write or speak about how they relate.
What the test looks like
TOEFL iBT is computer-delivered with four sections — reading, listening, speaking and writing — each scored out of 30 for a total out of 120. It is academic throughout: the passages are university-level, the lectures are lectures.
Speaking is recorded rather than conducted with an examiner. Candidates used to a conversational speaking test find this the hardest adjustment, because there is no interlocutor to react to and the response window is short and unforgiving.
Integrated tasks
This is where TOEFL separates prepared candidates from fluent ones. You are given a reading passage and a lecture that qualifies, contradicts or extends it, and asked to report the relationship accurately in a fixed time.
It rewards note-taking and structure far more than vocabulary. Candidates with strong English routinely underperform here simply because they have never practised taking usable notes at lecture speed.
Choosing TOEFL over IELTS
- US universities accept both, but some departments still state TOEFL scores by default in their requirements.
- TOEFL suits candidates comfortable typing and working entirely on screen.
- It suits academic readers — the content is uniformly university-level rather than mixed register.
- If your speaking is strongest face to face, IELTS may serve you better; the recorded format does not suit everyone.
How we prepare candidates
A diagnostic to establish section scores, then targeted work — note-taking systems for the integrated tasks, templates for the independent writing that leave room for real content, and repeated timed speaking against a clock and a microphone until the format stops being the obstacle.
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