It is a requirement for international students from non-English-speaking nations applying to study at universities overseas to submit their exam results. The two most popular and widely acknowledged exams are IELTS and TOEFL. These tests have the same goal, yet they are different in a number of ways. So, if you’re unsure which to take, this article will help you distinguish between IELTS and TOEFL and make the best decision.
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What is IELTS?
An examination that gauges a candidate’s competency in the English language is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The test assesses a person’s proficiency in four areas of the English language: reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
The British Council, IDP Education, and Cambridge Assessment English jointly administer the 1989-instituted exam. There are two delivery methods for the exam: paper-based and computer-delivered.
What is TOEFL?
The Test of English as a foreign Language (TOEFL) is an internationally recognized exam that is accepted at most foreign universities where English is the medium of teaching. The exam is organized and created to efficiently evaluate a student’s proficiency with the English language.
Education Testing Service (ETS), a private, non-profit organization with headquarters in the US, administers the test. There are two exam modes: Paper-Delivered Test and Internet-Based Test (IBT)
What distinguishes the IELTS from the TOEFL.
We will list nine of their differences:
- IELTS and TOEFL differ in that they have different objectives, even though both examinations are designed to evaluate a person’s proficiency in the English language.
When compared to the TOEFL, IELTS has a larger breadth. It serves as an English language competence test for people looking to immigrate to or pursue careers in English-speaking nations.
The only usage of TOEFL is for academic purposes. Students who want to enroll in universities with an English-speaking student body take it.
- There are two primary IELTS exam variants: Academic and General Training. The IELTS General Training exam is for people who want to enroll in a vocational training program or move abroad for work, whereas the IELTS Academic test is for students planning on pursuing higher education at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels.
The TOEFL, on the other hand, is primarily used for academic purposes, as was already said, thus there are no significant variances.
- Although the examinations are widely accessible, their accessibility varies. Students from more than 140 countries can take the IELTS exam at over 1,600 sites. It’s easy to take the TOEFL. Exams can be taken practically everywhere in the world by students. More than 4,500 locations worldwide offer testing centers in more than 165 different nations.
- When it comes to the number of students who take the exam each year, both exams are relatively well-liked. Over 3.5 million applicants are expected to have taken the IELTS exam in 2018. Since more people take IELTS in this location than just students, the number is larger. Over 2.3 million potential students are thought to take the TOEFL every year.
- The method the exam is administered in IELTS TOEFL is another distinction. For the speaking portion of the IELTS exam, candidates must interact directly with the examiner. The TOEFL exam is entirely computer-based. Students therefore do not personally contact with the examiners. Students are required to record and send their speech for editing for the TOEFL speaking section.
- How they are scored is one of the key distinctions between the IELTS and TOEFL. IELTS scores are assigned a band rating from 1 (the lowest) to 9. (the highest). The IELTS exam uses a scale from 0 to 9 to determine overall and sectional scores. Unlike the TOEFL, which is graded out of 120 points. Each section receives a mark between 0 and 30.
- The IELTS exam lasts for two hours and forty-five minutes. While the paper-delivered TOEFL exam takes two and a half hours, the online version lasts three hours.
- At approved testing facilities all throughout the world, the TOEFL iBT exam is scheduled more than 60 times annually. There are 4 days a week when the new TOEFL IBT home edition exam is offered. IELTS tests may be taken as frequently as once per week. It has 48 test dates planned per year.
- Students often receive their TOEFL results 6 to 10 days after the test date. Within a week (online) or 13 days (offline) of the exam, the IELTS test results are made public.
Having highlighted their differences, it would be good to talk about a few of their similarities. Well for starters they are both tests to rate candidates English proficiency. That are also usually taken by immigrants and those who seek to travel abroad for whatever purpose. Finally A student must pass all four portions of both exams—Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. So both exams have four sections
