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Chapter 1 — General overview

An introduction to the format, scoring system, and expectations of the TOEFL iBT

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language, and iBT stands for Internet-based Test. It evaluates English proficiency in four skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Starting January 21, 2026, the test has undergone a major overhaul: it is now shorter, adaptive, and more focused on real-world academic and everyday language use.

The test lasts up to 85 minutes and consists of four sections, as follows.

Section Duration Tasks / Questions Description
Reading < 27 min 35–48 questions
(adaptive)		 Three task types:
- fill in missing letters in academic paragraphs (Complete the Words),
- read short everyday texts like emails or memos (Read in Daily Life), and
- answer questions on short academic passages (Read an Academic Text).
The section is adaptive:
The second module adjusts in difficulty based on your performance in the first.
Listening < 27 min 35–45 questions
(adaptive)		 Four task types:
- choose a response to a spoken sentence (Listen and Choose a Response),
- answer questions on short campus or everyday conversations (Listen to a Conversation),
- on campus announcements (Listen to an Announcement), and
- on short academic talks (Listen to an Academic Talk).
Also adaptive across two modules.
Writing 23 mn 3 tasks - Unscramble mixed-up sentences from a student exchange (Build a Sentence),
- write a 7-minute email about a specific scenario (Write an Email), and
- write a post for an academic discussion board in 10 minutes (Writing for an Academic Discussion).
Speaking 8 mn 2 tasks - Listen and repeat seven sentences about a campus or daily life topic (Listen and Repeat), then
- answer four progressively harder interview-style questions on a given topic
with 45 seconds per answer and no preparation time (Take an Interview).

Important note: The Reading and Listening sections use a multistage adaptive format. The first module is the same for everyone; based on your performance, the second module will be either harder (emphasizing academic content) or easier (emphasizing daily life content). The Speaking and Writing sections are not adaptive. There is no longer any integrated task (combining reading/listening with writing or speaking), and there is no traditional essay.

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