IELTS Vs TOEFL

To get admission in foreign Colleges or Universities, International students have to submit their score card of English Language Test. Many English Language Tests are available to calculate the proficiency of students in English Language. Mostly, IELTS is acceptable in the academic institutes of the UK and Australia whereas TOEFL is accepted by the academic Institutes of the US.

IELTS and TOEFL tests are similar in many ways as both tests cover four sections including reading, writing, listening and speaking. Both tests don't take any separate test to check the grammar of the candidate. The only thing that differentiates both the tests is that TOEFL conduct exam on internet whereas IELTS exam has to attempt on paper.

Candidates must have proper counselling and coaching, so that they can conclude whichever test is best for them. TOEFL test is for academic purpose only whereas, IELTS test offers both options- IELTS Academic and IELTS General. Although, IELTS Academic is more difficult than IELTS General, but students prefer it to go abroad for their higher education. General is only for the purpose of immigration to another country. The score of both the test expires after the 2 years of the test date.

Candidates must have proper knowledge of the test pattern before taking any decision. So, here is a brief introduction to the paper pattern of the both tests.

TOEFL test is also known as TOEFL iBT. Both tests are for the measurement purpose to calculate your proficiency in English language. Candidates must consider following factors to choose the best test for their future-

Price

The cost of IELTS exam is about 200 USD whereas TOEFL costs between 160 to 200 USD.

Duration

The test duration for IELTS test is 2 hours and 45 minutes long whereas TOEFL test consumes about 4 hours.

Score Pattern

In IELTS, the performance is measured in bands as there are total 9 bands in IELTS test. Whereas, in TOEFL, score is measured on a scale ranging in between 0 to 120.


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IELTS

  1. This test takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. A paper and pencil is provided to students to attempt the exam.
  2. There is a gap between speaking test and other 3 modules. Students can relax and revise their preparation during that time.
  3. Candidates have a face to face interaction with the examiner in the speaking section. Any kind of confusion can easily reflect on the face of candidate.
  4. Students have to answer the questions of conversation as they listen in listening module.

TOEFL

  1. Like IELTS, there is no face to face interaction of the candidate with the examiner. Students give their tests to the computer. Afterwards, it is assessed by an examiner.
  2. This test takes about 4 hours.
  3. You can't answer during the listening section. Candidates have to wait for the completion of listening section to answer any question.
  4. This test includes multiple choice questions.
  5. Typing speed of the candidate must be fast to clear the writing section of this exam.

Overview of both tests

Speaking

If you don't have any problem in face to face interaction with the interviewer, then IELTS is the best option for you. This module is just like a normal conversation between two people. In speaking test of TOEFL, it covers six sections and it takes 20 minutes. Students get some time for preparation just before answering any question.

Writing

In this section, candidates have to write a text in form of short essay. In TOEFL, students have a limit of 300 to 350 words to describe about what they have listened or read. In IELTS, the word limit is of 200 to 250 words. The major difference between these two tests is that you have to give TOEFL test on computer whereas for IELTS test, you need only paper and pencil. If you are not comfortable on computer because of any reason, then IELTS is the best option for you. But if your handwriting is too bad to understand, then you should prefer TOEFL.

Listening

In IELTS, you can answer questions during listening section but in TOEFL, you have to wait till the end to answer the questions. The duration of IELTS listening test is 30 minutes whereas, it consumes an hour in the TOEFL listening test.

Reading

In TOEFL, the whole test is divided into three to five parts whereas, in IELTS it hardly has three parts. The time duration of both the tests is same- 20 minutes.

Choose any test according to your preference and with the guidance of your teachers so that so can clear the exam to get admission in International Colleges or Universities.

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