Free TOEFL lessons, by section

The TOEFL iBT is a computer-based test that measures whether you can read, listen, write, and speak well enough to study at an English-medium university.

TOEFL changed twice in the past few years. Studying from a prep book, forum thread, or video from before January 2026 means preparing for a test that no longer exists in that form.

You have a test date coming up and limited time to prepare. This is the one-page map of the whole test — read it once, then go build real skill in your weakest section.

TOEFL scores run 1–6 in half-point steps, one score per section, since January 21, 2026. Here's exactly how each section gets scored, and what the rubric actually rewards.

50 questions, 30 minutes, three task types, and a format that rewards reading with a purpose instead of reading every sentence with equal care.

Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage draw from eight question types. Five test what's stated. Three test what's implied. Here's a full worked example of each.

Reading rewards a specific method more than it rewards raw vocabulary size. Here's how to build the two-pass reading habit and train it into automatic before test day.

Complete the Words gives you a short academic paragraph, 70–100 words, with the second half of certain words deleted. You type in the missing letters directly.

Before you dive into task types, here's exactly how the Reading section is built — how many passages, how much time, and how the adaptive difficulty actually works so you're not surprised on test day.

47 questions, 29 minutes, four task types, and audio you only hear once. Note-taking and active attention matter more here than in any other section.

One quick reply choice, two dialogue-based tasks, and a lecture task. Each rewards a different listening skill, from social instinct to structural tracking.

Six question types recur across Conversation, Announcement, and Academic Talk tasks. Three test what was said, three test how it was said.

You hear every clip once, with no pause and no replay. Here's how to build the note-taking, prediction, and elimination habits that make a single listen enough.

12 questions, 23 minutes, three tasks, each running on its own separate clock. One task is graded strictly right or wrong. Two are graded holistically, and both treat your response as a first draft.

Rearrange scrambled words into one grammatical, contextually appropriate sentence. Scored strictly right or wrong, with zero partial credit, the only Writing-section task graded this way.

Write an email that meets a specific campus scenario in 7 minutes. Scored 0-5, holistically, on how well you achieve the goal, elaborate, and use language, not on grammatical perfection.

Read a professor's question and two student replies, then post your own contribution in 10 minutes. A real, defended position beats safe neutrality every time.

The gap between a 5 and a 3 is elaboration and clarity, not grammatical perfection. Here's how to train for all three Writing tasks before test day.

11 questions, 8 minutes, two tasks, and zero preparation time on either one. Spontaneous production is the entire game.

Hear a sentence once, repeat it back exactly. Scored on intelligibility and accuracy, and exact reproduction beats confident paraphrasing every time.

Answer 4 questions in a simulated interview, 45 seconds each, no prep time. Elaboration and natural pace separate strong responses from weak ones, not perfect grammar.

Small, honest slips cost a fraction of a band. What drags a score down is dropped content, thin elaboration, or an unnatural pace. Here's how to train for both tasks.

Strong section-by-section skills can still lose points to interface unfamiliarity, poor pacing, or nerves. This section covers everything outside the four skill areas that still affects your score.

Registration, ID requirements, the on-screen toolbar in each section, and what happens the moment you finish. Know the mechanics in advance so test day doesn't cost you time you didn't budget for.

Pacing, focus, and decision-making habits that apply across all four sections, informed by ETS's own published test-taking guidance alongside general exam-prep practice.