Test of English as a Foreign Language (Internet-Based Test)

TOEFL iBT, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (Internet-Based Test), is an English-proficiency test run by ETS (Educational Testing Service), a non-profit assessment organisation. It checks how well a non-native speaker reads, listens, speaks and writes academic English. That means the English of university lectures, coursework and classroom discussion, not the English of everyday conversation.

If you are applying from India, the score works as evidence of English proficiency wherever the language of instruction is English, mostly universities abroad. ETS reports that TOEFL scores are recognised by more than 13,000 institutions across 160-plus countries and territories, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. There is no fixed eligibility bar. The score you need is set by the university and programme you apply to, and it differs from one course to the next.

The test has four sections: reading, listening, speaking and writing. You can take it online at an authorised test centre or at home under remote proctoring, and both carry the same recognition. ETS sets no pass or fail mark; each institution fixes its own threshold. Scores serve both undergraduate and postgraduate admission.

Sources: TOEFL (ETS official) · Understand your TOEFL iBT scores (ETS) · Test of English as a Foreign Language (Wikipedia)