What's going on, guys?
Big news from ETS.
There is a new TOEFL test and it is very,
very different than the TOEFL ibt.
It's called the TOEFL Essentials test,
and it's going to be available
starting in August of this year 2021.
And you might be wondering, you know, how
does this affect me? Why do I care?
Well, basically if you have to take the
TOEFL before
August 2021, yeah 21, before
that month this year, if you have to take
it before,
then this doesn't apply for you. Just
focus on the ibt,
like you've normally been doing. But if
you
if you're going to take the TOEFL after
August, then you want to listen closely,
because you might be able to take this
Test, the TOEFL Essentials Test.
It's completely different, pretty
different from TOEFL ibt;
and I think it's easier as well. So, let
me get into it right now,
talking about the similarities and
differences between the ibt
and this new test, TOEFL Essentials. All
Right, let's get into it. I'm going to
share my screen.
So yep, registration is in May, but the
test won't be started until
August. And before I talk about the
differences and similarities, I also want
to say that I'm going to answer some
more questions
after I talk about the ibt and the
Essentials and what's the difference.
So, later I'm going to talk about how
much it costs. I'm going to talk to talk
about will your university accept 01:28
this test, the TOEFL Essentials, will your
licensing board, if you're a pharmacist
or dentist,
accept it. I'm also going to talk about
if you have to take both tests.
I'll talk about how you can find example
questions.
And, finally, why did they make this TOEFL
Essentials test in the first place.
I'll answer all those questions very
Soon, but first, let me just talk about
the similarities and differences between
the Essentials Test and the ibt test.
So, this is a handy chart from ETS, I'll
put a link in the description so you can
go here as well.
So, what are the differences? Okay, well,
what it measures,
this is a big thing. The Essentials
Test measures foundational elements of
English proficiency
in both academic and non-academic,
and ibt is only in an academic context.
So, that's huge, basically the TOEFL ibt
is a test to see if your if your English
is good enough to go to university
in the States. So, a lot of the material,
Well, almost all the material
is academic, but now it's a mix.
It's academic and general English,
and then, uh, who's likely to take it? So,
mostly just students,
students who want quality and convenience,
and aspiring students, so yeah,
students will take it. And again, 50
Academic, 50 percent general, so this is
very different. Right now, it's all
academic, but it's going to be a mix
between the two now.
It's going to be shorter, faster, paced
tasks.
So, in the TOEFL ibt now you have these
very long reading passages, right? 03:11
There are 700 words you have to answer,
like 10 questions about them, now, but
in this version, there are shorter texts,
shorter questions, it's much faster paced.
The length it's half the time, it's an
hour to an hour and a half instead of
the three-hour ibt.
There are four sections; listening, writing,
listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
And TOEFL ibt as well has the same, but
they also have this
five-minute personal video statement, and
that's not scored. So,
Uh, this is something new, where basically
the camera will be on you and you maybe
answer a general question about yourself
or something like that, and you talk
about yourself for five minutes. I
I wouldn't want to talk about myself for
five minutes, but
but, anyway, so there that's something
that you have to do,
but it's not scored. So, that's a good
thing. I think that's because they want
some universities, want to get to know
you a bit better,
besides just a test score, of course.
Uh, main test design principle so this is
an efficient,
adaptive test, so I want you to pay
attention to this word adaptive,
That's the biggest difference between
these two. So,
what does that mean, adaptive? So, it means
that the test
changes based on your level. So, this test
will change based on how well you're
doing actually,
in theory, anyway. That's what adaptive
means. Adaptive means it
adapts to you. Ibt right now,
the test is already made, they give it to
you, and it doesn't matter if you're have
a very high proficiency,
very low proficiency, you still have to
answer the same questions.
This is different, they change the
questions based on your abilities,
so that's new, very different.
So yeah, so again, test-taker skill level
adaptive format
and the delivery. So, it looks like the
Essentials Test
won't be in a test center.
It's only at home, whereas the ibt is at
a test center or at home.
So, as you can see these are huge
differences, right? So,
it's adaptive, it's half the time, and
let's get to the next thing is that it's
half the price.
Okay, so how much will it cost? Well, it'll
be between 100 to 120,
according to ETS, much cheaper than the
200,
220 price you pay right now. So, that's
great news.
The second thing is, will your university
accept it?
Um, I don't know, of course, you should
contact your university,
but if your university accepts TOEFL, it
sounds like they're probably going to
accept this new test.
According to ETS, they took a survey of a
bunch of
administrators, and mostly administrators
say yes, they'll take it, they like the
Idea.
So, I think your university will probably
take it but, of course,
check with them first. The next thing is,
well, your
licensing board accepted, so this is for
pharmacists, nurses
Dentists, who need a TOEFL to become a
licensed pharmacist or dentist,
and for this probably not. It's just a
Guess.
Of course, you should contact your board,
your pharmacy board, your dentistry board,
and ask them if they take it, but I'm
going to
say that they're probably not because
they haven't taken newer tests
in the past. They don't take My Best Test
score, so
probably not, but maybe, maybe, but I
I don't think so. The next question is
will you have to take both tests? No,
definitely not.
Ask which one you should take and take
the one that they want you to take.
That's about it. Number five. How can I
find example questions? Well, there are
none
right now. I would love some example
questions. I can't wait to start
researching about this and making some
materials for this,
but right now, there are none, probably
not until April
or May will we see some examples of this
test.
And the last question. Why do they make
this thing? All right, well,
the TOEFL is an old test, it hasn't been
updated in quite a
bit of time. They did a newer version in
2019, but they just cut a couple
questions, really it pretty much stayed
the same.
So, this is very different. And the other
thing too is that I think
TOEFL is or ETS it doesn't like Duolingo
very much. The Duolingo English Test is
becoming more popular,
and this I, it's pretty clear, that this
is a response
to the Duolingo English Test. And if you
don't believe me,
if you go to ETS's site, they have a
table comparing Duolingo to this test.
And I'll just show you really quickly,
Uh, what that looks like. So, here is from
ETS. So, they're really
you know, not happy about the Duolingo
English Test. It's great for students, you
know, 50 bucks and it's done in an hour,
but there are some things, you know,
missing, especially if you are
interested in an accurate score. So,
that's why ETS is making this
new version of the test to compete with
Duolingo.
That's just a guess, but I think it's a
pretty good guess, since if you look at
their site,
they have a table showing the
similarities and differences between the
Two.
So yeah, so I hope you found that
helpful. I hope you found that
interesting. I hope this is something
that you're excited about. I'm excited
about getting into it. I think it's great
for students. I think it's great for you
to help you get a better score and to
have a more
user-friendly experience. And also don't
forget to
visit the website tstprep.com. We have
something for
every TOEFL student. In my experience,
there are four different types of
TOEFL students. Ones who have less than a
Month, or more than a month,
or you need to improve your TOEFL skills,
or your TOEFL skills and English fluency.
And no matter what category you're in, we
have something for you.
So, if you have less than a month and
just need TOEFL,
Emergency Course is perfect, the Basic.
The orange part if you have more than a
month, number two, and you just need TOEFL
skills, then you should do the Emergency
Course Premium.
There's more practice for you to do, for
you to do,
more sample tests. If you have less than
a month and you need TOEFL skills
and you need to improve your English
Fluency, then pray. We don't do anything
about that.
Fluency takes time to build, and this
next course that we have, the TOEFL score
Builder Program, it improves your TOEFL
skills
and your English fluency. I'm really
excited about this.
It has daily practice designed to build
the skills that you need for the TOEFL.
And of course, visit TST Prep, we have
classes, teachers, evaluations, all that
good stuff.
But that's it, guys. Thank you so much for
Watching. I hope you found that helpful.
Let me know what questions you have. I'm
probably going to interview
somebody from ETS in the near future, and
So, let me know what questions you have
about this test, 10:01
and I'll be sure to answer them or at
least ask ETS about them.
All right, thanks guys, and that's it.
I'll see you next time.