TOEFL iBT versus IELTS Academic

TOEFL – Test for English as a Foreign Language

IELTS – International English Language Testing System

Both TOEFL and IELTS are International language testing providers designed to measure a person's ability as a user in using and understanding the English language. They are designed for migrants, foreign students wanting to pursue a higher degree and skilled professional applicants. Institutions such as government agencies, universities and licensing bodies like the Board of Nursing, NV required me to take this test.

The test is divided into four sections; Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

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Individual institutions and faculties set their own IELTS requirements according to the specific language needs of the course, study or work program.

There is no pass or fail in IELTS. Candidates are graded on their performance using scores from 1 to 9 for each part of the test – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The results from the four parts then produce an Overall Band Score. Each band corresponds to a level of English competence. All parts of the test and the Overall Band Score can be reported in whole and half bands, e.g. 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0.

(http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_information/getting_my_results/my_test_score.aspx)

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There is no passing or failing TOEFL® score; individual higher education institutions and agencies set their own score requirements. TOEFL scores are valid for two years after the test date and there is no limit to the number of times you can take the test.

(http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/)
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The Board of Nursing, Nevada provides 3 options to choose from in taking the English Proficiency test.
1. TOEFL - Internet-based test (IBT) minimum passing score is 84 with a 26 in spoken English.
2. IELTS - Academic test minimum passing score 6.5 Overall Band score and 7.0 on speaking score.
3. Pearson Test  - Academic test minimum passing score of 55 and no individual section below 50.

Nevada has a very tough requirement for foreign nurse applicants compared to other states.

Each test provider has different test formats. It is up to the test taker to familiarize themselves on those formats depending on their level of comfort. You don’t want to take the test unprepared because you are confident enough that it is very elementary. Believe me I’ve been there and done that. This test is quite expensive to repeat.

As for my experience in taking the TOEFL test, it was kind of a bummer actually because I did not pass the minimum score required by the Board of Nursing. It was difficult and I believe even those who fluently speak English as their native tongue will have a hard time answering the questions.

I arrived at the location early around 8 am and the test begun at 9am. To my surprise, it was disorganized that the test takers did not take the test at the same time. There were 8 of us outside of the computer room waiting to get inside while some already started. As soon as I sat in front of the computer with my headset on, I could hear voices of some test takers who were already on the speaking part. It was noisy so I had a hard time focusing on the Reading Comprehension. I found myself reading the first essay twice with nothing  getting into my head and soon I realized that time was running out so quickly that I needed to finish the last 3 passages in a rushed manner. I had an instant anxiety attack because of information overload. By the time I finished the passages, my brain was already screaming.

I was a bit happy on the first six scenarios of the Listening test but the last three were difficult. Two showcased lectures by professors with topics like sea creatures and paintings.

On the Speaking test, a question pops out on the screen. 30 seconds time is given to organize your thoughts and then you are given 60 seconds to answer while your voice is being recorded. When time is up it proceeds to the next question. I felt like I was in a beauty pageant with no audience bombarded with questions. I almost peed my pants!

With the writing test, one task was based on reading and listening with a minimum of 150 words required. This had me confused because I had to compare what I heard and read then I had to write a summary about it. The last task was about my view on how sports affect the academic performance of students in school with a minimum of 250 words required. I got my highest score on the Writing test compared to Reading, Listening and Speaking.

To sum it up, my experience in taking the TOEFL test wasn’t that good. I'm not saying this because I'm bitter for failing it (ugh!..it's not cheap). Bottom line is I'm sharing my personal experience which taught me a lot and hoping my readers can compare and discern what could work for them. I knew I did my best but it was so difficult that it made me think that it was made to make a person fail. As expected, I ended up not meeting my required total passing score. When I got home, I was psychologically and physically drained. I looked at the videos about TOEFL on Youtube and there were many negative comments about it. The reason why I took it was because of the availability of the earliest schedule.With IELTS, I have to wait 3 months to get a spot.

The test duration of TOEFL takes a total of more than 4 hours. IELTS is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

TOEFL
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Task                       Description                                                         Approx. time_______

Reading                3–4 passages, each containing 12–14 questions 60–80 minutes

Listening              6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions      60–90 minutes

Break 10 minutes

Speaking              6 tasks and 6 questions                                      20 minutes

Writing                 2 tasks and 2 questions                                      50 minutes

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Who wouldn’t be disappointed in failing an English test? Some people have the idea that everyone passes it according to the website’s statement, however most people don't realize that there are minimum requirements set by different institutions. Depending on why you are taking the test, that particular institution will have there own required passing score, which in the case of nursing is quite high. I found myself humbled by the experience as I like many others thought it would be easier than it actually turned out to be and as a result I was a bit soaked in sadness during the past month.

I decided to try the IELTS. I requested the IELTS administrator in my area to squeeze me in if someone backs out that's why I got my June schedule. I did what I had to do. I did my thorough research about the test by watching videos with lectures. I borrowed an IELTS review book at the Clark county library, and I even spent a lot of time at Barnes and Noble reading all kinds of books just to prepare myself.

There are two types of tests in IELTS, General and Academic. Academic is more difficult. If I had the choice, of course I would prefer the General but what can I do? It’s the requirement of Nevada, BON. 

At the day of my IELTS test, I kept myself calm but deep inside me I was experiencing butterflies in my tummy. All test takers were asked to go at one room in order to check everyone’s passport and mailing address. After that we were asked to transfer to a different room. We were given test booklets and answer sheets for each module. The proctor gave us instructions each time as well.

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What is the test format and how long will it take?
IELTS has four parts – Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes) and Speaking (11–14 minutes). The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Listening, Reading, and Writing tests are done in one sitting. The Speaking test may be on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests.

(http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_information/test_takers_faqs/about_the_ielts_test.aspx)

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The Listening test was the first part. At first the conversation was slow. As different scenarios switch on, the conversation pace gets faster. You really have to be focused and a good sense of hearing is important otherwise you will lose the flow of the conversation and not able to fill in the blanks.

Based from my review and practice test, I learned a strategy on answering the Reading Comprehension. Read the questions first. Once you know what kind of answer it requires you you’ll be able to find the information as you read the paragraphs. I had to flip my answer booklet back and forth just to look at the questions and the passage. I remember three of the compositions. One was about animals searching plants for treatment when they are hurt which had become the origin of herbal plants today, the other was about a famous artist and his painting, and the other was about theorists like Karl Marx and others and the development of education over time.

There were two questions on the Writing test. The first one presented two graphs that needed to be interpreted and summarized in a minimum of 150 words. The second was about my view on the cause of why some species decline, with a requirement of a minimum of 250 words.

Compared to the TOEFL writing test, I had to do quite a bit of erasing. I realized that it has been a long time since my handwriting lessons. My essay was a bit of a mess but I think I made my point well.

The Speaking test was the fun part for me as I got to talk to a real examiner and not a computer. I was asked a few basic questions first such as describing my home in the Philippines, How birthday is celebrated in my home country, Is there any change in celebrating birthday as I get older? etc. After that, I was asked about How foreigners should behave in a foreign country, Does one's culture affect how the person behaves?, Give examples on how a person should show his values, What do you think is the proper way in disciplining a child? etc. I showed spontaneity on my communication skills which gave me my highest score of 8.5 on that aspect among the other sections. I was quite impressed!

Over all, the IELTS is better than the TOEFL in regards to test format. It is also very systematic, plus the IELTS website does not encourage test takers to buy review materials from them.