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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Proficiency Tests & Test-taking

Toefl or Ielts?

0Hi everybody!02br
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00Next summer I’ll be going to attend some English courses in 0100UK0200 or 010200. Looking on the internet, I’ve seen that the most required English certificate worldwide is Toefl, so I was going to try it. Unfortunately, there are no Toefl courses on summer in UK/Eire. On the other hand, there are many Ielts courses.02br
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00I need your advice: is the preparation of these two exams that different, so I’ll not able to take the 00 00Toefl after a Ielts course? Actually, I don’t need the Toefl necessarily, since I’m not going to apply for a US University within two years. But I think that I’ll need to take it later. So, if the two exams are totally different, I think that the sooner I get used to the Toefl examination, the better it is. Do you think I’m right?02br
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00Thanks!0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 00On the other hand, if an IELTS program is inexpensive and convenient for you now, why not take it, just for the experience of a language proficiency test? 0-

— Mister Micawber

  • 02br 02br 00On the other hand, if an IELTS program is inexpensive and convenient for you now, why not take it, just for the experience of a language proficiency test?
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13 Answers
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0The designs, format and weighting are different, but the skills being tested are the same.02br
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00I would recommend taking the same preparatory program as the test you intend, especially if you are unused to language proficiency tests, because much of the success in test-taking comes from being familiar and comfortable with the test format.02br
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0I suggest IELTS. It's more popular than TOEFL and is almost universally accepted (except American Us, as you mentioned).0-
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0I still think it depends on which specific institution you are applying to:02br
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01b00IELTS02b00: Over 3800 educational institutions, government agencies and professional organisations across 120 countries around the world recognise IELTS scores as a trusted and valid indicator of ability to communicate in English. Over 500,000 tests taken every y
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0Check to see the type of Toefl they are doing. The new iBT Toefl is on a par (in quality) with the IELTS whereas the older (computer based) version was never good putting emphasis on grammar knowledge and vocabulary instead of use.02br
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00Personally I still prefer the IELTS over any of the Toefl versions.0-
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0 I'm planning to work as a nurse in the US, and 1of the requirements for visascreen is an english proficiency test..which is more appropriate, TOEFL-iBt or IELTS? Thanks. 0-
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0TOEFL is the English proficiency test of choice at US universities. The Visascreen website itself states, however:02br
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01i00 English examinations may be given by the following organizations:02i02br
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0IELTS is useful forever but TOEFL is useless after two years 050010id6
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0 I don't think so. IELTS scores are good for 2 years. 0-
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0It is true that both IELTS and TOEFL results are valid only for two years.02br
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00If you want a certificate which doesn't expire, then you should consider one of the Cambridge's ones. However, as MM said, you'd better have a look at which tests are recognised by the universities you're going to apply to. 02br
00For instance, my Uni in the UK accepts both the
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0 Here's a useful page from the Ielts site: 02br
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00You can find out what the band requirements are for organisations and institutions registered with Ielts. Useful quick reference, I think, although you should always check with the organisations directly before making any decisions. 0230hrefhttp:/
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