TOEFL iBT
TOEFL iBT
Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing for the current TOEFL iBT, with original texts, recordings and tasks.
AI-drafted · awaiting expert reviewThe updated TOEFL iBT, in use since 21 January 2026: four sections (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking), two-stage adaptive Reading and Listening, and scores on the 1–6 band scale with a CEFR level and a comparable 0–120 total through January 2028. Written from ETS's Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026), its 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications (December 2025), the 2026–27 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin and ETS's test, score and section pages, all checked on ets.org on 9 November 2026. Where ETS's own documents differ (an older July 2025 overview with other item counts, the raw-point totals for Reading and Listening, the list of accents), the lessons say so rather than choose.
A complete, original course for the updated TOEFL iBT that ETS launched on 21 January 2026. Lessons follow ETS's published description of the test task by task: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage; Listen and Choose a Response, conversations, announcements and academic talks; Build a Sentence, Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion; Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview. Five further lessons teach the vocabulary, grammar, cohesion and pronunciation the test rewards. Each lesson explains the task, a method, worked examples and common traps, and is followed by practice in the test's own formats: typed word completions, listening scripts read aloud by your browser (heard once in the practice test), timed spoken responses you can record and replay in your browser, and timed writing, with full explanations, rubrics and model answers. A full-length practice test mirrors the four sections, their task mix and their timing. Use it alongside ETS's free official practice tests.
About the exam
- The updated TOEFL iBT has four sections, always in this order: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. It is taken on a computer at an authorized test center or at home as the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, monitored by a live human proctor.Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · TOEFL iBT Test Content and Structure
- Reading: 50 items in about 30 minutes (Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, Read an Academic Passage). Listening: 47 items in about 29 minutes (Listen and Choose a Response, Listen to a Conversation, Listen to an Announcement, Listen to an Academic Talk). Writing: 12 items in about 23 minutes (Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Write for an Academic Discussion). Speaking: 11 items in about 8 minutes (Listen and Repeat, Take an Interview). These times exclude directions; ETS advises allowing about two hours in all.TOEFL iBT Test Content and Structure · Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · Teacher Frequently Asked Questions for TOEFL iBT Enhancements
- Reading and Listening are two-stage (multistage) adaptive: how you do on the first stage decides whether the second stage is easier or harder, your score reflects both stages and the difficulty of the questions, and you cannot skip or go back between stages. Writing and Speaking are linear. ETS's blueprint gives Reading 18–21 minutes for the first stage plus 9 for the second, and Listening 18 minutes plus 7 (easier stage) or 11 (harder stage).TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document · Teacher Frequently Asked Questions for TOEFL iBT Enhancements · Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026)
- Every test taker meets unscored pretest questions, embedded in either the Reading or the Listening section. They look like the scored questions.Teacher Frequently Asked Questions for TOEFL iBT Enhancements · TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document
- Reading tasks: Complete the Words gives an academic paragraph of about 70–100 words in which, after an intact first sentence, the second half of every second word is missing; you type the missing letters of 10 words. Read in Daily Life gives a short everyday text (about 15–150 words, such as a notice, menu, schedule, email or chain of messages) with 2 or 3 questions. Read an Academic Passage gives a passage of about 200 words with 5 questions.Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · TOEFL iBT Lesson Plans: Reading · TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document
- Listening tasks: in Listen and Choose a Response you hear a question or statement that is not shown on screen and choose the best of four written replies; a short conversation between two speakers has 2 questions; an academic announcement of about 40–85 words has 2 questions; an academic talk of about 100–250 words has 4. Each recording is played once, and you may take notes.Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · TOEFL iBT Lesson Plans: Listening · TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document · TOEFL iBT Test Content and Structure
- Writing tasks: 10 Build a Sentence items, in which you put words and phrases in order to make a grammatical reply in a short exchange; Write an Email, a 7-minute message for a stated purpose; and Write for an Academic Discussion, a 10-minute post giving and supporting your opinion in an online class discussion, for which ETS recommends at least 100 words. A word counter is provided; there is no spell-check.Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document · TOEFL iBT Lesson Plans: Writing
- Speaking tasks: in Listen and Repeat you hear seven sentences, each once, and repeat each exactly, with at most 8 to 12 seconds to record each; in Take an Interview a prerecorded interviewer asks four questions on one topic and you have 45 seconds to answer each.Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026) · TOEFL iBT Lesson Plans: Speaking · TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document
- Since 21 January 2026, each section and the overall score are reported from 1 to 6 in half-band steps. The overall score is the average of the four section scores rounded to the nearest half band (an average of 5.125 becomes 5; 5.25 becomes 5.5). The bands align with the CEFR: 6 is C2, 5–5.5 C1, 4–4.5 B2, 3–3.5 B1, 2–2.5 A2 and 1–1.5 A1.Understanding Your TOEFL iBT Scores · TOEFL Score Scale Update: A Guide for Institutions · Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026)
- Through January 2028, every score report also shows a CEFR level and a comparable overall score on the old 0–120 scale (the midpoint of the matching range), because institutions are updating their requirements at different speeds.TOEFL Score Scale Update: A Guide for Institutions · Understanding TOEFL iBT Score Displays in 2026 · Understanding Your TOEFL iBT Scores
- Reading and Listening are machine-scored, one point per item, and equated with item response theory. Speaking and Writing responses are scored 0–5 per task by ETS's AI scoring engine against ETS's scoring guides; human ratings train and oversee the engine.TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document · Teacher Frequently Asked Questions for TOEFL iBT Enhancements · Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (2026)
- You see unofficial Reading and Listening scores at the end of the test and may then report or cancel all your scores. Official scores reach your ETS account 3 days after the test and are valid for 2 years. Your report also shows MyBest scores, your best section scores from valid tests in the last 2 years. ETS sets no passing score; each institution sets its own requirement.Understanding Your TOEFL iBT Scores · 2026–2027 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin · What to Expect When You Test at a Test Center
- There is no limit on how often you take the test, but you may not take it more than once in any 3-day period. There are no scheduled breaks. Notes are allowed: on scratch paper at a test center, or at home on one small whiteboard or one sheet in a transparent sheet protector, with an erasable marker.2026–2027 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin · TOEFL iBT Test Content and Structure · At Home Testing Requirements for the TOEFL iBT Test
Syllabus
18 lessons, 171 practice questions and 1 timed practice exam.
Getting Started
How the TOEFL iBT works
The updated test launched on 21 January 2026: its four sections and eleven task types, the timing, the two-stage adaptive Reading and Listening sections, test center and Home Edition delivery, the 1–6 score scale with its CEFR levels and comparable 0–120 total, and a study plan that uses this course with ETS's free practice tests.
- How the TOEFL iBT worksFree sample30 min
- Scores, levels and a study plan(included with the course)30 min
Reading
Reading
About 50 items in about 30 minutes, in two adaptive stages: completing partly missing words in academic paragraphs, understanding short everyday texts such as notices, emails and schedules, and answering five questions on a short academic passage.
- Complete the WordsFree sample35 min
- Read in Daily Life(included with the course)35 min
- Read an Academic Passage(included with the course)40 min
Listening
Listening
About 47 items in about 29 minutes, in two adaptive stages, every recording heard once: choosing the best reply to a spoken line, short campus conversations, academic announcements, and short academic talks.
- Listen and Choose a Response(included with the course)35 min
- Conversations and announcements(included with the course)40 min
- Listen to an Academic Talk(included with the course)40 min
Writing
Writing
Twelve items in about 23 minutes: ten Build a Sentence items, a 7-minute email for a stated purpose, and a 10-minute post that takes a position in an online class discussion.
- Build a Sentence(included with the course)35 min
- Write an Email(included with the course)40 min
- Write for an Academic Discussion(included with the course)45 min
Speaking
Speaking
Eleven items in about 8 minutes: repeating seven sentences exactly, each heard once, and answering four interview questions in 45 seconds each, from personal experience to supported opinion.
- Listen and Repeat(included with the course)35 min
- Take an Interview(included with the course)40 min
Language Skills
Language skills the test rewards
The vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation underneath every section: academic word families and collocations, everyday and idiomatic English, sentence grammar for accuracy, cohesion and reference across sentences, and the stress, rhythm and intonation that make speech easy to follow.
- Academic vocabulary(included with the course)35 min
- Everyday and idiomatic English(included with the course)35 min
- Grammar for accuracy(included with the course)40 min
- Cohesion and reference(included with the course)35 min
- Pronunciation and fluency(included with the course)40 min
Practice exams
- TOEFL iBT Practice Test 1 (full length)120 questions · 90 minutesIncluded with the course
Free official resources
Use these alongside the course. They are free, and they are the final word.
- Full-Length Practice Test 1 (January 2026 test)ETS's free full-length practice test for the updated test. Take it early to meet the real interface, and compare it with this course's practice test.
- Full-Length Practice Test 2 (January 2026 test)ETS's second free full-length practice test. Save it for a timed run-through in your final week or two.
- Test preparation hubETS's preparation page: the free interactive sample, the full-length practice tests, and ETS's paid practice products if you want official scored practice.
- Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview (PDF)ETS's own description of every task type with official sample tasks, and the official scoring guides for the email, the discussion post, Listen and Repeat and the interview. Read the scoring guides next to this course's writing and speaking lessons.
- Test content and structureThe section table (items and times), delivery options and test-day questions, with a link to the blueprint and specifications document.
- Understanding your scoresHow the 1–6 scale works, when scores arrive, MyBest scores, score reviews, and the table comparing the 1–6 and 0–120 scales.
- Score scale guide and CEFR descriptorsETS's tables linking each band to the CEFR, section by section, with descriptions of what learners at each level can do.
- Home Edition requirementsComputer, camera, room and note-taking rules for testing at home. Run ETS's equipment check well before test day.
- TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin 2026–27 (PDF)The official policies: registration, ID, retakes, test-day rules, score cancellation, reinstatement and reviews.
Lumenary Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS. TOEFL and TOEFL iBT are ETS's trademarks. Every task in this course is original; for official practice, use ETS's own materials, linked from this page. Every source this course cites.