<p>I'm taking the TOEFL iB this year. Has anyone taken it already? How was it? I took the CAE (Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English) a year ago and got an A, so I guess the TOEFL shouldn't be too hard. But I really don't know what to believe: some say that the TOEFL is a piece of cake (especially compared to the CAE), while others say that it's tougher than the CAE and not easy at all. So, how is it, really? Did anybody take both CAE and TOEFL?</p>
<p>First off, it the TOEFL iBT... internet based.
I made my registration today. Am taking it on July 14th.
Anyway, rumor says that it's easy. Let's hope so.</p>
<p>By the way, does this test have a curve or something?</p>
<p>I mean, if I missed a question from the reading section, will my score directly go to 119/120?</p>
<p>I suck at English but TOEFL is so easy and boring that you'd only lose points out of feeling bored and sleepy, not because of not knowing the answer to something. Just go over some basic word listing and practice the listening component if you're easily distracted (although I personally didn't prepare I feel as if I should have as I get easily distracted). Reading and listening tests are the first two and if you're used to being on the computer, you can get pretty bored as it will feel very normal. After the listening and reading portions, I think there's a break. Drink some water, visit the bathroom and stretch and the speaking and writing tests will require you to speak and write (doh) so you will feel more invigorated. Speaking can get a bit difficult if you are weirded out by the fact that you're talking at the computer as then level of comfortness will affect your ability to speak. So practice answering some common questions at the wall perhaps. Writing is the easiest part and I thoroughly enjoyed that portion when giving the TOEFL last December. And not it's not a curve unlike the SATs which deduct points logarithmically I believe. If you miss a question in the reading section for example... a minus one. If you screw up the speaking then a major loss, listening about moderate effect and with writing you can't go wrong unless you don't know English or have missed a question which is unlikely.</p>
<p>How is it possible that there's no curve?
I skimmed through some practice test this morning and it was featuring 39 reading questions and the max you can get out of reading is 30 points if I'm not wrong.
It was Kaplan's TOEFL iBT CD. And by the way, does Kaplan's practice difficulty correlate to that of the real test?</p>
<p>I don't exactly remember the no of questions I had. I have no idea about Kaplan but the real test was far easier than the official ETS guide.</p>
<p>I thought it was easy. But talking to a computer with a bunch of other test takers in the same room was freaky, I started rambling a bit.:p</p>
<p>See... that's where the problem is.... ~_~</p>
<p>By the way, what happens if you don't speak loud enough? Are the microphones sensitive for someone who has a lower voice? And since there are some other test takers, we ought not to disturb each other, so not speak very loud.</p>
<p>I was wondering the exact same thing this morning.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the test there is a test run where you speak a few sentences and the microphone will auto-adjust itself.</p>
<p>Giving the TOEFLs here is a bit of a matter of luck as sometimes people's test scores are bad because of the computer freezing or not loading/crashing in the middle of the test. I am sure this doesn't happen in other countries but people who do suffer as a result of that often end up getting really tensed because at times they just have to wait hours for it to be fixed and give the test again because the computer screwed up before the answers were saved. Luckily, while I was fearing that, it didn't happen with me. It happend with two others in the room I was in. The speaking part can get a bit annoying when others speak and you're trying to concentrate as some people can be a bit loud. It often happens that when you're talking, someone would stare at you and you'll be more uncomfortable if those things matter.</p>
<p>I know someone whose computer malfunctioned during the TOEFL test (in Romania) and the supervisors just didn't seem to notice the desperate calls of my friend..........</p>
<p>What happened at last?</p>
<p>She remained with what she had managed to do before the computer problem. It meant a really low score ;-(</p>
<p>She should have sued them. :/</p>