guys what is toefl, and what is the fees for the exam?

[zainabkhann]

i kind of have an idea of what it is, its an exam for testing a candidates ability to speak english, but what is the fees for it in pakistan? and can someone give me a link to the official website in pakistan?

and can someone also tell me what the difference is between ielts and toefl and which one is better and easier to give. thanks

Will appreciate

 

[aalmuhannadi]

i kind of have an idea of what it is, its an exam for testing a candidates ability to speak english, but what is the fees for it in pakistan? and can someone give me a link to the official website in pakistan?

and can someone also tell me what the difference is between ielts and toefl and which one is better and easier to give. thanks

Will appreciate

It's the American equivalent of the IELTS basically so yes you have the right idea. Here's a link to a page that will thoroughly tell you the differences:
http://esl.about.com/od/ieltsexam/a/Ielts-or-Toefl.htm

And regarding the test centres and fees, I'm sorry but I can't help there since I'm not in Pakistan.. but if you search some local universities or the British council, I'm sure they'll offer it. I did my IELTS a month or two ago. I only did it because I'm used to British systems and my mother told me it would be easier. As long as you study for both of them, they shouldn't be hard at all. I only squeezed in 5 days worth of reading an IETLS book and managed to get an 8.5 on my first try

 

[zainabkhann]

Omg thats really good, congrats, where did u give the ielts ? Did u come to pakistan to give it? so what are ur tips for people giving ielts. My speaking is good, i gave a mini ielts for a college here in scotland, which only consisted of reading and writing, and they emailed me saying i got 4 in reading and 5 in writing.

 

[aalmuhannadi]

Omg thats really good, congrats, where did u give the ielts ? Did u come to pakistan to give it? so what are ur tips for people giving ielts. My speaking is good, i gave a mini ielts for a college here in scotland, which only consisted of reading and writing, and they emailed me saying i got 4 in reading and 5 in writing.

No the IELTS is available in virtually every country in the world! So I just did it at a local college who had a test center there. You have decent scores but you really need to improve on it. You should aim to up your score to at least a 6.5 in each of the 4 sections of the test. There are a lot of tips I could offer, too many to write here xD but I'll try to make it simple. What worked for me is the book I got; it covered everything in great detail and had 4 practice tests at the back (so I had plenty of revision). You could mark the reading and listening sections yourself, but I suggest you write practice essays to the practice questions and give the listening practice test to someone you know who's fluent in English so that they can judge your progress. You really need to know the test inside-out (ielts or toefl, whichever one you choose). For example, the essay section of the IELTS requires a specific format which you need to be comfortable writing with (try goodluckielts.com) if you really want to score the proper marks.

Personally, I think I was lucky enough to have received very easy questions in the writing section, as well as the listening... But it always depends on how well you've prepared. I can send you the name of the book I used; very efficient and useful if you're interested.

 

[zainabkhann]

Oh alright, yes please do give me the name of the book, and i have already opened the site that you have mentioned. its very helpful. i will be giving an exam for it in oct/nov this year when i go. when should i apply for it btw? and can you tell me how much you gave in ur currency for the exam, because its 15,000 pkr in pakistan, and someone just told me that their mother gave the exam last year and she paid 9000 so its a bit shocking

 

[aalmuhannadi]

Oh alright, yes please do give me the name of the book, and i have already opened the site that you have mentioned. its very helpful. i will be giving an exam for it in oct/nov this year when i go. when should i apply for it btw? and can you tell me how much you gave in ur currency for the exam, because its 15,000 pkr in pakistan, and someone just told me that their mother gave the exam last year and she paid 9000 so its a bit shocking

The book is called: Barron's IELTS with Audio CDs: International English Language Testing System.

And I recommend you apply at LEAST 3 months before the test date, because seats fill up very fast (at least here they do). And I payed 850QR for the test, which is about 21,982 in Pakistan's currency.

 

[zainabkhann]

No way, isnt that a rip off? like 15,000 pkr in pakistan and ur paying 21k :/ thats weird, should i apply now? because i want to give the exam in november when im actually in pakistan.

 

[zainabkhann]

And thanks for the name of the book. i will definately have a look at it.

 

[aalmuhannadi]

No way, isnt that a rip off? like 15,000 pkr in pakistan and ur paying 21k :/ thats weird, should i apply now? because i want to give the exam in november when im actually in pakistan.

The cost is the same throughout my country so I didn't realise, it's alright though since I don't need to repeat it as my score is high enough And yes try to apply at your earliest convenience, as the earlier you apply, the more likely you are to find a seat on your preferred test date.

 

[aalmuhannadi]

And thanks for the name of the book. i will definately have a look at it.

You don't need the book necessarily, but it helps greatly if this is your first time doing the IETLS. If you can't get the book, just use the website I referred you to earlier (goodluckiets.com) as it also sums up the fundamentals of what's required for each section with examples.

 

[zainabkhann]

I dont care if i dont get the seats early, because thats not a problem for me. Alright i will from now on study from that site, Could u briefly explain ur experience when u went in the test centre and how their system was, sorry for alot of questions, i want to clear everything thats in my mind.

 

[aalmuhannadi]

Alright you don't need to book this early, but then it's more crowded so it's just a suggestion. Well I signed up 3 months before my test date, then there I only brought my national ID with me, nothing else. They provide the pens/pencils for you and make sure there's nothing in your pocket (they gave us lockers to put our phones and other belongings in). Then we had to wait until the time of the test in the waiting room. After that we had to enter our assigned classes at the college (they give you a paper with your test info on it including which room you need to go to, your candidate number, etc.). Then the invigilators say the instructions and after that you start the listening test first, 5 minute break then reading, break and then writing. After that we leave and go back to the waiting room or outside to the cafeteria. But before that, they post a list of all the names and what time everyone's speaking test is at (some people had their speaking test the day after, or 2 days after even, mine was on the same day after 2 hours). After having lunch, I headed to the library where a teacher there was making us sign a paper, and then directed us outside our speaking cubicles. I waited for the person in there to finish then I went in and did my speaking test. After that I took my stuff from the locker and left That's it I guess, and it's alright I don't mind your questions I can see why you're asking a lot, I asked my friends a lot before I did my test too! If you have anything else that needs cleared up don't hesitate to post

 

[zainabkhann]

this is really informative, thanks alot. What section was the easiest one in ur mind?

 

[aalmuhannadi]

this is really informative, thanks alot. What section was the easiest one in ur mind?

Easiest for me was writing by far! It's because I got a very easy topic for the essay question ("Money is the main motivator in the workplace. How far do you agree or disagree?") and I'm great in Business Studies; did the IGCSE this May session as one of my IG subjects. The first writing question was also an easy to interpret graph about nitrous oxide emissions between different motor vehicles including cars, buses, etc. The speaking kind of got me because he asked me about my neighbourhood (the website/book give you a list of possible topics for segment 2 of the speaking test) and I feared it might come up because I don't know how to describe my neighbourhood a lot, so I got an 8.0 in the speaking section. I ALMOST ran out of time in the last question of the reading so I thought I did badly in it, but alhamdulilah I got an 8.5 in the reading section.

 

[zainabkhann]

your very lucky. thats really good. Writing is very easy for me too and speaking, listening does seem easy too, buh i always have a hard time understanding when someone is on a call with me so that might be an obstacle.

 

[aalmuhannadi]

your very lucky. thats really good. Writing is very easy for me too and speaking, listening does seem easy too, buh i always have a hard time understanding when someone is on a call with me so that might be an obstacle.

The book I used gives plenty of listening exercises; it comes with 2 CDs so that should do! And it has 4 practice tests along with practice questions... Practice makes perfect Any other concerns I can help you with?

 

[zainabkhann]

No that is all for now, thanks alot. I might just buy the CD's then since everything u need is on the website, or might buy the book, dont know. Im planning on studying for it everyday from now on, to polish my skills. i hope i can score atleast 6 or 7, btw what did you get in ur olevels english, i got a B judging by that do you think i have the potential to earn my goal score?

 

[aalmuhannadi]

No that is all for now, thanks alot. I might just buy the CD's then since everything u need is on the website, or might buy the book, dont know. Im planning on studying for it everyday from now on, to polish my skills. i hope i can score atleast 6 or 7, btw what did you get in ur olevels english, i got a B judging by that do you think i have the potential to earn my goal score?

Glad I could help! And yes a B in English can easily earn you a 7 or above in the IETLS because the IELTS is different from school exams and it's formatted entirely differently. I didn't do O-Levels, I did IGCSEs. I did my IGCSE in English as a second language 1 year early and got an A* with a 1 in speaking. I did English as a first language this May/June sessions along with English Literature. The results for that haven't been released yet so I don't really know what I got..

 

[zainabkhann]

whats the difference in english as first of secodn language? is it a big difference? i gave my maths igcse last year and failed so going for gcse maths this year in oct/nov

 

[aalmuhannadi]

whats the difference in english as first of secodn language? is it a big difference? i gave my maths igcse last year and failed so going for gcse maths this year in oct/nov

Yes there's a very significant difference! English 2nd language is 100 times easier and has a speaking test, while the other one does not. The 2nd language test is entirely comprehension and an essay at the end, while the first language test (I did it extended not core) is entirely essay-based. You need to write 3 essays in the first paper and one in the second paper. It requires a wider range of vocabulary as they require you to to things like describing the effect some words have 0n the reader, etc. Oh and good luck with your maths, I did mine this May/June session IGCSE from Edexcel, god knows what I got! Not really bright in math..