I Took the TOEFL 2026. Here Are My Observations and Tips.

When you register for the TOEFL, you'll choose between taking the test at home or at a test center. If you choose to take the test at home, be sure to read the latest requirements from ETS. You should also login to your account on the ETS website and click the button that says "Download TOEFL /test app." This will allow you to run the official system check to confirm that your system is supported. Doing this before registration is a good way to avoid a headache on test day.

Meanwhile, it seems like a majority of users still choose to take the test at a test center. Most of the time, there will only be one test center near your home. Other people, though, will be able to choose from several nearby test centers. In that case, it is always a good idea to check online to see which one is the best. Trust me — they differ in quality. Note, also, that ETS recently distributed fancy new noise cancelling headphones to test centers around the world. These devices aren't perfect, but they do block out some noise from nearby test takers (and whatever madness might be happening in the streets outside the test center). It could be worth calling your local test centers themselves to see if they have received these headphones yet.

If you take the test at home, you should click the link provided by ETS about twenty minutes before your scheduled time. This will make it easier to respond to instructions from the proctor. And speaking of instructions from the proctor, don't get stressed out if you are asked to move things in your room, remove things from your walls, or cover up something in the background. That's normal.

The reading section of the test is pretty much the same as what you can find on the TOEFL website. You probably won't be surprised. You will begin in the routing module where you will likely get 35 questions and 18 minutes to solve them. There could be some variation from test to test, but you'll probably spend those 18 minutes solving two "complete the words" tasks, 3 "reading in daily life" tasks and one "academic reading" task.

After the routing module, you will likely move on to the hard module. There, you will probably see 15 questions and be given 9 minutes to solve them. That will probably be spread across one "complete the words" task and one "academic reading" task.

If your performance is poor in the routing module you could be sent to the easy module where you'll get one "complete the words" task and a bunch of "reading in daily life" tasks. But it has been 1.5 months since the launch of the test, and I haven't talked to anyone who has gotten the easy module.

Finally, you should keep in mind that in the months ahead ETS may adjust the number of questions that appear on the test and how the timers work. Don't panic if your test looks a bit different than what I've described. Also note that some of the questions don't count to your score so don't panic if you can't come up with a few answers.

The listening section is a lot like the reading section. You'll start in the routing module, where you'll probably get 32 questions in total. These will probably be spread across 12 "listen and choose" tasks, 2 "listen to a conversation" tasks, 3 "listen to an announcement" tasks and 2 "listen to an academic lecture" tasks. They look (and sound) just like the questions on the ETS website.

After that, you'll probably be sent to the hard module where you will probably get 3 "listen and choose" tasks, 2 "listen to a conversation" tasks and 2 "academic lecture" tasks.

Again, I haven't spoken to anyone who got sent to the easy module. I don't even know what it might contain.

Once again, the writing section is a lot like you'll find on the ETS website. There are three tasks — "build a sentence," "write an e-mail" and "write for an academic discussion." This part isn't adaptive, and there aren't any modules. Everyone gets the same mix of questions.

The "build a sentence" task comes first. You'll probably have seven minutes to complete ten sentences (and you can use the time as you like). From what I've heard, this is surprisingly difficult for students. Indeed, it seems to be a lot harder than I expected. I don't have an easy fix for this hardness, but I do suggest training yourself with practice questions from websites like this one. You might even take an old school approach, and study with a solid grammar book like "English Grammar in Use." This is basically a series of grammar questions, after all. If you improve your command of English grammar, you will improve your score.

Next is the "write an email" task. This was a bit trickier than I expected, as the instructions were a bit more specific than I thought they would be. So just make sure to read them carefully, and fulfill all three requirements they contain. And as I've been telling my students lately, feel free to make up some new details in addition to those specific requirements. That will increase the length of your response, and make it feel a lot more natural. I made up a ton of stuff and earned a perfect score for the section. You'll have seven minutes for this task.

Finally, you'll answer the "write for an academic discussion" question. This, by the way, is the only item fully retained from the old TOEFL. That means there are plenty of practice questions and strategies floating around the Internet. The only thing I want to mention here is that you should quickly read the two student responses. You don't necessarily have to respond to what they have written, but you should avoid repeating their arguments. I actually skipped reading those until half-way through… when I discovered that I was mostly copying what one of them had already said. Then I struggled to revise my answer with the time I had left. You will have ten minutes for this task.

Finally, you will come to the speaking section. The first part of this section is the "listen and repeat" task. Here, you will listen to seven sentences (one at a time) and repeat each one. The first two are easy (9-11 syllables), the next three are more difficult (14-16 syllables) and the final two are really challenging (19-23 syllables). Like the "build a sentence" stuff in the writing section, this part of the test has become infamous for its difficulty. I don't have an easy solution to this either, but I highly recommend that you practice every day. This is, after all, a skill that can be trained. With practice, it will get easier.

The last part of the speaking section (and the test) is the "take an interview" task. Here, you will answer four questions about a topic related to everyday life. When I say "everyday life" I mean things like exercise, education, reading habits, personal relationships, and so on. After hearing each question you will speak immediately (there is no prep time and no BEEP). This is challenging because it tests your ability to generate speech spontaneously. My suggestion is to not get too bogged down with the actual content of your response, but instead try to speak clearly, correctly and mostly on-topic. You don't have to say anything fancy — you just need to speak English well.

Your results should arrive 72 hours after you complete the test, though some students have reported delays early on.

Institutions should get your scores around the same time you do. Or maybe a couple of days later.

Paper score reports are available at no extra charge, but you must click the right box during the registration process. There is a fee if you request one after you've already taken the test.