The TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language

Almost one million students from 180 countries register to take the TOEFL every year at 1,275 test centers in the United States and in their home countries. Some of them do not pass the TOEFL because they do not understand enough English. Others do not pas because they do not understand the examination. The following questions commonly asked by students as they prepare for the TOEFL. To help you, they have been answered here.

What is the purpose of the TOEFL?

Since 1963 the TOEFL has been used by scholarship selection committees of governments, universities, and agencies such as Fulbright, the Agency of International Development, AMIDEAST, Latin American Scholarship Program, and others as a standard measure of English proficiency of their candidates. Now some professional licensing and certification agencies also use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.

The majority of admissions committees of colleges and universities in the United States require foreign applicants to submit TOEFL scores along with transcripts and recommendations in order to be considered for admission. Some colleges and universities in Canada and other English speaking countries also require the TOEFL admissions purposes.

Many universities use TOEFL scores to fulfill the foreign language requirement for doctoral candidates whose first language is not English. Source: Barron's How to Prepare for the TOEFL 9th edition, Pamela J. Sharpe, Ph.D