Those who are preparing to study abroad, apply for immigration or plan to work abroad will inevitably face this problem - TOEFL or IELTS? What is the difference between the two? How do I choose?
Today, Brother Hui will take you to analyze the differences between TOEFL and IELTS in detail to help you make the right choice.
Consideration 1: Countries and regions
Different countries and schools have different language requirements, the most direct way is to find the application conditions on the official website of the target institution, some schools only accept TOEFL scores, and some schools can use IELTS and TOEFL.
But if you don't have a clear school to go to, you can choose according to the area.
Because the TOEFL test is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is widely accepted in these regions, TOEFL is more suitable for students who plan to study in North America (such as the United States, Canada).
IELTS is jointly administered by the British Council, Cambridge University Examinations and Education International Development Agency of Australia, and is more popular in these regions, so IELTS is more suitable for students who plan to study in Commonwealth countries (such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand).
Consideration 2: Personal English proficiency
Whether it is TOEFL or IELTS, the test is divided into four parts: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
From the four individual items, if you are not good at listening, it is recommended to choose IELTS.
One is because in addition to reading, the other three TOEFL tests listening. Three of the four speaking questions test listening, and one of the two writing questions also tests listening.
The second reason is that the TOEFL is "blind listening", and you must listen to the text before you can see the questions, which increases the difficulty of listening to a certain extent.
Third, the TOEFL listening content is more academic, and the text is more difficult to understand.
IELTS Listening and Speaking focuses more on the use of English in daily life scenarios, with obvious difficulty gradients, which is convenient for students to break through and improve their scores one by one. But in the reading and writing sections, IELTS will cover a wider range of topics.
So if you're not good at listening, aren't sensitive to academic content, prefer to use English in everyday life scenarios, and want to demonstrate your reading and writing skills in the exam, then IELTS is more suitable for you.
Consideration three: target score
Basic Band: TOEFL 50-60, IELTS 5.5-6
This segment is relatively easy to achieve. However, the TOEFL scoring method is not very friendly to students in this sub-section.
The score of the Fu question will vary depending on the type and difficulty of the question, but the score assigned to the IELTS question is not related to the difficulty of the question.
So in the basic section, IELTS will be easier to score than TOEFL.
Advanced Stream: TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5
From 60 to 80 points, it is a big bottleneck for TOEFL. Because all the framework points that are easier to get in writing and speaking have been obtained, the next 20 points to be improved need to rely on the improvement of basic skills.
From 5.5-6.5, it means that among the four components of IELTS, there can be no weakness of less than 6, and there must be a strong score.
Therefore, in the advanced section, if there is no absolute weakness in a single item, you can choose IELTS; If you have a single score on the target college card, and the student's speaking and writing are relatively weak, you can consider taking the TOEFL.
高分段：托福100+，雅思7+
In this segment, neither TOEFL nor IELTS are easy to obtain.
In the high section, the IELTS and TOEFL scores converge, listening and reading must be the main force, and they need to get close to a full score, and speaking and writing also need to break through the card score barrier.
Therefore, the reference for the selection of high brackets is still as follows: if the target university has an IELTS band score, and the student is weak in oral writing, TOEFL can be considered.
Consideration 4: Exam format
Whether the computer-based test or the paper-based test is also a factor that should be considered when choosing.
The TOEFL is all computer-based, and the speaking part is also recorded by computer. The TOEFL test is clearly structured, with clear time limits and question types for each section.
IELTS is available in both paper-based and computer-based formats, and the speaking part takes the form of face-to-face communication with the examiner. IELTS question types are relatively flexible, and the test forms and contents are diverse, and candidates need to master more answering skills and strategies, and each has a high adaptability.
Therefore, if the candidate rejects the computer to do the questions and the typing speed is slow, it is recommended to choose the IELTS written test; If you are under pressure to speak face-to-face, you may want to consider TOEFL.