What Is the Purpose of the TOEIC?

Since 1979, the TOEIC (the Test of English for International Communication) has been used internationally as a standard assessment of English-language proficiency. The TOEIC has been developed by linguists, language experts, and staff at The Chauncey Group International Ltd. to evaluate the English language skills of non-native speakers of English in the field of business.

What Skills Are Tested on the TOEIC?

The TOEIC consists of two sections: Listening Comprehension (100 multiple-choice questions) and Reading (100 multiple-choice questions). Audio is used to test Listening Comprehension. The content of the TOEIC is not specialized; the vocabulary and content are familiar to those individuals who use English in daily activities.

Who Uses the TOEIC?

Government agencies, multinational corporations, and international organizations use the TOEIC to ascertain the English-language capabilities of employees and prospective employees. The scores are used as an independent measure of proficiency and can be helpful in identifying personnel capable of handling language-specific responsibilities, in placing personnel in language-training programs, and in promoting personnel to positions where reliable linguistic standards are met. Language-training programs use the TOEIC to establish language-training goals and to assess students' progress in overall English ability.

Who Takes the TOEIC?

In addition to the staffs of the companies and organizations previously mentioned, individuals take the TOEIC to document their abilities for personal and professional reasons.

What Is the Format of the TOEIC?

The TOEIC consists of two sections:

Listening Comprehension

Part 1: Photographs (10 questions)

Part 2: Question-Response (30 questions)

Part 3: Conversations (30 questions)

Part 4: Talks (30 questions)

Reading

Part 5: Incomplete Sentences (40 questions)

Part 6: Text Completion (12 questions)

Part 7: Reading Comprehension

■ Single passages (28 questions)

■ Double passages (20 questions)

There are a total of 200 items; total time allowed for the test (including administrative tasks) is approximately 21/2 hours. The Listening Comprehension section takes 45 minutes; the Reading section takes 75 minutes.

Why Are TOEIC Questions so Tricky?

TOEIC questions are carefully designed to test your knowledge of English. The questions must be difficult in order to discriminate between test takers of varying abilities. That is, the difficult questions separate those who are more proficient in English from those who are less proficient. A test question and the answer options may use one or more of these tricks to test your language competence:

■ Use words with similar sounds.

■ Use homonyms.

■ Use related words.

■ Omit a necessary word.

■ Include unnecessary words.

■ Alter the correct word order.

How Is the TOEIC Score Determined?

Separate scores are given for Listening Comprehension (5 to 495) and Reading (5 to 495). These two sub-scores are added to arrive at the total score. The TOEIC score is represented on a scale of 10 to 990 and is based on the total number of correct answers.

What Do TOEIC Scores Mean?

There is no established minimum passing score; each institution, through experience, sets up its own acceptable score.

How Are TOEIC Scores Obtained?

TOEIC test takers who are sponsored by companies, institutions, or organizations receive their scores from their sponsors. Those examinees who register individually to take the TOEIC receive their scores directly.

When and Where Can I Take the TOEIC?

The TOEIC is offered worldwide and is generally available upon demand. The dates, times, and locations of the test sites are determined by the local TOEIC representatives. For test fees, test dates, and locations, contact the TOEIC office in your country or contact ETS in the USA. The TOEIC representative offices are listed on ETS website, www.ets.org.

How Can I Get a Better Score on the TOEIC?

Get familiar with the exam format and do practice tests! We recommend Barron's TOEIC prep book: https://testmaximizer.com/books

Assuming you have prepared well for the TOEIC, you can maximize your score on the test day by following these suggestions:

■ Read the directions carefully.

■ Work quickly.

■ Do not make notes in the test booklet.

■ Guess if you're not sure.

■ Mark only one answer.

STRATEGY SUMMARY

Strategies to Improve Your Listening Comprehension Score at TOEIC

Part 1: Photographs

■ When you look at the photo, analyze the people. Determine their number, gender, location, occupation, and so on.

■ Look for context clues in the photo.

■ Listen for the meaning of the whole sentence to determine which choice best matches the photo.

■ Try to analyze every detail in the photograph.

■ Try to describe these details in English to yourself.

■ Listen to all answers until you hear the obviously correct one. Once you are sure, don't listen to the rest of the answer options. Start analyzing the next photograph.

■ If you aren't sure, keep your pencil on the most likely correct answer. If you listen to all options and have no other choice, mark that answer and move on quickly.

Part 2: Question-Response

■ Listen and look for context clues.

■ Listen and look for the meaning of the statement, question, and answer choices. Do not be confused by words with similar sounds, homonyms, and related words.

■ Listen for suggestions, offer markers, and request markers.

■ Listen carefully to the entire question and ALL the answer choices before making a final decision.

Part 3: Conversations and Part 4: Talks

■ Learn to recognize types of questions. Study the questions and answers presented in this chapter. Remember that questions about people generally begin with who or what, questions about location generally begin with where, questions about time generally begin with when or how long, etc.

■ Read the answer choices, make assumptions about the items listed, and listen for relevant clues.

■ Focus on the question. Read the three questions before you hear the talk. Don't read the answer choices. Try to listen carefully for the answer.

■ As the conversations and talks start, write your potential answer choices in the exam book.

■ Focusing on the details of the talk will also help you with inference and main idea questions.

STRATEGY SUMMARY

Strategies to Improve Your Reading Score at TOEIC

Parts 5 and 6

■ Recognize the different parts of speech

■ Recognize the agreement of person, number, and tense

■ Recognize different verb forms

■ Recognize different adjective and adverb forms

■ Recognize singular and plural nouns ■ Recognize different kinds of clauses

Part 7

■ Know how to read the types of passages found on the TOEIC

■ Know the types of reading comprehension questions found on the TOEIC

■ Know how to use PSRA:

— Predict what the passage will be about

— Scan the passage and answer options for key words

— Read the passage quickly

— Answer the questions