What score do I need on the new 1–6 scale?

Use your institution's current total and section requirements. ETS places 4.5 in a lower comparison band than an old 100; do not treat them as interchangeable. The official report includes a comparable overall 0–120 score during the transition.

First check which tests and versions your institutions accept. Then compare current-format practice: TOEFL uses computer-recorded speaking tasks, while IELTS includes an interview. Choose from evidence about your own performance, not country stereotypes.

Is the TOEFL still four hours?

No. ETS advises allowing approximately two hours for the current test. Adaptive sections mean actual timing and item counts can vary.

How many times can I take it?

As often as the awarding body's rules allow, with a minimum gap between sittings. A retake is worth planning when one section is holding the total down and you can name why.

Do you teach the discussion task specifically?

Yes. We practise planning, relevant support and concise responses, alongside the other writing tasks. We use the current format rather than treating the discussion as the whole writing section.

Is there a group TOEFL course?

Fifty hours in classes capped at six, with the four skills rotated rather than blocked. One-to-one suits a single-section requirement, which is the commonest reason people come to us for TOEFL.

TOEFL iBT preparation, live online

TOEFL iBT preparation now needs the January 2026 task set, not just the updated score scale. We teach reading, listening, speaking and writing through live lessons and timed practice. Bring your institution's published requirement so the preparation plan targets the right total and section scores.

Discuss TOEFL iBT preparation View lesson prices

Exam format

What the TOEFL iBT actually looks like

The structure, the timing and the scoring, stated plainly — before anything about a course.

Length: About two hours
Questions: Four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing
Scored: 1–6 in half-point steps since 21 January 2026, CEFR-aligned

Reading

Work with missing words, everyday written material and academic passages. Practise understanding both the meaning of a text and the grammar or vocabulary needed to complete it.

Listening

Tasks range from choosing a response to understanding conversations, announcements and academic talks. Practise identifying purpose and key information rather than trying to record every word.

Speaking

Repeat what you hear accurately, then answer interview questions. Recording your practice helps identify unclear delivery, missing information and answers that drift away from the question.

Writing

Build grammatical sentences, write an email and contribute to an academic discussion. Practice should match the purpose of each task, not reuse one essay template everywhere.

Since 21 January 2026, reports use 1–6 in half-point steps, with a comparable 0–120 overall score during the two-year transition. A 4.5 is not equivalent to an old total of 100; confirm the institution's current requirement.
Because the scale is aligned to the CEFR, a score now maps onto a level a European university already understands, which is useful when a requirement is written as B2 or C1 rather than as a number.

Before you start

Is TOEFL iBT preparation right for you?

Who it suits. Students with a TOEFL iBT requirement who need a plan for the current tasks and their required section scores.

When to check another option. A general conversation course or a different TOEFL product. Bring the institution's exact test and score requirement.

Why it matters

What a TOEFL iBT score is for

TOEFL can support applications wherever your chosen institution accepts it. Check the required test version, total and section minimums before booking. A diagnostic then helps distinguish a language gap from unfamiliarity with the new task format.

Coverage

What the preparation covers

The ground a course goes over. How much of it you need, and in what order, is what the first session decides.

Reading: word completion, everyday texts and academic passages
Listening: short responses, conversations, announcements and academic talks
Speaking: Listen and Repeat, and Take an Interview
Writing: sentence construction, an email and an academic discussion response
Reading the 1–6 report, and what your universities' older 0–120 minimums correspond to
Full-length practice tests, then a review of the answers that cost marks

Where marks go

Where candidates lose marks on the TOEFL iBT

Not a list of study tips. These are the specific ways this particular test takes marks off people who know the material.

Quoting a requirement in the wrong scale

Do not substitute one scale for another by guesswork. Read the institution's current policy, including section minimums, and use ETS guidance when comparing an older requirement with a new report.

Planning the discussion task from scratch

Practise taking a position and supporting it concisely. Planning should leave time to write and check your answer within the current task timer.

Note-taking that records instead of organising

Listening passages are played once. Notes that try to capture sentences lose the thread; notes that capture structure — claim, objection, example — answer the questions. Most people practise listening and never practise the notes.

Using an old speaking template

Current speaking preparation must include accurate repetition and direct interview answers. An old integrated-task template does not prepare you for both.

Practising only long academic passages

Include short everyday texts and word-completion practice. Preparing only with the earlier passage format leaves gaps in the current task set.

Using one writing structure for every task

A useful email, a grammatical sentence and a discussion contribution have different goals. Review each response against what that task asks you to do.

Lesson format

Group course, or one-to-one

Group · 50 hours

Fifty hours across all four skills, in classes capped at six, with regular practice and feedback rather than four isolated teaching blocks.

One-to-one

One-to-one lessons when a university has set a minimum on one section. Speaking and writing respond fastest to individual feedback, because the fix is usually structural.

How it runs

How the teaching works

A diagnostic before anything is planned

The first session is spent finding out where the marks are actually going. That is not a formality: on most of these tests the gap a student describes and the gap the diagnostic shows are different, and hours spent on the described one are hours wasted.

Teaching in the order your deadline allows

A group course works through the syllabus in a fixed order because a class of six has to. One-to-one starts with whatever is costing you most and works outwards, which is why it suits a retake or a short runway better.

Timed work from early, not saved for the end

Untimed accuracy is a poor predictor of a timed score, and finding that out three weeks before the test is too late. Timed sections start in the first fortnight, short at first.

Review and progress checks

Review looks beyond the mark: which errors recur, whether the reasoning is clearer and how accuracy holds under time pressure. Bring earlier attempts to the discussion so the next practice has a specific purpose.

All of it runs in the browser, live, with a teacher on the other end. There are no recordings sold as a course and no premises to travel to.

Timeline

How long TOEFL iBT preparation takes

A rough shape rather than a promise. People arrive at different starting points and the plan is built around yours, but this is what a full run usually looks like.

1
Eight to fourteen weeks out — diagnostic
A full-length test to find the section that is actually binding. On the TOEFL that is frequently not the one people expect: strong speakers lose marks in Listening far more often than they anticipate.
2
Weeks 2–8 — the four skills rotated
Rotate the four skills, using current-format exercises. Review errors from the diagnostic before increasing the amount of timed work.
3
Weeks 8–12 — timed sections and feedback
Speaking recorded and reviewed against the rubric; writing marked and returned. Both respond faster to feedback than to volume, because the fix is usually structural.
4
Final fortnight — timing and the discussion task
Rehearse the current test sequence and review short writing responses under the task timer. Leave time for focused correction between attempts.

FAQ

TOEFL iBT questions we get asked

What score do I need on the new 1–6 scale?: Use your institution's current total and section requirements. ETS places 4.5 in a lower comparison band than an old 100; do not treat them as interchangeable. The official report includes a comparable overall 0–120 score during the transition.
TOEFL or IELTS?: First check which tests and versions your institutions accept. Then compare current-format practice: TOEFL uses computer-recorded speaking tasks, while IELTS includes an interview. Choose from evidence about your own performance, not country stereotypes.
Is the TOEFL still four hours?: No. ETS advises allowing approximately two hours for the current test. Adaptive sections mean actual timing and item counts can vary.
How many times can I take it?: As often as the awarding body's rules allow, with a minimum gap between sittings. A retake is worth planning when one section is holding the total down and you can name why.
Do you teach the discussion task specifically?: Yes. We practise planning, relevant support and concise responses, alongside the other writing tasks. We use the current format rather than treating the discussion as the whole writing section.
Is there a group TOEFL course?: Fifty hours in classes capped at six, with the four skills rotated rather than blocked. One-to-one suits a single-section requirement, which is the commonest reason people come to us for TOEFL.

Pricing

What TOEFL iBT preparation costs

Shown in US dollars. Charged in US dollars — there is no conversion at checkout to be surprised by.

One-to-one lessons