Will new TOEFL changes make a difference in study abroad journey? Experts, students weigh in

Appearing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is set to get more convenient for Indians planning to study abroad. The Education Testing Service (ETS) has announced that it will shorten the TOEFL iBT test by an hour from July 2023. This means the examination will now be conducted for two hours instead of three hours.

The Free Press Journal spoke to a few students and Industry experts in order to learn more about the impact of the decision.

The CEO and co-founder of CollegeDekho, Ruchir Arora, has asserted that it is challenging to determine the current impact of this decision at this time because the suggested changes will come to effect in July 2023. But, he continued, “We support this action by ETS since it would make the exam simpler for students.”

Students will find it simpler and easier to take the new TOEFL, according to career counsellor Karan Gupta. “IELTS was the popular English language test for a while since it was simpler, but now that the new adjustments have been put in place, students will be more likely to take the TOEFL,” he added.

Suhaib Talha a student preparing for TOEFL said the decision is surely going to benefit us immensely but even though things have been simplified, the computer literacy of a student matters big time in order to clear these tests.

“If they are making the changes only for computer mode it can't possibly be good here as many Indians don't have 100% computer literacy,” he further added.

Another student, Radhika Prasad, who is also preparing for the TOEFL test stated, “We are delighted that TOEFL has decided to stream the official score release date upon the completion of the exam since earlier the students had to wait for weeks.”

There is now a dedicated customer support helpline for Indian test-takers to call with inquiries. In a press release, ETS stated that these modifications would take effect on July 26 of this year.

For non-native speakers of English, the TOEFL internet-based test (iBT) is a commonly used assessment tool for employment, immigration, and university admissions. ETS claims that more than 11,500 institutions in more than 160 nations use TOEFL iBT scores for making high-stakes decisions. Popular English-speaking nations including the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand are among them.