TOEFL iBT study guide

Learn the twelve tasks in the 2026 test. Work through an example, practice the skill, then use your results to decide what to review.

Choose a practice drill

Understand the 2026 format

For ordinary TOEFL iBT tests from January 21, 2026, the section order is Reading, Listening, Writing, then Speaking. Reading and Listening use two-stage adaptation. Writing and Speaking follow a fixed task sequence. Allow approximately two hours for the official test, including instructions; there is no scheduled break. ETS current test content

Reading

Complete two modules. The second practice module follows your performance in the first.

Official timing: About 30 minutes; administered items and time can vary.

Our practice: 35 scored practice items · 30-minute cap

Start reading practice

Listening

Listen to everyday exchanges and academic material. Move forward through two practice modules.

Official timing: About 29 minutes; administered items and time can vary.

Our practice: 35 scored practice items · Timed audio and answers

Start listening practice

Writing

Build ten sentences, write an email and contribute to an academic discussion.

Official timing: About 23 minutes; email 7 minutes, discussion 10 minutes.

Our practice: 12 tasks · 23 minutes

Start writing practice

Speaking

Repeat seven spoken sentences and record answers to four interview questions.

Official timing: About 8 minutes; repeat windows 8–12 seconds, interview answers 45 seconds.

Our practice: 11 responses · About 8 minutes, plus saving time

Start speaking practice

How our adaptive practice differs from the official test

ETS currently lists base totals of 50 Reading and 47 Listening items. These include unscored experimental material, and administered totals can vary. Its technical documentation describes 35 scored items per Reading or Listening path. Our original forms use those 35-item scored paths and omit experimental questions. ETS technical manual

In each practice section, the first module has 20 items and the selected second module has 15. Our routing rule uses first-module accuracy to select a lower or upper module. It is a practice rule, not a published ETS cutoff or a calibrated estimate of your ability. A lower route is an instruction to keep practicing the underlying skills, not an official band ceiling.

Reading permits review inside your current module; submitting the module closes it. Listening moves forward only. Audio plays once, followed by a 30-second practice answer window for each question, including in short drills. That question window is our practice setting, not a verified universal ETS allowance. Our practice caps are Reading 30 minutes, Listening 29 and Writing 23. Speaking keeps each response window at 8–12 or 45 seconds, with extra time for recording uploads and feedback processing. Its roughly eight-minute duration is an estimate, not a cutoff that skips responses while a recording saves. The shorter Reading and Listening paths can finish before their caps.

For Writing practice, sentence building uses a six-minute practice window before the seven-minute email and ten-minute discussion. Only the email and discussion task times are verified directly in official practice instructions; the sentence-building window is our allocation. Use official samples as well as our original forms to become familiar with the provider’s precise interface.

Task types and worked examples

Open a task to see how to approach it. These short original examples teach a method; they are separate from the scored practice questions.

Reading

Complete the Words

Restore missing letters using meaning, grammar and the word beginnings already shown.

Read the whole paragraph before filling gaps. Its topic restricts what a word can mean.
Use the visible beginning and number of missing letters. Then check the word’s grammatical job: noun, verb, adjective or adverb.
Reread the completed sentence for agreement, tense and meaning. In this practice, enter the complete word.

Check your work: A plausible meaning is not enough: the spelling, supplied letters and sentence grammar must all fit.

Practice this task

Worked example

The nursery moved the young trees into larger pots so their ro___ had more room to grow.

Show answer and explanation

roots

Trees have roots. The visible ro plus three missing letters gives roots; the completed word describes the part that needs room to grow. “Room to grow” supplies the meaning needed to choose it.

Read in Daily Life

Find the purpose and practical details in messages, notices and everyday documents.

Identify who wrote the message, who should act and what the message is trying to achieve.
Locate the relevant condition, deadline or exception. Separate the time of an action from the time its result becomes available.
Compare each option with the text. Reject answers that add an unstated promise, even when they sound reasonable.

Check your work: Can you point to the exact sentence that supports your choice?

Practice this task

Worked example

A notice says: “Orders placed before noon can be collected the same day. Later orders are ready the next working day.” Mina orders at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. When can she collect it, assuming Wednesday is a working day?

Show answer and explanation

Wednesday.

The same-day condition is an order before noon. Mina orders after that deadline, so the next-working-day rule applies.

Read an Academic Passage

Follow an explanation, identify evidence and interpret vocabulary in a short academic text.

Summarize each paragraph’s job in a few words: explain a cause, describe evidence or qualify a claim.
For a detail question, return to its supporting sentence. For a main-idea question, cover the whole passage.
Use the surrounding sentence to resolve vocabulary. An inference must follow from the passage, not outside knowledge.

Check your work: An answer that is true in general can still be wrong for this passage.

Practice this task

Worked example

Researchers gave two plant groups equal water and soil. One group grew beneath a shade screen. Why keep water and soil the same?

Show answer and explanation

To make differences in growth easier to attribute to shade.

The experiment varies shade while controlling two other factors. It does not establish that shade always helps plants or that both groups will grow identically.

Listening

Listen and Choose a Response

Choose a natural reply to a spoken question or remark, including indirect requests.

Identify what the speaker is doing: asking for information, making a request, offering help or expressing concern.
Listen for tone and indirect wording. A question about ability can function as a polite request.
Choose a response that makes the exchange coherent. Repeated vocabulary alone is not evidence.

Check your work: Ask whether the reply actually answers the speaker’s intention.

Practice this task

Worked example

You hear: “Could you keep an eye on my laptop while I get a coffee?”

Show answer and explanation

“Sure. I’ll stay here until you get back.”

“Keep an eye on” means watch or look after something. A response about eyesight or coffee prices misses the request.

Listen to a Conversation

Follow speakers’ goals, changes of plan and the final agreed action.

Note the situation and what each speaker needs, using brief keywords rather than a transcript.
Track corrections and contrasts such as “actually,” “instead” and “that would work, but…”.
Keep initial suggestions separate from the final decision. Check why a speaker agrees or objects.

Check your work: Label a rejected option in your notes so it does not become your answer later.

Practice this task

Worked example

A student suggests meeting at the café. Her partner says it will be noisy, so they agree to reserve a library room instead. Where will they meet?

Show answer and explanation

In a library room.

The café is proposed and then rejected. The final agreement determines the answer; the reason for changing is the expected noise.

Listen to an Announcement

Catch essential instructions, location changes and what listeners should do next.

Identify the audience and main purpose as soon as possible.
Note changes to the original arrangement, then listen for who is affected and what action is required.
Separate background explanation from practical instructions. Keep dates, times and exceptions together.

Check your work: Do not turn an explanation for a change into an extra instruction.

Practice this task

Worked example

An announcement says the Wednesday workshop has moved from Room 4 to Room 9. The starting time is unchanged, and existing registrations remain valid. What must registered participants change?

Show answer and explanation

The room they go to.

Only the location changes. The announcement explicitly preserves the time and registration, so rebooking would be unnecessary.

Listen to an Academic Talk

Understand a main idea, supporting examples and relationships in a short academic talk.

Use a simple outline: topic, claim, example and conclusion. Listen for signposts that connect these parts.
Record relationships such as cause and effect or comparison, not every technical word.
When asked why an example was mentioned, explain its role in the argument rather than just describing it.

Check your work: Link each example in your notes to the point it illustrates.

Practice this task

Worked example

A lecturer explains that green roofs can cool buildings, then describes a rooftop that stayed hot because its plants had died. Why include this example?

Show answer and explanation

To show that the cooling benefit depends partly on maintaining living plants.

The example qualifies the claim. It does not prove that all green roofs fail or that roof color alone determines temperature.

Writing

Build a Sentence

Arrange word groups into a grammatical sentence that fits the conversation.

Identify the sentence frame and its main subject and verb before moving the other pieces.
Keep chunks together and place modifiers beside what they describe. Follow the instructions: official tasks can include fixed words or an extra choice that is not needed.
In embedded questions, use statement order: “where the seminar will be held,” not “where will the seminar be held.”

Check your work: Read the entire sentence after arranging it. Familiar adjacent words do not guarantee a complete grammatical structure.

Practice this task

Worked example

Arrange: “will be held” / “Do you know” / “the seminar” / “where” / “?”

Show answer and explanation

Do you know where the seminar will be held?

“Do you know” supplies the main question. Inside the where-clause, “the seminar” comes before “will be held.” All chunks are used once.

Write an Email

Write a clear, appropriately polite email that addresses every point in the prompt.

Identify the recipient, your purpose and all requested points. Plan one useful sentence or detail for each.
Make the request or explanation easy to follow. Use a suitable greeting, clear paragraphing and an appropriate closing.
Save time to check missing points, unclear references and sentence boundaries. Relevant specific details matter more than a memorized formal template.

Check your work: Check all prompt requirements before polishing individual words.

Practice this task

Worked example

Write to a course coordinator: explain that a study room’s projector failed, describe the effect on your group and request another room for tomorrow.

Show answer and explanation

Dear Ms. Chen, The projector in Room 6 stopped working during our group meeting today, so we could not rehearse the visual part of our presentation. Could we use another room with a working projector tomorrow afternoon? We are available after 2 p.m. Thank you for helping us arrange another space. Best regards, Alex

This short illustration covers the problem, its effect and a specific request. In a complete task, develop relevant details as needed; there is no single required story or sample wording.

Write for an Academic Discussion

Contribute a supported view to a professor’s question and classmates’ discussion.

Answer the professor’s actual question. Read the student posts so your response adds something relevant.
Choose a position and explain a reason with a concrete example or consequence. You can agree with a student while extending the idea.
Aim for at least 100 words in the complete task, as official practice instructions recommend. Prioritize developed reasoning over a long introduction.

Check your work: Does your example explain your reason, or merely repeat your opinion?

Practice this task

Worked example

A professor asks whether universities should keep some lectures online. Maya values flexibility; Leo worries about isolation. Add a supported point.

Show answer and explanation

I would keep an online option for lecture-based courses while holding workshops in person. A student who works evening shifts could watch a recorded explanation before a daytime workshop, then use the workshop to ask questions and meet classmates. This combines the flexibility Maya describes with regular interaction, addressing Leo’s concern. The online option would work best if instructors included a weekly discussion task so that watching a recording was not the only form of participation.

The response takes a position, uses a concrete student example and connects both earlier views. This is an excerpt illustrating the method, not a full-length model response or a claimed official score.

Speaking

Listen and Repeat

Repeat spoken sentences accurately and intelligibly, keeping their meaning and structure.

Listen to the whole sentence and hold its meaning in two or three chunks.
Repeat the words in order. Preserve small grammatical words and endings as well as the main content words.
Use a steady pace and clear stress. If you hesitate, continue rather than spending the entire response restarting.

Check your work: Compare your recording with the prompt for missing words, changed endings and unclear sounds. Typed text cannot show pronunciation.

Practice this task

Worked example

Practice sentence: “The new library entrance is beside the bicycle racks.”

Show answer and explanation

The new library entrance is beside the bicycle racks.

Chunking it as “the new library entrance / is beside / the bicycle racks” helps memory. Changing “beside” to “behind” changes the meaning; dropping “is” changes the grammar.

Take an Interview

Give direct, developed spoken answers about experiences and supported opinions.

Answer the question in your opening sentence, rather than repeating it or introducing a generic topic.
Develop one reason with a concrete example. Explain what the example shows.
Speak at a pace you can sustain. Clear ideas and intelligibility matter more than forcing advanced vocabulary into every sentence.

Check your work: Listen back for unfinished ideas, long pauses and words that were difficult to understand. A transcript alone cannot assess delivery.

Practice this task

Worked example

Do you prefer studying alone or with other people? Explain your preference.

Show answer and explanation

I usually study alone first because I need quiet to understand a new topic. For example, before a biology discussion, I make my own diagram of the process. Then I meet a classmate and explain it without my notes. If I cannot explain a step, I know exactly what to review. So I prefer independent study as the starting point, followed by a short group session.

The answer gives a preference, develops a relevant example and connects it back to the reason. It can be spoken naturally within the response window without a memorized introduction.

Task descriptions and response windows: ETS task overview. Writing instructions: ETS official practice test.

Practice vocabulary and grammar in context

Build useful word families

Record a missed word with a short phrase, its grammatical role and a related form. For example: “a reliable source” → adjective; “rely on evidence” → verb; “the reliability of the result” → noun. The context decides which form belongs in a gap.

Try: “The findings agree: the two reports provide con_______ evidence.” With the beginning con and seven missing letters, consistent fits the adjective position and the meaning. Check spelling as carefully as meaning.

Check a sentence’s structure

Find the main subject and verb, then attach dependent clauses. Compare “Where does the workshop begin?” with “Do you know where the workshop begins?” The second question embeds a statement-order clause after “where.”

In our worked example, use every supplied chunk. Official items may include fixed words or an extra choice that is not needed; follow the instructions for the item. Check subject–verb agreement, tense, pronoun reference and whether a modifier attaches to the intended noun. Rebuild the sentence from memory after reviewing the explanation.

Keep a small error log with four columns: the original phrase, your answer, the correction and the reason. Review it after a day and again after a week. A remembered rule becomes useful when you can apply it to an unfamiliar sentence.

Understand scores and feedback

Official 2026 TOEFL iBT reports four section scores and an overall score from 1 to 6 in half-point steps. The overall result averages the section scores and rounds to the nearest half band. During the two-year transition from January 2026, reports also show a comparable overall 0–120 estimate. Each institution decides its requirements; ETS does not set a universal pass mark. ETS score guidance

Objective practice results

Reading, Listening and sentence building show correct answers against the attempted form’s answer key, with explanations. The practice does not translate a percentage into a TOEFL band. Official scoring accounts for difficulty and equates forms; our original questions have not undergone that calibration.

Compare like with like: task, form and route matter. A higher percentage on an easier or remembered set is useful rehearsal evidence, but it does not prove improved performance on unfamiliar material.

Writing and Speaking feedback

AI feedback identifies strengths, specific changes and a next practice step. Task estimates use a 0–5 practice rubric. They are not official 1–6 bands and have not been validated against examiner scores.

A typed Speaking response supports content and language coaching, not pronunciation or spoken fluency. If audio evidence is unavailable, delivery stays unassessed. Read the evidence and suggested changes as well as the score.

What to improve in a constructed response
Task	Useful review questions
Email	Did you fulfill the purpose and each requested point? Is the tone suitable for the recipient? Are details clear, connected and grammatical?
Academic Discussion	Does your contribution answer the question with developed support? Does it add a relevant idea rather than repeat the posts? Is the language clear and accurate?
Listen and Repeat	Did you reproduce the words and structure accurately? Is the recording intelligible? Which omitted or altered words changed the meaning?
Interview	Did you answer directly, explain and support your ideas? Can a listener understand your pronunciation, pace and organization?

ETS Writing rubrics · ETS Speaking rubrics

Choose a study plan

Start with the receiving institution’s section and overall requirements, your test date and the tasks you find difficult. These plans organize practice; they do not promise a particular score increase.

One-week review

Days 1–2
Check your required scores and take a timed form. Review each missed answer by cause: vocabulary, evidence, grammar, audio detail or time. Save the remaining forms for later checks.
Days 3–5
Practice the two weakest task types daily. Rewrite one email or discussion response after feedback, and replay your own speaking recording to check what changed.
Days 6–7
Take another unfamiliar form under timed conditions. Review recurring errors, check your booking and equipment, and keep the final study session short.

Four-week plan

Week 1: identify the gaps
Use one form as a baseline. Learn all twelve tasks and build a small error log. Record the exact phrase, rule or evidence that would have changed each answer.
Week 2: strengthen the skills
Alternate Reading and Listening drills, plus a short Writing or Speaking task. Revisit vocabulary in sentences and check grammar through sentence-building, not isolated word lists.
Week 3: work under time
Take a second full form, then practice the tasks where accuracy drops under the clock. Make your email and interview answers more direct and your examples more specific.
Week 4: verify and prepare
Use the third form for an unfamiliar timed check. Review the error log and official samples. Confirm identification, location or Home Edition equipment, and your receiving institution’s requirements.

There are three original full forms. Drills and individual sections reuse their material. Keep one form unfamiliar if you want a later progress check, and treat remembered questions as review rather than a fresh diagnostic.

Prepare for your test day

Test center or Home Edition

The ordinary iBT Home Edition uses the same test content as the test-center version. The environment, equipment and supervision differ. Check your receiving institution’s acceptance and read the current provider requirements before booking. ETS testing options

For Australian visa use, ETS directs candidates to the separately named TOEFL iBT Australia at an authorized center; Home Edition is not accepted for that purpose. This ordinary 2026 iBT course is not a verified simulator for that separate variant. ETS Australia guidance

Check the practical details

Confirm accepted test type, minimum section scores, deadline and identification requirements.
Arrange approved accommodations in advance and follow the timing in your own booking.
Check your computer, audio and microphone before a full practice. Use a physical keyboard for writing.
For Home Edition, complete the provider’s current equipment and room checks. Do not assume practice-device settings satisfy proctoring requirements.
Use official sample material to learn the test interface. Follow the provider’s rules for notes, permitted equipment and assistance.

Choose your next drill

Official references

Original independent preparation. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS. TOEFL is a registered trademark of ETS. Our examples are original, and no official live test questions are reproduced.