Which do I prepare the TOEFL or the Advanced?
If you want to study or work in an English-speaking country, you may have already noticed that many institutions will ask you for a certification that reflects a good command of English. Both the TOEFL and the Advanced (CAE) are exams that will allow you to demonstrate that you have a high enough level of English to interact in academic or work spaces. But what is the difference between these two exams? Which of the two should be chosen? In this article, we are going to help you clarify these doubts. First, we will tell you about the structure and content of the TOEFL, then the Advanced, and finally we will show you a comparison between the two.
Table of Contents
TOEFL IBT: Content, Structure and Recognition
The TOEFL iBT is a test that comprehensively assesses the 4 English language skills you would need to interact successfully in an academic or work environment. When we talk about 4 skills, we mean identifying your level of English in:
- (Reading)
- (Listening)
- (Writing)
- (Speaking).
This assessment is carried out within an academic setting. In other words, the content you will see on the TOEFL iBT will be related to many topics that you may have already studied in high school, for example, history, geography, biology, science, art, etc. However, to score high on this exam you will not need to have prior knowledge of these areas. What is really important will be your ability to effectively understand texts and audios, as well as to express yourself orally or in writing.
The TOEFL is an exam that is currently internationally recognized in 160 countries and in more than 11,500 institutions. Also, due to its point accumulation system, it is not an exam that is passed or failed, simply a higher or lower score will indicate whether you are at one level of English or another.
If you would like to dig deeper into the TOEFL exam we recommend you visit our TOEFL page.
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ADVANCED: Content, Structure and Recognition
The Advanced exam is 1 of the 4 exams in the Cambridge English Assessment (CAE) family. The specific purpose of this exam is to evaluate whether the person has an advanced level of English to function in academic or work spaces. In other words, if the person passes the exam they get the advanced certification, but if they don’t pass the exam, they won’t get the certification. This is perhaps one of the biggest differences from the TOEFL, the Advanced is either passed or failed. To pass the exam you must obtain a minimum score of 180 points, within a general scale ranging from 80 to 230 points.
The Advanced exam tests the same 4 competencies as the TOEFL, but each section is structured differently:
- Reading and Use of English: this section consists of 8 parts, with a total of 56 questions. While sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are focused on text comprehension. Parts 2, 3, 4 focus more on vocabulary and grammar. In the Reading portion, texts can be 3,000 to 3,500 words long, and can be of different styles (academic and non-academic). The total time to complete the entire section is 1hr and 30 minutes.
- Writing: in this section you will have to write two texts. One of the questions will be mandatory, while in the other you will be able to choose a question from three options. As in the Reading section, the content of the Writing will not necessarily be academic. That is, perhaps one of the questions is to write an essay, but another is to write a letter or an email. The total duration of this section is 1hr 30 minutes.
- Listening: this section consists of 4 parts with a total of 30 questions, each worth 1 point. The audios in this section can be quite varied, including talks, interviews, radio programs, etc. The total time you will have to complete this section will be 40 minutes.
- Speaking: finally, this section is always completed in person, with a partner that you choose or are assigned to you that day. The Speaking section consists of 4 questions, where you are expected to talk to your partner about the statement or activity that has been proposed to you. The time you have to talk about each of these questions varies in a range of 1.5-5 minutes. The total time of the entire section is 15 minutes.
The Advanced is an exam that is currently recognized in approximately 130 countries and 9,000 institutions. This test can only be taken at authorized centers.
¿TOEFL iBT or Advanced?
Now that we have seen the main features of both exams (TOEFL vs. Advanced), we will help you understand the main differences so that you can choose the exam that best suits you.
