For any student who is planning to study abroad, it becomes almost imperative to take a test to validate your English proficiency if you aren’t a native English speaker. There are two standardized tests across the world, which are considered important for any college applicant. They are: IELTS (International English Language Test System) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service, a non-profit US based organization, and conducts its test according to US English. IELTS is administered jointly by the British Council, the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education Australia, and conducts its test in UK English.

Both of the tests aim to assess the four main language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

One of the biggest differences that lie in the two tests is that IELTS requires you to appear for a written test that lasts for 2 hours 45 minutes, while TOEFL requires you to listen over the earphones and speak/type the answer into a computer and it lasts for about 4 hours. What the student must bear in mind is that one has to be fairly quick in terms of typing speed for Toefl. However if your handwriting is bordering on illegible, Toefl is the better choice. That of course, also depends on the requirements of your university.

While TOEFL offers only an academic test, IELTS offers both academic and general test, which is often used for immigration purposes abroad. Although no matter which test you take, the scores expire 2 years after the test.
The tests also differ with regards to their composition and structure

Reading Section:

For TOEFL, this lasts anywhere between 60-100 minutes. There are 4-6 academic English passages, which are to be read. They are then followed by multiple choice questions which test the student’s comprehension, understanding of the main ideas as well as inference derived.

IELTS , on the other hand, lasts for 60 minutes, which are divided into 3 passages to be solved in 20 minutes each. The data and information if often taken from newspapers, magazines textbooks and the questions can be posed in multiple ways.

Listening Section:

TOEFL listening section lasts around 40-60 minutes while for IELTS, its limited to 30 minutes. TOEFL involves you listening to excerpts from university lectures or conversations on a university campus. One has to take notes while listening and answer a series of multiple choice questions afterwards. For Ielts, there are four listening sections for which answers are first written in the test booklet and later transferred into the answer sheet.

You will also hear a range of different accents from English speaking countries such as Ireland, USA, Canada and Australia on the IELTS test whereas the TOEFL test will always be standard American English.

Speaking Section:

Here lies the biggest difference between the two tests- IELTS requires you to talk to an examiner and consists of 3 parts.

Part 1 is consists of some short questions about familiar topics (eg: the interviewer may ask about your hometown, your job, your favourite food, your hobbies, etc).

In Part 2, you will be given a card with a topic and a specific question to answer. You will have to speak for 1-2 minutes on this topic.

In Part 3, the interviewer will ask you questions related to the question asked in Part 2.

This lasts for about 12-15 minutes and may be conducted on a different day than the written paper.

In the TOEFL exam, you’ll answer six questions into a microphone which are recorded and later sent to a group of reviewers. It happens on the same day as the online test and takes around 2o minutes.

Writing section:

Toefl’s writing section lasts about 50 minutes and includes an integrated task of reading a short passage and the listening to a lecture on the same. You must take notes and then answer in a clear and crisp manner, a question asked regarding the same passage and lecture. You are allotted 30 minutes to draft and finalize your essay.

Whereas in IELTS, this section is a 60 minute procedure. There are two tasks. One involves interpreting and writing a 150 word passage on a diagram, table or graph. The second task requires you to give an argument or to discuss a particular topic. There are 250 words required here and the suggested time to be allotted in 40 minutes.

The IELTS is graded on a band system from 1-9, while TOEFL is scored out of 120 points.

Coming to the question of which is to be attempted, the answer is easy to come by. It majorly depends on the country/university one is applying to. Most universities recognize IELTS score. If you are applying to North America, go for Toefl since universities like MIT don’t accept IELTS. Whereas in countries like UK, Canada, Australia, IELTS is accepted and even mandatory for the last two, for student visa.

IELTS could also appear tad easier to us Indians since we are exposed to British English and not American English.

Unless one has a clear set target and a strategy to attempt these exams, without adequate practice, both these mountains would seem insurmountable. If one just puts one’s head to it and gain the appropriate knowledge beforehand, getting good scores is no herculean task.

Good luck !