Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) English Language Foundations for TOEFL Syllabus

How are yes/no questions and wh-questions reported?

Yes/no questions use 'if' or 'whether' with statement word order (no inversion, no auxiliary 'do'). Wh-questions keep the wh-word and use statement word order, e.g., 'She asked where I lived.'

In academic vocabulary, what is the Academic Word List (AWL) and why is it important for TOEFL?

The AWL is a list of around 570 word families that appear frequently across academic texts in many disciplines. Mastering it improves comprehension of TOEFL reading/listening passages and the precision of written and spoken responses.

Define a 'word family' and give an example with different parts of speech.

A word family is a base word plus its inflections and derivations sharing a common root, e.g., 'analyse' (verb), 'analysis' (noun), 'analyst' (noun, person), 'analytical' (adjective), 'analytically' (adverb).

What is a collocation, and what are the main types?

A collocation is a pair or group of words that habitually occur together and sound natural to native speakers. Types include adjective+noun ('heavy rain'), verb+noun ('make a decision'), adverb+adjective ('highly likely'), and verb+adverb ('argue strongly').

What is a phrasal verb, and what is the difference between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a particle (adverb/preposition) creating a new meaning. Separable: the object can go between verb and particle ('turn it off'). Inseparable: the object must follow the whole phrasal verb ('look after them').

What does it mean that many phrasal verbs are 'idiomatic', and give an example contrasting literal and idiomatic meaning?

The combined meaning cannot be deduced from the individual words. E.g., 'give up' literally suggests handing something upward, but idiomatically means 'to quit/stop trying.'

What is a synonym, and why is exact synonymy rare in English?

A synonym is a word with a meaning similar to another. Exact synonymy is rare because words differ in connotation, register, collocation, or context (e.g., 'thin', 'slim', 'skinny' carry different shades of meaning).

What is paraphrasing, and what three main techniques are used to paraphrase a sentence?

Paraphrasing is restating information in your own words while keeping the original meaning. Techniques: (1) use synonyms, (2) change the grammatical structure (e.g., active to passive), and (3) change word forms/parts of speech.

How does paraphrasing differ from summarising?

Paraphrasing restates a specific passage in roughly the same length using different words. Summarising condenses the main ideas of a longer text into a much shorter version, omitting details and examples.

What is 'register' in English, and what distinguishes formal from informal register?

Register is the level of formality of language suited to a context. Formal register avoids contractions, slang, and phrasal verbs, uses precise/academic vocabulary and full forms; informal register uses contractions, idioms, slang, and a conversational tone.

Give three pairs showing an informal word/phrase and its formal academic equivalent.

'find out' → 'discover/determine'; 'a lot of' → 'numerous/a significant amount of'; 'get' → 'obtain/receive'; 'kids' → 'children'; 'look into' → 'investigate'.

What is an idiom, and why are idioms challenging for English learners?

An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning differs from the literal meanings of its words (e.g., 'break the ice' = to ease tension). They are challenging because their meaning must be learned as a whole and cannot be translated word for word.

What is the difference between a phoneme and an allophone in the English sound system?

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning (e.g., /p/ vs /b/ in 'pat'/'bat'). An allophone is a context-dependent variant of a phoneme that does not change meaning (e.g., aspirated [pʰ] in 'pin' vs unaspirated [p] in 'spin').

How are English consonants classified?

By place of articulation (where the sound is made, e.g., bilabial, alveolar, velar), manner of articulation (how airflow is restricted, e.g., plosive, fricative, nasal), and voicing (voiced vs voiceless).

What is the difference between a monophthong and a diphthong?

A monophthong is a single, stable vowel sound (e.g., /iː/ in 'see'). A diphthong is a glide from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable (e.g., /aɪ/ in 'time').

What is the schwa, and why is it important in English pronunciation?

The schwa /ə/ is a short, neutral, unstressed vowel sound (as in the 'a' of 'about'). It is the most common vowel sound in English and typically occurs in unstressed syllables, central to natural rhythm.

What is word stress, and how can stress distinguish meaning in noun/verb pairs?

Word stress is the emphasis placed on a particular syllable in a word. In many two-syllable noun/verb pairs, stress shifts meaning: nouns stress the first syllable ('PREsent', 'REcord') and verbs stress the second ('preSENT', 'reCORD').

What is sentence stress, and which word classes are typically stressed versus unstressed?

Sentence stress is the pattern of emphasis across a sentence. Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are usually stressed; function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns, conjunctions) are usually unstressed and often reduced.

What does it mean that English is a 'stress-timed' language?

In a stress-timed language, stressed syllables occur at roughly regular intervals, and the unstressed syllables between them are compressed/reduced to maintain the rhythm — unlike syllable-timed languages where each syllable takes similar time.

Define the connected-speech feature of 'linking' and give an example.

Linking joins the end of one word to the start of the next so they sound continuous, especially consonant-to-vowel, e.g., 'turn off' sounds like 'tur-noff'. An intrusive /r/, /w/, or /j/ may be inserted between two vowels.

What is assimilation in connected speech?

Assimilation is when a sound changes to become more like a neighbouring sound for ease of pronunciation, e.g., 'ten boys' where /n/ becomes /m/ ('tem boys'), or 'good boy' where /d/ approaches /b/.

What is elision in connected speech, and give an example.

Elision is the omission of a sound (usually a vowel or consonant) in rapid speech, e.g., the /t/ in 'next day' or the /d/ in 'sandwich', and the schwa in 'camera' (/ˈkæmrə/).

What is the difference between the strong and weak forms of function words in connected speech?

Many function words have a strong (full) form when stressed or in isolation and a weak (reduced, often schwa) form when unstressed in a sentence. E.g., 'and' is /ænd/ strong but /ən/ weak; 'to' is /tuː/ strong but /tə/ weak.

What is the key rule for avoiding plagiarism when paraphrasing or summarising sources in academic writing?

You must substantially change both the wording and the sentence structure (not just swap a few synonyms) and still credit the original source. Retaining the meaning while citing the source distinguishes legitimate paraphrase from plagiarism.

In summarising, how do you identify the main idea of a paragraph?

Locate the topic sentence (often the first or last sentence), determine the controlling idea it expresses, and distinguish it from supporting details, examples, and statistics, which are omitted from a summary.

What does 'synthesising multiple sources' mean, and how does it differ from summarising a single source?

Synthesis combines ideas from two or more sources to show relationships — agreement, contrast, or development — creating a new integrated point. Summarising restates the content of one source on its own without connecting it to others.

What language signals are used to show agreement and contrast when synthesising sources in TOEFL integrated tasks?

Agreement: 'similarly', 'likewise', 'both sources agree that', 'in the same way'. Contrast: 'however', 'in contrast', 'whereas', 'on the other hand', 'the lecture casts doubt on the reading by'.

What are the four sections of the TOEFL iBT, and in what order do they appear?

Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing — taken in that order in a single sitting.

What is the total score range of the TOEFL iBT, and how is it divided across sections?

The total ranges from 0 to 120, made up of four sections each scored 0–30 (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing), summed for the overall score.

What are the two task types in the TOEFL iBT Writing section?

The Integrated Writing task (read a passage, listen to a lecture, then write summarising/relating them) and the Writing for an Academic Discussion task (respond to a question in an online classroom discussion, stating and supporting an opinion).