Introduction to TOEFL

Apa itu TOEFL?

TOEFL adalah singkatan dari Test of English as a Foreign Language. Ini merupakan
tes bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing. Tes ini mengetes kemampuan seseorang sampai
sejauh mana penguasaan bahasa Inggrisnya yang mencakup kemampuan: Listening
Comprehension (Pemahaman dalam Mendengarkan), Structure and Written Expression
(Sturktur dan Ungkapan secara tertulis berkaitan dengan English Grammar atau Tata
Bahasa Inggris), Reading Comprehension (Pemahaman Bacaan), dan Writing (Menulis).
Pada awalnya, TOEFL terdiri dari dua model, yaitu Model Paper-Based Testing (PBT)
dan Model Computer-Based Testing (CBT). Model PBT adalah TOEFL yang menggunakan
kertas dan pensil dalam mengerjakan soal dengan skor penilaian berkisar antarea 310-677.
Model PBT ini adalah model yang paling banyak dan lazim digunakan. Sedangkan model
CBT adalah TOEFL yang menggunakan komputer sebagai alat bantu mengerjakannya
dengan skala penilaian berkisar antara 0-300. Model ini juga disertai video dalam Listening
Comprehension sehingga Anda dapat lebih memahami arah pembicaraannya. Kemudian,
pada tahun 2005, model iBT (internet-based test) telah menggantikan kedua test tersebut
diatas. Namun, di tempat-tempat yang belum bisa melaksanakan CBT dan iBT (karena
belum ada fasilitas computer dan jaringan internet), ujian TOEFL diadakan secara manual
menggunakan pBT (paper-based test).
Mengapa harus ikut tes TOEFL?
Pada umumnya, orang mengikuti tes TOEFL karena tes TOEFL digunakan sebagai
syarat utama penjenjangan karir seseorang ataupun syarat rekruitmen. Untuk itu biasanya
orang akan mengambil tes TOEFL dengan berbagai alasan, misalnya:
1. Ingin studi ke luar negeri.
2. Ingin melanjutkan studi dari S1 (sarjana) ke S2 (Magister) dan S3 (Doktor) di
Program Pascasarjana di Universitas di Indonesia dimana TOEFL merupakan salah
satu syarat utamanya.
3. Ingin mengikuti short course program.
4. Ingin menduduki jabatan structural tertentu di instansi pemerintahan atau
perusahaan.
5. Ingin menyelesaikan studi S1, dll.

Apa saja yang diteskan di TOEFL?

SECTION YANG DIUJIKAN JUMLAH SOAL WAKTU
Section 1 Listening Comprehension 50 Pertanyaan 40 menit
Section 2 Structure and Written Expression 40 Pertanyaan 25 menit
Section 3 Reading Comprehension 50 Pertanyaan 55 menit
Section 4 Writing (Test of Written Englsih) 1 Topik Essai 30 menit

Bagaimana mengetahui skor TOEFL?

SCORE PER SECTION
RAW SCORE
SECTION I SECTION II SECTION III
50 68 67
49 66 66
48 64 65
47 63 63
46 62 61
45 61 60
44 60 59
43 59 58
1|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING
 42 58 57
41 57 56
40 56 67 55
39 56 66 54
38 55 64 53
37 54 63 52
36 53 61 51
35 52 59 50
34 52 58 49
33 51 57 49
32 50 55 48
31 50 54 48
30 49 53 47
29 49 52 47
28 48 51 46
27 48 50 45
26 47 49 45
25 46 48 44
24 46 47 43
23 45 46 42
22 44 45 41
21 44 44 41
20 43 43 40
19 43 42 39
18 42 41 38
17 41 40 37
16 41 39 36
15 40 38 35
14 39 37 34
13 38 36 33
12 37 35 32
11 36 34 31
10 34 33 30
9 33 32 29
8 32 30 28
7 31 29 28
6 30 28 27
5 29 26 26
4 28 25 25
3 27 24 24
2 26 22 23
1 25 20 22
Untuk menghitung berapa skor TOEFL kita, gunakan tabel seperti berikut :
SOAL TOEFL JUMLAH SOAL JUMLAH JAWABAN NILAI KONVERSI
BENAR
Section I 50 33 51
Section II 40 26 49
Section III 50 38 53
JUMLAH SOAL 140 97 153
Dikalikan 10, kemudian dibagi 3. HASIL = 1.530 : 3 510
2|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING
 CHAPTER I
Listening Comprehension
(Part A: STEP 7-11)
STEP 7
“Listen for negative expressions”

Negative expressions are very common in Listening Part A, and the most kind of
correct response to a negative statement is a positive statement containing a word with an
opposite meaning.
Example
On the recording, you hear :
(man) How did they get to their grandmother’s house in Maine in only five hours?
(woman) They didn’t drive slowly on the trip to Maine.
(narrator) What does the woman say about the trip?
In your test book, you read :
A. They drove rather quickly
B. They couldn’t have driven slowly
C. They wanted to travel slowly to Maine
D. They didn’t drive to Maine

The correct answer is answer (A). They did not drive slowly to Maine, this means
that they drove rather quickly. Notice that the correct answer uses quickly, the opposite of
slowly. The answer that use slowly are not correct.

STEP 8
“Listen for double negative expressions”

It is possible for two negative ideas to appear in one sentence, and the result can be
quite confusing.

Example
On the recording, you hear
(man) I can’t believe the news that I heard about the concert.
(woman) Well, it isn’t impossible for the concert to take place.
(narrator) What does the woman say about the concert?
In your test book, you read
A. There’s no possibility that the concert will take place
B. The concert will definitely not take place
C. The concert might take place
D. The concert can’t take place

The correct answer to this question is answer (C). If it isn’t impossible for the concert
to take place, then, it is possible, and the modal might indicates possibility.

3|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING

STEP 9
“Listen for “almost negative” expressions”

Certain expressions in English have “almost negative” meanings. These expressions

are common on the TOEFL test and need to be reviewed.

Example
On the recording, you hear
(woman) Were you able to pay the electric bill?
(man) I had barely enough money.
(narrator) What does the man imply?
In your test book, you read
A. He had plenty of money for the bill
B. He did not have enough money for the bill
C. He paid the bill but has no money left
D. He was unable to pay the bill

In the man’s statement, the word enough indicates that there was enough, so he did
pay the bill. However, it was barely enough, so he almost did not have enough and certainly
has no money left.

STEP 10
“Listen for negative with comparatives”

Negative can be used with comparatives in Listening Part A of the TOEFL test. A
sentence with a negative and a comparative has a superlative, or very strong, meaning.

Example
On the recording, you hear
(woman) What do you think of the new student in math class?
(man) No one is more intelligent than she is.
(narrator) What does the man say about the new student?
In your test book, you read
A. She is not very smart
B. He is smarter than she is
C. Other students are smarter than she is
D. She is the smartest student in the class

The man responds to the woman’s question with the negative no and the
comparative more intelligent, and this combination has a superlative meaning. The best
answer is therefore answer (D).

4|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING

 CHAPTER II
Structure and Written Expression

Understanding Sentence
Sentence
Sentence (kalimat) adalah rangkaian kata yang bermakna yang berpola minimal Subjek dan
Verb serta diakhiri dengan tanda baca.
e.g. : She sleeps. (kalimat)
S V
He happy. (bukan kalimat, karena tidak ada verb)
S adj
He is happy. (sah sebagai kalimat)
S V adj

Unsur-unsur kalimat
Kalimat memiliki dua komponen pokok yaitu Subject yang merupakan pokok kalimat, dan
predicate sebagai sesuatu yang dikatakan tentang subject yang selalu berupa Verb. Namun,
kalimat juga mempunyai unsur-unsur lain. Adapun unsur- unsur kalimat adalah sebagai
berikut :
1. Subject
2. Predicate (Verb)
3. Object
4. Complement
5. Adverb

S + V + O / Complemet / Adv
1.) Subject

Agar kita lebih percaya diri dan lebih siap untuk menentukan subject dan verb, sebaiknya
kita perlajari dan kuasai kategori-kategori apa saja yang boleh menjadi subjek. Berikut
adalah tabel kategori-kategori yang menjadi pengisi subjek :
No Pengisi Subjek Contoh Kalimat
1 Noun Students should attend lectures.
2 Pronoun He can speak English very well.
3 Noun Phrase The important books belong to that tall man.
4 Noun Clause Who always gives me advices is my mother.
5 Gerund Reading novels is my hobby.
6 To infinitive To be here is not easy.

2.) Verb

Unsur kedua yang harus ada dalam sebuah kalimat, selain subject, adalah Verb. Verb atau
kata kerja adalah kata yang menunjukkan suatu aktifitas/persitiwa atau keadaan. Contoh :
eat, run, study, understand, forget, etc.
Berdasarkan objeknya, verb terbagi menjadi dua macam, yaitu TRANSITIVE VERB dan
INTRANSITIVE VERB.

a. TRANSITIVE VERB adalah kata kerja yang membutuhkan objek dalam kalimat aktif,
seperti: Buy, Borrow, Bring, dll.
Example:

5|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING

 - She buys a magazine.
S V Obj.
- He borrows money from your teacher.
Obj.
b. INTRANSITIVE VERB yaitu kata kerja yang tidak membutuhkan objek, seperti: Go, Come,
Arrive, Stay, dll.
Example:
- They will come here tomorrow.
V Adv.
- Gio is staying at home now.
V Adv.

Selanjutnya, berdasarkan perubahannya, verb terbagi menjadi empat macam

perubahan, yaitu V1, V2, V3, dan V-ing.
Perubahan bentuk dari Verb-1 menjadi Verb-2 dan Verb-3 adalah yang beraturan dan
ada yang tidak beraturan. Yang beraturan disebut Regular Verb sedang yang tidak beraturan
disebut Irregular Verb.

Contoh regular verb dengan menambah ‘ed’ atau ‘d’ pada akhir verb-1.
Verb-1 Verb-2 Verb-3 Verb-ing
Call Called Called Calling
Study Studied Studied Studying
Visit Visted Visited Visiting
Sedangkan irregular verb tidak ada rumus baku perubahannya, jadi harus dihafalkan.
Verb-1 Verb-2 Verb-3 Verb-ing
Go Went Gone Going
Speak Spoke Spoken Speaking
Read Read Read Reading

3.) Object

Object adalah komponen kalimat yang berada setelah verb transitif (verb yang butuh
objek). Ia bisa juga dikatakan sebagai penderita. Yang boleh menjadi object adalah hal-hal
yang boleh jadi subject, yaitu noun, pronoun, noun phrase, gerund, and to Infinitive.
Berikut adalah tabel contoh dari masing-masing komponen tersebut :
No Jenis Object Contoh
1 Noun John wrote books.
2 Pronoun Romeo loves her very much.
3 Noun phrase The teacher explains an easy lesson.
4 Noun clause I don’t know what her name is.
5 Gerund Andi likes sleeping.
6 To infinitive He started to study yesterday.

4.) Complement

Complement adalah pelengkap dalam kalimat Bahasa Inggris yang biasanya ia terletak
tepat sesudah predikat yang berupa linking verb. Yang bisa menjadi complement dalam
kalimat adalah noun, noun phrase, noun clause, gerund, to infinitive, adverb dan adjective
berikut adalah contoh dari masing-masing komponen tersebut :

6|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING

No Jenis Complement
1 Noun
2 Noun phrase
3 Noun clause
4 Gerund
5 To infinitive
6 Adjective
7 Adverb
Contoh
The boy in red cloth is Ali.
Mary is a professional lecturer.
His hobby is what his father likes to do very much.
Her hobby is swimming.
Their main problem is to dance.
We are tired now.
They were here yesterday.

5.) Adverb

Adverb adalah kata yang menjelaskan verb (kata kerja), adjective (kata sifat), adverb (kata
keterangan), dan kalimat. Beberapa jenis adverb dapat kita lihat seperti yang ada pada
tabel berikut :
No Jenis Adverb Contoh
1 Adverb of time The plane arrived yesterday.
2 Adverb of place He comes from Italy.
3 Adverb of manner She speaks English fluently.
4 Adverb of degree You are absolutely right.
5 Adverb of frequency They are often early.
6 Adverb of prespective Honestly, Tom didn’t get the money.

7|TOEFL TEST and TRAINING

 CHAPTER III
READING COMPREHENSION
MAIN IDEA, MAIN TOPIC, AND MAIN PURPOSE QUESTIONS

After almost every passage, the first question is an overview question about the main idea,
main topic, or main purpose of a passage. Main idea questions ask you to identify the most
important thought in the passage.
Sample Questions
 What is the main idea of the passage?
 The primary idea of the passage is . . .
 Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main idea?

When there is not a single, readily identified main idea, main topic questions may be asked. These
ask you what the passage is generally “about”.
Sample Questions
 The main topic of the passage is . . .
 What does the passage mainly discuss?
 The passage is primarily concerned with . . .

Main purpose questions ask why an author wrote a passage. The answer choices for these
questions usually begin with “to infinitives”.
Sample Questions
 The author’s purpose in writing is . . .
 What is the author’s main purpose in the passage?
 The main point of this passage is . . .
 Why did the author write the passage?

Sample Answer Choices

 To define . . .
 To relate . . .
 To discuss . . .
 To propose . . .
 To illustrate . . .
 To support the idea that . . .
 To distinguish between _____ and _____
 To compare _____ and _____

Don’t answer the initial overview question about the passage until you have answered the other
questions. The process of answering the detail questions may give you a clearer idea of the main
idea, topic, or purpose of the passage.

The correct answers for main idea, main topic, and main purpose questions correctly summarize
the main points of the passage; they must be more general than any of the supporting ideas or
details, but not so general that they include ideas outside the scope of the passages.
Distracters for this type of question have one of these characteristics:
1. They are too specific.
2. They are too general.
3. They are incorrect according to the passage.
4. They are irrelevant (unrelated) to the main idea of the passage.

If you’re not sure of the answer for one these questions, go back and quickly scan the passage. You
8|Neo Spectra English Academy
can usually infer the main idea, main topic, or main purpose of the entire passage from an
understanding of the main ideas of the paragraphs that make up the passage and the relationship
between them.

OTHER OVERVIEW ITEMS

Several other items test your overall understanding of the passage. These are often the last
question in a set of questions.

a.) Tone items ask you to determine the author’s feelings about the topic by the language that
he or she uses in writing the passage. Look for vocabulary that indicates if the author’s
feelings are positive, negative, or neutral.
Sample Questions
 What tone does the author take in writing this passage?
 The tone of this passage could best be described as . . .
Sample Answer Choices
 Positive
 Favorable
 Optimistic
 Amused
 Pleased
 Respectful
 Humorous
 Negative
 Critical
 Unfavorable
 Angry
 Defiant
 Worried
 Outraged
 Neutral
 Objective
 Impersonal

9|Neo Spectra English Academy

 If you read the following sentences in passages, would the tone of those passages most likely be
positive or negative?
1. That was just the beginning of a remarkable series of performances by this brilliant actress.
2. Despite some minor problems, this device has a number of admirable features.
3. This practice is a waste of time and money.
4. At the time his poems were first published, they were very popular, but today most critics find
them simplistic and rather uninteresting. The italicized words in sentences 1 and 2 show a
positive tone; in 3 and 4, the italicized words indicate a negative attitude. Notice that sentence 2
contains negative words (minor problems) but the overall meaning of the sentence is positive.
Sentence 4 contains positive language (very popular) but overall, the tone is negative. (Words
such as despite, but, although, however, and similar words can “reverse” the tone of the passage.)

Most TOEFL reading passages have a neutral tone, but sometimes an author may take a position
for or against some point. However, answer choices that indicate strong emotion—angry,
outraged, sad, and so forth—will seldom be correct.

b.) Attitude questions are similar to tone questions. Again, you must understand the author’s
opinion. The language that the author uses will tell you what his or her position is.
What is the author’s attitude toward smoking on airplanes as expressed in the sentence below?
Although some passengers may experience a slight discomfort from not smoking on long flights,
their smoking endangers the health of all the passengers and crew.

The author opposes smoking during flights. He admits that there is some argument in favor of
smoking— some passengers may feel discomfort—but this is not as important as the fact that
smoking can be dangerous to everyone on the flight. The use of the word although shows this.

Sample Questions
• What is the author’s attitude toward . . . ?
• The author’s opinion of ________ is best described as . . .
• The author’s attitude toward ________ could best be described as one of . . .
• How would the author probably feel about . . . ?

Another type of attitude question presents four statements and asks how the author would feel
about them.
• Which of the following recommendations would the author most likely support?
• The author would be LEAST likely to agree with which of the following statements?
• The author of the passage would most likely be in favor of which of the following policies?

c.) Organization items ask about the overall structure of a passage or about the organization of a
particular paragraph.

Sample Question
• Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

Sample Answer Choices

• A general concept is defined and examples are given.
• Several generalizations are presented, from which a conclusion is drawn.
• The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of ________.
• The author presents a system of classification for ________.
• Persuasive language is used to argue against ________.
• The author describes ________.
• The author presents a brief account of ________.
• The author compares ________ and ________.

10 | N e o S p e c t r a E n g l i s h A c a d e m y
 d.) Items about previous or following paragraphs ask you to assume that the passage is part of a
longer work: What would be the topic of the hypothetical paragraph that precedes or follows the
passage? To find the topic of the previous paragraph, look for clues in the first line or two of the
passage; for the topic of the following passage, look in the last few lines. Sometimes incorrect
answer choices mention topics that have already been discussed in the passage.

Sample Questions
• What topic would the following/preceding paragraph most likely deal with?
• The paragraph before/after the passage most probably discusses . . .
• It can be inferred from the passage that the previous/next paragraph concerns . . .
• What most likely precedes/follows the passage?

11 | N e o S p e c t r a E n g l i s h A c a d e m y
 Catatan :
_

12 | N e o S p e c t r a E n g l i s h A c a d e m y