![]() ![]() It is generally a bad idea to mix different accents and spelling styles. You can rest assured that you will not hear any extreme Scottish accents, for example, which have the potential to make life difficult even for native English speakers. The accent, be it American, British, or Australian, will not be very strong. You should not worry about it excessively, however. It will definitely help if you have listened to British and American English extensively. This is a very important clarification because it shows that while it is not obligatory for you to speak and write in American English, you still need to be familiar with different accents. ETS explains that it had added these accents to better reflect the variety of native English accents students may encounter while studying abroad. Test takers may hear accents from the UK, New Zealand or Australia. Regarding the Listening section on the TOEFL, ETS points out that there are other native-speaker English accents in addition to accents from North America. Irrespective of your accent, however, you should have the right intonation and put emphasis on the right syllables, so your speaking is intelligible to TOEFL raters. You do not stand to lose points for having an accent, so do not worry if you are unable to pronounce certain sounds as native English speakers. The British or Indian accent will not be a criterion for disqualification. If you have studied British English at school and this is the variety of English you are most comfortable with, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using British spelling and speaking with a British accent.Įmilie Pooler, who is now Director of Client Management at Educational Testing Service (ETS) but previously worked as an assessment specialist for TOEFL, told the Hindu Education plus:Īs long as the evaluator can understand what the test taker is trying to convey, he/she will make it through. Assessment experts will not penalize you if your accent is Australian, British, or Irish. The good news is that yes, you can, and as long as you speak (and write) in proper, correct English, you will be fine. So, what should you do? Should you learn to speak in an American accent and use American spelling if you want to do well on the TOEFL, or is there no such requirement?Ĭheck out: TOEFL Speaking – Pronunciation Tips Can I use British English on the TOEFL? In addition, many of the speakers on listening and speaking parts of the exam will be American. ![]() All texts found on the exam use American spelling. It is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a nonprofit organization headquartered in the state of New Jersey. Indeed, the Test of English as a Foreign Language is, undeniably, an American exam. These kinds of questions arise because the TOEFL, although global by nature, is a test made in the United States, leading test takers to believe that American English is the variant favored by the test’s makers. Since the TOEFL is a test available globally and it assesses listening, as well as speaking skills, in addition to reading, writing and grammar, many applicants wonder if they should use American English or British English and whether speaking in a particular accent would affect their score. The TOEFL iBT is one of the major tests that gauge applicants’ ability worldwide to use and understand English, and is commonly used as a requirement for admission to university level studies.
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