English language tests
A university place, a visa or a professional registration usually turns on one number, and that number comes from a test of English rather than of anything you know. These tracks work through the format that produces it — the question types, the writing tasks and the spoken interview — and rehearse them as they are actually set.
Which track for which test
- IELTS® preparation: Academic and General Training — Academic for degree-level study and professional registration; General Training for migration and for training or study below degree level. Reading and Writing differ between the two versions, so check which one you need before you start.
- TOEFL iBT® practice — for the test as it has been set since 21 January 2026: new task types, a 1–6 scale and a shorter, partly adaptive test. Preparation written for the old 0–120 format prepares you for a test that no longer exists.
The institution asking for the score decides which test it accepts and what you need. Neither test has a pass mark, and the requirement is often a minimum in each section rather than an overall figure — find out which before you plan.
What is not covered here
Listening is not covered in either track. A question here is text, with no audio, and Listening is a large share of both results. Use the official sample tests, which include real recordings. The TOEFL Listen and Repeat speaking task is not covered for the same reason, and two TOEFL task types — Complete the Words and Build a Sentence — are practiced as choices rather than with the typing motion of the real test.
Three ways to practice
- Reading quizzes keep the passage beside every question, as the real test does. Read the explanation even when you were right: knowing why the other options fail is most of the skill.
- Writing on paper. You print the task, answer by hand and photograph your page; the check comes back task by task and names what your answer did not do. It does not issue an official band or score.
- Speaking with a simulated examiner that asks and does not help, followed by a report on what a rater listens for. Use the microphone: an answer you can think is not an answer you can say.
How to organize your preparation
- Confirm the version and the minimum with the university or the immigration route itself.
- Time the reading from the start — on both tests the clock is a real part of the difficulty.
- Write full tasks, not just outlines. On IELTS, Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1.
- Speak out loud, timed, every time you practice a spoken task.
Disclaimer
Zestly is an independent study tool and not a test center. It is not affiliated with the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia or Cambridge University Press & Assessment, who own IELTS, nor with ETS, which owns the TOEFL iBT® test, and no result here is an official score. IELTS® and TOEFL iBT® are registered trade marks of their owners; this product is not endorsed or approved by them. Booking, fees, identification and the scores you need are matters for the test owners and for the institution asking for them.