Online TOEIC preparation courses for workplace English

TOEIC stands for Test of English for International Communication. It is run by ETS (Educational Testing Service), the US non-profit organisation that also develops the TOEFL. The TOEIC measures English in everyday working life: phone calls, meetings, emails, reports and announcements.

Companies use the TOEIC for recruitment, promotions and planning language training. Universities and business schools use it as a graduation requirement or as proof of English for exchange programmes. In France, for example, many engineering schools require level B2 in English for graduation, and students often prove it with the TOEIC.

For admission to universities in English-speaking countries, however, institutions usually require the TOEFL iBT or IELTS. The TOEIC tests workplace situations, while the TOEFL tests academic ones.

ETS offers several tests under the TOEIC name. When people speak of a TOEIC score, they almost always mean the Listening and Reading test.

TOEIC Speaking and Writing complements the Listening and Reading test when an employer also wants to see your active language skills. TOEIC Bridge is designed for learners with basic English. TOEIC Link is a modular online test. Modular means that you can take the four skills together, in any combination or on their own.

The TOEIC Listening and Reading test consists of 200 multiple-choice questions in seven parts. Pure test time is 2 hours. Including check-in and personal details, allow about 2.5 hours.

In Listening you hear recordings from working life, such as conversations between colleagues or airport announcements. In part 1 you choose the statement that correctly describes a photo. In part 2 you choose the right response to a question. In parts 3 and 4 you answer questions on conversations and short talks.

In Reading you complete single sentences in part 5 and short texts with missing words or sentences in part 6. In part 7 you read emails, adverts, forms and articles. Some questions there refer to two or three related texts.

You take the test in the Public Program, meaning open registration at a test centre, either on computer or on paper. Many companies and universities also organise the test themselves for their staff or students.

TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests your active language skills. You can take both tests in one session or separately. Each skill receives its own score of up to 200 points, and there is no total score.

In Speaking you record your answers on a computer, and ETS scores the recordings. In Writing you write five short sentences about pictures, two replies to emails and an essay giving your opinion.

Your score appears in your online account 7 calendar days after the test. If you test through a university or employer, that institution may send you the result directly.

In the Listening and Reading test you receive 5 to 495 points for each section in steps of 5, giving 10 to 990 points in total. Your score depends on the number of correct answers. ETS does not deduct points for wrong answers.

In a study with 22 experts from 10 European countries, ETS set minimum scores for the levels of the CEFR. The CEFR is the Common European Framework of Reference with six levels from A1 to C2.

Adding up the B2 minimums gives 785 points, which is why this number often appears as a requirement. ETS gives no minimum scores for C2, because the TOEIC measures up to C1.

Companies need a fast and comparable measure of English for many applicants and employees. The TOEIC Listening and Reading test provides this with multiple-choice questions that a computer scores. This keeps effort and cost low and allows testing in large groups.

The employer or university often pays for the test when it is required for a job, a training programme or a degree. Private test takers pay the fee themselves.

ETS confirms TOEIC scores for two years only. ETS explains this by the fact that English skills change over time. The limit suits companies, because they want to measure a team's current level. For you, it means that an older score no longer counts for a new application.

If a company or university tests you internally, you often receive the result through that institution. For applications to other employers, the Public Program score report is the better choice, because ETS states that it is valid worldwide.

You take the public TOEIC at a Public Program test centre, meaning a centre with open registration. You register online and upload a passport-style photo before test day, which then appears on your score report.

Test centres set their own prices. The German figure comes from the Anglo-German Institute for the computer-based test, the Austrian figure from BFI Upper Austria, and the French range from published French test centre prices. Many centres close registration a few weeks before the test date.

According to ETS, computer-based scores are available on the test day, and paper-based scores arrive 10 to 15 calendar days after the test. The Public Program score report is valid worldwide. A QR code on the digital report lets employers and universities verify the result.

For preparation, ETS offers its own online course, the TOEIC Official Learning and Preparation Course. You order it through the ETS office responsible for your country.

Your preparation depends on the score you need. A 200-question practice test shows how far you are from it. According to ETS, 785 points correspond to at least CEFR level B2, the fourth of six levels in the Common European Framework of Reference. If your practice test is a full level below, Cambridge English estimates about 200 guided learning hours to close the gap.

1 Sit a timed practice test

Take a full practice test in 2 hours and score Listening and Reading separately.

2 Build workplace vocabulary

Learn terms from purchasing, human resources, finance, travel and office life, because the TOEIC texts come from these areas.

3 Train grammar for parts 5 and 6

Practise word forms, tenses, prepositions and linking words in short sessions.

4 Manage your time in part 7

Read texts in the part 7 format every day and time yourself per question. In Reading you have less than one minute per question.

5 Two practice tests before the exam

Sit two full practice tests in the last two weeks, in the format of your test, on computer or on paper.

An online TOEIC course should train the task types and the time management of the test. General business English helps with vocabulary but does not replace training in the format.

1. The course practises all seven parts of the Listening and Reading test with a time limit.
2. It includes full 200-question practice tests that give a score from 10 to 990.
3. Explanations show for every question why one answer is right and the others are wrong.
4. The course builds vocabulary from typical workplace situations.
5. For Speaking and Writing, a teacher or software gives feedback on your recordings and texts.
6. The provider states the full price, the access period and the number of practice tests before you book.

Many TOEIC points are lost through time pressure and the format. These five mistakes are especially likely.

• Many test takers spend too long on the incomplete sentences in part 5 and run out of time for part 7.
• Some leave questions unanswered, although wrong answers carry no penalty.
• Some do not read the answer options in Listening in advance and miss the key information.
• In the paper-based test, some mark more than one answer or write answers only in the test book. Neither earns a point.
• Some take the TOEIC too early and only need the score once it is more than two years old.