The TOEFL that I’ve known and loved for almost 14 years is now no more.
While it underwent changes over that time, most of them were the elimination of questions to make the test shorter. One notable exception was the replacement of the essay question with the writing for an academic discussion question.
I’m dealing with a mix of feelings. Grief isn’t limited to when a person or pet dies; I see it as the feeling of sadness related to a change that a person didn’t want. It’s easy to get used to doing things a particular way and resist change. Despite that, I’m trying to keep an open mind about the new TOEFL, something I learned for the book Who Moved My Cheese?.
I’m also feeling sad for the people that are now taking the new TOEFL with barely any official resources to prepare. The only free preparation I’ve found are a few practice tests on the ETS website, but there are 6 practice tests that can be bought. The price of taking TOEFL hasn’t changed, and the lack of materials leaves test-takers in a bad position to prepare. It disproportionately affects test takers with fewer resources.
Then there’s the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety, which are both difficult for me to navigate. With no indication about the release date of an official guide for the new TOEFL, I’m left to figure out how I can best help people prepare. When it comes to speaking, I trust My Speaking Score since it uses the same exact technology that ETS uses. A few weeks ago I went through a weeklong bootcamp with My Speaking Score bootcamp which gave me a good idea of what to expect. When it comes to the other sections, however, I feel like I’m going to have to create reading and listening passages or try to find something similar.
How am I moving forward?
One thing that I know about myself is that when I get anxious I can stop taking action for fear of making the wrong move forward.
To combat that, I’m taking some concrete steps:
- I’m writing this blog post. Transparency and authenticity are important to me.
- I’ve registered to take the new TOEFL in February 18th, and I’ve also purchased 3 practice tests.
- I’m running a free webinar next week sharing what I’ve learned about the new TOEFL so far and some ways that people can work with me. I’m taking at least one of the practice tests I bought before then.
- I’m on the lookout for other webinars about the new TOEFL so that I can get up to date information.
- I’m talking with other TOEFL Trainers to share ideas and support each other.
I’ve decided that the phrase “imperfect action” is my mantra for 2026.
Do you have any thoughts on the new TOEFL? How do you move forward when facing uncertainty?
4 Responses
Yeah, I have some equity-related concerns about the simultaneous reduction in free resources and ETS’s headfirst dive into for-profit test prep.
The loss of the three official books is also worrisome. They weren’t free, of course, but were super affordable and could be accessed via local libraries or second hand shops.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Michael. At this point I feel like I might as well create my own book/course with exercises to use with my clients. I think the challenge is going to be providing quality support for people at a price that people can afford to pay, especially if they can’t access official guides for a reasonable price or at libraries like you mentioned.
I’ll be cranking out practice questions for my website over the next year, I suppose. I’ve already uploaded a bunch of writing and speaking. Listening and reading take time, of course.
I’ll probably re-issue my TOEFL writing book as well, but honestly the economics of self-publishing aren’t fantastic.
That’s good to know about your plans for the year. I’m still figuring out what I plan to do.