Question:
“Can I Do The TOEFL Exam At Home?”
Answer:
“Technically… Yes”
(But If You Don’t Want To Waste Your Time & Money… Then You Absolutely Should NOT Take The TOEFL Home Edition… Read On To Find Out Why)
Warning! — The TOEFL Home Edition SOUNDS Like A Great Thing. And It SHOULD Be. But The Way It Has Been Implemented — And The Way It Operates Makes It Almost A Complete Waste Of Time & Money. (That statement is based on communications with hundreds of people over the last two years who have lost their time & money due to problems that were the fault of the company that ETS uses to monitor you like a criminal on trial while you take the exam, and often interrupts your exam to make you “prove” that you are not cheating. All, while the exam continues without you, and you are not able to go back to the questions and tasks that you may have missed. And then, when contacting customer service, they are told that everything was their fault — or they just never received any response.)
If You Do Not Want To Loose Your Money, Your Time, And ALL Of Your Privacy… (because, in order to take the exam you have to install software that gives the monitoring company COMPLETE access to EVERYTHING on your computer and attached devices, and it is probably not possible to remove the software completely without wiping your entire hard-drive. And they state that they have the right to share and sell ANYTHING that they find on your computer, or anything that they see on the computer screen [looking into your room] with any organization or agency that they want. It is quite possibly the MOST un-ethical company on the internet. And THAT statement is coming from an expert in the field.)… Then You Should NOT Take The TOEFL Exam At Home!!!
That Sounds Crazy! So What Is This All About?
s a response to the so-called “Global Covid Crisis” (hoax) — ETS announced that they have a new “edition” of The TOEFL iBT Exam — “The TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition”. And what they claimed in the beginning is that — with this new “edition” of the exam — a person who is not able to get to an Official TOEFL Testing Center is supposed to be able to take the exam from the “safety & comfort” of their own home… as long as they meet a shit-load of absolutely RIDICULOUS requirements.
nd that part is all true. However — The Standard TOEFL Exam (where you go to an official testing center) NEVER STOPPED! It may have slowed down in certain areas, and some places experienced lock-downs. But that is no longer an issue, and has not been for over a year now.
f course, the situation was different all around the word — but even in places that were locked down — it was still possible to take The TOEFL Exam at an official TOEFL Testing Center. So the entire reason for offering The TOEFL Home Edition is no longer needed… (And has not been for quite a while.)
But I WANT To Take The TOEFL At Home!!!…
hat’s fine! You can do whatever you want. Some people want to bang their head against a wall, even though it might severely hurt them. Some people just do not listen to logic and reason — no matter how much you explain why they should not do something, based on what they want to achieve.
have spoken to MANY people who did not liten to, or even care about all the things that I have said that are wrong with The TOEFL Home Edition. And of course, not everyone will have a bad experience. But literally everyone that goes into a casino goes in with the hopes that they will win a lot of money… Most of them come out with significantly less.
want you to be able to take The TOEFL Exam at home as well! When it was first announced, I was SUPER excited! But then I did some research about it, and quickly made a YouTube Video about everything wrong with it. And literally EVERY single thing that I warned about it came true… And that is very disappointing. But it is what it is.
Taking The TOEFL Exam At An Official Testing Center Is FAR More Safe & Secure…
Additionally! (and also absurdly) — ETS states that you can only take The TOEFL Home Edition in countries where the standard version is also offered. Which makes it completely un-necessary. But that also means that — even though it is done with an internet connection — you can NOT take the Home Edition in a country where the standard version is not available.
What About Using A VPN? — Well, that is the logical next solution. But because of the system that you need to connect to so that they can monitor you like a criminal takes so much band-width — you will almost CERTAINLY lose your connection, and then you will either lose the rest of the exam, or at least miss a portion of it, with no way to go back and do what you missed… And they will say that it is your fault, and you will have to pay again if you need to get a better score. (And you have no argument, because you were not SUPPOSED to be taking the exam from that country, so they will ask why you were using a VPN. So you have the same rights as a criminal… None! And this, even though I have actually heard at least one person FROM ETS suggest that people can just use a VPN and cheat the system! Amazing. Just don’t do it… It’s completely stupid.) 😐
mazingly, there is actually a LOT more about this version of The TOEFL Exam which is incredibly stupid and obnoxious (in my opinion, of course). But I have already written an extensive article on that, which also contains 2 videos by myself, and 1 video by a computer and IT expert about the company that monitors you during the exam.
Have An Excellent Day!
😉
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