The study compares the content of two internationally popular EFL tests: the IELTS and TOEFLiBT. It focuses on one component which Vietnamese students often find most challenging: the listening one. Framework for comparison is generalized from Bachman (1990), Bachman and Palmer (1996), Bejar et al (2000) and Buck (2001). Findings reveal that the two listening tests share some similarities but many differences in the facet of test rubric and facets of test input. | VNU Journal of Science: Policy and Management Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2 (2017) 213-225 A Comparison of Test Content: the IELTS and TOEFLiBT Listening Tests Nguyen Thi Nhan Hoa* VNU International School, Building G7, 144 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam Received 03 April 2017 Revised 30 May 2017; Accepted 28 June 2017 Abstract: The study compares the content of two internationally popular EFL tests: the IELTS and TOEFLiBT. It focuses on one component which Vietnamese students often find most challenging: the listening one. Framework for comparison is generalized from Bachman (1990), Bachman and Palmer (1996), Bejar et al (2000) and Buck (2001). Findings reveal that the two listening tests share some similarities but many differences in the facet of test rubric and facets of test input. Several similarities can be seen in test rubric such as salience of parts, sequence of parts, relative importance of parts and time allocation. As regard to test input, the two tests also have several same features in format, nature of language input (lexical density, mode of presentation, genre and text types). Many differences between the two tests can be seen and the most prominent ones are specification of procedure and task, situation inputs in the form of situation prompts, listening text length and number of fillers in the listening texts. These differences might imply that the two tests measure different underlying constructs. Analytical evidence of these differences can be beneficial for both test takers and test trainers while preparing for a test as well as making a choice of which test is more suitable for them. Keywords: IELTS, TOEFLiBT, test comparison, listening test, test content. 1. Statement of the problem Recently, the Ministry of Education Training (MOET) has just issued Circular 08/2017/TT-BGDĐT (on April 4th, 2017) [6] which requires candidates who are applying to study for degrees to have an official English certificate (Academic IELTS ≥ .
