h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Although the TOEFL is now pretty much mandatory for non-native English speakers' entrance to US institutions, one drawback is that unlike the IELTS (the International English Language Testing System, a Cambridge University administered exam that is now a standard requirement for entrance to British or Australian institutions) it does not contain a test of spoken English.

Whilst this is greeted with relief by most students (or at least, most students I have ever put through the TOEFL), I am aware of numerous cases where students have satisfied the entrance requirements, but upon arrival in the US been refused entry to their courses on the grounds that their spoken English and comprehension of conversational English is not sufficient for them to cope with the demands of daily study. The students are bumped into a 6-12 month English learning program, thus substantially increasing the cost of their studies. This is of course particularly troublesome for the growing number of students going to the US from developing countries.

Whether this a cynical money making ploy on the part of the institutions concerned, or a genuine response to the students' (perceived) inability to cope remains to be seen, but should certainly be viewed as a cautionary warning to any non-native English speaker who thinks that a good TOEFL score will guarantee them entry to a US university.