Bruce S. answered • 03/26/19
TOEFL author and TOEFL expert
The TOEFL PBT (paper-based test) is the original TOEFL test. It was introduced back in 1964 as a way of measuring the English language proficiency of non native English speaking college students. The PBT consisted of 4 sections: reading, listening, structure (grammar), and one independent essay.
The TOEFL iBT was intro'd in Sept. of 2005. It has four sections: reading, listening, speaking and writing (with two tasks: summary writing and a personal essay.} Speaking replaced the structure section. Why? Because many Asian students got high grammar scores but when they got to US colleges, their speaking was very low, especially if they were teaching assistants in grad school. So ETS intro'd the speaking section. That is what ETS claims.
