The Test of English for International Communication® (TOEIC®) Bridge is an exam used to test the skills of individuals at the beginning to intermediate level of English comprehension. It determines listening and reading comprehension abilities. The multiple-choice test has 100 questions which must be answered in 60 minutes and an additional information questionnaire which must be completed in 30 minutes. Once an individual has passed the TOEIC® Bridge test, he or she is considered to be ready to take the regular TOEIC® tests.
Listening comprehension is measured in the first section of the TOEIC® Bridge test. This portion of the exam consists of 50 questions, which must be completed in 25 minutes. It consists of three parts: photographs, question-response and short conversations, and short talks.
For the listening comprehension section, test candidates will listen to audio information via headphones and then answer questions. In the first part, which has 15 questions, the test taker will listen to a series of phrases and then match the correct phrase to what is portrayed in a photograph. The 20 questions in part two cover what sort of a response would be correct when a person asks a particular question. The final part has 15 questions which relate to a series of short conversations and talks. After hearing the samples, the test taker is asked to pick the answer that describes what has been discussed.
The second section of the TOEIC® Bridge test measures reading ability. It has a total of 50 questions which must be answered in 35 minutes. The reading section has two parts: incomplete sentences and reading comprehension. In the first part, which consists of 30 questions, the test taker will be asked to pick the correct answer to complete a series of sentences. The 20 questions in the second part ask the test taker to pick the appropriate answer based on reading short texts such as signs, advertisements, and letters.
When an individual attains a satisfactory score on the TOEIC® Bridge, the next step is to take one of the regular TOEIC® tests. These include exams for listening and reading, and speaking and writing. In addition to being more complex, the regular TOEIC® tests also have twice as many questions, but also twice as much time is given to complete the exam. The exams focus on communication in places of business. Results are often used to help employers make hiring decisions.
