Empowering Women in STEM: The Role of TOEFL for Indian Students in International Education
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Women’s participation in STEM fields has been increasing in India, an indication of a positive trend in a country whose educational environment is slowly changing. It is the result of a number of initiatives and programmes that are opening up possibilities for women to pursue such careers. For many of these aspiring female scientists and engineers, one critical component of that journey is the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Keeping this in view—the importance of the test—the Educational Testing Service is introducing an ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide’ especially for Indian students, with the aim of making test preparation more accessible and effective.
The expanding role of women in STEM
The country has recorded tremendous progress in terms of the increased participation of women in STEM. Quite a number of government and private initiatives have played a big role in motivating women to pursue education and career paths related to science and technology. Scholarships, mentorship programmes, and awareness campaigns have been involved in this trend. Enrollments by women in STEM courses at various universities have increased, which goes to show that such activities have not been in vain.
The Role of TOEFL in International Education
Studying abroad (TOEFL) is the major step towards attaining it. The test is a standardised measure of a student’s ability in the English language, a prerequisite considered for admission into universities where English is the mother tongue. In light of facilitating this test for more students and making it equally possible for all, ETS has come up with the innovation of a ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide’.
Accessibility and Equal Opportunities
The ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide’ is, therefore, an attempt to help Indian students who are aiming for the test and are struggling with its mystified preparation process. It is thus through comprehensive guidance, practice tests, and tips to achieve success that ETS enables students from different backgrounds to prepare well. This will greatly help a female STEM student, who often has manifold responsibilities and faces challenges different from those of other students in her educational journey.
Global Acceptance of TOEFL
Wide acceptance is one of the major strengths of TOEFL. The test is accepted by more than 13,000 institutions in many countries, including day-one universities in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. That simply means that due to global recognition, students only prepare for and take one English language proficiency test, no matter how many countries they intend to apply for.
It is in keeping with this reality that statistics indicate most of those students who want to pursue an education abroad do apply to a number of institutions, sometimes even ten. Of course, each application requires a different form to be filled out, all with their own individual requirements. But with a universally accepted English proficiency test like the TOEFL, all of this is much easier. Students need only prepare for one test; the scores can be used for applications to multiple institutions across different countries.
Empowering Indian students
In introducing the ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide,’ ETS does more than just open access to the test—it empowers Indian students to pursue their academic dreams. It gives students an idea of how to format the test, study accordingly, and increase scores. For women in STEM, this will be a game changer to have the tools to succeed in today’s competitive global environment.
Conclusion
Women in STEM in India promise a much brighter future and show that there really is some commitment in this regard towards education-based gender equality. With more and more women entering the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the role of the TOEFL comes to the fore even further. In this context, the ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide’ will prove to be one prominent step towards international education, which ETS is introducing to make it accessible, equal, and fair for all students. It eases the process of test preparation and is making the TOEFL score widely accepted in institutions. ETS is, therefore, at the forefront of supporting Indian students’ aspirations, especially women in STEM.
