TOLIMO stands for the Test of Language by the Iranian Measurement Organization, which designed and administered by the National Organization of Educational Testing in Iran. In fact, TOLIMO is a standard test held to determine competence in the English language. The majority of TOLIMO test takers are the Ph.D. candidates. TOLIMO used to be held in a written format before 2017; however, the first Internet-based TOLIMO test was delivered under the title of the TOLIMO iBT at the National Organization of Educational Testing in 2017.

Test Structure

The TOLIMO iBT consists of two sections, i.e. multiple choice and written questions. The test takers should answer the multiple choice questions and type the text response to the written question on a computer. The multiple choice section includes 105 questions, which the test takers have 80 minutes to answer.

Section 1: Structure and Written Expression

35 questions (15 sentence completion and 20 error correction questions); 22 minutes allowed

Section 2: Listening Comprehension

35 questions (A: 20 short conversations for 20 questions; B: 2 long conversations for 8 questions; C: a lecture for 7 questions); 18 minutes allowed

The Listening Comprehension questions are played to every test taker separately via a headset. The test takers should select one of the four choices based on what is played in their headsets. They should also pay attention to the fact that the questions are played only once and are not repeatable. Hence, it is essential that they pay close attention to the played audio so that they do not miss anything.

Section 3: Reading Comprehension

35 questions; 40 minutes allowed

Writing Section: 

This section includes only one question which test takers should answer in 30 minutes on a computer. The test takers should be able to type sentences using a keyboard in this section.