Well, it's not
that hard. It's just that it's very long (4h in front of a computer if you choose the TOEFL IBT) and you need to be concentrated all the exam long.
You start with the reading, 3 or 4 extracts + about 15 questions for each excerpt.
Then you do the listening: 2 or 3 parts, 2 lectures and 1 conversation for each part.
Then you have a 10-minute break.
And you go on with the speaking (found that was the hardest part): first you have a general question (had "between teacher and doctor, what is the most important job in life?"), you have 15 seconds to think about it and 45 seconds to answer. Then you have another question (can't remember the type :/ ), same time to prepare/answer; then you read a passage and listen to a lecture on the same topic, 30 seconds to prepare/60 to answer, then you read a passage and listen to a conversation, ditto for the time; you listen to a lecture, you have 30 seconds to prepare/60 to speak, and finally you listen to a conversation, ditto for the time.
To finish, the writing. You listen to a lecture and you read a passage on the same topic, generally their opinions are opposed, you have to say in what manner they are contrasted (20 minutes to prepare and write). And then you have a general question (had "some people think it's a good idea to eat regularly with their family. what do you think?) and you have 30 minutes to prepare and write.
The reading is quite tricky because in some questions you have to be very precise: some propositions to the question are very similar and if you don't get the difference between the two, you can be wrong. And also, when you start your reading, some other participants might still be adjusting their microphone and be speaking when you're desperately trying to concentrate on your text! lol. The listening is difficult because you can have a passage like economics or butterfly metamorphosis (lol, had that one!) and if you don't know the vocab, that can be hard. The speaking is hard because you have to think very quickly. 15 seconds is very short so most of the time when I started speaking I was mumbling! lol And the writing is ok, except when you don't "like" the topic and cant' find any good argument... :/
And to prepare myself, I did the free online practice you have once you register for the exam (on the ETS website), borrowed some books from the university library and did all the mock exams in them, and I also bought another official practice on the ETS website. That's quite expensive (about 40 euros i think), but it helped me because you have an evaluation of what mark you
could get for the real test (had 107 for the mock and 105 for the real).
Anyway, if you have any other question, just ask!