TOEFL Speaking Section: A Guide for Test-Takers

The TOEFL Speaking section is one of the four skills tested in the universally acknowledged Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). It is accepted by thousands of universities and educational institutions as proof of English language proficiency.  It is also useful for immigration and work purposes. TOEFL scores are essential for candidates as a result.

Parts of TOEFL

Candidates will require 3 hours and 30 minutes to take the test. It has four parts in total. They include the following: 

TOEFL Speaking Section in Detail

You should know more about TOEFL speaking questions and the TOEFL speaking test format before starting your preparation for this portion. 

Here is a brief guide to the TOEFL speaking section: 

• There are four tasks in total. 
• Question 1- Independent Speaking Task. You will have to respond with your own ideas, opinions, and other experiences. 
• Questions 2-4- Integrated Speaking Tasks. You will have to combine skills of listening and speaking, reading and speaking or listening as you do in a regular classroom setting. 
• You will have a preparation time of approximately 15-30 seconds prior to giving any response. This response will be 45-60 seconds at the most. You will be speaking into your microphone to respond. 
• The responses are recorded before being dispatched to ETS (TOEFL conducting body) for scoring. 
• You will get 17 minutes to finish this TOEFL section. 
• The section has native accents from the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. 

You will find several TOEFL speaking topics with answers online to help you practice.

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Guide for TOEFL Speaking Section 

You will find numerous TOEFL speaking topics available online and TOEFL speaking practice questions. Here are some more tips to help you with your preparations: 

1. There are many kinds of TOEFL independent speaking topics, such as 

Q. Which of the following tools is the best for looking for a job? 1) The internet 2) newspapers 3)connections. 

Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It is never too late to get a degree in university. 

There could be a preference, agree/disagree, general, advantage/disadvantage, and explanation/description-based questions. 

1. Get hold of as many independent speaking task TOEFL examples as you can. 
2. You should also follow some basic TOEFL speaking tips for Questions 2 and 3. You will be given a small text for reading and then will have to listen to a recording of any discussion related to the text in question. You will have to respond based on your reading/listening. The reading passage is small and may cover university regulations, accommodation, transportation, etc. 
3. Question 4 will have you responding to a passage that is taken from any educational lecture. This is a two-minute recording and will have a continual speech from one individual in most cases. It may deal with any topic from disciplines like psychology, humanities, sociology, etc. 
4. Every section is marked from 0-4, and the total score will then be converted into a 0-30 scale. 17-24 is Good, and 10-16 is Fair. 25-30 is considered Excellent. 0-9 indicates Weak. 
5. Keep taking notes as you go along. 
6. Have a template ready with phrases for expressing your opinion, linking to another sentence/idea, highlighting differences/contrasts, and going to conclusions. 
7. Always be clear and slow while speaking to help the examiner understand what you are saying. 
8. Be creative with your answers and keep your grammar and vocabulary on tips. 
9. Practice listening to native English accents from the USA, UK, New Zealand, and Australia. 

These are some tips that will help you crack this section.

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