TOEFL Booster / Six predictable speaking tasks
The Internet-based TOEFL (iBT), like almost any test, must be largely unpredictable. If a test-taker knows too much about it in advance, it won't be a real test. Still, there are elements of predictability in the iBT that are good to know about as you get ready to take the test.
The Educational Testing Service (ETS), makers of the iBT, are very open in describing the structure of the test. Descriptions are available at their Web site (www.toefl.org) and in the many TOEFL-prep books available at bookstores. The structure is no mystery.
Neither is the basic nature of some tasks, in particular those in the Speaking section of the test. We'll take a closer look today at the types of tasks you can expect. This should help you better focus your preparations for the test.
There are six Speaking tasks on the iBT. The first two are "independent" tasks, which do not require you to read or listen to any special input. The other four are "integrated" tasks, for which you must listen to, and sometimes read, short passages in order to get the content for your answers.
The independent speaking tasks are of two types:
-- Speaking task 1 (independent): Speaking about a familiar person, thing, or event.
k Speaking task 2 (independent): Expressing a preference.
The four integrated tasks are as follows:
-- Speaking task 3 (integrated): Read, listen (to a conversation) and speak.
-- Speaking task 4 (integrated): Read, listen (to a lecture) and speak.
-- Speaking task 5 (integrated): Listen (to a conversation) and speak.
-- Speaking task 6 (integrated): Listen (to a lecture) and speak.
Let's look a little more closely at each of these tasks.
In speaking task 1, you might be asked to describe your favorite room, or the relative who has taught you the most, or an experience that taught you a lesson, or some other aspect of your personal experience. In addition to describing, you must also give reasons for considering your choice important, influential or otherwise worth mentioning in this task. Of course, there is no correct or incorrect answer. As long as it is relevant to the task, the content of your answer cannot be wrong.
Speaking task 2 will always present two opinions, situations or ideas and ask you to speak about which you would (or do) prefer. For example, the prompt might say, "Some people like eating meat. Others say we should not eat it. Which position do you agree with and why?" Again, there is no right or wrong content, as long as your answer is relevant to the task. You do have to make sure, however, that you not only express your position but also give reasons to support it.
Speaking task 3 takes an interesting approach to integrated skills. First, you will see a very short written piece--such as an official announcement, a memo or a newspaper item--about some issue related to university life. Then you will hear a spoken reaction to it. This is usually a conversation between two students, one of whom has a strong opinion. When it's time for you to speak, you will summarize this opinion and the person's reasons for thinking that way. Your answer has to accurately relay that person's opinion, NOT your own.
Reading and listening inputs are both given in speaking task 4 as well. This time they relate to an academic topic, the kind of topic that might be part of a first-year university course. First you will read a short passage, then you will hear a short lecture about the same topic. You will then be asked to answer a question about that topic, based on what you read and heard. The correctness of your answer's content depends on whether you understood the input. Also, your answer will not be considered correct unless you use information from both sources, the reading and the lecture. An answer based on only one of the sources does not accomplish the task.
In speaking task 5, you will hear another conversation related to campus life. There is no reading input. The conversation may be between two students, a student and a teacher, a student and a counselor or some similar pair. In this conversation, one person will express a problem. During the course of the conversation, two possible solutions to the problem will be mentioned. When it's time for you to speak, you will summarize the problem and the two possible solutions. Then you will say which of the two possible solutions you think is better, and why. To be correct, your answer must accurately identify the problem and each of the solutions. But there is no right or wrong choice as to which solution is better. You are free to choose for yourself. Just be sure to give reasons for your choice.
Speaking task 6 also has only a listening input, no reading. In this task, you will listen to a brief lecture about an academic topic. After the lecture is finished, you will be asked a question about the content of the lecture. This question will be about a major idea in the lecture, not about small details. If you have understood the main ideas, you will have the information you need to answer correctly. For example, if you hear a lecture about the increasing elk populations in North America, you might be asked, "Using information from the lecture, explain how changes in the U.S. and Canadian economies have contributed to increases in the elk herds." The content of your answer must accurately reflect information from the lecture.
Knowing some of the functions you must display in your speaking--such as description, reasons, preferences, summarizing another person's opinion, talking about problems and solutions, and integrating information from two sources--you can devise a well-focused plan to prepare for the speaking section.
Next month, we'll look at some features--especially hesitations and digressions--built into the iBT to make listening passages sound more natural. These are often asked about in the test questions, and we'll see how.
Zwier teaches at Michigan State University and is an author of "The Michigan Guide to Academic Success and Better TOEFL Scores."