2019-03-01 TOEFL: speaking 3

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-animals-see-in-the-dark-anna-stockl
How many solutions to the problem of seeing at night does the video give?
- big eyes (tarsier) - more space to collect more photons
- shiny eyes (cat) - two chances to collect photons and see them
- slow eyes (toad) - more time to collect more photons
- coarse eyes (moth) - each “pixel” is bigger and can collect more photons
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Homework: read the sample responses to today’s tasks and decide what score each one should get (using the official ETS score level descriptions from https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf)
Compare your estimates with your partners. Do you agree on the scores.
Integrated:
1 - B - This doesn’t include points from the listening. It paraphrases rather than copies the text, so it does not receive a 0.
2 - C - This mentions all three points from the listening, though they are incomplete. The language is quite low and difficult to understand at times.
3 - D - It discusses the points, but sometimes vaguely or incompletely. (In the first point, the problem with the collar from the reading isn’t mentioned. “This makes it difficult for a reader who is not familiar with the passage and the lecture to see how the information is relevant.” The second point is vague, and the third doesn’t make it clear which wood was from the same tree.)
4 - A - This more clearly addresses all the points, but still has a number of errors.
5 - E - This includes all the points and has only minor errors.
Indepdendent:
A - 2 - It is about the topic. The writer seems to believe both old friends and new friends are important, but there’s no clear thesis statement. There are no supporting details or examples for the ideas that are included, and there are many distracting errors.
B - 5 - This is an effective argument for the importance of both old and new friends. (The “both” or “it depends” response is typically harder than choosing one or the other options.) It is well organized, with a “transition” paragraph between the two viewpoints.
C - 1 - “It contains consistent language errors that make the overall essay difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend.”
D - 3 - “This essay earns a score of 3 primarily because of lack of organization and development of its main ideas.”
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Speaking Section: third section, after the break; about 20 minutes total, 5.5 minutes of speaking, 6 tasks
1 independent, open-ended - 15 seconds to prepare / 45 seconds to speak
2 independent, choice question - 15/45
3 integrated reading/listening/speaking, campus announcement and conversation - 30/60
4 integrated R/L/S, academic text and lecture - 30/60
5 integrated L/S, conversation about a problem and solutions - 20/60
6 integrated L/S, academic lecture - 20/60
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Read the announcement from ETS 1.2.
What is the change?
	- dining hall -> dining club, special meals by culinary arts Ss
Why is the change happening?
	- give Ss experience that will help with their careers
Anything else?
	- it will cost a bit extra
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BREAK
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Listen to the conversation.
Who has the opinion? - the man
What is his opinion?
	- It’s a great change.
Why?
	- It will give them experience working under pressure, like they will at a job.
	- The price is still cheaper than the same quality food in a restaurant.
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“The man expresses his opnion about the plan described in the article. (1) Briefly summarize the plan. (2) Then state his opinion about the plan and (3) explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.”
A response can be organized like this:
1 Introduction: summarize the change described in the article (maybe mention the reasons if they’re given)
2 Thesis statement: state the speaker’s opinion about the change
3 Lead-in (optional): “He gives two reasons for his opinion.”
4 First reason: “First, he agrees that it will be good experience for the students.”
5 Detail/example: “In a restaurant, chefs have to work under a lot of pressure and time limits. …”
6 Second reason
7 Detail/example
(8 Conclusion - if you have time)
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Take 5 minutes with your partner to prepare a “perfect” response to ETS 1.3.
Listen to some responses. What’s good and bad about each one?
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Record your responses to the ETS Guide practice questions.
Listen to your classmates recordings. What’s good and bad about each one.
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Homework (optional): If you want more feedback on yesterday’s writing than a score and one or two sentences, email me with a self-evaluation. What did you do well? What do you need to improve for next time? Do you have an estimate of your own score? (Use the scoring descriptions I gave you yesterday for ideas.)