2019-03-29 TOEFL: speaking 1-4 overview

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Independent Writing Timeline:
3-5 min: brainstorm and write a short outline
¼ min: write your thesis statement and a basic lead-in
5 min each: write your three body paragraphs
5 min: fill out the introduction and write a short conclusion
5 min: finish up ideas and make corrections
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Mistakes that might hurt your score are the ones that suggest you might not really know the right word or phrase. Typos and simple misspellings are usually fine.
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A lot of the writing and speaking will probably (correctly) be just simple present and simple past, sometimes simple future.
Remember, though, that actions which started in the past and continue in the present need present perfect.
- When we talk about “permanent” text or audio recordings (e.g. the readings and listenings for integrated speaking and writing), we often use simple present.
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BREAK
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Oxford speaking tasks outline
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Speaking section: third section, after the break and before writing; 20 minutes; 6 tasks; 5.5 min speaking
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 (student) conversation - 30/60
4 integrated R/L/S, academic text and (professor) 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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Speaking Task 1
open-ended = you basically answer a wh- question about a topic, such as “What is your favorite book?”
15 seconds to prepare: write a mini outline with one or two words for each part
	your answer
	- reason 1 (example)
	- reason 2 (example)
45 seconds to speak: your response can be organized like this:
1 Introduction: state your answer, one sentence to describe it (if necessary)
2 Lead-in (optional): “I have two reasons for my opinion.”
3 First point
4 Detail/example
5 Second point
6 Detail/example
7 Conclusion (if you have extra time)
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Speaking Task 2
choice question = you choose between two options (agree/disagree or some people/other people)
Everything is the same as task 1, just remember that one or both reasons for your choice can be disadvantages of the other option.
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Speaking Task 3
- 45 (40-50) seconds to read a passage about a real or proposed change at the university
- listen to a conversation between students in which one of them expresses an opinion about the change
- 30 seconds to prepare
- 60 seconds to summarize the change and explain the speaker’s opinion about it
When you take notes on the reading, specifically pay attention to what the change is and what reasons are given for the change.
When you take notes on the listening, keep track of what the man and woman say separately. Pay attention to who has the strongest opinion for or against the change, and what (two) reasons they give for that opinion.
Your response can be organized like this:
1 Introduction: summarize the change and the reasons for it according to the text
2 Opinion: state the speaker’s opinion about the change (“The man disagrees with the change…”)
3 Lead-in (“He gives two reasons for his opinion.”)
4 First reason
5 Detail/example
6 Second reason
7 Detail/example
8 Conclusion (if you have time left)
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Speaking Task 4
- 45 seconds to read a general description of a topic from a textbook
- listen to a professor talk about something specific related to the same topic
- 30 seconds to prepare
- 60 seconds to use the professor’s specific information to explain the general idea from the text
Your response can be organized like:
1 Introduction: summarize the general topic from the reading passage
2 Lead-in: state what kind of points the professor makes
3 First point
4 Detail/example
5 Second point
6 Detail/example
7 Conclusion (if appropriate)
- If the lecture is about an experiment or real-world example, the first point might be the setup (what did they do?) and the second point is the results (what happened?)