2018-08-17 TOEFL: writing samples, speaking 3

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: score the sample happiness essays on the handout, according to the score descriptions on p. 419 of your book or the independent writing descriptions at https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf
Compare your scores with your partner. Discuss your reasons for that score if you disagree by a point or more.
“Happiness has different meanings for different people. Some people find happiness in their work, while others find it in personal relationships or in liesure activities. What makes you happy and why? Please give details and examples to support your response.”
1 - 3 points - There are lots of small grammar mistakes. The first body paragraph doesn’t answer the why part of the question. The second should explain why “friends are also helpful”. There is a clear thesis statyement, and each part of the statement is supported in a body paragraph. The organization is pretty good.
2 - 0 points - “For the most part, the writer has copied words from the prompt.”
3 - 4 points - Errors with articles, prepositions, and a missing verb. Supporting ideas could be more developed with examples. Clear thesis statement. Clear support from three body paragraphs.
4 - 2 points - Both main points are very underdeveloped. Lots of grammar problems that make sentences hard to understand. There are two clear main points with some support for each one.
5 - 5 points - Minor errors with verbs and a missing subject don’t detract from the meaning. The essay is well organized with good development of the two main points.
6 - 1 point - There are answers to the question that don’t come from the prompt, so this is not 0.
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Speaking Section: third section, after the break and before writing
- 20 minutes total, 5.5 minutes of speaking time for six 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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Speaking Task 3 - Campus announcement and conversation
- 45 seconds to read a campus notice or announcement (sometimes about an event or a change)
- listen to a conversation between students discussing the text
- read and hear a prompt asking you to summarize one speaker’s opinion and reasons for that opinion
- 30 seconds to prepare your response
- 60 seconds to record your response
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When you’re listening, you can predict that the person who answers more questions, who talks more, or who has the stronger opinion is the one you’ll have to talk about.
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ETS 1 test 1 - Read and take notes, then listen to the conversation and take notes.
What is the proposal? Evening computer classes (because daytime classes are overcrowded)
What does the man think about the proposal? He’s against it / He disagrees with it
Why?
	- Students are busy with other things in the evening, so may not be able to take the new classes.
	- It’s more expensive to hire new teacher than to buy more computers for the daytime classes.
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BREAK
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Response Organization:
1 Summarize the text (what is the proposed change? what kind of event is it? etc.)
	“The proposal is to add evening computer classes because…”
2 State the opinion of the speaker: “The man disagrees with the proposal.”
3 Lead-in: “He gives two reasons for his opinion.”
4 First reason: “The first reason is that students are often busy…”
5 Detail/example: “For example, they have jobs,...”
6 Second reason: “The second reason is…”
7 Detail/example: “Computer prices…”
(8 Conclusion - if you have time)
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ETS 2 test 5 - Listen to the sample responses. What’s good and bad about each one?
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Record your responses to the ETS guide practice tests.
Listen to your recordings and decide which one we can hear as a class.
Listen to your classmates’ responses. What’s good and bad about each one?
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Homework (optional): If you want more feedback on your writing from yesterday (other than a score and a sentence or two), email me with a self-evaluation, in which you explain what you think you did well and what you need to work on for your next writing. If you’ve written for me before, what do you think you did better or worse than last time?
You can look at https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf for ideas of what might be good or bad about your response.