2020-01-17 TOEFL: speaking 1&2

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: assign scores to the four sample essays
	Writing scores are described on p. 613 and at https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf
A - 2 - “Although this response is clearly geared toward the topic, underdevelopment of the writer’s main ideas and a limited command of the language earn this essay a score of 2.” The organization (too many paragraphs) makes it unclear what (or how many) specific reasons there are.
B - 5 - This is very well organized and each point is well developed with details and examples. There are some minor grammar problems but they never interfere with understanding.
C - 1 - “Although substantially longer than the average essay with a score of 1, this response earns the low score because 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.” It’s hard to identify the reasons and distinguish between them, because there are no paragraph breaks or transition signals.
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Usually “error” and “mistake” are used interchangeably.
However, in language teaching, mistakes are things the learner can recognize and correct, but maybe simply didn’t have time to proofread or didn’t think enough before speaking. Mistakes are accidents.
Errors, on the other hand, are problems that need to be corrected by someone else, because the learner genuinely doesn’t understand the correct structure.
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- I recommend using both paragraph breaks and transition signals, but as long as you have at least one of those, it should be fairly easy to understand your organization.
- Remember that when the statement is a comparison (A is better than B), there are 2 basic ways to disagree:
	“B is better than A”
	“A and B are equally good (but perhaps different in some important ways)”
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Speaking Section: third section of the test, after the 10-minute break, 4 tasks
1 (old 2) independent, choice question - 15 seconds to prepare / 45 seconds to speak
2 (old 3) integrated reading/listening/speaking, campus announcement and conversation - 30/60
3 (old 4) integrated R/L/S, academic text and lecture - 30/60
4 (old 6) integrated L/S, academic lecture - 20/60
(Remember that when the test changed, they eliminated questions 1 and 5. TOEFL prep books still have all six old tasks.)
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Task 1 is similar to a “would you rather” question, so you can use lists of those to practice preparing responses to the first task.
https://conversationstartersworld.com/would-you-rather-questions/
- Sometimes the most difficult thing is thinking of an answer and two reasons in 15 seconds.
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Delta 7.1 - eat at home or in a restaurant?
In the preparation time, you can write a “mini outline”:
home
	- comfort
	- money
or:
restaurant
	- better food
	- convenient
When you respond, expand your outline to a full 45 seconds:
1 “Introduction”: state your answer (“In my opinion, eating at home is better than eating in a restaurant.”)
2 Lead-in (optional): (“I have two reasons for this preference.”)
3 First reason: (“First, it’s more comfortable to eat at home.”)
4 Detail/example: (“I can wear whatever I want, I don’t have to be around other people, and I can do things like watch Netflix while I eat.”)
5 Second reason: (“Second, it’s cheaper to eat at home than in a restaurant.”)
6 Detail/example: (“Groceries are much less expensive than complete prepared meals in a restaurant.”)
(7 Conclusion - if you have time)
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Practice ETS 2 tests 2-5 (record your answers)
Listen to your recordings and decide which one you think is the best.
Listen to your classmates’ recordings. What’s good and bad about each one?
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BREAK
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Task 2 - The main differences in your response are that you first have to summarize the text (the change and reasons for it), and you explain someone else’s opinion and reasons instead of your own.
- 45 (or 50) seconds to read an announcement
	The announcement is about some kind of change on campus. (planned, proposed, happened)
	The text will usually give one or two reasons in favor of the change.
- listen to the conversation
	It’s usually easy to identify who has the stronger opinion quickly. Take notes about this person.
	Identify their opinion and the two reasons they give for it (probably related to the text’s reasons)
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Response organization:
1 Introduction: summarize the announcement (one sentence about the change and reasons)
2 Thesis/lead-in: “The woman disagrees with the change. She gives two reasons for her opinion.”
3 First reason
4 Detail/example
5 Second reason
6 Detail/example
(7 Conclusion - if you have time)
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Record your responses to ETS 2 tests 2-5.
Listen to your responses and pick the best one.
Listen to your classmates’ responses. What’s good and bad about each one?