TOEFL Speaking - Tips
1. INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY. Vocabulary is extremely important. On the first two independent questions, you need to have a great deal of vocabulary. It’s very difficult to give a coherent, well-developed response without good vocabulary. For the integrated questions, some vocabulary during the lectures is at the academic level. It’s very difficult for students to summarize lectures they did not understand because they were not familiar with the vocabulary in the lecture.
2. WORK ON YOUR PRONUNCIATION. Pronunciation is important for students who need 26+. It can be difficult to know what your pronunciation errors are, so hire a tutor or work with a native English speaker to improve your pronunciation. Repeat words you find particularly difficult on a regular basis.
3. ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A TIMER. Make sure you understand how much time is allotted to each question - both for preparation and response time. You must get used to speaking within the time limitations. This takes a lot of practice.
4. DO NOT BECOME TOO RELIANT ON TEMPLATES. Many students ask me which templates to use. For the TOEFL speaking, I prefer to call them “useful phrases.” If you use templates like a robot, your speech will not sound natural. My videos on YouTube describe the useful phrases that will help you on the TOEFL. They are available on this website. Simply click on the “VIDEOS” link.
5. WORK ON YOUR INTONATION. A lot of students develop robotic speech which lacks the intonation patterns of a native speaker. In addition, watch movies in English, listen to the radio in English, and talk to native speakers often. Make YouTube your best friend. It is an amazing resource.
6. IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ENGLISH. It’s like taking two steps forward, and one step backwards. Speak English as much as possible, every day.
7. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM EVERY QUESTION. Many students are not familiar with the test; some do not even know the difference between prompt 3 and prompt 5. You must become a TOEFL expert.
8. KNOW HOW YOU ARE BEING ASSESSED. Do not take the TOEFL without looking at the rubric! You must know what characteristics the graders are looking for.
9. BECOME A GOOD NOTE-TAKER. As you may know, the integrated questions require you to take notes. Otherwise, it’s very easy to miss important information. Practice taking notes.
10. SOUND CONFIDENT WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR TEST. Once you start conversing with native speakers and you are able to engage in conversation, you will see that English is not so scary, and this will develop your confidence. Remember, if you are not confident, you may stutter or say “uh, umm,” a lot in your response. This will lower your score.
11. RECORD YOURSELF AND LISTEN TO YOUR OWN RESPONSES. This is a great way to eliminate some obvious errors you might be making repeatedly, such as subject/verb agreement errors, repetition, or “uh, ah, umms,” in your speech. Once you hear yourself making these mistakes, you can practice again, this time consciously making an effort to reduce them.
