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Speaking questions test your ability to comprehend and respond orally to written or spoken material.
You will have to speak your response aloud. There are six different speaking tasks. Speaking Task Type 6,
Academic Course (Summary), is an “integrated” task. You will listen to a short lecture about an
academic topic. The lecture will include specific examples. You will be asked to summarize the topic
under discussion, using the same examples given in the lecture. You will not be able to replay any part
of the lecture.
Speaking questions test your ability to understand spoken and written information and to summarize and
express opinions about that information. They also test your ability to respond orally to specific questions,
including your grammar, your vocabulary, and the logical organization of your ideas.
How should you use this chapter? Here are some recommendations, according to the level you’ve reached in
TOEFL Speaking:
0. Everyone! Hold yourself to the time limits whenever practicing Speaking tasks. Tape your response
and listen to it afterward to analyze your performance. You can use any app on your computer or
phone to tape yourself. If you don’t know of a good app already, try www.vocaroo.com.
1. Fundamentals. Start with a type that is a “medium weakness”—not your worst Speaking question
type but not your best either. Try one question and then check the sample answer. Think carefully
about the principles at work. If you think you can do a better job, redo the question. Articulate what
you want to do differently the next time you do this type of task.
2. Fixes. Do one Speaking task, examine the results, learn your lessons, then try a different type of
Speaking task. Be sure to keep to the time limits. When you’re ready, graduate to doing a set of six
different Speaking tasks all in a row.
3. Tweaks. Confirm your mastery by doing a set of six different Speaking tasks all in a row under
timed conditions.
Good luck on Speaking!
34.1
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using the example of search engines, explain when the legal concept of fair use does and
does not apply.
34.2
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
34 Listen to Track 429.
Using the examples mentioned by the lecturer, explain the difference between habituation
and sensitization.
34.3
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using the examples and information from the talk, explain the three factors that increase
the likelihood of success in goal commitment.
34.4
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using the examples from the lecture, describe the two ways in which mirroring helps with
communication.
34.5
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using the examples and information from the talk, explain how event-driven marketing
works.
34.6
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
34 Listen to Track 433.
Using points from the talk, explain how learning to play an instrument can impact a
child’s development.
34.7
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using the information and examples given in the lecture, explain price inflation and
monetary inflation.
34.8
You will now listen to part of a lecture. You will then be asked a question about it. After you
hear the question, give yourself 20 seconds to prepare your response. Then record yourself
speaking for 60 seconds.
Using points and examples from the talk, explain how the invention of the bicycle
contributed to the early women’s rights movement in the United States.
Comments
The student summarizes the lecture accurately, providing a clear contrast between the example
of fair use and the example of non-fair use. She could improve her response by training herself to
pause briefly, rather than say “um,” when she needs to gather her thoughts.
Comments
The student nicely summarizes the examples given in the argument, and his response is strong
overall. The student does mispronounce the word “sensitization.” But this is a very minor error.
Note that in this case, the term is written in the question text, so the student could have read it
from there. If the lecture uses a term you have not heard before, check the question text to see
whether it is written there. This will save you stress and effort. If the term is not written down, just
do your best and keep going. Mispronouncing a technical term such as “sensitization” is not an
error to worry about.
Comments
The student correctly summarizes the three factors discussed in the lecture. He does not remember
the names of all three factors, but that is okay. He struggles a little bit to remember the third factor.
It’s important to take notes as you listen to the lecture. The professor said that there are three key
factors, so you might write down “1… 2… 3… ” on your scrap paper to help you remember to note
all three factors.
Comments
The student summarizes the two examples very well. She also uses educated vocabulary in a
natural, accurate way (“essentially,” “perceive,” “stimulates”). She might be able to improve her
response if she trains herself not to say “you know” in the middle of a statement.
Comments
The student accurately explains how event-driven marketing works. She does run out of time
during her last sentence. She could improve her response a little bit by having a more accurate
sense of how much she can say in 60 seconds. But you can run out of time and still earn a
good score.
10
Comments
The student discusses several of the examples mentioned in the lecture. He doesn’t specifically
mention the term “executive reasoning,” but you don’t have to repeat every major detail from the
lecture. As long as you use the full 60 seconds to discuss relevant examples, you can earn a good
score.
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Comments
This is a very challenging lecture. The student does a good job of explaining the two types of
inflation. He even develops his own analogy: The relationship between the two types is “like a
dance.” He does run out of time at the end of his response. As long as he has clearly answered the
question, though, running out of time will not hurt his score much.
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Comments
The student provides a clear summary of the events discussed in the lecture. At the end, he also
ties these events to the women’s rights movement. In the middle of his response, he goes a bit too
far: he says that the women started protesting. The professor didn’t actually say that. The student
corrected himself, though. If you realize that you said something that isn’t accurate, go ahead and
correct yourself.
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