Written ByRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
TOEFL Speaking tips help you improve your English speaking skills. TOEFL speaking tips guide candidates with phrases, managing hesitation, solving practice papers, learning from apps, and more. It also helps in improving pronunciation. TOEFL iBT speaking tips assist you to remember various aspects of TOEFL Speaking:
- Time management
- Response templates
- Grading criteria
- Question types
| Table of Contents |
TOEFL Speaking Topics
TOEFL speaking topics are based on a wide range of categories. TOEFL speaking questions of independent tasks test a candidate’s speaking ability through topics related to arts, science, technology, humanities, and more. Here are a few TOEFL speaking topics for you:
| Food | Work | Your Life | Travel |
| Country | Studies | Entertainment | Technology |
| Family/People | Recreation/Sports | Friends | Activities |
TOEFL Speaking Tips
TOEFL speaking tips 2020-21 includes generous practice, daily listening and practice exercises. TOEFL speaking section tips teaches the below given questions:
- How to improve your TOEFL Speaking score
- How to practice at home
- How to find a friend to practice with
- How to deliver high-scoring speaking responses on test day
- How to stop listening and start speaking
Along with the above questions let's discuss some TOEFL Speaking tips below:
- Know TOEFL Speaking Scoring Criteria
Candidates need to know about the TOEFL speaking score criteria used for evaluating their performance. Candidates will be able to improve those skills that will result in a high TOEFL speaking score. Below are the marking criteria:
- Give Relevant Answers: TOEFL speaking test tips teaches candidates to provide only relevant answers. If the question asks the candidate to only provide examples and reasons, they need to provide only that.
- Understandable language: It is important for candidates to provide answers which are comprehensible. If the other person can understand you completely, you will obtain a high TOEFL score.
- Structure: TOEFL speaking preparation course teaches candidates to answer in a coherent and organized manner.
- Fluency: A fluent TOEFL speaking response without any hesitation will help candidates earn a higher score.
- Grammar: TOEFL speaking preparation teaches candidates to have a good hold on grammatical accuracy and structure.
- Vocabulary: This point focuses on the vocabulary knowledge of candidates. The higher the knowledge of vocabulary, the better the score.
- Avoid Watching Videos
Survey reports say that practicing speaking can improve your speaking skills better than watching videos. If you take out 10 minutes a day to practice TOEFL speaking, you must spend 9 minutes working on your responses and just 1-minute watching videos about the TOEFL Speaking.
- Record Yourself
Examiners focus on pronunciations and not much on accents. Candidates don’t need to work on their accents. TOEFL speaking courses help candidates improve their pronunciation by regular practice, speaking out loud, and paying heed to where they are going wrong. A good way to develop pronunciation skills is by recording yourself while speaking. This way you can work on your pronunciation.
- Use Rubrics for Improvement
TOEFL Grading rubrics can help you judge from the grader’s perspective of improvement. You need to get a checklist that is a little easier to read. Download our Speaking and Writing Grading Rubrics checklist for students like you studying on your own.
Independent Speaking Checklist
| Questions | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Did I speak for 42-45 seconds? | - |
| 2. Was my introduction 12 seconds or less? | - |
| 3. Did I have enough time to include a short conclusion (7 seconds or less)? | - |
| 4. Did I look at the clock to monitor my time at least twice? | - |
| 5. Did I include at least two transitional words or phrases? | - |
| 6. Did I speak at a smooth and even pace for the majority of my response? | - |
| 7. Did I speak in a natural and conversational tone (no robot voice)? | - |
| 8. Did I elaborate on the topic with a well-developed personal anecdote? | - |
- Phrases to Develop Fluency
The best way to know how to prepare for TOEFL speaking skills is to develop phrases that help increase fluency. As there is a limited time in TOEFL speaking, learning a few of the phrases will help you appear confident.
Below are a few of the phrases for TOEFL preparation of speaking:
| Phrases | Suggestions |
|---|---|
| TOEFL Speaking Phrases When Providing Details: |
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| TOEFL Speaking Phrases When Providing Reasons: |
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| TOEFL Speaking Phrases When Introducing New Points: |
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- Time Management
The most important TOEFL speaking tip is to practice time management. Practice using a timer.
For the TOEFL independent speaking task, you only get:
- 15 seconds to prepare your response, and
- 45 seconds to speak for each question
For the TOEFL integrated speaking tasks, you get:
- 30 seconds to prepare, and
- 60 seconds to speak for each question. (for question four you only get 20 seconds to prepare)
| Speaking Tasks | TOEFL Speaking Task Tips |
|---|---|
| TOEFL independent speaking task |
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| TOEFL integrated speaking task |
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- Body Movement
While giving your TOEFL speaking test, you can move your hands to express thoughts. This will make you confident. You can follow a few people while speaking and giving their TED Talks. They appear confident, you can take reference from that.
You can see the above picture and see how body positions reflect confidence. Proper body position can have a good impact on your score.
- Listen to Audiobooks and Podcasts
You can practice TOEFL speaking from different audiobooks and podcasts.
- Practice pronunciation, stress, and intonation.
- Get yourself an audiobook subscription service or find some free audiobook samples online.
- Seeking Professional Help
A teacher can help you with all your TOEFL practice sessions. A professional helps you with proper guidance and leads the way of improvement.
TOEFL experienced teachers can provide:
- structured speaking practice
- live feedback on your spoken English
- personalized study plans
TOEFL Speaking Preparation Apps
The TOEFL preparation app for speaking is considered a very beneficial tool. The best part about the TOEFL speaking preparation app is, candidates can practice anytime and anywhere. Below are some of the TOEFL speaking training apps:
- Speaking - TOEFL Speaking Questions and Answers by Milinix: This is a helpful TOEFL speaking preparation app that contains detailed descriptions of the four tasks. It contains numerous speaking questions and responses, vocabulary, speaking rubrics, and tips. Candidates can also record their answers.
- Magoosh: TOEFL Speaking and English Learning: This app contains TOEFL speaking section details. It helps candidates practice under strict timings, learn from realistic sample papers, and get a wide range of TOEFL speaking topics. Candidates can also avail this app offline.
- TOEFL Speaking Vocabulary with Audios by Mimosa Creative Applications: This app helps candidates with a thorough understanding of syllabus, range of topics, speaking tips, numerous examples, and exercises.
- TOEFL Writing and Speaking Mastery by TOEFL Resources: TOEFL resources is a helpful TOEFL preparation site. It also helps in TOEFL speaking preparation by offering ample sample questions and responses. It also contains video lectures about the TOEFL iBT test.
TOEFL Speaking Practice Papers
The best answer to how to prepare for the TOEFL speaking section is solving practice papers. Below are a few of the TOEFL speaking practice questions:
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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