Some TOEFL Speaking concerns

[rameses28]

Do we need to be error free when it comes to grammar and sentence as we deliver our response?

Do they want us not to stutter or hesiatate at all in order to get good grade?

Funny thing is, when I watch the news, even the most brilliant people in the US are having some errors and hesitations; and they are native speakers and have the most brilliant mind in the country, needless to say the whole world.... Do not tell me that they will not pass TOEFL IBT speaking section as well.

Even sometimes the president himself is having some errors putting up a sentence....

Please note, I am not disrespecting him (the president), in fact, I have high regards for the him.... but the point I want to convey is, if the native speakers who have the most beautiful minds of our time are not error free when it comes to their spoken english; how come the raters are expecting us, who are non-native speakers, whose english is probably the second or third language, to speak almost perfect english.....

I think that is why this is called Test of English as Foreign Language; because they cannot expect us to speak it perfectly. They should be more lenient with our lapses.

Any comments?

Thank you

[skawal]

i agree with you.

[Solved]

I'm pretty sure there's quite a bit of leeway. During the first question (something like, what's the most important thing that has happened to you recently) I got all choked up babbling about my unborn baby (I'm very pregnant), and then in another one I had a lot of extra time at the end so I said something unnatural like "and that's the difference between A and B". And I definitely have an accent, although it's considered more "cute" than "obtrusive". Yet I got a 30 in speaking. So that definitely means they do not expect you to be perfect.

[Solved]

And if I might offer a tip, what normally helped me was to start speaking out loud during the preparation portion, instead of writing my thoughts down or just thinking about what I was going to say. I just started answering out loud right ahead, so when the prep time ended I got a second chance to say the same thing (so I said it better) and some extra time to round it up.

[mariagpl]

It is not a bad idea Solved, thank you.