Tips for high score in speaking....got 27 insteade of 23

[rainy_cloud]

Hi!

 

I have a similar problem, but to use the Plural pronoun for singular reference will not solve it any more.

the Problem is that, when I have to refer for a singular person in the Writing practice, I find my self covering the essay with -he/she- or -his/her-, the repetition of this expression for a lot times when referring for the singular get me angry and lower the quality of my essay. how to deal with this problem in a case which minimizes using that expression for a lot of times, or a pronoun which can refer for both the singular M or F at the same time.

 

I don't know if my question is clear or not!

thanks!

 

You know, when you write, the repetition of he or she is not the problem because some times you have no other option.. you usaully start writing the lecturer then you will use He/She for the rest of the assay.. but what you need to avoid is repeating phrases and words ..try to use different connection words for each point you write...

 

My advice for the writing section is.....

For the first part in writing,, usually it is a reading passage then a lecture that is opposing the ideas in the reading passage ( they list 3 statements to justify what they are claiming so you have to pay attention and write down these 3 points)

 

I start like this...( 4 paragraphs, each sentence below is a beginning for a new paragraph, try to leave a line between each paragraph and the one follows so it is easy to read)

 

The lecturer opposes the reading passage about ............ for three reasons.

First, although the passage states that............., the lecturer thinks that..........

Second, in the passage, ............................. On the other hand, the lecturer,,,,,,,,,,

Finally, .............................................. However, the lecturer claims that..............

 

You have to notice:

1. Use the same tense (present or past tense, I wrote them above in bold so you can see that I used present tense for the whole time)

2. In the beginning, I stated clearly that the lecturer opposes the passage

3. I mentioned all 3 points used for comparison

4. I tried to use different comparative phrases: however, on the other hand, although...)

5. DON'T mention YOUR opinion or write more information, you HAVE to stick with the information mentioned, not less or more

Edited June 17, 2010 by rainy_cloud

[ivona]

Thank you for the reply.I really appreciate it. I 've just wanted to tell you that you really comforted me because I felt helpless .I've been trying to pass it for 5 years. Thanks

[rainy_cloud]

Good Luck to you all,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[estaitra]

Thank you very much rainy cloud, I had just 5 days to prepare for my exam and I used the videos that you mentioned, I got 29 in speaking:)Thank you very much!

[LishaD]

got my result today and I got S26 :) whoopee for once but w21 (3points short)... so at least there is possibility in passing TOEFL speaking. :)

[Michaelia]

got it~thanks

[cooks]

am writing 2mao,and have not rily practiced speaking, wish me good luck.

[shinodalp]

hi everyone,:D

im about to take my 1st ever Toefl test on the 21st of August, which is more than a week from now. I ve been preparing since the end of May and I have somewhat a good feeling about my reading and listening skills.

However, my most formidable thing is the time issue of the IBT speaking . I have never succeeded in any of my first attempts. I kept doing the same speech over and over again til I made it in 45s for the first two, and 60s for the rest. I gradually tried to omit some phrases or words everytime I did the speech again.

Does anybody think 45s are way two short for a speech about a particular problem ?

I think ETS must have designed the test correctly, and that was my fault to make lengthy speeches.

I once tried to speak really fast, and I found that was a totally absurd idea to speak so fast since I was confused and all the tenses mixed up, and that d also lower your score because the grader cant comprehend.

So..., any idea of surviving this time attack problem ?

Thanks a lot everybody !:D

[TOEFL Corey]

I understand where you're coming from , shinodalp. Even for a native speaker, trying to complete your response within a set time frame is very unnatural. I think there are some things that might help you, though...

 

1) First of all, I wouldn't look at it as a "speech." That does sound too formal and too long. It's just a short sample that demonstrates your English. If task #1 asks about a food that represents my country and I happen to be from Japan, I might choose sushi. It's not necessary to give the history of this type of food or go through the recipe to make sushi step-by-step. I would just give a general description (raw fish on top of vinegared rice, wrapped in nori/seaweed, etc.) and explain how it represents Japanese cuisine (it's healthy, colorful, etc. OR that it's raw fish and Japan is an island nation, etc.).

 

2) Although you said you have eliminated certain phrases or sentences, there may still be an opportunity to be more efficient. For example, I often hear students add things they don't need -- such as a CONCLUSION (necessary for an essay, but NOT for this speaking task). Again, this is not a formal speech, and it does not require a beginning, middle, and end. If you already delivered a good opening statement, why should your last sentence be almost identical ("... and that is why I think sushi represents my country, Japan")?? As I would tell a student, that doesn't demonstrate anything new about your English that wasn't already shown in your first four sentences, so I would eliminate it and free up more time for a more specific sentence either describing sushi or explaining WHY it represents my country well (by doing so, the rater will hear more variety in your vocabulary, grammar, etc.).

 

3) I agree with you 100% about the absurdity of speaking fast. The faster a person speaks (even a native speaker), the worse his delivery and language usage (two of the three criteria used to judge your responses). I've never heard anyone sound better by speaking as fast as he/she could and not pausing naturally at the end of each sentence. Moreover, when you rush through your response, I don't think your brain has sufficient time to prepare each sentence, so your topic development (the 3rd criterion) ends up suffering as well, as you stutter and stammer through the response without adequate time to deliver four or more excellent sentences.

 

I hope this helps a little. Best of luck to you, and don't lose hope!

[shinodalp]

I've tried cutting out the conclusions and it works ! I gain extra 5s for filling my reasons with better words. Thanks for the really helpful advice !

However, I somehow feel a little empty at the end because Im used to, say, always adding a final conclusion to wrap everything up. I also learned it from the provided templates on Youtube that RainyCloud recommended.

By the way, Ive heard plenty of suggestions about giving examples in every of your reasons. Is that indeed necessary ? I find it really intricate to think of possible examples in your given 15s. I even try starting to graph my outline as soon as I see the task, before the narrator even speaks :p.

[Duna]

Hi, shinodalp.

In your speaking part, asTOEFL Corey mention you HAVE to use examples, even if this examples very short, and can sound not very bright or intellectual. Otherwise you will get less points and it would say that you didn't provide enough reasons and supporting details.

Good luck.

[ishu123]

Hi all,

 

I would really like to thank rainy_cloud for giving nice tips and links for speaking section. In reciprocation , i would like to post about GRE preparation and my experience so that people can benefit.:)

[shinodalp]

Hi,

I've just finished my 1st TOEFL test.

I'm quite confident about my Writings.

However, I still felt so anxious about not having inserted a conclusion in each of my Speaking response.

When I came out of the room and heard a lot of discussion about that, say, "oh god, i didnt have enough time to say "thats why the snails...." or things like "I missed the conclusion as my teacher taught me"..., I felt really.... you know.

Prof. Corey said the conclusion is not necessary.

Has anybody ever spoken without a conclusion ?

If someone said "a conclusion can be ignored", I would feel a lot relieved since I can make sure I had delivered some good responses that fulfilled the tasks quite well and contained some academic words.

[TOEFL Corey]

I know I have already "weighed in" on this one, shinodalp, but I can tell you that none of my students use concluding statements at the end of their speaking responses and many, many have scored 26 or above (including three who have scored a perfect 30/30 in speaking).

 

The speaking response is not a "spoken essay" -- it's really not about the form or structure (introduction/body/conclusion) but rather your ability to communicate fluently in English and support your ideas specifically. If your first sentence was, "I would rather own a dog than a cat," then what more would a concluding sentence like "... and that is why I would rather own a dog than a cat" possibly show the rater about your English? It would be WAY better to have five unique sentences in English rather than your first and last sentences be virtually identical.

 

Moreover, I don't mean to be rude, but if any teacher, professor, or tutor told you that a general concluding statement is required to score a 3 or 4 on an independent (or integrated) speaking response, he/she simply hasn't looked at the scoring guide (it makes no mention of any such statement).

[shinodalp]

Thats what I want to hear ! thank you a lot prof. Corey.

I think I did quite a good job following your instructions : 1) not making it too formal 2) fulfill the three tasks

the only problem is I paused about 2 to 3 times in my responses and made a few mistakes. I hope I'd be ok. Im looking a forward to a > 26 speaking.

[fexical]

OK, I know it seems very pessimistic but recently I have encountered some evidence that has led me to the belief that some toefl speaking evaluators don't listen to the recorded speech and just give them a random number between 2 and 3. After all, it seems completely natural to me that some employees who are not strongly supervised simply get bored and try to grade as many speeches as possible in a short time.

 

My evidences are:

- people with different levels of english received the same scores.

- scores for all parts of the speaking section were the same (and in all cases "2.5 to 3") despite the fact that the test taker admits that he/she has done better in some tasks or has missed a task.

 

So, what do you think? Am I being too negative? FYI, I haven't taken the toefl yet.

[Pharma2011]

I came across ur thread recently. I am sailing in the same boat. I appeared for toefl ibt five times, i got good scores except in speaking 23, all the 5 times I scored 23 . I really need help to improve my score from 23 to 26. I am really confused what I am supposed to do to get 26.I delivered a good speech in last 3 attempts. but still I got only 23. Please give me some suggestions what aspects I should focus and improve my speech?

[TOEFL Corey]

Dear Fexical,

 

I don't want it to seem like I'm attacking you, and I normally ignore complaints about TOEFL administration and scoring (since many/most of them are legitimate and test-takers definitely need a place to vent). However, I can strongly say that your conspiracy theory is completely FALSE; I personally know two TOEFL speaking raters and know how they do their jobs (I've discussed the rating process with one of them quite a bit since that knowledge is quite useful to my work in tutoring TOEFL students).

 

 

Let me address the two phenomena that you refer to as evidence ("evidences" is not a word in English, by the way, since "evidence" is a non-count noun):

 

1) Since there are only four score levels (and since it is quite difficult, according to the scoring rubric to attain a '4' and nearly impossible to be at level 1), it isn't uncommon for two students at somewhat different fluency levels in English to both score a '3', for example, on a given task or both score 23 or 24 overall. Moreover, just because one test-taker is at a more proficient level of English doesn't mean he/she will perform signifciantly better under the very difficult test-taking conditions of the TOEFL (there are several factors beyond fluency/langauge knowledge, such as organization, time management, staying calm, pacing, pausing appropriately, supporting general ideas with specific examples/details, etc....).

 

2) The "2.5 to 3.0" range you refer to is a computer-generated average for 1/2, 3/5, and 4/6 and not what the raters assign to each individual task (1, 2, 3, or 4). Since there are only 2 rubrics (one for independent speaking and one for integrated) and since the two are almost identical (with only a slight difference in the third criterion of "topic development"), it is not surprising at all (to me, at least) to see many students get the same score (such as a '3') on all six tasks. I would actually be much more surprised if the same student who got one or more 2's on a given test day also scored a '4' on the same exam.

 

Also, I'm not sure if you're suggesting that a bored or disinterested rater is just giving one student the same score six times: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 .... but if you are, I can tell you that that is completely IMPOSSIBLE since that is not the way the TOEFL speaking files are scored. When a rater goes to work for a 4-hour shift, for example, he/she does not listen to your six files in order. He would actually listen to 50 or 60 different student responses for the exact same question. He or she rates each response the same way, using the exact same rubric (scoring guide). Of course, even with tons of training and experience, parts of the rubric are still a bit subjective (like what, exactly, are the "high-level grammatical structures" or "sophisticated vocabulary" mentioned in the Use of Language criterion for Level 4??). If a rater is not sure, he/she will often listen to your response again and even sometimes call over another rater to give it a "fresh pair of ears."

 

 

I'm very sympathetic to all of the students out there (including mine) who are struggling to score well (in many cases a 26 or higher) on the TOEFL speaking section. I really wish that students could get more feedback than just a score, score ranges, and computer-generated comments. However, I feel that when test-takers spread false rumors, it is extremely dangerous, since it takes away students' motivation to work hard and prepare for this test (why study for a test when the scores are given randomly and not based on the set criteria of a scoring guide??) By the way, if the scores were given completely randomly, there would be many examples of weak students scoring 26 or above and outstanding, well-prepared students scoring 17 or 18, which I personally haven't experienced. None of my students who scored 26 or above were weak speakers or poorly-prepared and the small number of my students who scored a 29 or perfect 30 were extremely strong in their English as well as their specific TOEFL strategies.)

 

 

While I'm typing here, please let me quash a couple of other completely false rumors I've hard about scoring for the TOEFL speaking:

 

a) Those with an Indian accent will receive unfairly higher scores since most/all of the responses are scored by people in India (competely FALSE -- all TOEFL speaking files are scored by fluent English speakers in the United States).

 

b) It's better to take the TOEFL abroad because all of my friends who took the exam back in my home country automatically got higher scores than those of us who took the test at a U.S. testing center (also completely FALSE -- all audio files are sent from the various testing centers to servers in the U.S. and scored here; when a rater goes to work a shift and rates 40 or 50 different responses to a given task, he/she has no idea which men and women took the test in which countries... each file is scored on its own merits).

 

 

I know it's a tough challenge, but best of luck to all of you who are working so hard to reach your goals...

[fexical]

Dear TOEFL Corey,

Thank you so much for your illuminating answer. Maybe my conspiracy theory was a projection of the fear that I will not be scored according to my abilities.

[TOEFL Corey]

That's very understandable, fexical! :)

 

While this test is far from perfect (including the way it is scored), I do know that the raters (at least the ones whom I know personally) realize how important these scores are and take their jobs very seriously. They try to apply the rubric (scoring guide) to each and every separate response they hear. By the way...

 

I find it very interesting that many students, even those who have been forced to take this exam multiple times, are actually NOT aware of the scoring guide, the 3 criteria (delivery, language usage, and topic development), or the exact description of Level 4, Level 3, etc... I think it's critical that anyone taking this test find a copy of the 2 scoring guides (either in a book like the "Official Guide" or "Complete Guide, on a website, or from some other source) and become totally familiar with the requirements.

Edited September 9, 2010 by TOEFL Corey

[Aqansari]

Thanks for sharing the youtube link and your experience....i was getting score of 24 & 23 for speaking...i watched these vedios and tried to work on the sugestions given by Mr. Joseph...i got 27 this time. I think if some one is scoring in the range oe 23-24, watching and following these vedios will be very effective in scoring 26 and beyond. Thanks again

 

 

 

 

Hi all,

I had this posted in" just finished TOEFL" but I posted here again to share it may be in a better way...

 

Well, I first took the exam in 2006 and did very well except for speaking 23, then I took the test 2 times in 2007 with the same score 23...I felt very upset and thought I would never make it...so I forgot all about TOEFL until this year and I know this is too late so do not do like me, u should never lose hope...any way...

I only signed up for the test 10 days earlier and this is when I started to practice so even if your test is very soon, you have plenty of time to practice....

I only did practice for the speaking part and a litte bit for the writing part...

 

For the speaking part...

I only watched videos posted on youtube..it is really a very great web site and has all what you need... i think that the narrator is just the same as the one in the real test so it is a great opportunity to know what to expect.... SO THANKS YOU TUBE AND ALL THE POPLE WHO POSTED USEFUL THINGS FOR US............

AND MOST IMPORTANT I found out that in order to get a high score in the speaking part...it is not enough that you are able to speak good english, I do!!!! and when I talk to people even native speakers, they think that I speak very good English but when it comes to the test, I used to get 23,,, now I realized that you need to answer in A CERTAIN FORMAT and once you practice, you will master speaking with this format without knowing that you actually do...

 

Here are some of the videos that I watched....

YouTube - TOEFL Speaking Improve your Score on Question 6

 

There are more vidoes on the right side of the page, you can see them too...

I practiced for about 5 hours a day, watching these video, learning the tips and then test my self by using a timer to read and prepare and then record my answer few times for each question to improve it..and when u listen to any of these videos, u need to listen to one question at a time and then answer it because some of these videos have 5 or more questions so do not try to listen to the answers,, you need to practice answering on your own before u listen to the sample answer posted.....

When u listen back to what you have recorded, then u will check if you have followed a certain format or not, did u say enough resoning, any grammatical mistakes, then u will pay attention with more practice.....

 

On a piece of paper, I wrote down the certain general format for each question, then I practiced using it when I watched these videos..........

 

Question One:

In my view,.................... for a few reasons, First,........................... for example (here, try to mention something personal from your previous experience, if you can't REMEBER: FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT,,yes, us imagination)

Second,..............................for example......................................That' s why .......

 

if you think that the question does not fit in this beginning sentence (In my view..) at least you still need to mention two reasons,,,

 

 

Question TWO:

I experienced a new format (do you agree or disagree with the following statement....)

 

You need to start by stating your opinion clearly ( I agree that ..................... or I disagree that................ for the the following reasons, first, ............................. for example........., second,............................... for example............... that's why I agree/disagree that........)

 

for example. do u agree that people should wait until they become above 30 years old before getting married (I just made this question up, but you would expect similar general topics)

 

Sample answer: I do agree that people should wait until they become above 30 years old before getting married for the following reasons; first, younger people are not yet ready. for example, they need to finish their study and get a stable job, otherwise they won't be able to afford their kids needs financialy and emotionally. Second, people need to be mature to able to stabilize their marriage, for example, those who get married at youger age tend to fight more often which may raise divorce rate

 

Question Three

Usually reading text about certain school ad, then listening to a conversation between two students,,the question is about the ad and what was the Man's/woman's opinion and why?

 

Simply read the text in 45 seconds (I don't write any thing until I finish reading, u want to make sure that u have read it all..this one is easy to remember so do not worry if u did not have time to write down any notes) but for the listening part, u need to write down simple notes while listening:

 

woman/man likes/dislikes

reasons: 1st.................... ex...............

2nd................... ex..............

 

When u speak, You need to start like this:

 

The school ad is about ........... The woman/man likes/dislikes the idea for the following reasons, first, she/he thinks that.........for example....., second or she/he also thinks that....... for example......... that's why she/he........

 

IN ALL QUESTIONS: PAY ATTENTION TO THE GRAMMER, IF YOU USE PRESENT TENSE, THEN KEEP USING IT, IF YOU USE PAST TENSE, THEN KEEP USING IT

 

I feel tired but I will continue for the other questions in my next post.....let me know what you think about what I have posted and I will be happy to answer any questions except if u ask me about what were the real questions that we had in the test as u all know, we are not allowed to;).....

Good Luck to you all:tup:

[libau]

Does anyone knows what type of letter should i write the Board of Pharmacy since I have not passed the Toefl? . I passed the FPGE in Dec 2008. I was diagnosed with Breast cancer 1 month ago> i am still recovering for a radical mastectomy. Witing foe the results in order to follow my treatment. as you can imagine taking the toefl for the 6th time looking for the nagic 26 ( i got 23 so far) is not my inmediate plan. I need firts to get my energy back to keep fighting. PLEASE ANYONE HELP or ADVICE.. God bless.

[Sototo]

Hi Rainy_cloud

I saw this site before I took my fifth toefl exam last october but still I got 24

It's really very frustrating on my part. Should we use our own words when summarizing the question 3 to 6?

My score for these four questions are always 2.5 to 3 and not enough for me to get a 26. Im really scared to take it again though I really have to finish the exam before oct of next year. Please help me. Thanks

[Sototo]

Libau

If may memory serves me right nabp cancelled the two years policy for passers of fpgee. Just to be sure write a letter directly to nabp. I think i'll be in the same predicament if I dont pass this exam too. Wishing you all the best career and health. God bless.

[mohwagih]

i need urgently your help.I took toefl speaking now more than 14 times and always the score is 23 and i want to reach the magic 26.I even took ilets exam and i got fluent 7 out of 9.So what is the problem?

I even used all your post about the videos and other stuff but still can not make it.I took even private tutors with native speakers and they said I will pass but no use.If u r already in states plz call me on 267-254-2991 any time 24/7 or send me your mobile and I will call u.

Plz help