TOEFL and TOEIC SPEAKING TIPS
(from ETS)
Courtesy of
MARCO
POLO
The American English
Teacher in
Paris!
Trained in Columbia University in New York City
with 30+ years teaching experience
MARCO POLO
Gives, Private, Individual, Highly Effective
ENGLISH LESSONS
Pairs
M: +33675192639 (from Paris 06.77.71.24.74)
E-mail: marco@marcopolopoet.nl
Homepage: http://www.AmericanEnglishProfessor.com
The best way to practice speaking is with native speakers of
English. In some countries, there are English-speaking tutors or assistants who
help students with their conversation skills. It is critical to speak as often
as possible with them, and ask if classroom assistants offer private tutoring.
Another way students can practice speaking is to join a club that involves
speaking in English about movies, music, travel, etc. If no such clubs exist,
students can start their own clubs and invite any native speakers they know to
join. Here are some suggestions for ways to strengthen skills for the Speaking
section of the TOEFL iBT test.
INDEPENDENT SPEAKING TASKS
* Make a list of topics that are familiar, and practice speaking about them.
* Begin by describing a familiar place or talking about a personal experience.
* A more advanced exercise would be to state an opinion or a preference and
then present reasons clearly and with detail.
* Another is to make a recommendation and explain why it is the best way to
proceed.
* Practice giving 1-minute responses to each topic.
< You can also use discussion questions similar to those available at http://iteslj.org/questions/
or some other source for questions. If you know the pattern of these questions,
you will be able to make your own independent speaking questions or prompts.
Your student could make his own, also.>
INTEGRATED SPEAKING TASKS (from ETS, my own comments in
<>)
* Find a textbook that includes questions about the material at the end of
chapters. Practice answering the questions orally.
* Read a short article (100–200 words). Make an outline that includes only the
major points of the article. Use the outline to orally summarize the
information. Then add detail to the outline and orally summarize again.
* Find listening and reading material on the same topic. The material can
provide similar or different views. The Internet and the library are good
places to find information.
<I would also recommend doing all of the TOEFL tasks in such a way that they
produce speaking, such as by giving whole essay topics orally, discussing the
reading, discussing the listening, etc. As for some of the above advice, NPR
and CNN may have some interesting integrated speaking tools, though I am
partial to the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
>
* Take notes on the listening and reading material and do the following:
-- Orally summarize the information in both. Be sure to paraphrase using
different words and grammatical structures.
-- Orally synthesize by combining information from the reading and listening material
and explain how they relate.
Please note: Taking notes throughout the TOEFL iBT test is allowed. Since the
reading and listening material in the integrated Speaking task is very brief,
taking notes on the material may not be necessary. However, the activity
described above will help you prepare for the academic environment you plan to
enter. Also, if you can do well with this kind of activity, you will most
likely succeed on the integrated Speaking tasks on the TOEFL iBT test.
* State and support an opinion about the ideas and information presented in the
reading and listening material.
* If the reading and/or listening material describes a problem, suggest and
explain a solution to the problem.
* Recognize the attitude of the speaker or the writer of the original material
through intonation, stress, and word choice. This helps you understand his/her
point of view and plan an appropriate response.
ALL SPEAKING TASKS (from ETS, my comments in <>)
* Increase your vocabulary and learn to use idiomatic speech appropriately.
* Learn grammatical structures so well that you can use them naturally when
speaking.
* Work on pronunciation, including word stress, intonation patterns, and
pauses. There are a number of products and Web sites that can help you develop
your pronunciation skills.
* When practicing for the TOEFL iBT test using the tips above, take around 15
seconds to plan before beginning to speak. Write down a few key words and
ideas, but do not attempt to write down exactly what you are going to say.
(Raters will be able to detect responses that are read and give them a lower
rating.)
* Use signal words and phrases to introduce new information or ideas, to
connect ideas, and to mark important words or ideas. This will help the
listener easily follow what you are saying. For example, “on one hand...” “but
on the other hand...”, “what that means is...”, “The first reason is...”,
“another difference is...”
* Make recordings of the above activities and listen to make sure the
pronunciation and fluency are clear and easy to understand. An English teacher
or tutor can evaluate the speech using the appropriate TOEFL iBT Speaking
rubric.
<They seem to look for fluidity of speech, ability to think quickly,
organization using a topic sentence, etc. Is your student’s use of English
clearly influenced by his first language? This is something they look for. I’ve
listened to the sample speaking from the workshop book that ETS provides, and
the topics don’t seem to be that difficult. You may want to get the book for
the samples, although it is kinda pricey (50 bucks US).
http://www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry17c?SP=10007&PN=5&CID=0&SID=30027&PID=730691&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0
—Next Generation TOEFL Teacher Professional Development Workshop Manual (ETS)
Additionally, I recommend creating as relaxed an atmosphere as you possibly
can. The trick to TOEFL teaching is knowing that you are NOT teaching to the
test, but rather teaching them to be prepared for the academic rigors of the
English-speaking world. I think this student might react negatively to the prospect
of passing an all-important test. Perhaps on the other skills tested, that
pressure is worthwhile, but it may trip up someone during the speaking portion
of the test.
MARCO
POLO
The American English
Teacher in
Paris!
MARCO POLO,
Trained in Columbia University in New York City
with 30+ years teaching experience
Gives, Private, Individual, Highly Effective
ENGLISH LESSONS
14th arrondissement
Metro-13 Plaisance
Pairs
M: +33675192639 (from Paris 06.77.71.24.74)
E-mail: marco@marcopolopoet.nl
Homepage: http://www.AmericanEnglishProfessor.com