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TOEFL® Speaking 2 Practice 1

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In this question of the TOEFL Speaking Task 2, you'll first read a short passage about either a campus announcement or a student's letter. Next, you will hear a conversation between two students discussing their opinions on the passage you just read. You will then be asked a question about what you have read and heard. You'll have 30 seconds to prepare your answer and 60 seconds to speak.

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Read the following passage

The Chemistry Department is planning to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above. We have found there to be a serious need for well-educated chemistry students and the current pool of chemists is highly lacking. By awarding these scholarships, it will allow future chemists to get a better handle on their tuition costs as well as encourage students to study harder in class. After the recent audit, we have found there to be plenty of funds for this department and we feel this is the best place to use them. Considering this school spends most of its funds on the Sports Department, we want to get students more interested in chemistry and we feel this is the best place to start.

The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.
The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.
You have 30 seconds to prepare your answer.
The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.

You have 60 seconds to record your answer. Click the record button to begin.

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Start
00:00
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Step 1: Read a campus announcement
00:50

The Chemistry Department is planning to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above. We have found there to be a serious need for well-educated chemistry students and the current pool of chemists is highly lacking. By awarding these scholarships, it will allow future chemists to get a better handle on their tuition costs as well as encourage students to study harder in class. After the recent audit, we have found there to be plenty of funds for this department and we feel this is the best place to use them. Considering this school spends most of its funds on the Sports Department, we want to get students more interested in chemistry and we feel this is the best place to start.

Step 2: Listen to a conversation

Female: This is a bad move from the Chemistry Department. I can’t believe they are going to spend school funding like this.

Male: Why would you say that?

Female: Have you seen the outdated equipment in the Chemistry Department? Most of it is older than I am. If the department has so much extra money, they should spend it on updating the chemistry equipment before pushing for more students. I mean, think about it! Most companies use updated equipment, so how do they expect us to compete for positions when we’re accustomed to using outdated equipment? We’re going to be at a disadvantage.

Male: Yea, you’re right. I never thought about that. We will need to know how to use the latest equipment in the Chemistry field for our future careers.

Female: Exactly! Also, I think they should consider spending money on current students who are actually working hard and not try to lure in potential students. I know a lot of my friends are studying hard. Even though they are not getting an average grade of 90%, they are still getting good grades in Chemistry. I think the Chemistry department should award them, like giving them a bonus or something.

Male: That’s true! You make a good point. It would be great if my hard work was rewarded.

Step 3: Prepare your answer

Question: The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.


You have 30 seconds to prepare you answer


00:30
Step 4: Record your answer

Question: The woman expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons that she gives for holding that opinion.

You have 60 seconds to speak

Submit Answer
Sample Response 4/4

The woman does not think the chemistry department’s plan to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above is a good idea. She makes a point to say that the current items on hand in the Chemistry lab are very outdated. The use of outdated equipment hurts the students because it doesn’t allow for them to understand or use the latest equipment being used currently in the Chemistry field. She also thinks that the department should spend the money on current students who are working hard and reward them for the hard work and their dedication to the department instead of trying to lure in potential students and spending money on them. For these two reasons, she is not in agreement with this campus announcement. She feels the funds need to be used in the current lab considering its condition or used to reward current hard-working students.


Key Words Found in this practice
Related Words

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Take a closer look at the sample speaking review below.

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SAMPLE TOEFL Speaking Report

SAMPLE Score Summary
2.1 / 4
Task Fulfillment
Pronunciation & Intonation
Flow & Speech
Correct Grammar Usage
Vocabulary Usage (Appropriacy and Range)
Support & Development
SAMPLE Audio Feedback

Listen carefully to your audio feedback. The reviewer will correct your pronunciation, intonation, and flow of speech. We recommend you listen to it several times to fully understand each point and correction made by the reviewer.
SAMPLE Criteria Score Reports

Task Fulfillment   2/4

The response is mostly connected to the given task/question, but has limited ideas and explanation or some ideas that are not directly related to the task/question

Task Fulfillment is about how well you respond to the question you are given. TOEFL raters are looking for...

How to Improve

To do well on Task Fulfillment for Speaking Task 1, you first need to understand...

Pronunciation & Intonation   3/4

The response may require effort by listener at times, though speech is generally clear, with: some sound and cluster pronunciation mistakes occasional unnatural word and sentence stress occasional unnatural intonation

Pronunciation and intonation is about how you form English sounds and how you use natural English intonation. Your pronunciation and intonation can damage your score if...

How to Improve

Watch the following pronunciation video lessons to improve your pronunciation.

Vowel Video Lesson
Vowel ɪ and i ...
Vowel ɛ and æ ...
Vowel ə and ʌ ...
Vowel ɔ and ɑ ...
Vowel ʊ and u ...

Consonants Video Lesson
Consonant b and p ...
Consonant d and t ...
Consonant g and k ...
Consonant dʒ and tʃ ...
Consonant v and f ...
Consonant ð and θ ...
Consonant s and z ...
Consonant ʃ and ʒ ...
Consonant m, n and ŋ ...
Consonant l and r ...
Consonant h, w and y ...
...
...

Flow & Speech   3/4

Sustains mostly natural rhythm, though at times breaks it with unnatural linking or stress has some unnatural pausing and hesitation

Flow and speech is about how quickly you can speak and how much pausing and hesitation you use. You don’t have to speak quickly, but...

How to Improve

To improve your speech flow...

Unnatural Pauses and Hesitations Reduction Exercise

Practice any TOEFL question and record your answer. Then listen to your recording and...

Speech Pacing Exercise

An important key to earning a high score on Speech delivery is pacing in your speech. A good pacing means using proper pauses and word stresses. Here is a step-by-step exercise that can help you improve the pacing in your speech:

  1. ...
  2. ...
  3. ...

Correct Grammar Usage   1/4

Meaning is often difficult to understand because of significant and frequent errors with:nouns verb tenses adverbs and adjectives, including some phrases word order articles, pronouns, quantifiers, prepositions gerunds, infinitives

Correct grammar usage is about how you use English grammar and sentence structure. Raters want to see...

How to Improve

Using right tenses is important in TOEFL speaking. Every time you are not sure about what tense you should use, refer to our sample answer and...

Grammar topic Lesson
All past tenses ...
Present perfect tense ...
How to talk about future using right tenses ...
Mixed Verb Tenses in English: Conditionals and IF clauses ...

Vocabulary Usage (Appropriacy and Range)   4/4

Uses generally correct word forms with only minimal errors effectively uses a wide range of words and phrases, which may include phrasal verbs and idioms includes generally accurate word choice and at times demonstrates sophistication in vocabulary

Vocabulary usage is about how you use English words. Raters are looking for responses that use...

How to Improve

To improve your vocabulary usage for task 1, practice...

We suggest you complete the following speaking tasks 1 and 2 lessons...

Support & Development   2/4

Has some relevant main ideas but not enough to be fully developed has some but not enough explanation of reasons to support the main ideas, or the explanation does not always relate directly to main ideas has some but not enough details and examples to help the listener understand the main ideas

Support and development is about...

How to Improve

To improve your support and development you have to...

A great exercise to improve note-taking is...




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Sample Answer

The woman does not think the chemistry department’s plan to award scholarships to students who have received an average grade of 90% or above is a good idea. She makes a point to say that the current items on hand in the Chemistry lab are very outdated. The use of outdated equipment hurts the students because it doesn’t allow for them to understand or use the latest equipment being used currently in the Chemistry field. She also thinks that the department should spend the money on current students who are working hard and reward them for the hard work and their dedication to the department instead of trying to lure in potential students and spending money on them. For these two reasons, she is not in agreement with this campus announcement. She feels the funds need to be used in the current lab considering its condition or used to reward current hard-working students.

TOEFL speaking LessonsCompleted: 0 / 77
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Master TOEFL Speaking Task 2
The TOEFL Integrated Speaking Task 2 question will ask you to read a passage about either a campus announcement or a student's letter. You will be given 50 seconds to read the passage. Next, you will hear a conversation between two students discussing their opinions on the passage you just read.

Remember to take notes while you read the passage and listen to the conversation.

Finally, you will answer a question based on the passage and conversation. The question will ask you to state a specific student's opinion and explain the reasons he or she gives for having that opinion.

You will have 30 seconds to prepare your response and 60 seconds to speak.
1. While reading the passage(usually is a school announcement), find two main points from the reading passage.
2. While listening to the conversation, quickly identify which student strongly supports or opposes the school's decision
3. Find out the two main reasons why the student likes or dislikes the school's decision. Make sure take notes to write down these two main points.
4. In your speaking response, briefly describe the school's announcement and the student's opinion on this announcement.
5. If student opposes the school's decision, present the two main reasons why this student is against it
6. If student supports the school's decision, present the two main reasons why this student supports it.
7. Do not express your personal opinion on the school's decision.
8. Do not spend time describing all the details mentioned in the reading passage. You do not have time for this.

Common topics in TOEFL Integrated Speaking 3 Questions
  • University investments and expenditures
  • University service - Library, Cafeteria, and Health Center
  • University course offerings
  • Student affairs
  • Student employment and internships

Useful Phrases
The following table outlines the sentences that you can use to express the student's opinion on the school's plan.
SupportOppose
He agrees with the plan He disagrees with the plan
He approves of the plan He disapproves of the plan
He argues in favor for the plan He argues against plan
He accepts that the plan is a good idea He questions that the plan is necessary
He is behind the plan He is opposed to the plan
He thinks the plan is reasonable He thinks the plan is unreasonable
He thinks the plan has benefits He thinks the plan has weaknesses

You can use the following phrases to prepare your speaking responses in TOEFL Integrated Speaking 2 Questions.

The university has released an announcement regarding ...
  • The university has released an announcement regarding the cancellation policy for fall classes
  • The university has released an announcement regarding the cancellation policy for fall classes
The man(woman) says that he supports the university's decision. His(Her) reasons are as follows: ...
From the conversation, we know that the man(woman) does not like the school's decision.
From the conversation, we know that the man(woman) is critical of ..
  • From the conversation, we know that the man(woman) is critical of the university's plan for building maintenance
  • From the conversation, we know that the man(woman) is critical of the proposed recycling plan.
In his(her) opinion, if the problem is ..., that problem won't be solved by ...
  • In her opinion, if the problem is there aren't enough books for all the undergraduate students, that problem won't be solved by using multiple copies of books for the core subject.
The man(woman)'s another point is that
Another thing that the man(woman) dislikes about ... is ...
  • Another thing that the man dislikes about the policy is that resident students need to pay the same fee.
The man(woman) questions the logic of ...
  • The man questions the logic of charging the same monthly fee for both parking lots
The man(woman) adds that he thinks ...
  • The man(woman) adds that he(she) thinks resident students should have to pay a little more for parking than commuter students.
And one downside of ... is that
  • And one downside of taking the shuttle bus is that the bus is often late.
Answer template
Here is the structure we recommend you to use:
1. Summarize the main point of the reading passage and state the student’s opinion.
2. Present the first reason of the student and then the second reason of the student.
3. If you still have time, restate the student’s opinion again as a conclusion.

A format for the 60 seconds speech:
- 15 seconds - state the student’s opinion and summarize the main point of the reading passage
- 20 seconds -Present the first reason of the student
- 20 seconds - Present the second reason of the student
- 5 seconds - Restate the student’s opinion again as a conclusion.

Agree Disagree
The man/girl agrees with the announcement/letter/article, which is about ______

There are two reasons why the man/girl supports the announcement/letter/article.

One reason is that ______

Another reason is that ________

Therefore, these reasons are why the man/girl believes that _____ is a good idea. 		The man/girl disagrees with the announcement/letter/article, which is about ______

There are two reasons why the man/girl opposes the announcement/letter/article.

One reason is that _____

Another reason is that _______

Therefore, these reasons are why the man/girl believes that _____ is not a good idea.
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