In this question, you'll listen to part of a conversation or a lecture. You will then be asked a question about what you have heard. Your response will be scored on your ability to speak clearly and coherently and on your ability to accurately convey information about what you heard. You'll have 20 seconds to prepare your answer and 60 seconds to speak.
You may take notes while you read and while you listen to the conversations and lectures. You may use your notes to help prepare your response.
We recommend you practice taking notes with a pen and paper like you will during your TOEFL exam.
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You have 60 seconds to record your answer. Click the record button to begin.
Recorder will be available after subscribing.The speakers discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem. Briefly summarize the problem, then state which solution you recommend and explain why.
Sample Answer
Grammar & Vocabulary Training Exercise
(This exercise trains your speech, listening skills, and speaking comprehension)
Listen to your response and write out exactly what you hear including grammar and spelling mistakes. Use Grammarly to find any common and intermediate level mistakes.
Re-write your response to use correct grammar and spelling and improve the structure then redo the test.
Pronunciation Training Exercise
(This exercise trains your pronunciation, speech rhythm, timing, and reading)
Click the record button and read out load a Sample Answer Script:. As you speak, your speech will be translated to text. It can take 5 seconds before the text appears, so don't worry and keep speaking.
Click the record button to stop recording; Review the text for any pronunciation errors.
Answer structure
1. Describe the problem the student is facing and the two suggested solutions.
2. State which solution you prefer.
3. Provide reasons why you chose this solution.
A format for the 60 seconds speech:
20-25 seconds - Describe the problem the student is facing and the two suggested solutions
10 seconds - State which solution you prefer
20-25 seconds - Provide reasons why you chose this solution
Answer template
He/She has two solutions.
One solution is that _________
Another solution is that _________
I think the man/woman had better _________
One reason is that _________
Another reason is that _________
High Scoring Answer Analysis
While the first two questions of the Speaking section ask you to make decisions and voice your own opinions and then the next two questions want you to only re-state the ideas from the listening and reading, from this fifth question onward, you will have to restate the information from a listening and add your opinions. You can see that the level of difficulty is increasing question by question in the Speaking question. This question will provide you a situation with a problem and two options for a solution through a conversation. You have to re-tell the situation, state the two solutions and then choose the one solution that you think make more sense for the situation. Let’s look at an example.
Example:
Audio transcript
Man: Hey, Julie, what’s up?
Woman: Oh, George. Hi. I’m just waiting for my friend Amy.
Man: Oh yeah? What for?
Woman: We’re supposed to drive into town together to see a film at one of the theaters.
Man: Nice! That sounds fun.
Woman: Yeah, hopefully it will be. Our professor from film class wants us to go see this movie by one of the directors we’ve been studying.
Man: Ohhhh, okay. So it’s not a completely relaxing activity then, huh?
Woman: Not quite. We’ll be discussing the film in class next week, so I’ll need to pay good attention. Still, pretty good as far as homework goes.
Man: Haha, that’s true, that’s true.
Woman: Yup.
Man: When is your friend supposed to get here?
Woman: That’s just the thing. We were supposed to meet like 15 minutes ago and Amy hasn’t shown up yet.
Man: Yikes. And I bet you’re restricted by when the movie starts, huh?
Woman: Exactly. And I mean, I’m the one with the car, so I could just go….but….
Man: Yeah, no, that is a tricky situation to be stuck in. Have you tried calling her?
Woman: Yeah. I’ve called a bunch of times now and left voicemails and everything, but she hasn’t responded. So I don’t know what to do. I mean, she might
show up any minute now, or she might not. And if we don’t leave in the next like….ten minutes, then we’ll miss the beginning of the movie.
Man: Man, I hate stuff like that. It’s like no matter what you do, you can’t win.
Woman: Exactly how I feel right now.
Man: Well, I mean, I know Amy’s your friend and everything, but there’s not all that much you can do about it. You already waited 15 minutes, you already
called her….maybe you should just go by yourself.
Woman: That’s definitely an option. It just seems so unfriendly. Although….she could just see it another time. It’s not like I would be taking away her
only opportunity.
Man: Yeah, so that’s good. You could just leave her another voicemail saying that you couldn’t wait any longer and hope she understands.
Woman: Yeah….I could. Because I’m busy tomorrow, so I couldn’t see it then.
Man: Well, hey, then you should extra just go right now! I mean, what, the other option is to just be late to the movie, or possibly miss it all together?
Woman: Yeah….I mean, I could wait at least another ten minutes and go late to the film. She might be on her way over here right now! I don’t know, that’s
the problem.
Man: Does she have a habit of being late?
Woman: Yep, that’s pretty much an essential part of being Amy. And she did say that she had a lot of things to do before this movie….
Man: Well, it’s your call. I mean, if she is going to show up, there’s that, but it’s just impossible to know.
Woman: Yeah….hmmm….
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then, state which of the two solutions you recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Answer:
The woman’s problem is that she has been waiting for her friend to meet her so they can go to a movie together, but the friend hasn’t shown up yet and isn’t answering her phone. The first solution would be for the woman to go ahead and leave without her friend so she sees the movie. The second solution would be to wait another ten minutes for the woman to see if her friend shows up. I think the woman should go with the first solution. Like the man in the conversation points out, there’s no way of knowing whether or not the friend will show, and the woman needs to see this movie for her class. So, the only guaranteed way for her to get her schoolwork done, is to leave right away by herself. It’s the friend’s fault that she’s running late and she could see the movie another time. The woman shouldn’t inconvenience herself. Plus, if Amy is a good friend, then she will understand and not be mad at the woman for choosing the first option.
Analysis and comments
- This speech includes a really thorough explanation of the problem. It includes all the necessary information for a good summary of the situation.
- It introduces and explains both the options so listeners understand the choices the speaker gets to choose between.
- The speaker chooses an option and provides reasons to back up his decision. He does not only provide only one reason but multiple to make the argument convincing. If you have time, include as many reasons as you can for your arguments.
Low Scoring Answer Analysis
While the first two questions of the Speaking section ask you to make decisions and voice your own opinions and then the next two questions want you to only re-state the ideas from the listening and reading, from this fifth question onward, you will have to restate the information from a listening and add your opinions. You can see that the level of difficulty is increasing question by question in the Speaking question. This question will provide you a situation with a problem and two options for a solution through a conversation. You have to re-tell the situation, state the two solutions and then choose the one solution that you think make more sense for the situation. Let’s look at an example.
Example:
Audio transcript
Man: Hey, Julie, what’s up?
Woman: Oh, George. Hi. I’m just waiting for my friend Amy.
Man: Oh yeah? What for?
Woman: We’re supposed to drive into town together to see a film at one of the theaters.
Man: Nice! That sounds fun.
Woman: Yeah, hopefully it will be. Our professor from film class wants us to go see this movie by one of the directors we’ve been studying.
Man: Ohhhh, okay. So it’s not a completely relaxing activity then, huh?
Woman: Not quite. We’ll be discussing the film in class next week, so I’ll need to pay good attention. Still, pretty good as far as homework goes.
Man: Haha, that’s true, that’s true.
Woman: Yup.
Man: When is your friend supposed to get here?
Woman: That’s just the thing. We were supposed to meet like 15 minutes ago and Amy hasn’t shown up yet.
Man: Yikes. And I bet you’re restricted by when the movie starts, huh?
Woman: Exactly. And I mean, I’m the one with the car, so I could just go….but….
Man: Yeah, no, that is a tricky situation to be stuck in. Have you tried calling her?
Woman: Yeah. I’ve called a bunch of times now and left voicemails and everything, but she hasn’t responded. So I don’t know what to do. I mean, she might
show up any minute now, or she might not. And if we don’t leave in the next like….ten minutes, then we’ll miss the beginning of the movie.
Man: Man, I hate stuff like that. It’s like no matter what you do, you can’t win.
Woman: Exactly how I feel right now.
Man: Well, I mean, I know Amy’s your friend and everything, but there’s not all that much you can do about it. You already waited 15 minutes, you already
called her….maybe you should just go by yourself.
Woman: That’s definitely an option. It just seems so unfriendly. Although….she could just see it another time. It’s not like I would be taking away her
only opportunity.
Man: Yeah, so that’s good. You could just leave her another voicemail saying that you couldn’t wait any longer and hope she understands.
Woman: Yeah….I could. Because I’m busy tomorrow, so I couldn’t see it then.
Man: Well, hey, then you should extra just go right now! I mean, what, the other option is to just be late to the movie, or possibly miss it all together?
Woman: Yeah….I mean, I could wait at least another ten minutes and go late to the film. She might be on her way over here right now! I don’t know, that’s
the problem.
Man: Does she have a habit of being late?
Woman: Yep, that’s pretty much an essential part of being Amy. And she did say that she had a lot of things to do before this movie….
Man: Well, it’s your call. I mean, if she is going to show up, there’s that, but it’s just impossible to know.
Woman: Yeah….hmmm….
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then, state which of the two solutions you recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
Answer:
The woman has a problem with her friend. She has two options. I think the woman should leave first instead of waiting for her friend. Like the man in the conversation points out, she cannot be sure if her friend will show up or not and she needs to see this movie for her class. So she needs to leave right away to make it time for the movie. Furthermore, it is her friend’s fault for running late and not showing up on time. And the friend can see the movie another time while she cannot. Therefore, she should just go to see the movie first by herself instead of waiting for the friend.
Analysis and comments
Wrong things
- It is very important in this question to explain the problem in the beginning of the speech. The problem should not be introduced briefly. Explaining the problem thoroughly is one of the tasks the prompt specifically asks for. So do not only focus on explaining your choice of options and forget to explain the situation.
- The speech fails to include all the options. Even though, it does state what the speaker thinks is the better option, it should also include all the possible options mentioned in the conversation. Giving the listeners all the options is important in setting background information. So when the speaker chooses an option, it is more convincing for listeners to know what the speaker is choosing over.
Right things
- The speech does a good job at explaining the choice of the speaker. It does not state out the choice but also explains thoroughly. The speaker talks about how the woman should leave for the movie instead of waiting for her friend. The speaker also goes in length explaining why the speaker chooses that option with multiple reasons to back it up.
- There is a short conclusion to sum up the whole speech. It is short but effective in closing the speech.