Toefl speaking section comes after completing the both reading and the listening sections. There will also a break before beginning with the speaking section so do not let it distract you so much. Do not forget to keep thinking about your aim and stay motivated. 

The speaking section also changed after the update on TOEFL test. There used to be 6 questions in the test but now there are only 4. First and fifth questions are removed which actually gave student a lot of benefits since the fifth question is one of the most challenging one among others. 

The first task will be an independent task. It will be only speaking and it does not include any reading or listening. The rest will be integrated where you will read or listen then provide your answer. Second and third questions will be with reading but the last one will be with the reading part. 

TOEFL Speaking Timing

The timing has also changed in this section. We will have now 17 minutes.

  • For independent tasks we will be having 45 seconds and 15 seconds to prepare 
  • For integrated part takes 60 seconds each with 20-30 seconds of preparation 

It is important not to finish the recording before the given time. Sometimes, students struggle providing answers for the given time and finish it too earl which causes them to get lower score than what they actually can get. For that reason it is important to fill the given time period. It is also okay to run out of time in the conclusion part of your recording. As  long as you provide the valuable information within a decent structure throughout your answers, the points will not be effected because of running out of time.

TOEFL Speaking Tips

During the speaking section we are allowed to take notes and it is crucial to use that as benefit. Before providing an answer it is vital to take notes and create simple structure with the details will help you get a high score in this section. The details are the keys. Especially in the second and the third questions catching the keywords and writing them down on the sheet will give you a huge advantage when you are preparing your answer.

Practice, practice and practice. The more you practice with the time on every question types by recording your voice and then doing them over and over again not only will it help you to spot your mistakes but will also get you familiar with the topic that you are working on. The topics in the test are more or less the same so practicing beforehand on different topics will give you huge advantage to score high.

It is also important to work on the pronunciation and intonation. When you sound better in English you will be more confident giving your answer. Show that you are confident. Emphasize your words. Give emotions within your answers. These will effect your score.

You can check my Youtube videos on speaking section where I already covered question types within the strategies. Videos are available both on the website and on my Youtube channel.

You also need someone to assess your recording, spot your mistakes and give you feedback  on how to improve your answer. Me and my team are here for you to help you on that. You can always use our speaking evaluation service to score high on this section.