INDEPENDENT SPEAKING TASKS
In the independent speaking portion of the TOEFL iBT test, you will givetwo short speeches on topics that are familiar to you. For the personalpreference task, you will choose and support a preference from a particularcategory. For the personal choice task, you will make and support a choicebetween two contrasting options.
An effective speech begins with an introductory statement that tells thelistener what the speech is about. The body of the speech is made up ofexplanations and details. A concluding statement completes the speech.
1. Listen carefully to the task and think about what you must do in yourresponse.
Ask yourself these questions:
What is the topic of the task?
What am I being asked to do?
Then make a mental list of the answers to these questions. For example,look at the following task:
Name a skill you have learned and explain why it is important to you.Include details and examples to support your explanation.
For this task, you would make a mental list like the following:
The topic is about a skill I have learned. I need to:
Name the skill
Define the skill if the listener might not know what it is
Explain its importance
Include details and examples
2. Quickly decide on a topic.
It is easy to run out of preparation time while trying to decide what topicwithin the given category you will discuss. Quickly choose a topic and startthinking about the examples and details you can include for that particulartopic. Remember, examiners are not interested in what the topic is but in howwell you can express yourself.