I have toefl test on 3rd aug...in practice tests iam now just scoring 100-103..

Question

please give me some tips on speaking section ..iam very weak in it...please fast!thanks ppl

Answer 1

Hello there,

This is what has seemed to help my TOEFL students:

Understand that the speaking should not be done the same as the writing. The writing has to be very well-structured: the essay has to have a definite introduction, body, and conclusion. Speaking, on the other hand, is usually less structured:  do not try to follow a specific pattern or format; just try to speak as freely and as naturally as you can. Many TOEFL books say that you should follow a format for speaking. This is true in an ideal world, but the TOEFL assessors are trying to measure how well you speak English, not how well you can follow a structure. It is my experience that when you give students a particular structure to follow for speaking, they are more focused on the structure and less focused on the speaking.  It is better to do the opposite: focus more on speaking and less on structure.  Look at it this way: English is my first language, and I speak it quite well. Even so, if I have to think about a particular structure or format to follow when I speak, I won’t speak as much and I won’t speak as well.

Also, I've just had a look at your profile and see that you are Indian. My guess is that you have big problems with these sounds: "th," "w," and "v."

Practice the "th" sound a lot, and try to articulate when you do the speaking. Here are some sentences to practice:

"There are thirty things I have to do this Thursday."

"These things are the things that I think we should be thankful for."

"See on Thursday the thirtieth at three-thirty, then. Thanks."

Hope this helps!

William

P.S., If you ever need help with TOEFL iBT writing, take a look at my website: http://www.cz-training.com/toefl/index.h...