iBT Speaking and Writing

TOEFL Speaking Question 6: Managing information and time!

Having problems with Question 6 (the scary lecture task) in the TOEFL Speaking section?

   

  

Well, my latest TOEFL iBTv tutorial might be able to provide you with some simple but helpful tips, especially when it comes to managing the information you need to talk about, but also managing the time limit!

You can access the tutorial here:

TOEFL Speaking Question 6 - Managing Information and Time

  

Hope it helps you out!

~ Jason

:D

TOEFL Writing - Being careful with basic punctuation!

New TOEFL iBTv tutorial loaded - using the integrated writing task as a framework, get some important reminders about using basic punctuation correctly in your written response!

I see so many responses get points deducted from them because, even though the content is very good, poor punctuation has marred it in many places.

Watch the iBTv tutorial here:

Integrated Writing Task - Being careful with basic punctuation

All the best,

~ Jason

:D

 

TOEFL Vocabulary - Which words do you really need to know?

 

   

To do well in all parts of the TOEFL, you simply MUST have a good academic vocabulary! But which words do you need to know???

  

The link below will take you to the 300 most common words in academic/scientific/professional English - the ones most likely to appear in reading and listening passages on the TOEFL, and the ones you will probably need to be able to pronounce and use accurately for speaking questions 4 and 6, as well as writing task 1.

To help with your speaking, in the list I've highlighted stressed syllables in each of the words.

   

Top 300 Words from the Academic Word List for TOEFL preparation

 

Study the words, make sure you can understand them, make sure you can pronounce them properly, and make sure you can say and write them in accurate sentences!

   

   

~ Jason

:D

TOEFL Speaking: Using emphasis in your spoken response

The latest TOEFL iBTv tutorial is up on the site, this one with more focus on using EMPHASIS in your spoken response to make you easier to understand and to also ensure the test assessor catches on to the fact that you are covering key information in your response to a particular question.

The examples of emphasis here are framed within an example response to a Question 5 style task from the TOEFL speaking section.

  

TOEFL Integrated Speaking Question 5 - Using Emphasis

Enjoy!

~ Jason

:D

TOEFL Essay Writing - How to time and pace the different stages to produce a good independent essay response!

This is the latest in my TOEFL iBTv series, and this tutorial focuses on identifying a series of stages to work through (and how to time them) to both produce a good essay efficiently under time limits, but also to help you discover where you have particular weaknesses so that you can focus on specific stages to improve your overall writing!

11. TOEFL Independent Essay - Timing and pacing your written response

Good luck with your TOEFL writing development!

~ Jason

:D

Exciting news! Jason's TOEFL Mentor services join forces with Michael Buckhoff's renowned Better TOEFL Scores services

If you're preparing for the TOEFL, you've most probably already found Michael Buckhoff's great Better TOEFL Scores website and collection of materials. If you haven't, then it's about time you checked it out!

Well, we're two of the better-known resources known around the Internet when it comes to improving your TOEFL test performance, so it appeared logical to us to join forces and enhance each other's offerings to TOEFL test takers.

As a result, my TOEFL Speaking and Writing Mentor services have been added to Michael Buckhoff's great S.T.E.A.L.T.H 7-step coursework system for passing the TOEFL!

Check out Michael's announcement here, and I hope you'll go ahead and benefit from the great stuff both Michael and I offer to our TOEFL students.

 

~ Jason

:D

TOEFL Speaking Mentor - the very best quality (and best priced!) TOEFL Speaking Service you'll get anywhere!

Hundreds of students are joining, and reporting big improvements in their scores!

If you're preparing for TOEFL Speaking, and haven't joined this service - then you're already falling behind...

   

  

Make sure you sign up and give yourself the very best opportunity to get the TOEFL speaking score you need for your future!

 

Jason's TOEFL Speaking Mentor Service

 

~ Jason

:D

TOEFL Speaking Question 4 (the hardest one!) - Essential strategies to handle the task well!

Well, this (TOEFL speaking question 4) appears to be the question in the speaking section that causes the most grief to test-takers. Hopefully the video tutorial below will help make things a little clearer and more manageable!

 

 

For more helpful tutorials like this for TOEFL speaking and writing, make sure you visit my TOEFL iBTv page!

   

Good luck,

~ Jason

:D

 

New TOEFL iBT Speaking Independent Question sample topics and answers

I've just added four new sample topics and model answers to my free TOEFL Speaking Topics page. Find out about:

• a good place in my town to have fun;
• my favorite subject at school;
• why I prefer going on a long trip by train instead of car;
• why I prefer a job I really enjoy even if it has a moderate salary!

  

The topic mega lists available exclusively to TOEFL Speaking Mentor subscribers feature these plus another four example topics and model answers, describing:

• who I feel close to in my family;
• an experience in my life that made me feel embarrassed;
• why I prefer to combine study and part-time work;
• why I prefer to stick to tasks I know I can do well!

 

There are of course many MANY more topics and example answers available to TOEFL Speaking Mentor subscribers, but these are just some of the latest updates!

   

Good luck to you all in your TOEFL speaking preparation!

~ Jason

:-D

   

 

TOEFL iBT Integrated Speaking Tasks (Questions 3 and 4): Taking notes from the reading passage in just 45 seconds!

The latest speaking-related tutorial has just been uploaded to Jason's TOEFL iBTv:

 

Integrated Speaking Tasks 3 & 4: Taking notes from the reading passage

  

I get a lot of questions about this one - how to take quick notes in just 45 seconds of reading time, so it's a good one to watch and think about!

  

Best,

~ Jason

:D

  

Integrated writing task - taking notes for the reading passage

Just to let you know I've added a new tutorial to TOEFL iBTv, this one with a specific focus on how to take notes for the reading passage while doing the integrated writing task.

TOEFL iBTv: Integrated Writing Task - Taking notes for the reading passage

Hope it gives you some useful ideas and tips!

:D

TOEFL iBT Speaking Question 2: Indicating your personal preference quickly and clearly

It's really important in Question 2 in the iBT TOEFL Speaking Section that you are able to indicate your personal preference quickly, clearly, but also a little elegantly - with good language use and emphasis/intonation.

Find out how it can be done with my latest addition to Jason's TOEFL iBTv:

Speaking Question 2: Indicating your personal preference quickly and clearly

All the best,

~ Jason

   

:D

TOEFL Independent essay: brainstorming and outlining to make a quick start to your essay

I've just uploaded a new visual tutorial to my free TOEFL iBTv resource section, and this one looks at a simple way to brainstorm and create an outline simultaneously, to help you make a quick and efficient start to your independent essay response:

 

TOEFL iBTv: Independent essay - brainstorming and outlining to make a quick start to your essay

The great TOEFL iBTv tutorials keep coming, and are updated regularly, so make sure you get over there and see them as often as you can!

 

~ Jason

;-D

 

 

 

Speaking Question 1 - Beginning your response and using emphasis and intonation

This is the latest TOEFL iBTv tutorial, and you can access it at the link below:

Jason's TOEFL iBTv

 

Hope it helps somebody out there!

:-D

 

Jason's TOEFL iBTv - free weekly broadcast with fresh tips for TOEFL speaking and writing!

This is just a quick announcement to let you know that I've launched Jason's TOEFL iBTv - a sort of broadcast with new tips for TOEFL speaking and writing, updated every week:
 
http://www.english-itutor.com/TOEFL_iBTv.html
 
This is good practical advice for TOEFL speaking and writing, and it is 100% free to access every week, so get along and check it out when you can (who knows? there could be a tip there that makes a difference and lifts your score over your target for your next TOEFL iBT attempt!)
 
All the best,
 
~ Jason
 
http://www.English-iTutor.com

New TOEFL iBT speaking tips service (TOEFL Speaking Mentor)

I've made a new version of TOEFL Speaking Mentor, which you can preview on the screencast below:

  

 

 

I'm amazed and delighted to see how many people have been posting that these special TOEFL speaking tips have helped them to get scores of 26-29 out of 30 in the speaking section.

Obviously, the tips work!

:-)

  

TOEFL iBT Speaking Question 1 (Independent speaking task: preference/open choice) - Tips on how to answer

Put a complete TOEFL iBT speaking test directly into your webpage or blog!

Now you can embed a full iBT speaking test directly into your webpage or blog posting!

Go to this link to find out how:

http://www.english-itutor.com/TOEFL_iBT_speaking_tests.html

 

All the best,

~ Jason

iBT TOEFL Speaking Part 4: Classroom teaching idea - Create an academic present-debate!

The fourth task in the iBT TOEFL Speaking section is possibly one of the most challening parts of the entire test. Certainly based on my own observations of students attempting this part, plus the extensive comments and feedback I've gotten from actual test takers, it appears to be the speaking task that is the hardest to do well on.

The activity I am going to suggest here is essentially something a teacher can facilitate in a classroom environment, but there is no reason why an independent study group comprising students/test-takers couldn't attempt it as well.

Basically, a great way to practice for this kind of challenge in a very hands-on and task-based way is to organize mini-debates, or more accurately, "present-debates".

Together, the teacher and/or just the students can track down a range of small academic articles from the fields of natural or social science, social studies, archaeology, anthropology, technology, etc. Wikipedia would be a great place to start, but there are also places like the BBC news service, National Geographic and Discovery. There are clearly added benefits here: students will be reading extensively and critically, and hopefully getting access to articles that both interest them personally and may be of broader current appeal at the time.

The two conditions that need to be met are that the articles chosen claim or posit something in a definitive way, and they should be relatively brief (100-150 words only).

Once each student has an article, duplicates are made and put in a pile. Each student then chooses at random a duplicate of one of their classmates' articles. After reading the article, they then need do some more research to find additonal material in response to it. Following the trend of the iBT TOEFL part 4 speaking task, they'll need to decide whether to:

(a) accept the drift of the original article, and find supplementary findings or evidence that supports and/or extends it in a direct way, or

(b) disagree with the drift of the article, and find supplementary material that challenges the assertions made in the original article.

 

This ushers in a second phase of research and information gathering, with yet more academic extensive and critical reading. At this point you might be thinking to yourself that there is far too much preparation involved in this and the students are not getting down to the nuts and bolts of the speaking task fast enough. On the contrary, I would argue that this very process helps to take students very deep inside the actual task, with a critical and experiential awareness of what is involved with two different content inputs and how the actual speaking part 4 task is essentially set up. And, as you'll see in a moment, this process is actually facilitating a nice big bank of task materials with fantastic variety - leading to extensive practice options.

Okay, so by now what the class or group should have is a situation whereby each student has an original academic article, and each student has a duplicate of another student's article, alongside a critical extension or challenge to it. What you have now is a rich bank of materials to facilitate practice of the speaking part 4 task.

One last preparation step: for the original articles, more duplicates need to be made so that there are enough for every student in the group. This doesn't apply to the follow up materials - just the original materials.

From here the mini-debate presentations can proceed. Basically, taking turns each student stands up before the others, hands out the duplicates of the original article, and allows them 1-2 minutes to read and take some notes (just as with the actual TOEFL test for this task). Then the student reads out his/her extension/challenge information linked to the original article, while the other students listen and take notes. Once this process has been completed, students take turns talking about the presentation, comparing and discussing how the listening information relates to the original written information. The first student, who made the presentation, then acts as an assessor to judge how well each classmate stated and synthesized the key information. Remember that there will be a second student amongst the speakers who saw the original article (as he/she chose it), who may have the bonus of being able to speak more confidently as a result and/or assist the presenting student with the assessment stage. There is yet another bonus here in that each student is encouraged to go deeper into the assessment criteria for the TOEFL speaking section (and indeed, copies of the actual ETS Integrated Speaking Rubric will come in very handy here).

From here each student can take his/her turn distributing duplicates of an original article, reading out his/her selected follow up information, and facilitating and informally assessing how well classmates respond to it. As an overall activity, this will become an extended and engaging experience with plenty of speaking part 4 style practice.

 

Okay, I'm sure there will be some challenges to this, so I'll try to head some of them off here and now:

 

Q: What if the materials chosen by the students are not IBT TOEFL appropriate, too hard or too easy?

A: I think this is all beneficial awareness-raising for potential test-takers. The bonuses represented in doing lots of academic reading, making academic judgements about sources of content, doing some academic writing, etc., all more than outweigh any potential disadvantages with not making perfect choices about the original content.

 

Q: Students will read with their native accent, which won't sound like the scripts used on the actual TOEFL. Won't this be a disadvantage?

A: Well, it might be - depending on how you look at it, and/or what sort of overall proficiency is inherent to the particular group and its various members. Personally I think it is another fantastic chance to promote pronunciation and intonation practice (students could be asked to rehearse their reading aloud sections in advance). And, if the pronunciation is actually poor or hard to make out, isn't this in the end going to be actually easier once you get to the real iBT TOEFL and hear the "golden tones" of the "crystal clear" native speakers?

 

Q: Can students be relied on to make fair and accurate assessments of their classmates' speaking efforts?

A: I like to believe so, but there are other safeguards inherent to the activity. For one, the person presenting the information has a good chance of knowing it in great detail, thereby granting an advantage in terms of judging how well others have picked it up. Second, in a group environment there is nothing wrong with letting the group itself get involved with each assessment score. As in, each person in the group should be allowed to voice their opinion and say why a speaking performance ought to be graded up or down, so long as they can provide solid rationales (again - having the actual rubric alongside will be helpful in this regard).

 

There may be other challenges to the potential success of this kind of activity, of course. By all means voice them by leaving a comment here on the blog and I'll do my best to tackle them and make suggestions.

 

However, there are many things I personally like about this process overall. It involves the students/test-takers in the nuts and bolts of the task and its content in ways repetitive practice out of books cannot. It works with a group dynamic, which is great for socializing the material and implementation in a way that is not all that distant from the actual real-world acadmic activity the TOEFL speaking task is trying to emulate and facilitate. It also creates independent students who do not feel completely dependent on a teacher or native speaker to ensure they get access to good, active TOEFL speaking test preparation.

   

And you know what? It sure will be a challenge, but the students involved might actually enjoy doing this sort of task. As much as that would be a novelty, I would say to anyone that whenever you can find a way to make test preparation stimulating and enjoyable, you are assuredly on a rare (and good) thing.

 

 

       

 

English iView - A new place on the net for people to practice English speaking and writing...

I've got a new blog going now, called English iView.

It's my personal experiment with using a blog to facilitate content and activities for anyone anywhere anytime. Basically, people can come and watch regular video news stories from around the world, and comment by leaving a recording or a written piece.

It's not for beginners, but it does cater to wide range of ages. Good place to keep up your general speaking and writing skills - all of which, of course, is beneficial for iBT TOEFL or IELTS skills.

Drop by, watch some news, and say hello!

iBT Speaking Self-Trainer (Beta Version)

For some time now I've been looking into ways to create online speaking activities that allow test-takers to practice and develop their speaking ability without necessarily needing a teacher or expert there to ensure they are getting better. By the same token, I didn't want the usual stuff I see about the Net, like basic listen and repeat, or speak and compare to a model answer.

What I wanted was a guided approach that allowed a student to record an answer, then look at some specific tips and examples, and re-record it, in effect creating a comparison the student could see and learn from him/herself.

IBT Speaking Self-Trainer is my first major attempt at an alternative.

There's only one task set up so far, with application to the first part of the iBT speaking section. Basically, it allows a person to record 6 or more responses to a set question, following a series of guided steps, each of which is designed to bring something new to the answer - something to enhance or direct it in a new way. It works heavily on the principle that learners can and will reflect on and improve their performance on their own, if given the right kind of framework to do so.

We'll see how this first Beta version goes, and then look at enhancing and improving it based on the feedback and visitation patterns we get. If all goes well, we'll expand it for application to multiple tasks within each part of the speaking section of the IBT test. I also think it has some powerful potential for developing writing skills as well.

Note for teachers:

If you're a teacher that works from (or has access to work from) a computer lab with your students, the IBT Speaking Self-Trainer could become a very valuable tool. It allows you to get even large classes of students working independently on their speaking through a series of well-organized steps, and it also provides you with a chance to walk around and help individual students at different points of progress. I'd just advise that you stick to the central idea of this being self-training, with the student responsible for his/her own efforts as well as reflecting on how progress is or is not happening.

Let's hope this goes somewhere!