Speaking Section

Directions: The Speaking section in the test measures your ability to speak about a
variety of topics.

• In questions 1 and 2, in an actual test, your response will be scored on your ability to
speak clearly and coherently about familiar topics.

• In questions 3 and 4, in an actual test, you would first read a short text and then listen
to a talk on the same topic. You would have to combine appropriate information from
the text and the talk to provide a complete answer. Your response would be scored on
your ability to accurately convey information, and to speak clearly and coherently. In
this sampler, you will read both the text and the talk.

• In questions 5 and 6, in an actual test, you would listen to part of a conversation or

lecture. Then, you would be asked a question about what you have heard. Your
response would be scored on your ability to accurately convey information, and to
speak clearly and coherently. In this sampler, you will read the conversation.

• In an actual test, you would be able to take notes while you read and while you
listened to the conversations and talks. You would be able to use your notes to help
prepare your responses.

• Preparation and response times for an actual test are noted in this text. Test takers
with disabilities may request time extensions.

• The scoring rubric used to score actual Speaking responses can be found on the
TOEFL website’s “Download Library” page.

1. Talk about a pleasant and memorable event that happened while you were in
school. Explain why this event brings back fond memories.

Preparation Time: 15 seconds

Response Time: 45 seconds

2. Some people think it is more fun to spend time with friends in restaurants or cafés.
Others think it is more fun to spend time with friends at home. Which do you think
is better? Explain why.

Preparation Time: 15 seconds

Response Time: 45 seconds

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3. Read the following text and the conversation that follows it. Then, answer the
question.

The Northfield College Student Association recently decided to make a new purchase. Read the
following announcement in the college newspaper about the decision. (Reading time in an actual
test would be 45-50 seconds.)

Good News for Movie Fans

The Student Association has just purchased a new sound system for the Old Lincoln Hall
auditorium, the place where movies on campus are currently shown. By installing the new sound
system, the Student Association hopes to attract more students to the movies and increase ticket
sales. Before making the purchase of the new equipment, the Student Association conducted a
survey on campus to see what kind of entertainment students liked best. Going to the movies
ranked number one. “Students at Northfield College love going to the movies” said the president
of the Student Association, “so we decided to make what they already love even better. We’re
confident that the investment into the sound system will translate into increased ticket sales.”

(Male student) I really think the Student Association made a bad decision.

(Female student) Really? Why? Don’t you like going to the movies?

(Male student) Sure I do. But this new purchase is just a waste of money.

(Female student) What do you mean? It’s supposed to sound really good.

(Male student) Yeah, well, I’m sure it does, but, in Old Lincoln Hall? I mean that
building must be 200 years old! It used to be the college gym! The acoustics are terrible.

(Female student) So you’re saying there’ll be no improvement?

(Male student) That’s right. And also, I seriously doubt that going to the movies is the
number one social activity for most students.

(Female student) Yeah, but that’s what students said.

(Male student) Well, of course that’s what they said. What else is there to do on
campus?

(Female student) What do you mean?

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(Male student) I mean, there isn’t much to do on campus besides go to the movies. If
there were other forms of, uh recreation, or other social activities, you know, I don’t think
most students would have said that going to the movies was their first choice.

Question: The man expresses his opinion of the Student Association’s recent purchase.
State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion.

Preparation Time: 30 seconds

Response Time: 60 seconds

4. Read a passage from a psychology textbook and the lecture that follows it. Then
answer the question. (Reading time in an actual test would be 45-50 seconds.)

Flow

In psychology, the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity is called flow. People
who enter a state of flow lose their sense of time and have a feeling of great satisfaction. They
become completely involved in an activity for its own sake rather than for what may result from
the activity, such as money or prestige. Contrary to expectation, flow usually happens not during
relaxing moments of leisure and entertainment, but when we are actively involved in a difficult
enterprise, in a task that stretches our mental or physical abilities.

(Male professor) I think this will help you get a picture of what your textbook is
describing. I had a friend who taught in the physics department, Professor Jones, he
retired last year. . . . Anyway, I remember . . . this was a few years ago . . . I remember
passing by a classroom early one morning just as he was leaving, and he looked terrible:
his clothes were all rumpled, and he looked like he hadn’t slept all night. And I asked if
he was OK. I was surprised when he said that he never felt better, that he was totally
happy. He had spent the entire night in the classroom working on a mathematics puzzle.
He didn’t stop to eat dinner; he didn’t stop to sleep . . . or even rest. He was that involved
in solving the puzzle. And it didn’t even have anything to do with his teaching or
research; he had just come across this puzzle accidentally, I think in a mathematics
journal, and it just really interested him, so he worked furiously all night and covered the
blackboards in the classroom with equations and numbers and never realized that time
was passing by.

Question: Explain flow and how the example used by the professor illustrates the
concept.

Preparation Time: 30 seconds

Response Time: 60 seconds

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5. Read the following conversation between two students and then answer the
question.

(Female student) How’s the calculus class going? You’re doing better?

(Male student) Not really. I just can’t get the hang of it. There’re so many functions and
formulas to memorize, you know? And the final . . . It’s only a few weeks away. I’m
really worried about doing well.

(Female student) Oh . . . You know, you should go to the tutoring program and ask for
help.

(Male student) You mean, in the Mathematics building?

(Female student) Ya. Get a tutor there. Most tutors are doctoral students in the math
program. They know what they’re talking about, and for the final test, you know, they’d
tell you what to study, how to prepare, all of that.

(Male student) I know about that program . . . but doesn’t it cost money?

(Female student) Of course. You have to register and pay by the hour . . . But they’ve
got all the answers.

(Male student) Hmm . . .

(Female student) Another option, I guess, is to form a study group with other students.
That won’t cost you any money.

(Male student) That’s a thought . . . although once I was in a study group, and it was a
big waste of time. We usually ended up talking about other stuff like what we did over
the weekend.

(Female student) But that was for a different class, right? I’ve actually had some pretty
good experiences with study groups. Usually students in the same class have different
strengths and weaknesses with the material . . . if they’re serious about studying, they can
really help each other out. Think about it.

Question: Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which
solution you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.

Preparation Time: 20 seconds

Response Time: 60 seconds

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6. Read part of a lecture in a biology course and then answer the question.

(Female professor) Human beings aren’t the only animals that use tools. It’s generally
recognized that other animals use tools as well . . . use them naturally, in the wild, without any
human instruction. But when can we say that an object is a tool? Well, it depends on your
definition of a tool. And in fact, there are two competing definitions—a narrow definition and a
broad one. The narrow definition says that a tool is an object that’s used to perform a specific
task . . . but not just any object. To be a tool, according to the narrow definition, the object’s gotta
be purposefully changed or shaped by the animal, or human, so that it can be used that way. It’s
an object that’s made. Wild chimpanzees use sticks to dig insects out of their nests . . . but most
sticks lying around won’t do the job . . . they might be too thick, for example. So the sticks have
to be sharpened so they’ll fit into the hole in an ant hill or the insect nest. The chimp pulls off the
leaves and chews the stick and trims it down that way until it’s the right size. The chimp doesn’t
just find the stick . . . it . . . you could say it makes it in a way.

But the broad definition says an object doesn’t have to be modified to be considered a tool. The
broad definition says a tool is any object that’s used to perform a specific task. For example, an
elephant will sometimes use a stick to scratch its back . . . it just picks up a stick from the ground
and scratches its back with it . . . It doesn’t modify the stick, it uses it just as it’s found. And it’s a
tool, under the broad definition, but under the narrow definition it’s not because, well, the
elephant doesn’t change it in any way.

Question: Using points and examples from the talk, describe the two different
definitions of tools given by the professor.

Preparation Time: 20 seconds

Response Time: 60 seconds

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