TOEFL SPEAKING/INDEPENDENT TASK 1

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hi everybody and you're very welcome to our Los Angeles English school YouTube channel my name is Helen I'm head teacher here and today we are going to talk about tofu speaking task number one by the way if you if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel yet but you'd like to get notified of all our upcoming videos in new lessons make sure to hit the subscribe button and also the bell icon and let's get started so as I said we're going to talk about TOEFL speaking task number one so this video or this lesson is for those of you who are getting ready for your TOEFL so earlier they had two independent speaking task speaking task number one and speaking task number two but recently there have been some changes to the two whole speaking section and earlier there used to be six speaking questions but now things have changed and they actually have made them much easier so now instead of six speaking questions you have only four and I think this is wonderful news so it's much easier then it's why independent speaking task is only one and the only one so today we are going to take a look at this desk alright so let's get down to work you you you now everything is visible so let's talk today about this independent speaking task which is now is the only one in TOEFL so here you have some directions so you will be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic so this question will ask you to choose one option from two or three different choices and you will have to choose one and explain why you prefer this option so you will be given only 15 seconds to prepare your response so that's not a lot of time so you can imagine 15 seconds and we will see how long it is just in a few moments then you record yourself speaking and you will be giving only 45 seconds so 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to talk and you will see the clock and the clock will count the time down and you will see how time is running out and now let's take a look at different variations of questions so there might be something like this which do you prefer I should say this is the most common one so for example some people believe that telecommuting by the way telecommuting it's when you do your job from home or doing their jobs from home is the best way to work others think that working in an office is better which do you prefer or you could have three choices so would you prefer to work on a project at college alone with a partner or in a group or agree or disagree for example some universities require students to take physical education classes such as swimming dance or basketball do you agree or disagree was this requirement or you could be asked to talk about advantages and disadvantages for example many students are asked to evaluate their professors at the end of the semester what are the advantages and disadvantages of this so but mostly it's like you have to think about the best option so for example three first questions here which do you prefer three choices or agree/disagree actually they are very similar you have to choose the better option and explain why you prefer this option advantages and disadvantages it's a little bit different question because he will have to list advantages and disadvantages to one specific thing so but in general you got to be ready to talk about something positive and explain why you like it and I can see that some people are joining me hi everybody nice to see you ramiz hello Victoria's usual grade Alex hi thank you guys for being with me today and let's move on so now you can see the evaluation criteria so probably if you know or if you've heard something about well already you know that you can get maximum 120 points for all sections of the exam so each section has maximum 30 points you can see the table also when the examiner for example evaluates your answer your response writing speaking doesn't matter so the examiner will give you from one point two four but then this points they they will be transformed based on the thirty point score so this is how it looks now let's look at the assessment criteria so what the examiner is gonna be is gonna looking be looking for him so the first is your delivery delivery it means so how clear and fluid your speech is your pronunciation natural pace and intonation and I'd like you to pay attention to this because you will be given only 45 seconds to talk and it's not a lot and many people because they are worried that the time will run out very quickly they try to speak very quickly and it's not a good idea so you need to speak at a natural pace even if you see that you're running out of time don't hurry up so speak naturally the next is language use so they will be looking at your use of grammar and vocabulary how you express your ideas in how well you use grammar and vocabulary while expressing your ideas the next is topic development how fool your answer the question how clearly you express your ideas who connect the ideas so these are three main evaluation criteria let's move on so now I will give you a few response tips so because you need to need those evaluation criteria you should bear in mind some recommendations first thing is clearly state what your opinion is so now we're talking about not mainly about your preference because the fourth type of question if you remember we looked at was advantages and disadvantages so here you don't necessarily help to state your opinion you just need to talk about advantages and disadvantages but the first three types of a question require to state your opinion so do you agree or disagree and which option you prefer so make sure that you clearly state what you think the next give at least two reasons to support your opinion so for example you have a question which do you prefer to use mass transportation or to drive a car so you just you cannot just say that I prefer to drive a car for example you need to think about minimum two reasons that you should list in your response and these reasons will explain your preference you might give examples to support your reasons the example should have good details and the relationship between the example in your opinion should be clear so for example you give the first reason that you prefer to drive a car because it's much more comfortable for you and then you can give example so you can be alone you can read a book you can talk to your partner no one disturbs you you have an air-conditioner so these are all examples how you can explain your preference the next you can also develop the response by contrasting different choices so for example if you have a question about your own car or using public transportation you can show the contrast between these different means of transportation you can say unlike going on the subway the car is much more convenient and comfortable so and then you can show the contrast why riding on the subway for example it's not so comfortable and having your own car gives you much better options so now we have a question and we will try to think how you need to respond so the first type of question which do you prefer so some people think that it's very to use mass transportation such as buses trains and Subway's others feel that driving a car is a better means of transportation which do you prefer and why so guys because I can see that some of you have joined me today let's practice together okay so what you need to do by the way you will be given 15 minutes to prepare your response and you will be given a sheet of paper and pen and a pencil to prepare of course 15 seconds is not enough to write on the whole answer even to plan your answer is difficult so it's a very short period of time but what you need to do is you need to think about the reasons so you need to choose one option and think about the reasons at least two reasons and you can take notes on that so just to keep you concentrated not to forget to say about this so now I'd like you to think a little bit so which do you personally prefer to use buses trains and subways or to use a car and could you please think about at least two reasons why you prefer these means of transportation let me know in the chat box so I can see Maria has joined us hi Maria so which do you prefer and why at least two reasons guys so I can see Maria when you're driving a car because of the traffic jam so you don't like traffic jams and if you drive a car traffic might be bad and you can get stuck in the traffic jam yeah I prefer public transportation Victoria rights because I can't afford to buy a car and I'm concerned about air pollution great yeah thank you guys so these are all great ideas now I have and a sample answer for you and hear how it looks and I'm gonna read it for you how it should be said of course this is kind of too perfect because you won't be so prepared for this so my answer would be maybe too perfect it could be a little bit worse so because the examiner understand this is your natural speaking so I will try to read it as if I were talking this so let's go hey I definitely prefer using mass transportation for a few reasons the first reason I prefer taking the bus or the subway is that I'm a student without a lotta money and I live in a big and busy City for example I don't have a car because it's too expensive to buy gas and take care of repairs in find parking is a huge problem another reason I think that people shouldn't drive is that most cars core cause air pollution because of exhaust fumes in my opinion we can help the environment a lot if we all decide to use mass transportation which is more environmentally friendly finally because of the terrible traffic in the city people can get really stressed out when they drive that's why it's an added benefit for me to travel the bus train or subway it gives me time to relax and read or to do my studies therefore public transportation is a far better option for me so this is an example that you could give so this is the answer the example of the response that you may give now let's analyze this response a little bit so there there is no rule how your response should look like but there are some recommendations so because if yours your answer is structured and organized it would sound more professional like kinda it would be better for your score so the first thing that you need to do is you need to state exactly what you prefer and then you need to show that you give the reasons so here I gave three reasons but two reasons would be enough really then you develop your reasons and then you make like just a little conclusion so here I have there for a public transportation is a far better option for me so if you structure your answer so you would probably get a higher score and it looks more organized so you show that you have the reasons you show that you give examples and I have a template for you so this template you can use for giving your preference response so and you can use it to me I definitely prefer hmm two or over for a few reasons so you open your response then you show these reasons the first reason is the second reason another reason is finally and a little conclusion there for so this is the perfect answer and it works really well and it helps you a lot actually so let's move on to another example Oh No sorry also I have here some nice phrases that you could use to introduce your own arguments and opinions because you need to state your preference you need to say exactly what you think you also have to use some expressions to show that this is your opinion so for example I personally tend to think you believe that I personally agree that in my opinion from my point of view my personal feeling point of view is that or my personal belief is that my personal opinion is that I would take the view that I personally would argue I personally would suggest that I completely agree with the view that I completely completely agree with the idea that I completely agree with the suggestion that so make sure that you use some phrases when you show that this is your opinion all right so before we move on to the next part so if you have some more answers here so in my pointing a dragon it can be good because you haven't gone traffic problem so amis as he understand from your answer you think that it's better to drive and you have less you will have a better traffic all right so Maria I prefer public transportation which is more convenient all right thank you guys so now we're moving on and we have another question so which do you prefer so this is the same type of a question but we will try to answer this in a little bit different way so I will show you another way of organizing your response so some people believe that telecommuting or doing their jobs from home so telecommuting again it's when you stay at home and do your job from home is the best way to work others think that working in an office is better which do you prefer and why so guys again I'd like you to think which do you prefer and try to think about at least two reasons why you prefer this you so I can see where music you write that in my opinion I prefer use aircraft because there isn't there is no any traffic so there is no traffic and it's not also and also it's not stressful yeah it's great that you prefer aircraft but because the question was you need to you needed to choose only one option from two possible options so you cannot add another option so make sure that you read the question carefully and you choose from the options that they list okay so don't make things up please so I know we're talking about telecommuting or working in an office so which do you prefer and give two reasons why all right so I'm gonna give you my sample answer and you can see how you can organize your answer differently so here I use a little bit different approach and I try to show contrast between different options and I'd like you to pay attention how I organize my answer and the phrases that I'm gonna be using to contrast and compare two different things so I'll read it at a natural base so I imagine that I am actually answering the question and I'm recording myself so while telecommuting and working in an office both have their advantages I feel telecommuting is a better solution first compared to working at home you might have to span as many as 10 hours a week or more if you need to drive or take the bus to the office so in contrast to spending all the time just to get to work when you tell the commute you just wake up at home and start working right away for this reason I believe you actually get more work done at home working in an office can be good because you can see everyone and go to meetings however it's not always necessary because technology now allows people to communicate very easily using computers you can have life phone or video conferences you can exchange documents you can get any information you need to take to make decisions by using email and the internet and unlike working at the office I think you're more productive at home because you aren't wasting time by standing around talking to other employees so that's why I feel telecommuting is a lot better than working in an office so this is a little bit different approach you also give reasons but you try to show the contrast between two different things and but again you clearly have to state what you prefer and also you give reasons but you also show the contrast between two different things and you make a little conclusion so let me show guys your comments so Victoria in my opinion working from home is better firstly you don't need to waste time in order to get to your workplace exactly another reason is you can plan your schedule in more flexible way agree however some people may have problems with it because there is no boss at home to control you and you might miss your colleagues yeah so it depends on your productivity and ability to work without pressure great ideas alright okay now let's take a look at a template so which you prefer so there is another approach how to compare and contrast the different things so I will give you some phrases which you could use in your response so for example compared to running on a treadmill hiking is better because on the other hand in contrast to wiping the city living in the country is much healthier and more relaxing unlike running swimming doesn't put as much stress on your knees and legs while although even though so for example you can say although having your own car is comfortable using mass transportation is much more environmentally friendly despite the fact that is so for example despite the fact that driving a car is costly many people prefer her prefer it so I have I have given not a good example actually so for example you can say despite the fact that irani is healthy swimming is much more relaxing so drag your own car is far more comfortable however using mass transportation is cheaper so these are great examples how you can compare different options and it will higher your score all right so let's go on so before we move on Remy's wrote in my opinion working from home he's better firstly you don't waste lots of time and you should be more relaxed so probably you can be more relaxed yeah all right okay so let's take a look at another example so if you have agree or disagree question for example some universities require students to take physical education classes so PE such as swimming dance or basketball do you agree or disagree with this requirement again it's a very similar question actually it's almost the same just the wording is different yeah do you agree or disagree again you have to present your opinion and you have to give minimum two reasons so again guys I'd like you to think it over and what do you think do you agree or disagree with this requirement and can you think of at least two reasons why you and don't forget you will be given only 15 seconds to think about that all right so I think that 15 seconds are over and I'll give you my answer so this is my sample answer again I will be reading it as if I'm having a TOEFL so I completely disagree that universities should force students to take physical education classes to begin with I believe that students always need more time in their schedules for their studies so I think it's best if they focus on homework and research for their regular classes in my view there are plenty of physical activity as students can choose to get involved in on their own when they have time in addition I also feel that there might be some students who aren't good at physical exercise or team games and they might be embarrassed in front of other people if they have to please force or do some other kind of exercise furthermore if a student doesn't like physical education class the student isn't gonna be motivated to do it well or even enjoy it for these reasons I think students should have a choice about whether or not to take physical education classes so this is an example response it is a response for a high score for four or thirty points so again you state your opinion you agree or disagree then you give reasons so here I have three but you could give two it's okay and then you make a little conclusion if you have time sometimes you don't but it's not a big deal it's okay you don't have to do it but it's just better all right so let me check your answers so roomies in my opinion working from home but I'd say read it already I agree with this argument because when you do exercise you're going to be more healthy so you're going to be healthier and you feel yourself confident yeah and you feel Siddhant Maria I would agree with that the first reason is keeping your bells so you can say maintaining your health or keep yourself healthy another reason is going to be healthier um you mean like you can stay fit actually you know Marie I think that these two reasons um they are the same no I think it's actually I think they seem like one reason to be honest to me so Victoria I totally agree with this requirement in my opinion students should grow up strong and healthy okay the e classes at the university can be a good opportunity for them to keep fit because education is usually a sedentary lifestyle okay on the other hand no one must be forced to attend them because it can affect the quality of training alright thank you perfect great so let's take a look at the template for this so if you have agree or disagree question just remember this structure so first you state your opinion you agree or disagree that or I completely agree disagree that to begin with your first reason in addition and other reason furthermore if you have more ideas and then a little conclusion for these reasons I think that and you just conclude you wrap up your answer okay guys so let's move on what do I have here also there is the last type of a question that we are going to look at is advantages disadvantages so and I have an example for you many students are asked to evaluate their professors at the end of the semester what are the advantages and disadvantages of this of course as you might have guessed already you have to advantages and disadvantages for this ganna give you some time don't forget you will be given only 15 seconds it's really little time think about some advantages disadvantages so you can think of one advantage one disadvantage so can you type your answers in the chat box and I'm really interested to see them so as well you are thinking about your advantages and disadvantages I'll give you my answer so and this is how I am gonna be talking I believe that there are both pluses and minuses to the kind of evaluation when students assess their professors work on the one hand since superior staff can see it on every class they should take input from the students on how the class went students are likely to be honest in their reviews so the teachers can also learn from their mistakes by analyzing their learner's responses and drawing some conclusions on what changes should be made and how to work in the future having said that I feel that there are drawbacks as well if learners know that they will receive a failing grade they may be dishonest in their review and could say that the professor wasn't fair and didn't teach them properly even if that isn't true this can be hurtful to the teacher and even detrimental to their career so I'm sure that there are pros and cons to asking students to evaluate their professors performances so let me check your responses if I can see them of words all right so I can see no responses that's why we're going to move on and I'll show you what to do so again you kind of open the answer you say that yeah I agree that the writer Vantage is disadvantages then you give some advantages then you give some disadvantages and again you close your answer you give some conclusion here is you see there is nothing special you just say to your opinion and also it's nice to have in your arsenal some synonyms of advantages disadvantages because you can't repeat yourself all the time so here's the template that so I believe that there are both pluses and minuses to on the one hand and you list advantages having said that you show the contrast and you give disadvantages and then you make a conclusion so I'm sure that there are pros and cons to this thing so here are some synonyms for you to remember not to say vanish disadvantage all the time so you can say benefit drawback upside down sight pro and cone positive aspect negative aspect plus and minus so make sure that you don't repeat yourself all the time so and I have some answers here great so Victoria professors performance evaluation is a good way for them to see how well they do their job but I'm not quite sure that a student can give a professional feat yeah exactly make sure that feedback is uncountable without any article of course there will be sincere they will be sincere and give you all the details of the lesson that's a good point on the contrary the student can cheat just to show disrespect towards the teacher he/she doesn't like I'm convinced that there are both pros and cons in this kind of assessment yeah perfect alright and what I'd like to do now is I'd like to summarize some recommendations or some tips for you before we actually practice a real exam mode questions so let's summarize one more time what you have to do to prepare practice speaking continuously for 45 seconds record yourself and then listen so everyone has a phone I'm sure and in our phone we have voice recorders so you can record yourself and you also see the timer you can see the time and you need to practice and you need practice 45 seconds you need to feel how much time it is so when you listen to your recorded responses note any repetition of vocabulary because it's important to bear in your language pay attention to new grammar mistakes you hear write them down and try to correct them make sure that you are easy to understand your speech flows and you use natural pacing and intonation without too many pauses and hesitations so you gonna record yourself all the time if you actually are preparing for the TOEFL the next tip so sometimes it happens guys that 45 seconds is little time you may you may run out of time before you can say everything you want in your answer the Rainer's understand that this happens so don't start speaking too quickly when you see you're running out of time because the quality of your response is equally as important as the quantity so as I said before don't hurry look you see the time is right now and you are quickly speaking no it's not okay so the examiner the Raider will understand it it happens it's not a big deal no worries the next sometimes it happens the complete opposite situation happens so if you finish before time runs out so maybe you have no ideas you don't know what to say don't repeat what you've already said instead think of another example to support one one of your points so let's imagine you we're talking about mass transportation you prefer mass transportation and you have said everything but you see that you have a lot of time left so don't repeat yourself think about another example think about another reason maybe think about the contrast give another example from your personal life so and to be able to do so of course you need to practice so after this lesson when we finish I'm gonna share with you two questions to this type so for independent speaking task desk number one and you can practice answering those questions and recording yourself and just try to think about all these these ideas and now I have prepared something special I actually would like to show you how the real thing looks like and what it is like to be on TOEFL so I will show you know a speaking task and we'll try it in a real mode so buddies know you will hear the question and let's imagine that it's a real exam and I'd like you really when now we're gonna be doing this try to either record yourself if possible if no you have a phone with you make sure to get ready and you can record your answer and you can feel how it works or you can just try and give your answer orally if you can just do it please and actually try it to feel the real exam so just a moment and you'll do this this section measures adjusting the microphone in this section of the tip please listen carefully in this question you will be asked to talk about a familiar topic after you hear the question you will have 15 seconds to prepare your response and 45 seconds to speak describe changes in technology that have affected please begin speaking after the beep please listen carefully in this question you'll be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic after you hear the question you will have 15 seconds to prepare your response and 45 seconds to speak what kind of friend is better one who is very similar to you or one who is very different which kind of friend do you prefer and why include details and examples in your explanation you may begin to prepare your response after the beep please begin speaking after the beep all right so how did you do I hope that you did well guys so this is this was a real exam practice so this is what's going to happen to you during the real exam so that's it for today what I'd like you to do with this question so I hope that you really practice and you try to talk but if not you can write down your response in the comments below the video so I'll check your answers and I'll give you the score so what what else we have specific very special and very good service we evaluate your writing and speaking responses or TOEFL preparation so for this you can visit our website los angeles english school to come and check out this service you also can prepare for the TOEFL at our school and again you can visit our website los angeles english school come if you haven't subscribed to this YouTube channel yet and you'd like to get notified of all our upcoming videos make sure to hit the subscribe button and the bell icon thank you guys very much for being with me today and I wish you have a great one and I hope to see you in my next video bye

Channel: Los Angeles English School

Views: 5,147

Keywords: TOEFL, TOEFL preparation, TOEFL speaking, TOEFL independent speaking, TOEFL webinar, TOEFL online preparation, english lesson, learn english online, English, learn english, study english, new TOEFL speaking

Id: tuv-gRKuURg

Length: 48min 36sec (2916 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 03 2020