TOEFL Speaking Section

The Speaking section of the TOEFL assesses a candidate's ability to communicate effectively in spoken English, particularly in an academic environment. This section plays a vital role in the overall TOEFL examination, specifically tailored to evaluate the English language proficiency of individuals whose native language is not English.

TOEFL Speaking Section Test Structure

In this section, test-takers must respond to prompts that simulate real-life academic situations, such as participating in classroom discussions, giving presentations, or conversing with peers and instructors. The tasks are structured to reflect the types of interactions that students might encounter in an English-speaking academic setting, thereby providing a realistic measure of their speaking abilities.

TOEFL iBT: This section takes about 16 minutes to finish. There is 15-30 seconds of prep time before each response and each response is 45-60 minutes long. Test-takers are expected to use the microphone on the headset. There are 4 tasks in the speaking section that can be one of two types:

• Independent Speaking Task: The independent task in the TOEFL speaking section requires the candidate to explain their ideas and opinions to respond to the topic. Test-takers will have two options and have to support their preference.
  
  
• Integrated Speaking Tasks 2-4: The Integrated tasks require the candidate to combine all their English skills while answering the questions. The first task in this section is a campus-related topic, while the other two are academic topics aiming to test the student's understanding of college-level academia.

TOEFL Essentials: There are 13 minutes to complete 3 tasks that require 19 responses.

• Take part in a conversation by reading aloud the dialogues of a participant. There will be 6 prompts for the test-taker, each 1-3 sentences long.
• Repeat a set of 8 sentences related to an academic or social scenario.
• Have a virtual interview with a pre-recorded interviewer and answer 5 questions.

How is the TOEFL Speaking Section Scored?

The responses are recorded and sent to ETS, who will score them using a combination of AI and human scoring to avoid biases that may occur through any single method.

For iBT, the scores test-takers receive will be on a scale of 0-30 for this section based on several criteria, including pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary usage, grammatical accuracy, and the overall effectiveness of communication. Test-takers will receive a score of 0 if and only if they have not responded at all or if their response is entirely different from the topic. The rubrics of the independent and Integrated sections are different since they demand a different skill set altogether.

Independent Speaking Rubrics

Score	General Description	Delivery	Language Use	Topic Development
1	Limited response, Minimally connected words, Mostly unintelligible.	Problems with stress and intonation. Requires heavy listener effort.	Less control over grammar and vocabulary.	Lacks content to the point.
2	Problems with delivering thoughts; has overall coherence but loses meaning at times.	Intelligible with listener effort, unclear articulation and unfamiliar rhythm in speech	unable to articulate with proper grammar and vocabulary, good with only basic sentence structures.	Content is related to the task though not entirely.
3	Mostly intelligible and organized.	Clear speech, minor grammar, pronunciation and intonation inaccuracies.	ease articulating thought with flow and pace, certain inaccurate use of words.	Coherent information. Strictly based on topic.
4	Communicates efficiently, is intelligible with only minor lapses.	Clear speech with proper pronunciation and intonation.	Nearly perfect grammar and automatic delivery of accurate grammar.	Pertains fully to the topic.

Integrated Scoring Rubrics

Score	General Description	Delivery	Language Use	Topic Development
1	No content development, largely intelligible speech.	Pronunciation and intonation problems require high listener effort.	Incorrect vocabulary and inaccurate grammar.	Not connected to the topic.
2	Intelligible speech but lapses into incoherency.	Problems in pronunciation and intonation. Speech is not consistent.	Limited response-based limited language and grammar knowledge.	Relatively connected to the topic.
3	Mostly intelligible and coherent but lacks expression of ideas.	Clear speech with minor problems in pronunciation and intonation.	Effective grammar use and use of relevant information.	Connected to the topic but digresses a lot.
4	Intelligible speech with great flow inarticulation.	Clear, sustained speech but with varying pronunciation.	Exhibits control over grammar and organization of thought.	Connected to the topic and has automatic sounding grammar.

For TOEFL Essentials, the test-taker is graded on a scale of 1-12. The average of all 4 sections makes the total score Essentials score.

Proficiency Level	iBT Score	Essentials Score	General Description
Advanced Level	25-30	10-12	can communicate effectively and fluently in English on almost any topic without difficulty
High-Intermediate Level	20-24	6-9	can communicate fluently in English on topics that they are familiar with
Low-Intermediate Level	16-19	3-5	can communicate at ease in English on familiar topics without much hesitancy
Below Low-Intermediate Level	0-15	1-2	can communicate on familiar topics but are not fluent and might stutter or hesitate

Tips to Ace TOEFL Speaking Section

• Listen carefully: Questions require a specific point of answer. Listen to the audio clippings and questions carefully to comprehend the exact question. This will help test-takers frame their answers well.
• Organize thoughts: Test takers should jot down brief points they wish to stress in their answers. Use these as reference points. Don't read out sentences or memorize answers. Speak naturally.
• Simple language: Test-takers should not try to use high-sounding words and words whose meaning they're unsure of.
• Clarity: Test-takers often worry about accents, but that's not a contention in the TOEFL speaking test. However, test-takers must ensure that every word they speak is clear. Maintaining a rhythm, speaking every word clearly and forcefully, and ensuring the syllables are all present bolsters scoring points.
• Avoid stammering: Getting the 'ums' and 'uhs' out of the spoken language is vital. Though test-takers don't lose on scores for stammering, too much of it can hinder their speech.
• Intonation and pauses: It's important that test-takers pause between sentences. Don't be too fast or too slow. Test-takers should intonate clearly while they speak.
• Use effective conjunctions: Answers should flow naturally and with effective connecting phrases like 'because', 'by this I mean', "for instance", "after that", "so", etc.
• Develop thought: Test-takers should start by restating their topic, developing a thought, and then giving it an ending. They should not leave the concluding sentence hanging.
• Don't speak to fill in time: If test-takers have completed an answer before time and they have nothing more to add, they should stop. They should not try to fill in the time if they have nothing substantial to say.

Many test samples and speaking test simulators are available online. But an easier way is to choose simple topics and time themselves. Test-takers are advised to collate thoughts for 10-15 seconds and record speech. The more test-takers practice, the better their thought and speech processes coordinate.