TOEFL Speaking question two is the first integrated TOEFL speaking question. First you will read a short campus announcement or an article or letter in a campus newspaper. It will describe some change that is happening, or it will propose some change that should happen. There will be two reasons given for the change. You will have 45 seconds to read it.
Next, you will hear two students talk about the reading. One of the students will agree or disagree with the change. He/she will give two reasons for their opinion.
After hearing the conversation, you will be asked to summarize what you have read and listened to. You will have 30 seconds to prepare your answer, and 60 seconds to speak.
You will read a short campus announcement, an article in a campus newspaper, or a letter published in a campus newspaper.
It will describe some change that is happening, or it will propose some change. There will be two reasons that explain why the change will be made (or should be made). You will have 45 seconds to read it.
Next, you will hear two students talk about what you read. One of the students will agree with the change, disagree with the change, or (rarely) have a mixed opinion.
He/she will give two reasons for their support or opposition. These reasons will address the reasons for the change mentioned in the reading.
After hearing the conversation, you will be asked to summarize what you have read and listened to. You will have 30 seconds to prepare your answer, and 60 seconds to speak.
The reading part is about 100 words long, and you are given 45 seconds to read it and take notes.
The changes are usually related to:
Buildings on a university campus
Classes and majors at a university
Transportation on a university campus
Extra-Curricular activities at a university (sports, clubs, etc)
The conversation is 1.5 to 2 minutes long. It is always between a man and a woman.
The question will look something like this:
“The woman expresses her opinion of the university’s plan. State her opinion and the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.”
After the prompt is displayed, you will have 30 seconds to prepare. You cannot see the reading while you prepare or speak.
The good news is that you can always use the same template to organize your answer to TOEFL speaking question 2. Try this one:
Begin with the main point from the Reading Passage
“According to the announcement/article/letter…”
State the reasons from Reading
“This is because ___ and ___.”
Transition
“The man/woman does not support this change.”
“The man/woman supports this change”
“The man/woman has a mixed opinion of this change.”
First Reason
“To begin with, he/she points out that…”
Second Reason
“Moreover, he/she argues that…”
Link ideas by using discourse phrases like “as a result,” “consequently,” “moreover,” and “therefore.”
Spend about 10-13 seconds talking about the reading… at most. Remember that most of your score is based on the listening part.
If you are a slow speaker, don’t mention the reasons for the change.
Create compound sentences using conjunctions.