Academic English Skills with Dr. Byrnes

Today we’re working on TOEFL Speaking Practice Set 9 from Dr. Byrnes’ mock test course. There are 11 questions in total. The first seven questions are listen-and-repeat sentences, and the last four questions are interview-style responses. We’ll work through all of them. First, for the listen-and-repeat section, here’s how we’ll do it: You’ll listen and repeat first, then I’ll show you how to remember the sentences quickly and speak them fluently. I’ll also give you pronunciation and stress tips to help you sound natural and remember the words more easily. Alright—let’s begin. Listen and repeat Task Welcome to our contemporary art gallery. Take your time to enjoy the different exhibition rooms. The sculpture garden is a perfect spot to relax and view outdoor artworks. The information desk has brochures and guides for visitors. The balcony provides a great view of the main gallery hall. Our restroom facilities are located near the entrance lobby. While exploring the gallery, please d...

Hi everyone! Today, we're going to look at how ETS grades your TOEFL Interview Tasks. The new Interview Task is essentially the same as the previous TOEFL Speaking Task 1, known as the Independent Speaking Task. In both formats, you are given a question and asked to respond by presenting an argument—that is, stating your position and supporting it with reasons and examples. Because of this similarity, the Interview Tasks can be viewed as four Independent Speaking Tasks. However, many students make the mistake of thinking that the best strategy is to memorize templates and then fill them in with a few of their own ideas. Responses like these may earn an average score, but they rarely achieve a top score. In this lesson, we'll focus on what ETS is actually looking for when it evaluates your responses. We'll analyze sample answers provided by ETS and identify the characteristics that distinguish high-scoring responses from average ones. We’re going to analyze real sample respo...