Here’s another sample question 3 for the TOEFL iBT. Remember watch my video about how to answer this question if you haven’t done so already.
Wireless Internet
Watch the video and follow the instructions.
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On Sunday the 5th of July at PST 2300 we will be talking about the concept of ‘irony’ in my conversation class. What’s irony? What isn’t? Come along to languagelab to join in this discussion.
In the mean time, read this blog post about ironic advertisements.
http://consumerist.com/5306170/top-10-ironic-ads-from-history
See you soon,
Salsita
Jon Hodges from StrictlyEnglishUsa.com has kindly allowed me to post one of his sample TOEFL iBT speaking questions on my blog. I had a good chat with him last week. He’s an interesting person and he knows a lot about the TOEFL iBT. I’m hoping to collaborate with him on some materials in the not too distant future.
Remember to listen to my lecture about completing question 5 if you are unsure about how to answer the question.
TOEFL speaking question 5 - sample question
Off-Campus housing
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Thanks to Jon Hodges from http://strictlyenglishusa.com for allowing me to use this recording.
Listen to the recording below and follow the instructions. You will find the reading passage below the recording.
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Swine flu prevention measures
We would like to remind all of our students of some important steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of swine flu on our university campus. We feel that it is important to remind students to be diligent about protecting themselves in this very important period of time leading up to the exam period. We also feel that we have a responsibility to our local community as well as the global community to help curb the spread of this new strain of influenza. Please remember to follow these simple rules at all times. Wash your hands often and in the correct manner, do not touch your nose, eyes or mouth, if you cough or sneeze cover your mouth with your entire arm and if you have ANY symptoms of a cold or flu please seek medical attention immediately.
Listen to the recording below and follow the instructions. You will find the reading passage below the recording.
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Study abroad scholarship
We are pleased to announce a new scholarship opportunity for students who wish to study abroad for one year. As the world becomes smaller and smaller through globalization we recognize the benefits that living and studying abroad can provide in helping to develop our students into well rounded and knowledgeable world citizens. We also recognize that students who work hard deserve to be rewarded. The scholarship is open to all of our research students who repeatedly obtain good grades and show a commitment to their field of research. The scholarship will pay for flights, fees, accommodation, language study as well as a small weekly allowance for one full year. For further information please contact your research supervisor.
Listen to the recording below and follow the instructions. You will find the reading passage below the recording.
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Opening of convenience store on campus
We are pleased to announce the opening of our first on campus convenience store. As many students will be aware, the decision to open this store was made after surveys done last year indicated that students would like to have an after hours on campus location where they could buy food. Many students indicated that it was inconvenient for them to travel off campus in order to eat after hours. They also said that they would like access to a variety of different food. After studying the results of the survey we consulted several different franchises and eventually signed a contract with the well known convenience store “Lucky Circle”. The new store is located next to the dining hall.
Here is a sample question for speaking three of the TOEFL iBT. Follow the instructions carefully. If you are unsure about how to answer this question then have a look at this video first. Good luck.
1) Read the following announcement about banning mobile phones in lectures. Take notes about the changes and the reasons given for them. You have 45 seconds reading time.
New campus rule - no mobile phones in lectures
While attending lectures please remember that we have a new policy about mobile phones. All phones must be switched off during lectures. We have introduced this new rule because many of our lectures have expressed discomfort at the sight of so many students playing with their phones rather than paying attention to lectures. It has also come to our attention that some students are using the social networking site ‘twitter’ to provide constant updates about what is happening in the lecture. While we approve of taking notes and recording lectures for personal use, we do not want lectures from our college broadcast to the entire world through the internet.
2) Now listen to two students talking about the plan. Take notes about what they think.
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3) The woman with the low voice expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion. You have 30 seconds to prepare your answer.
Here is a sample question for speaking three of the TOEFL iBT. Follow the instructions carefully. If you are unsure about how to answer this question then have a look at this video first. Good luck.
1) Read the following announcement about planned changes to the on campus bar. Take notes about the changes and the reasons given for them. You have 45 seconds reading time.
On campus bar to be closed earlier on weekends
As of the beginning of Semester two, the on campus student bar will close at the earlier time of 10 p.m. rather than midnight on weekends. This decision has been made for some important reasons. Recently, there have been several attacks on young women as they have been returning to their dormitories at midnight. As the internal bus services stops at 10.15 p.m. we feel that it is safer to close the bar at 10 p.m. to make sure that all students can return safely to their dorms by bus. There have also been several serious acts of vandalism on campus. They have all occurred after midnight and we feel that closing the bar early will prevent silly drunken pranks from ending in criminal offenses.
2) Now listen to two students talking about the plan. Take notes about what they think.
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3) The woman with the low voice expresses her opinion about the announcement. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion. You have 30 seconds to prepare your answer.
This video describes what you need to know to do well on speaking question three of the TOEFL iBT.
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I’ve created a lecture about speaking question two on the TOEFL iBT. The video describes the question and provdes a sample response with notes.
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More tips and advice for TOEFL iBT speaking question two
Much of the advice in the lecture comes from Jason Renshaw who runs the internet school of English. You can find more tips as well as sample questions from the links below.
Speaking Tips
Sample questions
