The TOEFL iBT^® Test: Improving Your Speaking Skills

Advice for Speaking
Skill: Speaking about Campus Situations
Performance Level: Limited
Score Range: 10–17

1. Practice speaking English every day. This will develop your fluency and confidence.
2. Develop friendships with people who want to speak English with you. Interaction with others will improve your speaking ability. If you can't find a native speaker, find a friend who wants to practice speaking English and promise to speak only English for a certain period of time.
3. Practice expressing opinions.
   • Read an advice column in the newspaper (such as "Dear Abby" in the United States).
     • Identify the problem being described. Tell a friend about the problem (summarize the problem) and then say what you think would be the best advice.
     • Read the advice given in the column. Compare your suggestions for a solution to the advice given in the column. Talk about the differences with your friend.
   • Read a short newspaper article and give your opinion about it.
4. Practice summarizing information you heard or read.
   • Read a short newspaper article.
     • Write down important vocabulary from the article and look up the pronunciation of these words or ask an English speaker to tell you how to pronounce them.
     • Summarize the article using the new words and practice your summary several times. Each time you will become more fluent.
   • Watch a short scene from a movie or TV program (about 2 to 3 minutes long). Summarize what each character was doing and explain why the character was doing it.
     • Practice the summary and explanation several times; then record yourself as you speak.
5. Practice pronunciation and intonation by reading aloud.
   • Record yourself so that you can hear your accent; pay attention to your mistakes.
   • Work on pronouncing word endings.