There are many things you can do to improve you chances of scoring well on the Test of English as a Foreign Language® (TOEFL®) speaking test. Some important preparation includes learning about the content of the exam and taking steps to improve your vocabulary. You may also prepare for the exam by practicing with native English speakers. Additionally, you may find that watching television and movies and listening to audio in English may help you prepare.
To score well on the TOEFL® speaking section, it is important to understand the content of the exam. The TOEFL® speaking exam has a time limit of 20 minutes and involves a total of six tasks, including those that involve sharing your opinion in English. You will also have to read passages and actively listen before responding to questions verbally and in writing. You may learn more about the content of this part of the exam by visiting the Educational Testing Service® (ETS®) TOEFL® website.
Once you understand the content of the TOEFL® speaking exam, you may prepare for it by taking steps to improve your vocabulary. Reading is a good way to do this. By reading books, newspapers, and magazines that are written in English, you can gain gradual exposure to new words. When you encounter new words, you may do well to look them up in a dictionary, so you can be sure you are interpreting their meanings correctly. Trying to guess their meanings before you look them up, however, may help you build good comprehension skills.
Practice is very important when you want to do well on the TOEFL® speaking exam. One of the best ways to practice is with a native English speaker. If you have friends who are native speakers, you may do well to engage them in frequent conversations. If you do not have any friends who are native English speakers, you may choose to hire a tutor to help you instead. You may also either join or start an English language club in which you and other members discuss topics of interest in English. You can invite native speakers to speak to your group about a range of topics, such as books, travel experience, or interesting movies.
Interestingly, watching television may also help you to score well on the TOEFL® speaking test. To prepare for the test, you may watch various types of television shows and movies in English and absorb what the speakers say. You may also pay attention to the tone of the speakers as well as facial expression and body language, as these things may help you better understand what the speaker is saying. Listening to CDs and radio programs in English may prove helpful as well.
