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Independent Speaking:
F.A.Q.
The following is a list of tips and exercises I’ve used to help students improve on different aspects of the
independent speaking section. I’ve divided it up into a series of frequently asked questions (F.A.Qs).
Hopefully, this list will address most of your problems and concerns.

I can’t prepare in 15 seconds. It’s not enough time. What should I do?

I can’t speak for 45 seconds. What should I do?

Why do I have to give a personal example?

My voice doesn’t sound great. Why?

My notes aren’t very neat. What should I do?

I often speak too slow and make mistakes. What can I do?

I can’t prepare in 15 seconds. It’s not enough time. What

should I do?
In this appendix you’ll find the Question List handout which includes over 150 independent speaking and
listening questions released by ETS and included in ETS’ book “The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test”. If you’re
having trouble with time, you should start by preparing answers in a set amount of time that makes you feel
comfortable. When you start, your comfort is the most important thing. You’re not going to learn much if
you’re stressed or if you feel the material is too difficult.

Start by answering some of the easier questions in either the Question List or Answering General Questions
handout, which are both located in the Appendix. At first, don’t worry about the time. As you continue to
practice, slowly reduce the amount of time it takes you to prepare. Try following these steps:

Step 1: Answer five questions and give yourself one minute to prepare. Don’t answer one question and
simply move on to the next. Make sure you master each question and respond perfectly using the structure.

Step 2: Answer five questions and give yourself 45 seconds to prepare. I know this may seem like a big jump,
but after step one, you’ll start to get used to the question style. And I’m going to repeat this in each step
because I want to emphasize it: Don’t answer one question and simply move on to the next. Make sure you
master each question and respond perfectly using the structure.

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Step 3: Answer 10 questions in only 30 seconds. This
is probably the hardest step which is why you should
practice with more questions. At this point you should
be geVing beVer at automaticity. It looks like the word
automatic and that’s basically what it means. Once you
start to get used to the TOEFL question style, you might
find that you can almost automatically answer some of
the questions. Again: Don’t answer one question and
simply move on to the next. Make sure you master all
ten questions and respond perfectly using the structure.

Step 4: Try slowly reducing the time in five-second-

intervals. You will go from 30 seconds to 25 seconds
and from 25 seconds to 20 seconds and eventually from
20 seconds to 15 seconds. Once you get to the 15 second
mark, keep practicing until you feel comfortable. The
amount of tasks you’ll have to practice to move between
each five-second-interval will be up to you. At this
point, you should know your needs and weaknesses
and how to address them. And as always: Don’t answer
one question and simply move on to the next. Make
sure you master each question and respond perfectly
using the structure.

T i p
You should always practice answering questions in 45 seconds.
Don’t adjust your speaking time, only your preparation time.

I can’t speak for 45 seconds. What should I do?

Most of my students who don’t speak for 45 seconds have the following problems:

a. They can only come up with one reason.

b. They have reasons but they don’t illustrate them through details or examples.
c. They can only think of one example and it’s too short.
d. They don’t provide any personal examples.

I have two pieces of advice:

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Piece of Advice #1

Sometimes you encounter a difficult question that you have no idea how to answer. For example,
question #3 in the Environment section of the Question List handout asks:

A company is going to give some money either to support the arts or to protect the environment.
Which do you think the company should choose? Use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.

Let’s say you read this question and you understand it, but you have no idea what you’re going to say.
Maybe you’ve never thought about this kind of question before. One quick and helpful hint, which is a
reoccurring theme in this book, is to ask:

WHY
Why would a company want to give money to art or the environment?
Think about it for a minute…

Any luck? Do you have some ideas? When you’re not sure how to answer, think in terms of the
following categories:

-Economic
-Communication
-Time
-Relationship

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Let me show you my process. Again, here’s the question:

A company is going to give some money either to support the arts or to protect the environment.
Which do you think the company should choose? Use specific reasons and examples to support your
answer.

Step 1: If I have trouble understanding the question, start by identifying the important nouns. In this case
they’re business, money, arts and environment.

Step 2: Since I’m a teacher, I have very liVle personal experience with business, so I am going to have to use
my list of categories to consider:

Economic
Communication
Time
Relationship

Step 3: Now, I pick the first category that jumps out at me. Remember, you only have 15 seconds to think of a
response. For this particular question I chose: Relationships. I picked relationships because company’s in
America are constantly trying to improve their image and relationship with the public. Many companies look
to improve their image by championing a cause or donating money to a charity. Let me show you why I didn’t
pick the other options:

Economic: I didn’t pick money (economic) because it’s not the first thing that came to mind.
Of course, the company may sacrifice some short-term profits for long-term gains by improving
their image, but that’s a liVle complicated and I didn’t think of it immediately.

Communication: Communication with the public has more to do with commercials and
advertising and less to do with public image and how people feel about a company. And again,
I didn’t think of it at first.

Time: This question doesn’t seem to have anything to do with

saving or wasting time or changing the time something
happens, so it doesn’t seem to apply here.

Step 4: So now I ask myself, “How am I going to relate

relationships to the topic?” While I don’t have any direct
experience with business, I do interact with business everyday.
Whenever I buy something, I’m doing business. And lately a lot of
companies have been donating money to various organizations to
improve their image. And the company that stands out the most in
my mind is Starbucks.

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I go to Starbucks fairly often and am somewhat familiar with their products. Now, keep in mind this whole
process goes through my mind in just 15 seconds. After I jot down a few notes I speak.

Where
To me, I think it would be better for a business to donate some money to
the environment because it’ll improve the relationship with the customer.
When
I go to Starbucks everyday. I remember one particular day a few years
ago when I went to pay my favorite barista, Jessica, and she told me that
Who from now on, every time I purchase a cup of coffee from Starbucks, they
will donate five cents to help preserve the Amazon Rainforest.

What After that, every time I bought a cup of coffee from Starbucks I felt like a
kind and generous person who cared about the environment. And I think
a lot of other people started to feel the same way, and it encouraged more
Why people to buy coffee from Starbucks.

That’s why I think it’s better for a company to support the environment.
Connection -140 words

T i p
Say the first thing that pops in your head. You don’t have time to
deeply analyze the question. Usually what comes to mind first is
the easiest to answer and support.

Let’s look at a couple other questions and I’ll show you how to relate them to the other categories. This
question is from the Question List, question #3 in the Experience vs. Comfort section:

You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or
tickets to a concert you want to aFend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasons and examples to
support your answer.

For this question I think in terms of Time. For me, a piece of jewelry is a beVer investment because it’ll
last longer than a concert. A concert will only last one night. This reason could also be viewed from the
Economic point of view. However, that’s just the first thing that pops in my head. You could think in terms
of Relationship. Maybe going to a concert is beVer because it could build your relationship between friends
or family.

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The following is question #17 in the Hometown section:

You have decided to give several hours of your time each month to improve the community where you
live. What is one thing you will do to improve your community? Why? Use specific reasons and
details to explain your choice.

When answering independent tasks, you should say the first thing that pops in your head and for this
question I immediately think of Communication. I live in New York City and I hardly ever talk to my
neighbors. I’ve lived in the same apartment building for five years and I don’t even know anyone’s name! This
happens a lot in New York City. So, I would probably talk about my current living situation and my plan to
improve it.

Let’s try one more. This is question #2 in the Past vs. Future section.

It’s generally agreed that society benefits from the work of its members. Compare the contributions
of artists to society with the contributions of scientists to society? Give specific reasons to support
your answer.

Before I give my answer, I want to mention that I put this particular question in the Past vs. Future
section because the arts tend to celebrate culture and tradition while scientific discovery tends to look toward
the future. This isn’t always true of course, but I think it’s a useful way to reconceptualize a question and look
at its deeper implication on your own values.

The first thing that comes to mind when I read this question is money, or Economic. Scientific
innovation leads to further development of a country’s ability to create new goods, which could be used to
help improve trading and aVract international business. I may give the example of Silicone Valley in California
and how programmers and other people in the IT field flock to this area to get jobs at places like Google and
Facebook. Employees at these companies work to develop new, cuVing-edge technology that might benefit
society and increase the country’s wealth.

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Piece of Advice #2:

As I’ve all ready mentioned, it’s more difficult to respond with just one reason and one example. You
should probably think of at least two reasons, but many students have trouble coming up with two reasons for
their opinion. Here’s a two-reason-response to the same question:

To me, it would be better for a business to donate some money to the environment because it’ll
improve the relationship with the customer.

For example, every time I purchase something at Starbucks they donate five cents to help
preserve the Amazon rainforest. Not only does this money go to a good cause, but it also makes
me feel like a good person when I go there.

Also, if a company donated money to the arts, it may make some people angry. A lot of people
don’t care about art and think it’s a waste of money. People and companies should invest their
money in real world problems like hunger and poverty.

So, these are the reasons why I think it’s better for a company to support the environment.

In this example I have two reasons and one personal example. For my second reason, I don’t give an
example. Instead, I contrast the choice of donating to the environment with donating to the arts. Personal
examples are the strongest way to support your opinion, but they’re not always necessary.

T i p
Focus on communicating,
not on being correct.

Why do I have to give a personal example?

You give a personal example because it makes your opinion much more powerful. A lot of American
journalists don’t just report on stories anymore, they also relate news and social issues back to their own lives.
I can’t argue with your personal examples because they really happened to you. Your personal examples may
have shaped who you are and how you look at the world. Many people across the world are baffled by the
increasing support for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in America. I believe the
main reason is because these individuals have begun to share THEIR OWN PERSONAL EXAMPLES of hatred
and discrimination. Even if you don’t agree with their lifestyle, it’s hard to argue against a person who has
been discriminated against because of who they are. Personal examples are powerful, use them to your
advantage.
I tell you not to lie but that’s a lie. If you need to lie, lie. Sometimes you really can’t think of a personal
example that relates to the question. As long as it sounds personal and real it’ll help you fill time and improve
your score.

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My voice doesn’t sound great. Why?

A lot of my students speak in a robotic way on the TOEFL exam and that’s a big mistake. You need to be
emotionally connected to what you’re talking about. Sometimes we get so caught up with structure and
practice that we forget that this is a fluency test. The test will let the grader know if you’re ready to enter
college, and you’re not ready for college if you sound like you’ve been rehearsing a script for weeks. You have
to sound natural. The best advice I can give you is to continue to practice until your answers become almost
automatic. Once you get so accustomed to the structure and how to answer in the allocated time, you should
move on and work on your example list. You can refer to the independent speaking Examples List handout to
help you create a few truthful examples you can connect with.

I’d also like to share a story from my own TOEFL class about a student who finally found a way to
emotionally connect to the language:

I had a 17-year-old student in my TOEFL class who hardly ever said a word. He always looked
miserable. He never wanted to speak and when he did speak he sounded like a robot. However,
one day we practiced a question that the student loved. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it
was something like:

What’s one thing you have to do everyday that you don’t like to do?

His face lit up and, for the first time, he volunteered an answer. He took the opportunity to say
how much he hated the class. His parents were paying for him to take the class and he thought it
was a big waste of time. On top of all that, he didn’t like the teacher, me, but he had to come
every day anyway.

Did he hurt my feelings?

Yes.

However, after he finished, I praised him. It was his best speaking performance ever. It was his
best because he was emotionally connected to the topic. He hated coming to the TOEFL class
every day and it was a subject he felt passionate about. Most of these independent tasks are about
your opinion and one of the best things about an opinion is that it can’t be wrong. So don’t worry
too much whether someone will agree or disagree with your opinion and focus more on speaking
(and writing) about something you feel passionate about.

T i p
Whatever you decide to talk about, make sure you’re
emotionally connected to it.

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My notes aren’t very neat. What should I do?
You should try to make them neater of course, but even when I take the TOEFL I don’t let the note
structure get in the way of my flow of ideas. Let me show you an example from the Independent Speaking
Section. I had the question:

Who has helped you the most to get where you are today, and how has that person helped
you? Use specific examples to support your response.

Now this might be an easy question for you, but for me it’s a bit challenging. Of course I had people
who helped me out, but no one pops in my head when I read the question. A lot of what I’ve accomplished has
come through hard work and self-discipline. But my life experience doesn’t change the question. The test just
finished reading the question and the clock is ticking. 15 seconds has become 10 seconds and I still haven’t
wriVen anything. What should I do? Let me show you my notes:

- On the right hand side, printed in red, is my ‘neat’

handwriting so you can understand what I wrote.

-After 5 seconds of thinking I eventually wrote, ’mom’

and I wrote it because it popped in my head. My
mother’s a wonderful person who has helped me a lot
(she brought me into this world).

-So I write mom and then I write ‘helped with

homework’. Now, this isn’t true, but this is a popular
answer and I have to write something. The clock
doesn’t stop ticking.

-So I keep thinking about how she has helped me get to

where I am today and I remember that she always
believed me. When I was sick or when I went out she
would believe everything I said. She never accused me of
lying (even though I lied a lot).

-Since my mother always believed me, I had a lot of freedom to go out with friends and experiment with
different lifestyles. These experiences made a big impact on my character today.

-And right before I start to speak I cross out ‘helps hw’ because I don’t need it anymore.
The reason I’m showing you this is because books are nice, neat and organized, but real life is messy;
language is messy. There’s hardly ever clear lines and perfect responses. You do the best you can when you’re
in the moment. Don’t let the structure get in the way of your thoughts. Write down your ideas as they come
and try to put them in some kind of order you can understand.

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I often speak too slow and make mistakes. What can I do?
First of all, keep in mind that mistakes happen. When I took the TOEFL test I had some trouble in the
beginning of one of my independent speaking responses. However, I took a breath, recovered and still scored a
30 in the speaking section. Mistakes are part of language and communication so get used to them. One easy
way to limit your mistakes is by changing your mindset. Don’t ask yourself: What if I make a mistake? Change
the question: How can I demonstrate fluency? You’ll find when you make the switch and focus more on
communicating a message rather than on being
perfect, you’ll naturally improve your speaking
ability.
Besides changing your mindset, there’s
an exercise you can try if you make a lot of
mistakes or speak too slow. Try the following
exercise:

Step 1: Practice reading sections of articles from

websites containing respected academic
literature like:

nationalgeographic.com , nytimes.com ,
history.com , sciencedaily.com ,
geography.about.com

Step 2: Once you find an article you think is

appropriate, copy a section of it and paste it into
Microsoft Word or any other application that has
a word counter. Check to see if you have about
125 words, + or - 10 words. Remember, you want
to be able to say approximately 125 words in 45
seconds.

Step 3: Record your speaking and then listen. Ask yourself the following questions:

Was I able to say everything in 45 seconds?

Were there certain words or sounds I had trouble pronouncing?

Did I stop or stuFer more than three times?

Step 4: After self-diagnosing your strengths and weaknesses do the same passage again. Continue on the
same passage until you’re comfortable and confident with the way you speak for that particular excerpt. Once
you feel confident, congratulations! Be proud of your accomplishment. But after that you’re going to have to
do it again with a different passage.

Josh MacPherson©