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Speaking Section Introduction

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6 views

Speaking Section Introduction

Uploaded by

Gustavo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Speaking Section

Introduction
Introduction
• In the Speaking Section, you will be asked to speak on a
variety of topics that draw on personal experience, campus‐
based situations, and academic‐type content material.
• This section is approximately 17 minutes long and includes
four tasks.
 The first task is an independent speaking task asking you to make
a choice about a topic familiar to you. It asks you to draw upon
your own ideas, opinions, and experiences to support your
response.
 The remaining three tasks are integrated tasks where you must
use more than one skill when responding. Two of the tasks
require you to read, listen, and then speak in response by relating
the information from the reading and listening material. The
other task requires you to listen and then speak in response. You
can take notes and use those notes when responding to the
speaking tasks.
Description
• The response time allowed for each question is 45 or 60 seconds.
• For Speaking questions that involve listening, you will hear short
lectures or conversations on headphones.
• For Speaking questions that involve reading, you will read short
written passages on your computer screen.
• You can take notes throughout the Speaking section and use your
notes when responding to the Speaking questions.
• For each of the four questions, you will be given a short time to
prepare a response.
• You will answer each of the questions by speaking into a
microphone.
• Your responses will be recorded and sent to a scoring center, and
they will be scored by both human raters and the ETS automated
scoring system, SpeechRater®.
Speaking Question Types: Independent Task
(Only Speak)
Task Type Task Description Timing

Independent This question asks Preparation time: 15


Task: the test taker to seconds
make and defend a
Question 1 personal choice Response time: 45
between two seconds
Paired Choice contrasting
behaviors, ideas, or
courses of action.
Speaking Question Types: Integrated Tasks
(Read/Listen/Speak)
Question Type Task Description Timing
Question 2 • This question asks the test taker to make Preparation time: 20
and defend a personal choice between seconds
Fit and Explain two contrasting behaviors, ideas, or
Campus courses of action. Response time: 60
Situation seconds

Question 3 • A reading passage (80–110 words) Preparation time: 30


broadly defines a term, process, or idea seconds
General/Specific from an academic subject.
Academic • An excerpt from a lecture (60–90 Response time: 60
Course Topic seconds) provides examples and specific seconds
information to illustrate the term,
process, or idea from the reading
passage.
• The question asks the test taker to
combine and convey important
information from the reading passage
and the lecture excerpt.
Speaking Question Types: Integrated Task
(Listen/Speak)
Task Type Task Description Timing

Question 4 • The listening passage Preparation time: 20


is an excerpt from a seconds
Summary Academic lecture (90–120 Response time: 60
Course Topic seconds) that explains seconds
a term or concept and
gives concrete
examples to illustrate
that term or concept.
• The question asks the
test taker to
summarize the lecture
and demonstrate an
understanding of the
relationship between
the examples and the
overall topic.
Rating
• Delivery: How clear your speech is. Good responses are
those in which the speech is fluid and clear, with good
pronunciation, natural pacing, and natural‐sounding
intonation patterns.

• Language Use: How effectively you use grammar and


vocabulary to convey your ideas. Raters will be listening for
how well you can control both basic and more complex
language structures and use appropriate vocabulary.

• Topic Development: How fully you answer the question and


how coherently you present your ideas. Good responses
generally use all or most of the time allotted, and the
relationship between ideas and the progression from one
idea to the next is clear and easy to follow.

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