Concerned about TOEFL® speaking section question 4

[Azeuch]

Hi all,
I'm going to take the TOEFL ibt on 12 december and it will be the first time and the last! (I hope so)
But I'm a little worried about the Integrated speaking part 4 of the TOEFL
I've been practicing my speaking lately, and the question 4 looks so dificult
We only have 45 seconds to read about a academic topic and to take notes, here is my question..
Is it important to take notes while we are reading the passage ???
After this, we listen to a lecture about the same academic topic...
then we have to relate the lecture and the reading passage...
This is indeed complicated for me, the others questions 1,2,3,5 and 6 are okay.
Can someone provide me with so good adivce in how to prepare for that question ??
Do you guys take notes of the reading passages in the speaking section ?? If yes, how do you do that in only 45 seconds ?

I need 20 points to pass the speaking section
Thanks in advance

[Proalyssa199]

Well, although the listening passage counts for more in question 4, I think that you should take notes of the reading passage. You can read through each sentence of the passage then take down the key words capturing main ideas. That makes it easier to understand the listening passage and support your response more efficiently.

[Da Designer]

hey !! Azeuch

my test is also on same date , 12th dec . and my problem about speaking part is the same as yours . lol.
its really hard to take notes in such a short time.
i don't know what will happen.

[Azeuch]

Hey designer,
I noticed that on this question we need to focus on the listening passage. I just take notes of a few words to remember the passage.
In the listening passage I take a lot of notes. Then when I'm talking,I resume the reading passage in one or two sentences and
the rest of the time I use to talk about the listening passage. TOEFL wants us to focus on the listening, this is the same on the integrated writing task
Well, we have little time to study...
Good look for your exam!
may god bless us

[EnglishRaven]

Hi Azeuch,

You're right - this is indeed the hardest part of the whole speaking section of the iBT TOEFL. It can be very intimidating, and hard to score well on.

You should absolutely take notes for the reading section, but keep them brief and focus only on summarizing the main idea and a couple of the most important points. I would recommend dividing your note-taking paper into two halves. Spread your notes about the reading down the left side. Then when you listen to the lecture, you can space the more detailed notes for this part down the right side. It can then be easier to see how information from the lecture correlates to main points from the reading passage.

In your answer, ensure you first summarize the overall topic for both inputs (reading and listening), and STATE HOW THEY RELATE TO EACH OTHER OVERALL. The listening will always either (a) agree with the points in the reading but extend it into some sort of specific application or example, or (b) disagree with and challenge the points made in the reading. Be ready for one of those two eventualities, right from the start.

The trap in this question is speaking too much about the reading passage. Focus most of your initial reporting on the lecture, and refer each main point from it back to a central idea from the reading. Here are some expressions/guidelines you might like to try:

[The lecture extends/elaborates on something from the reading] -
The lecturer tells us that ... / ... / ..., and this relates to what was said in the reading passage about ...
[In addition,] We also hear that ... / ... / ..., which extends the idea from the reading that ...
[Also,] In the lecture, a point is made about ... / ... / ..., which in turn gives us a better idea about ... / ... / ... from the reading passage.

[The lecture refutes something from the reading] -
The lecturer tells us that ... / ... / ... and this refutes what was said in the reading passage about ...
[In addition,] We also hear that ... / ... / ..., which contrasts with what the reading explains in terms of ...
[Also,] In the lecture, a point is made about ... / ... / ..., whereas the reading passage's take on this is that ...

It's worth coming up with some framing chunks like these and memorizing them by heart so that they flow naturally for you during the test. Then all you need to do is concentrate on getting down and organizing the important information.

These are just some of my own opinions about how to handle this task, but generally I get a lot of positive feedback from test takers who report my strategies/formulae for the different speaking tasks help them consistently get more than 25/30, if all other things go well during the test [important to note that last part!].

Hope this helps - good luck with it!

- Jason

[Azeuch]

Hello Jason,
Thanks a lot, these are such good tips.
I have already received my results though and I didn't need to get like 26 points on speaking. I needed only 20 (80 points)on each section. As a results I didn't study that much. I got 26/26/23/28 - 103 - What I did was, I briefly talked about the reading passage in 5 seconds ( I didn't take notes )
After that I spoke the 55 seconds about listening. The problems is that I didn't use too much guidelines. Whatever..I needed 20 and I got 23.

I must thank you about your websites and blogs which are tremedly helpful.
I used your speaking tips at your blog as reference and I know that a lot of people do. I took your sample tests as well which gave me a good perspective of the test.

take care,

Adrien

[EnglishRaven]

Hi Adrien - and thanks a lot. It's positive comments like this that make voluntary time feel very much worth it!

BTW, we recently added a new speaking part 4 task to our site:
http://www.onlinenglish.net/TOEFL/a_ibt_question_4_practice_january_2008.html

Anyone looking for extra practice with this part of the test might like to stop by and give it a try.

Best of luck,

Jason

[EnglishRaven]

Just an update for the free speaking 4 practice task we have running this month...

It seems most people have problems submitting the task because they don't have webcams (or don't want to be seen in cyber public trying to do an iBT speaking task!) and the task submission interface required video - so our apologies there.

We've changed the interface so that now all you need is a microphone. Audio only, no video.

If you went to the page and couldn't give it a shot before, you might like to have another look. See the link in the previous post.

Best,

Jason

[EnglishRaven]

I have a new YouTube tutorial up that might help people with question 4...

http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/ibt_speaking_writing/2009/10/toefl-speaking-question-4-the-hardest-one-essential-strategies-to-handle-the-task-well.html

All the best,

~ Jason
http://www.English-iTutor.com

[Nzuahp]

Hi EnglishRaven,

Thanks a lot for the tutorials and tips you have made available at your website to help others. Thanks once more for taking off much of your time to clarify most of us for the difficulties we face in the speaking section of the TOEFL exam.

Best regards,
Nzuahp.
_________________
Practice makes perfect

[EnglishRaven]

Hi Nzuahp,

You're quite welcome. And that's a smashing suit and hat you're wearing!



~ Jason
http://www.English-iTutor.com

[Mbuckhoff]

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