In each of the following episodes, I have included two TOEFL Independent Question One responses. There are many ways you could practice with these recordings in order to develop your speaking without a partner:
Read the question and try your answer by recording yourself on your smartphone’s voice recorder app. Listen back and make note of any slips and long pauses. Then, record again and compare the second recording to the first.
You could also listen to the model answer from the podcast and mimic the phrasing, intonation and pronunciation.
If you want to challenge yourself to copy the accent, you might decide if you want to adopt an accent when you speak English, or if you prefer not to.
Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify where you can download the episodes and listen while you’re on the go 🙂
The reading provides three reasons why online encyclopedias are not as good as traditional encyclopedias. However, the professor in the lecture disagrees with the points in the reading for several reasons.
To begin, while the errors in online encyclopedias may number more than traditional encyclopedias, they are more easily corrected than published encyclopedias. Online documents are, in a sense, living documents. Editors can make revisions when new information comes out and incorporate these changes in real time.
Changes to online encyclopedias by hackers can happen. While this is a concern put forward in the reading, the lecturer handily counters by stating that editors monitor changes, and that crucial facts are protected within the website through read-only formatting. Whereas researchers may come upon altered information in online encyclopedias, these malicious attacks are prevented and corrected for by the editorial staff of the online encyclopedias.
Finally, the significance of information is questioned in the reading, but the lecturer again debunks the claim by explaining that traditional print encyclopedias have limited space, over which an editorial board judges what ought to be included. However, there is no limit to the space of online encyclopedias, and the diversity of views and information is the greatest advantage that the online version offers as it reflects the much broader interests of the public than published encyclopedias ever could.
In the past month or so, I have begun recording sample answers to TOEFL iBT Speaking Question 1. This series of podcasts contains 2 or 3 sample answers each episode. I am continuing to publish more every Monday to Apple Podcast and Spotify. I have also created videos which I have published to my Instagram.
Some people think that family members are the most important influence on young adults. Others believe that friends are the most important influence. Which do you agree with?
Some students would prefer to live with roommates. Others would prefer to live alone. Which option would you prefer?
Some people prefer to go to the movie theatre; others prefer to stream a movie online. Which do you think is better?
Some think the college experience is essential; others think it is not. What is your opinion?
Some people like to watch action movies; others prefer to watch comedies. Which type of movie do you prefer?
In the following two episodes, I have shared a first try and a second try. I always try to improve my recordings after a first try. I will rerecord my speeches until the flow is logical and there are no long, awkward pauses.
Many universities now offer academic courses over the internet. However, some people still prefer learning in traditional classrooms. Which do you think is better? Why?
What do you miss most about your home when you are away?
Remember that the time for TOEFL iBT Independent Speaking is 15 seconds for preparation and 45 seconds for speaking. If you go over the time limit, the recording will be cut off in the test.
We read about the large stone structures, or “great houses,” in the Chaco Canyon and the three theories on which their existence is based. The professor in the lecture presents three reasons, one for each theory, as to why the origin of the large houses remains unknown.
The professor begins with the first theory on the structures as apartment buildings. The main flaw in this theory is that while there are indeed many rooms for a large number of inhabitants, there are relatively few fireplaces. If there had been residents, there would have had to have been enough fireplaces for each family.
The second theory proposes that the buildings stored corn. The lecturer explains that there were very few containers among the remains and little corn. Therefore, if these structures were for storage of maize, excavators would have found much more corn and many more ceramic containers.
Third and finally, the professor rebuts the proposal that this had been a ceremonial center. There are many remnants in addition to any possible religious artifacts, and the random distribution of the remains suggests just as likely that this was simply a trash heap.
The topic comes from the Magoosh link below. I suggest at the start of the video to turn off spelling and grammar assistance in your word processor. I set my timer and composed the essay live in the screencast video. It took about 25 minutes to write and edit my example essay. I made two additional spelling corrections after completing the video.
“Many workers change jobs a few times in their career. However, several workers instead do the same type of work throughout their career. Of these two career paths, which is a better option? In your essay, include supporting details.”
Original model essay:
Some people prefer to keep a single job in their career for a long time, whereas others like to change jobs or even change careers periodically. While either path can provide fulfilling work, changing jobs within one career can provide a rewarding balance between variety and success.
Keeping a single job in the same company throughout one’s career is not particularly common in the modern age. While large corporations may offer quite a lot of career growth, workers in small firms would eventually reach a plateau above which they would not be able to advance their careers. That is why seeking a higher position in another company would be required in order to advance one’s career. That does not mean the same as changing career paths.
On the other hand, changing career paths would present a number of challenges that might be highly rewarding to those who crave challenge. However, there are many reasons beyond simply seeking change that might propel someone to change career entirely. These could be work-related, but the reasons may have to do with personal health, environment or family issues. Perhaps most commonly, people change career when they need to devote more time to family. For instance, new parents may stop work for a time, and then upon returning to the workforce, they look for careers that will allow more flexibility with schedules than they had before their children were born.
A third rationale for changing jobs within one career or to a new career may be outside of one’s control entirely. Over time, industries change, businesses evolve, or entire sectors of the economy disappear. In the case of my father, who is now at retirement age, his work in the university textbook industry has changed dramatically because of the now widespread use of online textbooks. When print media was slowly phased out over the past five years, my father’s workload declined to almost zero. This example is not unique. Many other companies find themselves in difficult financial situations every time there is an economic downturn. Even once stable large corporations are now overleveraged and heavily indebted. When the 2020 Pandemic led to stay-at-home orders and shut-downs, over twenty percent of the workforce in the United States was either furloughed or laid-off. These workers will be lucky if they can return to their previous jobs. However, many have already sought career changes.
In conclusion, there are many reasons individuals may seek new opportunities at other companies or in other industries. However, staying within one industry allows a person to build skill and grow in their careers even when changing jobs. Nevertheless, changing jobs may not be a personal choice, but rather a result of market forces. Sometimes this means changing careers when a type of job is outsourced to a location in another country or when an industry collapses entirely as a result of technological innovations.
Beginning in 2019, the new TOEFL iBT is shorter than before. Instead of six questions on the speaking test, there are four questions. The total time is about 20 minutes. Whereas there were two independent tasks before, there is now only one. This is question number one. The other three of the four questions are integrated skills: spoken summaries of reading and/or listening.
In question one, the independent question, the preparation time is 15 seconds, and the response time is 45 seconds. Below are my examples of the basic question types: compare two or three options, agree/disagree and advantages/disadvantages.
Some people enjoy taking risks and trying new things. Others are not adventurous; they are cautious and prefer to avoid danger. Which behavior do you think is better?
Some people think it is more fun to spend time with friends in restaurants or cafes. Others think it is more fun to spend time with friends at home. Which do you think is better?
Imagine that you have just begun studying at a new university. Which of the following do you think would be the best way for you to learn about the new campus?
A. a second-year student gives you a personal tour of the whole campus
B. you are given a detailed map of the campus designed by the student services department
C. you join a group tour of the campus together with all the other new students
If you were going to choose a roommate, which of the following characteristics would be the most important to you?
A. cleanliness
B. friendliness
C. quietness
What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving smartphones to teenagers?
The following video is my live composition of the 30-minute timed essay. The text below the video is the essay I wrote.
The study in this trial of the use of lavender pillows as a remedy for insomnia lasted a period of three weeks, and claims terrific results within that time period; however, the findings do not include any discussion of the limitations of the study, of which there are several.
As all clinical trails do, this study was conducted in a controlled setting where the volunteers were monitored at night time. Controlling the room’s temperature and having standardized accommodations for all the participants would be a minimal expectation. However, lighting and darkness for set times would be one aspect of the study that could significantly improve sleep conditions compared to the participants’ bedrooms at their homes. These situational aspects stand apart from the one modification that was targeted, the lavender pillow. Bringing us to the pillow itself–apart from the scent, how might the pillow be different from standard pillows in size or firmness?
Another major detail that is not presented in the synopsis of the study is whether or not there was a control group in addition to the 30 participants who received the sleep modification of the lavender pillow. Any scientific study of merit would make a point of comparing the targeted modification against a placebo, which in this case would be a substitute for lavender. Perhaps this could be a pillow with a different scent, no scent or an imitation lavender. The aim of testing alternatives and/or an imitation could potentially strengthen the findings of this study significantly if the results support the claim of the researchers.
The three-week time period is a third detail that calls into question the claim that the lavender pillow “cured” the participants’ insomnia. Insomnia, the condition of chronic sleeplessness, is on-going over periods of time much longer than three weeks. Extending this study to a period of several months could greatly support this claim if the results are sustained.
Finally, as sleep enhancers are many in type, the fact that all the participants had already been taking a medication to improve sleep does not make for a good case either. While the three week time period includes gradual adjustments to take the participants off their medications, the fact that the medications continued to be administered at the same time as the introduction of the lavender pillow makes for a weakened argument. Perhaps, commencing environmental changes at the same time prior medications are stopped would strengthen the findings. Combining medications and a secondary aid, like the lavender pillow, present a completely different solution to treating sleeplessness that could be valid. However, it would make a much better argument for this particular study by beginning with the claim that eliminating the need for medication was the main aim of testing the effect of the lavender pillow.
In conclusion, the findings of the study could be strengthened by including in the report exactly how the room was controlled, other details regarding the pillow and by comparing the results to those of a control group that had been given a placebo.
The following video is my live composition of the 30-minute timed essay. The text below the video is the essay I wrote. The essay had five typos and a few extra commas that have been removed. Following the text of my final draft, I have added some comments and links for reading and listening related to the topic.
Considering the case of a country that is experiencing an economic depression, some people may say that funding for extraneous public programs like the arts ought to be eliminated, and that their funding should be diverted to the true needs of the people in the way of food assistance or unemployment income. However, the arts, of which there are many forms, are a sort of jobs program. Public artwork not only benefits artists, but also the public that enjoys viewing art, and listening to or watching performances.
The types of government programs that put money into the economy are many. They range from education to military expenditures. The funding for the arts is relatively little in comparison to some of the other types of social welfare programs that exist, the largest of which are typically health care and pensions. The money that is spent into the economy by the government also has a multiplier effect that compounds the amount of money in circulation as the funding changes hands. The benefit of government spending in the economy is quite significant. Not only is the amount great, but the health of the economy depends on it.
The extent to which the general public benefits from government spending depends in part on the types of spending. The money that goes directly into industry in the form of subsidies makes the domestic products of a country relatively competitive. However, the money that the government spends in funding public works that create jobs, such as infrastructure projects and the arts, is actually paid into the bank accounts of employees and artists. These workers are in turn going to spend their incomes, which generates even more growth in the economy. Moreover, the income that is spent by the underemployed, as is typically the case among artists and gig workers, is greater in percentage than money injected into the market through buy-back of government bonds. Bond-holders, after all, do not tend to spend their disposable income in the same ways that low-income earners would.
Besides the income that artists receive through funding of the arts, there are two additional beneficiaries. They include the general public and the facilities that are created to house performances. These public spaces include museums and concert halls, among which there are many historic landmarks in both small and large cities. Venues ranging from opera houses to band shells require maintenance. The circular flow of money would direct this spending through every type of job related to the operation of these attractions that are so vital to tourism, further compounding the multiplier effect of government spending in this sector of the economy.
The third and largest stakeholder is the viewing public. Consider the well-being and health of a population during an economic downturn. The people that live through tough times have the same mental and emotional needs as any others. The art that is created during periods of depression reflects the conditions under which the people are living and creates a living record of those times. Both visual and performance art created under times of turmoil allow for the relief of the pressure of the society. Art, music, theater and dance are an outlet for the pain of living with deprivations. Governments have not only an obligation to support the fiscal health of their nations, but also the emotional repair that a society must go through. The funding of public arts that supports design and infrastructure projects contribute to both the economic rebuilding of a nation and the sustained development of a country through such periods of economic difficulty.
In conclusion, the money spent into the economy through a range of public programs should not be limited to the most obvious types of public assistance, nor should the spending be limited to the industries that require the greatest attention to maintain the international reputation of a country. Government spending during difficult times when people are experiencing hunger and unemployment must also include spending in the arts as it is the arts that boost the morale of the people through such depressions.
(678 words)
After composing my essay under mock exam conditions with a strict 30-minute time limit, it occurred to me that I should point out the limitations of the argument I have presented. First of all, I did not spend time preparing by brainstorming or outlining the essay, and so there were a few ideas that I was not able to include in the essay because I didn’t have sufficient time to incorporate them.
The statement in the prompt lacks any mention of the conditions under which a population may come to experience mass hunger, famine and widespread unemployment. It also makes the assumption that the debate in governments where these problems exist is restricted by the requirement of a balanced budget, and that the government is prohibited from excessive deficit spending, in which case one would assume that government spending is funded either by revenue from state-run industries or taxes. These are economic conditions that vary depending on the nation in question.
Conversely, a government’s domestic policy is legally separated from the policies of central banks, which have tools that target an optimal level of unemployment. Moreover, there is some contention among economists over federal banking policy with respect to targeting an optimal balance between inflation and employment and the real ability of federal banks to effectively control these economic indicators with monetary policy tools.
As opposed to English proficiency examinations, the GRE score is based on the strength of the argument of the essay, which is a product of the writer’s ability to directly address the prompt using logic, effective word choice, cohesion and coherence. While I approached this topic from an economic perspective, there are important foreign policy considerations involving international aid, embargos and long-term food shortages resulting from climate change, which are discussed in the links below from a United States radio and television program called Democracy Now! from Friday, October 9, 2020. In the episode, the host interviews writer Vijay Prashad on the announcement of the awarding of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the UN World Food Program (link to mainstream news story below).
