Four tasks, sixteen minutes.
The clock is the difficulty.
- Free, no card
- Real task timings
- 61 Task 1 questions
- Every sound in IPA
Try Task 1 on the clock.
Some students prefer to study online, while others prefer a traditional classroom. Which do you prefer, and why?
Press record, answer out loud, then press again.
One free take on this device · no account · no card
What sayit can and cannot do for TOEFL
Delivery, not content
sayit's band is an estimate built from two things a microphone can actually measure — fluency and pronunciation. Lexical resource and grammatical range are marked by a human examiner and are not measured here.For Tasks 2 to 4 we also do not supply the reading passage or the lecture, so what a recording here gives you is a check on how a prepared summary sounded, not on whether you caught the professor's second example. The task pages say the same thing.The four tasks
TOEFL Speaking Task 1 — Independent Speaking
15 seconds to prepare, 45 seconds to speak.
Task 1 is the only speaking task with no reading or listening attached. You are asked for an opinion or a preference — which of two options you would choose, whether you agree with a statement — and you get 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to speak.
Open Task 1TOEFL Speaking Task 2 — Campus Situation
45 seconds to read, a conversation to hear, then 30 seconds to prepare and 60 to speak.
Task 2 is integrated. You read a short campus announcement or letter for about 45 seconds, then hear two students discussing it.
Open Task 2TOEFL Speaking Task 3 — Academic Reading and Lecture
A passage and a lecture, then 30 seconds to prepare and 60 to speak.
Task 3 gives you a short academic passage defining a concept, then a lecture excerpt in which a professor illustrates that concept with one or two examples. You get 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to explain the concept using the examples from the lecture..
Open Task 3TOEFL Speaking Task 4 — Academic Lecture Summary
A two-minute lecture, then 20 seconds to prepare and 60 to speak.
Task 4 is listening only: a lecture excerpt of about two minutes on an academic topic, usually organised around two points or two examples. You get 20 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to summarise what the professor said.
Open Task 461 Independent Speaking questions
61 questions
- Some students prefer to study online, while others prefer a traditional classroom. Which do you prefer, and why?education
- Do you think students learn more when they take notes by hand or on a laptop? Explain your choice.education
- Some people prefer a large university, others a small college. Which would you choose, and why?education
- Is it better to study one subject in depth or several subjects broadly? Explain.education
- Some universities require every student to take an art or music class. Do you agree with this policy?education
- If a school could only fund one, should it be history or science? Explain your reasoning.education
- Do you learn more from group projects or from individual assignments?education
- Would you rather live on campus or off campus during university? Why?education
- Some students learn more from lectures, others from reading. Which works better for you?education
- Should students choose their major in the first year, or wait? Explain.education
- Do students benefit more from daily homework or from long-term projects?education
- Should schools be required to teach personal finance? Explain your answer.education
- Should students be allowed to use their phones during class? Why, or why not?technology
- Does social media help or harm real friendships? Use reasons and examples.technology
- Do you prefer reading electronic books or printed books? Explain why.technology
- Some people set strict limits on screen time. Do you think that is a good idea?technology
- Are video calls as effective as meeting face to face? Explain.technology
- At what age should children be allowed their own smartphone, and why?technology
- Do you agree that technology has made everyday life simpler? Explain.technology
- Can someone learn a language well using only an app? Give reasons.technology
- Do you rely on online reviews before buying something? Why, or why not?technology
- Do you work better with background music or in silence? Explain.technology
- Do you prefer to work on projects alone or as part of a group? Explain your preference.work
- Is it better to take a job you enjoy or one that pays more? Explain.work
- Would you rather work from home or in an office? Give reasons.work
- Should employees be allowed to choose their own working hours? Why?work
- Would you rather start your own business or work for an established company?work
- Is it a good idea for full-time students to take a part-time job?work
- Should companies require employees to take all their vacation days?work
- Is an internship more valuable than an extra semester of coursework?work
- Would you rather have a friendly manager or a demanding one? Explain.work
- Would you move to another city for a better job? Why, or why not?work
- What is the most important thing a company can do for a new employee?work
- Should cities spend more money on public transport or on roads?society
- Is it better to raise a family in a city or in the countryside?society
- Should students be required to do volunteer work? Explain.society
- Should museums and galleries be free to enter? Give reasons.society
- Should a city preserve old buildings or build modern ones? Explain.society
- Should recycling be required by law? Why, or why not?society
- Are public libraries still important in the internet age?society
- Should governments spend money on space research? Explain.society
- If a city has spare land, should it build parks or housing?society
- Should single-use plastic bags be banned everywhere? Explain.society
- Do you prefer to exercise in the morning or in the evening? Why?lifestyle
- Do you prefer cooking at home or eating in restaurants? Explain.lifestyle
- Do you prefer to plan a trip carefully or travel spontaneously?lifestyle
- Is it better to save money or spend it on experiences? Explain.lifestyle
- Do you prefer a quiet weekend at home or a busy one with friends?lifestyle
- Is it better to stay in one place for life or move often? Why?lifestyle
- Is it reasonable to keep a pet in a small apartment? Explain.lifestyle
- Would you rather take one long holiday or several short breaks?lifestyle
- Do you prefer watching films at home or at the cinema? Explain.lifestyle
- If you could only learn one, would it be cooking or driving? Why?lifestyle
- Describe a teacher who influenced you and explain why that person mattered.personal
- Describe an important decision you made and explain how you made it.personal
- Describe a place you would recommend to a visitor and say why.personal
- Describe a skill you would like to learn and explain why you chose it.personal
- Describe a book or film that changed how you see something.personal
- Describe how you like to spend your free time, and explain why.personal
- Describe a challenge you overcame and explain what it taught you.personal
- Describe a person you would like to work with, and explain why.personal
Straight answers
How is the TOEFL Speaking section scored?
Four tasks, each rated from 0 to 4 by a combination of human raters and automated scoring, and the total is converted to a scale of 0 to 30. Each task is judged on delivery, language use and topic development.
How long is the Speaking section?
About sixteen minutes in total. Task 1 gives you 15 seconds to prepare and 45 to speak; Tasks 2 and 3 give 30 seconds and 60; Task 4 gives 20 seconds and 60.
What can sayit practise for TOEFL?
Delivery, which is one of the three things raters mark. It reports pace, long pauses, filler words and every sound against its target in IPA. It does not supply the reading passages or the lectures the integrated tasks are built on, and it does not judge whether your content was right.
What score do universities want?
Commonly 20 to 26 out of 30 for the Speaking section, depending on the programme, with graduate and teaching-assistant positions at the higher end. Check the specific requirement rather than the overall total.
Is Task 1 the easiest?
It is the only one with nothing to read or listen to first, which makes it the most practisable. The difficulty is the clock: 45 seconds is about 110 to 130 words, and most candidates prepare answers that are far too long.
Drill the 45 seconds until it is automatic
A free account keeps every take, so you can watch your pace settle and your filler count fall over a fortnight instead of guessing.