It’s a common reaction for test-takers to panic when answers are supposed to be within a specific timeframe during the TOEFL speaking section.
However, with good preparation you are less likely to get startled when speaking under time pressure.
Many test-takers worry about their answer and overanalyze what the right answer should be. Remember on the independent section there is no wrong answer! The same applies to the integrated speaking task, pick a side and simply provide reasons to support your decision within the source material.
One of the most important factors of your TOEFL speaking score is being able to finish your answer within the given timeframe.
You should always start concluding your answer when you see the timer having less than ten seconds left. A good exercise is to practice given a conclusion to an answer within ten seconds. Once you master this you don't have to worry about getting caught in the middle of a sentence during the test.
The TOEFL speaking test is all about patterns and having a clear strategy. For example you should know how you would an answer a question like “what is your favorite movie” within 30 seconds.
TOEFL Integrated Speaking Topics
On the TOEFL integrated speaking task you’ll need to listen to an audio track and sometimes also read a short article before you see the question.
You will see four different types of questions on the integrated speaking task.
• You will read and listen to someone describing events in their life and giving you their opinion. Your task is to summarize what you heard, read and describe the opinion of the person.
• You will listen to an academic lecture and read a passage from a textbook. You will have to speak about the lecture and how it connects with the passage you read.
• Listen to a conversation between two people who are discussing a problem with two different solutions. You will have to speak about the problem, the two solutions, which solution you prefer, and why you prefer that solution.
• Last task will ask you to listen to a lecture. You will be asked to give a summary of the most important points of the lecture.
The tasks will always appear in the same order on the TOEFL speaking section.
Practicing your answer patterns and learning the different TOEFL integrated speaking topics will allow you to feel more comfortable when taking the TOEFL speaking section.