TOEFL Exam Preparation| How to improve your speaking

Doing questions and memorizing words are of very limited help in the TOEFL speaking section. Students will find that in addition to difficult questions, TOEFL Speaking also has the added "buff" of requiring less preparation time and relying entirely on students' free play. Many students who have little accumulation of corpus will think that the speaking part is very difficult to improve their scores.

Leapy is here to provide you with an idea for analyzing speaking questions, which can help you improve your speaking scores.

1. Analysing question stem

Speaking questions test whether students can quickly give an opinion; after stating their position, TOEFL examiners also want to hear the "why" part from the students. Accurate answers also represent the students' ability to analyze the question stem.

Question stem: 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?

Key points: New University, Best way, Learn about

Based on these key points, we can conclude that the question is asking what is the best way to start understanding a university from scratch. Smart friends can see that this is a good opportunity to state a position.

Here's some background for everyone from Leapy: In North America, high school students usually visit campuses during the summer (before) of their senior year. Visiting campuses before applying is very necessary for North American high school students. The environment, atmosphere, and culture of the school are all part of the campus visit; students can choose the "best way" in conjunction with the background provided by Leapy.

2. Make a mindmap

Having analyzed the question, students should now have their own opinions on it; now, let's take a look at the options that Leapy presents.

Option 1: a second-year student gives you a personal tour of the whole campus

Key points: second-year student, personal tour, whole campus

Smart friends will start to explain each point:

A second-year student has two years of on-campus life experience, experiencing the school's culture and environment from a student's perspective. These are personal experiences of a student that other options lack.

A personal tour given by such seniors allows students to understand the school to the greatest extent.

The introduction to the entire campus is comprehensive, making such a thorough introduction very valuable.

Option 2: you are given a detailed map of the campus designed by the student services department

Key points: a detailed map, designed by, student services department

Smart friends have applied the mind mapping method from above to the campus map.

A very detailed map, although it does not provide explanations, ensures that no information is forgotten. The map offers the quickest comprehensive understanding, including the distribution of restaurants, the location and number of teaching buildings, and sports facilities.

Such a map is undoubtedly designed for visiting students and parents, with easily understandable information that is all-encompassing.

Option 3: you join a group tour of the campus together with all the other new students

Key points: group tour, together, other new students.

Smart friends are already prepared to use mind mapping.

Group tours generally have well-planned routes and background knowledge, which can be more comprehensive than a map or a tour by a second-year student. Questions from others can also be heard.

There is a strong sense of teamwork, and being among many others who also want to deeply understand the university can make one feel less isolated.

The group visit approach also allows for early interaction with new classmates and potential friends, making it a good way to integrate into the school and understand the situation. Understanding a university includes knowing about the student composition and the ease of making friends, and a group visit can give students a glimpse of this.

3. Answer the question using the simplest grammar

While using advanced grammar and vocabulary can certainly help boost your score, don't force yourself to come up with fancy grammar and wording in the process of answering. Completeness and logical development of the answer are given more priority in the eyes of the examiner. Keep the grammar simple and correct.