TOEFL Guides · Speaking · ~8 min read
TOEFL Speaking Practice: All 4 Tasks With Sample Answers
TOEFL Speaking is four tasks recorded into a microphone, no examiner in the room — one independent, three integrated with reading and/or listening. Here’s exactly what each one asks, the timing, and where responses actually lose points.
Task 1 — Independent Speaking
A familiar, personal topic — a preference, opinion, or choice between two options — answered using your own ideas and experience, with no reading or listening involved.
“Some people prefer to study alone. Others prefer to study with a group. Which do you prefer, and why?”
Tip: commit to a clear position in your first sentence, give exactly two reasons, and support each with a specific, concrete detail — a real memory, a name, a number. Vague general reasons are the most common way strong speakers still underscore this task.
Task 2 — Integrated: Campus Situation
Read a short campus announcement or policy change, then listen to two students discussing it — one clearly agrees or disagrees and gives specific reasons. Summarise that student’s opinion and reasons, connecting them to the reading.
Tip: your response should be almost entirely about the student’s opinion and reasons from the listening — the reading passage only needs a one-sentence summary for context.
Task 3 — Integrated: Academic Course Concept
Read a short passage introducing an academic term or concept, then listen to a professor’s lecture illustrating it with one or two concrete examples. Explain the concept using the lecture’s examples.
Tip: define the term briefly using the reading, then spend most of your response walking through the lecture’s specific example — that’s where most of the scoring weight sits.
Task 4 — Integrated: Academic Lecture Summary
Listen only, no reading passage, to a lecture excerpt explaining a concept through one or two supporting examples, then summarise the lecture’s main points.
Tip: structure your response around the lecture’s own organisation (the concept, then example one, then example two) rather than trying to reorganise it yourself under time pressure.
How TOEFL Speaking is scored
Each response is scored 0–4 on three combined criteria — Delivery (pace, clarity, natural pausing), Language Use (grammar and vocabulary range), and Topic Development (how complete and well-organised the content is) — then averaged and converted to the 0–30 Speaking scale.
2 mistakes that quietly cap every task
Frequently asked questions
How many tasks are in TOEFL Speaking?
Four — one Independent (personal opinion) and three Integrated (combining reading and/or listening with your spoken response).
How long do I have to prepare for each TOEFL Speaking task?
15 seconds for Task 1, and 30 seconds for Tasks 2 and 3, and 20 seconds for Task 4 — short, so a consistent response structure matters more than crafting perfect sentences in your head.
Is there an examiner in the room for TOEFL Speaking?
No — you speak into a microphone and your responses are recorded and scored later, which is why speaking clearly and at a natural pace matters even without a live listener.
How is TOEFL Speaking scored?
Each task is scored 0–4 on Delivery, Language Use, and Topic Development, averaged across all four tasks, then converted to a 0–30 scale.
Practice all 4 tasks with real audio and model responses
TOEFL Speaking Mastery gives you real audio for every stimulus and model response, plus a genuine weak-versus-strong response comparison for every task type, and two full mock interviews.
Written by Dr. Henry English, founder of Concord Black — a school director with a BA in English Language and Literature, a BA in English Language Teaching, a master’s degree in English Language Teaching, and a PhD in English Language and Philosophy.
TOEFL is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS). This article and the product it references are independent and not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by ETS.
