Lesson 1 of 10: Learn your TOEFL Speaking Score

Perfect TOEFL Speaking 10-Day Challenge

Let’s get you a high TOEFL Speaking Score, fast

My Speaking Score’s Perfect TOEFL Speaking Challenge is a 10-day task-based course that shows you how to combine a foolproof approach called the Grid, with My Speaking Score’s automated scoring tool to earn a perfect score on the TOEFL Speaking section.

You only need 3 things to guide yourself towards a high TOEFL Speaking score:

1. training (this is it!)

2. practice (My Speaking Score - tests)

3. feedback (My Speaking Score - SpeechRater™)

If you want to know, step by step, how to quickly understand how to get a high TOEFL Speaking score, keep reading.

PS - if you are using ChatGPT to help you prepare - great! Check out this post on how to use ChatGPT prompts to prepare for TOEFL Speaking.

About this 10-Day Course

This course works best with My Speaking Score - the online platform that gives you all the tests and SpeechRater™ estimates you need to succeed on test day.

Free Resources

• Perfect TOEFL Speaking e-Book (free download)

• My Speaking Score Knowledge base

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Lesson 1 - Your Score Now

You need to understand what your TOEFL Speaking score is TODAY. Once you learn your score, then it's simply a matter of looking at your scoring data, seeing where you are underperforming, and then figuring out how to improve.

The “top row” of SpeechRater™ data

We're going to look closely at all your TOEFL Speaking analytics. Then we're going to take a scientific approach to understanding why YOU are struggling. This is important.

We're not interested why "some people" are struggling. Or even why "certain nationalities" typically underperform in some areas. 

This is only about you. My Speaking Score reports are personal to you.

This is really exciting because, in a way, My Speaking Score’s speech assessment software captures your "voice signature". Much like your real signature, your voice is highly personal to you. It's part of who you are, even when you speak in English.

Game Plan

• Lesson 1

  • Baseline: how you are performing today (get a score estimate and other important data)

• The 12 Speaking Dimensions

  • All the areas you need to focus on

• Homework

  • Assignment 1

» To get the most out of this lesson, consult page 46 of Perfect TOEFL Speaking.

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The 12 Speaking Dimensions

You don’t need to worry too much about these now, but these are the “dimensions” of your response that we are going to measure (and improve).

• Speaking Rate

• Sustained Speech

• Pause Frequency

• Repetitions

• Phrase Length

• Distribution of Pauses

• Rhythm

• Vowels

• Discourse cohesion

• Vocabulary depth

• Vocabulary diversity

• Grammar
  

As you progress through the Challenge, you'll become an expert on every aspect of your TOEFL Speaking!

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Homework - Assignment 1

Your first homework mission is dead simple: record your first response to establish your baseline score.

Recommended Test: ETS Test Prep (in “Test” Mode)

Approach

• login to your account on My Speaking Score

• go to the test library in your Dashboard

• toggle on Test Mode

• choose the TOEFL Speaking test “ETS Test Prep”

• complete the test and submit for Analysis

• examine your results 

Advice

• pretend this is a real test - take it seriously

• we want your first score to be "valid" so no do-overs (think about it this way: if you practice the same response 5 times, and then submit it for analysis, the score you are seeing does not accurately represent "spontaneous speech" - it’s not a valid score)

• don't worry, there will be LOTS of time to rehearse answers, apply templates, use smooth transitions...we're going to teach you all the tricks

See you in Lesson 2!

PS Congratulations for spending some time on this today! :)

*** END OF LESSON 1