Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Darkray16]

I had a question regarding integrated speaking.

Let me gives an example first:

read a passage which contains a notice about a change in school policy, then listen to someone give their opinion about the notice.

The question is What is the man's opinion of the notice?

then there is 20 seconds to prepare and then a maximum of 60 seconds to speak.

What I told the students is that they should only answer the question and not to summarize the reading passage at all unless it's stated that they should summarize it. My reasoning is that giving unnecessary information which doesn't answer the question makes it seem that the student didn't understand the question asked and gives more opportunities for them to make a mistake and get marked down. I told them to focus on answering the question and stop there.

The problem is their previous teacher told them to also summarize the reading passage as the longer they talk the higher they will score. Also, answering the question generally takes them 40-50 seconds, and they were told to fill in time to get closer to 60 seconds.

This seemed a bit off also because if they hit the 60 second mark and I cut them off, then they should be marked down for an incomplete response and going over in time.

What does you guys think? I'm just wondering how you guys teach it.[/b]

[thegadfly]

Well, I am afraid I do not have any better information than you -- does anyone know if the time cuts off at the end?

I have been teaching that they have exactly 60 seconds to talk, and that they should make their main points early, getting into more detail as time progresses (like a typical newspaper article). I have not been working on a conclusion so much as running the clock out.

As part of their practice, I have been doing impromptu speaking with 1, 2, and 3 minute times during which they must continue speaking, just in case they are allowed to go past a minute, and that lengthier durations are worth more points.

A link to a judges site would be great -- can someone with better Google-fu please post a link?

[thegadfly]

The basic rubric, which I am sure you have seen:

http://www.nafsa3.org/conferences/regional2009/sessions/tues/pruner%20indepsphd-t2.pdf

A forum I found that really didn't help me a whole lot, but maybe I just didn't read the right post/thread yet:

http://www.urch.com/forums/toefl-speaking/

Post what you got/what you know, if you please....

[thegadfly]

Only two of us teaching the ToEFL iBt?

[fustiancorduroy]

Hi.

I've taught TOEFL before and currently write TOEFL books for a major textbook publisher. For the integrated speaking task you are referring to, the students should do the following.

1. Briefly summarize the situation the man and the woman are talking about.
2. State the man's opinion.
3. Explain the man's first reason for holding that opinion.
4. Explain the man's second reason for holding that opinion.
5. Give a conclusion if time permits.

That's it. This is what ETS looks for, and I have therefore written my textbooks to reflect this. Of course, you can approach the question slightly differently, but this general outline should be followed.

[thegadfly]

Thank you for your insight. One question that I have not gotten a clear answer about is if the time limits should be considered hard-caps -- nothing past 60 seconds counting, that kind of thing....

[fustiancorduroy]

[thegadfly]

Thank you very much Fustian -- that was exactly what I needed to know.