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SPEAKING
Building
iBT

Independent Speaking: Organizing Speech 15
Independent Speaking: Organizing Speech
Skill
A
Necessary Skills
•
Describing a personal experience or expressing a personal preference
•
Organizing ideas
•
Expressing a clear topic statement and the supporting points
•
Speaking clearly and accurately with knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation
Strategies
•
Though preparation time is limited in the speaking portion of the test, it is nevertheless
important to use this time in planning the organization of your response. In this way, your
response will be more relevant and coherent. An organizational process for preparing your
speech is detailed below. In each step, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind.
Process Strategy
Read the question and
understand the task
Be sure that you understand the question and what the question
requires you to do.
Decide on the topic
statement
Decide on the main idea or choose one of the positions. Use the
relevant parts of the prompt in making up your topic statement.
Brainstorm and select
supporting ideas

to control; to operate
operate (v):
to control; to cause to work
repair (v):
to fix
nowadays (adv):
in present times; these days
Practice 1 Personal Experience
Skill A
Q1
BT TOEFL-Speaking 2005.10.13 1:27 PM Page 16
Independent Speaking: Organizing Speech 17
Notes
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to a sample response. Write down any useful expressions.
Now create your own response using words and expressions from Steps 1 and 2. Use the prompts
below to help you.
A useful skill my __________ taught me is ______________________________. He/She taught me this
skill by _________________________________ when I was __________________________. From this, I
learned how to _______________________________________. Today, I use this skill _______________
when I ________________________________.
Read the response you wrote above out loud. Try to read the response slowly and clearly.
Practice saying the whole response several times. Then close your book and say the response
without looking at the words.
Step 4
Step 3
Step 2

lines and verses, usually using
symbolic language
create (v):
to make; to produce
innovative (adj):
new and unique; unlike past
objects or ideas
inspiring (adj):
stimulating; tending to increase
interest
BT TOEFL-Speaking 2005.10.13 1:27 PM Page 78
Do NOT look at the sentences in Step 1. Answer the following questions.
1. What kind of work does the speaker do even though she never gets paid?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is one reason she enjoys doing this?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is another reason she enjoys doing this?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Using the short answers you wrote above, try to speak for 60 seconds explaining the speaker’s
response. Use the words and phrases below while you are speaking. Time yourself and record
the time below.
Response 1: Speaking time: _____________ seconds
Now, listen to a sample response. How is this response different from yours? What parts of
the response can you use in your own? Write down any useful expressions the sample uses.
Listen again and repeat after the tape, paying attention to pronunciation, intonation, and
word stress.
Step 3
another reason because even if one kind of one reason when
Step 2
Independent Speaking: Test Questions 1 and 2 79

Now, listen and repeat.
Commonly mispronounced sounds: /th/, /d/, and /s/
Listen to the audio recording, paying particular attention to the /th/, /d/, and /s/ sounds.
Mark the first word spoken in each pair.
1. thought 2. thigh 3. both 4. scathe
taught sigh boss skate
5. thank 6. though 7. thin 8. thorn
sank dough sin torn
Now, listen and repeat.
Step 2
Step 1
In English, most words end in consonant sounds. In many other languages, however, words
that end in vowel sounds are more common, leading many non-native speakers to mispronounce
final consonant sounds. Mispronunciation of final consonant sounds can lead to confusion and
misinterpretation on the part of the listener.
Another common problem for non-native English speakers is the pronunciation of /th/, /d/, and
/s/. The following pairs often cause difficulties for non-native speakers.
138 Chapter 3 Focus: Speaking Naturally
In order to speak coherently, a speaker must consider not only the content and organization
of the speech, but also its delivery. A speaker’s speech has to be clear enough to convey all the
necessary information to the listeners. Some English sounds are difficult to pronounce and
mispronunciations of these sounds can result in a change in the meaning of the word.
BT TOEFL-Speaking 2005.10.13 1:27 PM Page 138