The official guide to the new toefl ibt part 25

Play track #39 on the CD to hear a mid-level response for Question 5 Rater’s Comments The response is generally understandable.. A response at this level is characterized by all of the

Woman Well, at least they’re adding more parking It’s gotten really tough to find a space

Man

That's the other part | don’t like, actually Cutting back the bus service and adding parking’s just

gonna encourage more students to drive on campus And that'll just add to the noise around campus and create more traffic and that'll increase the need for more parking spaces

Woman Yeah, | guess | can see your point Maybe it would be better if more students used the buses

instead of driving

Man Right And the university should make it easier to do that, not harder

Narrator

The man expresses his opinion of the university's plan to eliminate the bus service State his opinion and explain the reasons he gives for holding that opinion

Preparation time: 30 seconds Response time: 60 seconds Important Points

The university plans to eliminate the bus service because it is too expensive to run and too few students use it The man disagrees with the university plan He believes the reason few students take the bus is that the route goes to neighborhoods where stu- dents do not live If the routes were changed, many more students would ride the bus The man disagrees with the way the university plans to use the money it saves on the bus service Building more parking lots on campus will encourage more students

to drive on campus This would increase noise and traffic on campus

Sample Responses

Play track #34 on the CD to hear a high-level response for Question 3 Sail

Rater’s Comments

The speaker gives a clear and coherent response that is detailed and accurate He speaks

quickly, but this does not prevent him from being understood He very clearly states the man’s

opinion and summarizes the man’s reasons for having that opinion He uses complex grammat-

ical structures and a wide variety of appropriate vocabulary As a result, his speech seems to flow automatically

Play track #35 on the CD to hear a mid-level response for Question 3

Rater’s Comments The speaker's first language moderately influences her pronunciation, intonation, and pacing

This creates some listener effort She provides content that is relevant to the task, but her limi- tations in language use hinder her ability to accurately convey relevant details She fills the entire

time with understandable speech However, she incorrectly repeats throughout the response

time that students cannot afford to ride the bus She also says that few students will drive cars and overcrowd the parking lots This creates confusion for the listener The speaker never men-

tions the man’s concern about increased noise and traffic on campus

Question 4

Listening Script

Narrator Now read the passage about the nature of social interaction You will have 45 seconds to read the passage Begin reading now

Reading Time: 45 seconds

Social Interaction

People deal with each other every day This interaction is at the heart of social life The study of social interaction is concerned with the influence people have over one another's behavior People take each other into account in their daily behavior and in

fact, the very presence of others can affect behavior For example, one principle of social interaction, audience effects, suggests that individuals’ work is affected by their knowledge that they are visible to others, that the presence of others tends to alter the

Narrator Now listen to part of a talk in a sociology class The professor is discussing audience effects

Professor

OK, so we said that the way we interact with others has an impact on our behavior

in fact, there’s some interesting research to suggest that in one type of interaction—when

we're being observed specifically, when we know we’re being watched as we perform some

activity— we tend to increase the speed at which we perform that activity

In one study, college students were asked to each put on a pair of shoes—shoes with laces they would have to tie Now one group of students was told that they would be observed The second group, however, dicin’t know they were being observed The students who were aware that they were being watched actually tied their shoes much faster than the students who thought they were alone

Other studies confirm the same is true even when we're learning new activities Let’s say

someone is learning a new task—for example, learning how to type When they’re conscious of

being observed, they'll likely begin typing at a much faster rate than they wouid if they were

alone

But, and this is interesting, the study also showed that certain common behavior—things people typically do, like making mistakes when you're learning something new that behavior pattern will also increase So in other words, when we're learning to type, and we know we're being watched, we'll type faster but we'll also make more mistakes

Narrator

Explain how the examples of tying shoes and learning to type demonstrate the principle of audi-

ence effects

Preparation time: 30 seconds

Response time: 60 seconds

Important Points

The principle of audience effects suggests that when people are aware of being observed, their behavior changes Specifically, in the two studies described, people worked faster when they were aware of being observed In one study, two groups were told to put on shoes that tied One group was told it would be observed and the other was not The group that knew it was being observed tied shoes much faster than the other group In learning to type, those being observed type faster, but they also make more mistakes than those not aware of being observed

Sample Responses

Play track #36 on the CD to hear a high-level response for Question 4

Rater’s Comments

The speaker speaks clearly She identifies the concept of audience effects and the two exam-

ples from the listening She organizes her response in a logical way that leads the listener from one sentence to the next She supports her response with accurate details and demonstrates a sophisticated level of both grammatical structures and vocabulary This is evident in the way she smoothly transitions from one idea to the next and the efficient use of language to accurately summarize the examples from the listening There are only very minor errors in language use,

but they do not prevent her response from being understood

Play track #37 on the CD to hear a mid-level response for Question 4 Set

Rater’s Comments

The speaker sustains his response throughout His pronunciation and intonation is affected by the speaker's first language These pronunciation errors make it hard to know what he means

The speaker identifies the concept and the two examples, but with inaccuracies instead of sum-

marizing each experiment, he combines the summary of both experiments This causes him to incorrectly conclude that you make more mistakes when you are being watched while tying your shoes Additionally, the speaker sometimes stumbles when trying to form basic words (slowlier),

which shows a moderate contro! of grammar and vocabulary

Question 5

Listening Script

Narrator

Listen to a conversation between a student and her geology professor

238 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE NEW TOEFL iBT

Man

Mary, I’m so glad | ran into you

Woman

Oh hello, Professor Jensen

Man Listen, | know it’s short notice and maybe you've already made plans for spring break but one of my students just dropped out of the field trip to the Smithson River Caves You're next

on the waiting list, so now there’s room for you to come along

Woman You're kidding! [disappointed] | didn’t think there was a chance and well, it’s a three-day trip, right? | agreed to spend next week helping Professor Clark set up the new museum exhibition

| think she’s really counting on me

Man Yeah, three days But you know if you’d rather come on the field trip, why not speak with her and see if she has anyone to replace you?

Woman

Yeah, I'd hate to miss out on the caves I'll definitely ask Professor Clark if there’s someone else

who could help her

Man You know we don’t leave until Wednesday If you still have to help out, any chance you could

get the museum setup done before then?

Woman

Oh yeah not until Wednesday so then yeah maybe that’s possible too

Narrator The speakers discuss two possible solutions to the woman’s problem Describe the problem and

the two solutions Then explain what you think the woman should do and why

Preparation time: 20 seconds Response time: 60 seconds Important Points

The problem the student faces is a conflict between an earlier commitment to help with a museum exhibition setup and a more recent opportunity to go on a field trip led by one of her professors She could talk to Dr Clark about finding a replacement

to help with setting up the museum exhibition As an alternative, since the field trip doesn’t start until later in the week, the student could try to finish setting up the exhibit before the field trip

After summarizing the problem and solutions, you should choose the solution you think is best and give a detailed reason For example, you could say that you think the student should stay to set up the museum exhibit because she should honor the com- mitment she made to Dr Clark

Sample Responses

Play track #38 on the CD to hear a high-level response for Question 5

Rater’s Comments

There are minor pronunciation and intonation errors, but they do not prevent the speaker's response from being understood She uses connecting words to mark the progression of ideas Her control of grammar and vocabulary are evident in the way she efficiently summarizes the situation from the listening The speaker clearly identifies the problem and both solutions She organizes her response, so it is easy to follow her ideas from one to the next She indicates her

opinion of what the student should do Although she runs out of time before she can explain why she holds that opinion, it is clear that she understands the task

Play track #39 on the CD to hear a mid-level response for Question 5 Rater’s Comments

The response is generally understandable The speaker sustains speech throughout the

response time However, the sense of hesitation in the way the response is delivered requires some listener effort The choppy delivery sometimes makes it difficult to know when one sentence or idea ends and when others begin The speaker makes a number of errors with sim- ple grammatical structures (very like to, let her to take, make somebody to replace her) Overall

meaning, though, is not greatly affected by these errors The speaker identifies the problem and describes the two solutions A higher-level vocabulary would have been helpful to more

efficiently summarize the situation The problems and two solutions are summarized with too much detail, which prevents the speaker from having time to state her preferred solution and

give a reason for it

Question 6 Listening Script

Narrator Now listen to a part of a talk in an economics class

Professor

So, let's talk about money What is money? Well, typically people think of coins and paper “bills” as money but that’s using a somewhat narrow definition of the term A broad definition is this: [slowly] money is anything that people can use to make purchases with Since many things can be used to make purchases, money can have many different forms Certainly, coins and bills are one form of money People exchange goods and services for coins or paper bills, and they use this money these bills to obtain other goods and services For example, you might give a taxi driver five dollars to purchase a ride in his taxi And he in turn gives the five dollars to a farmer to buy some vegetabies

But, as | said, coins and bills aren’t the only form of money under this broad definition Some societies make use of a barter system Basically, in a barter system people exchange goods and

services directly for other goods and services The taxi driver, for example, might give a ride to a

farmer in exchange for some vegetables Since the vegetables are used to pay for a service, by our

broad definition the vegetables are used in barter as a form of money

240 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE NEW TOEFL iBT

Now, as | mentioned, there’s also a second a narrower definition of money In the United

States only coins and bills are legal tender—meaning that by law, a seller must accept them as payment The taxi driver must accept coins or bills as payment for a taxi ride OK? But in the U.S., the taxi driver is not required to accept vegetables in exchange for a ride So a narrower definition

of money might be whatever is legal tender in a society, whatever has to be accepted as payment

Narrator Using points and examples from the talk, explain the two definitions of money presented by the professor

Preparation time: 20 seconds

Response Time: 60 seconds

Important Points Under the broad definition, money is anything that can be used as payment (as a medium of exchange), e.g., coins/bills and barter If you take a taxi ride, you could use vegetables as payment for the cab ride Under a narrower definition, money is any- thing that must be accepted as payment (legal tender) In the United States, coins and bills are legal tender A taxi driver must accept coins and bills as payment for the taxi ride Vegetables and credit cards are not legal tender in the United States, so the taxi driver does not have to accept these as payment

Sample Responses

Play track # 40 on the CD to hear a high-level response for Question 6

Rater’s Comments The speaker's pronunciation and intonation are highly intelligible Sne speaks a little too quickly

at times, but the overall meaning is not lost Her words and ideas flow easily from one idea to

the next She uses complex grammatical structures and a wide range of vocabulary The speaker

fluently summarizes the stimulus accurately recounting the broad and narrow definition Her response is detailed and sustained She spends too much time summarizing the first definition and example, so she does not fully explain the second definition and example However, it is

obvious from the apparent ease in which she speaks that she understands the concept and is

able to talk about it

Play track #41 on the CD to hear a mid-level response for Question 6

Rater’s Comments

The speaker's pronunciation is generally clear She sustains speech and continues to try to elab-

orate her ideas The hesitance and choppiness indicates a lack of control of vocabulary and

grammar This significantiy affects the overail intelligibility of the response She conveys some relevant details including an almost accurate summary of both definitions of money However, her response is clearly incomplete The speaker's struggle to find the right words to convey her ideas prevents her from efficiently using her time Neither of the examples is included in the response Most of her ideas are underdeveloped

Score

4

3

TOEFL iBT Speaking Scoring Rubric

Independent Tasks (Questions 1 & 2)

General Description

The response fulfills the demands of the task, with at most minor lapses in completeness It is

Delivery

Generally well- paced flow (fluid expression)

Speech is clear

It may include highly intelligible and = minor lapses, exhibits sustained,

coherent discourse

A response at this level is characterized

by all of the following:

: “The response

- addresses the task ~

or minor

difficulties with

pronunciation

or intonation

patterns, which

do not affect overall intelligibility

Speech is

generally clear, appropriately, but may with some

_ developed It is _

generally intelligible

_and coherent, with —

some fluidity of

expression though it

_ exhibits some noticeable lapses in _the expression of |

_ ideas A response at this level is -

characterized by at least two of the

following:

fall short of being fully fluidity of

expression, |

though minor —

difficulties with pronunciation, intonation, Or ˆ pacing are ˆ

noticeable and may require | listener effort

at times (though overall intelligibility is

not significantly

affected) :

— demonstrates

_ coherent expression of —

Language Use

The response demonstrates effective use of grammar and vocabulary It exhibits a fairly high degree of automaticity with good control of basic and complex

structures (as

appropriate)

Some minor (or systematic)

errors are noticeable but

do not obscure meaning

The response

fairly automatic and effective

use of grammar

and vocabulary, and fairly

relevant ideas

Response may —

exhibit some imprecise or

= inaccurate use

of vocabulary

or grammatical structures used

This may affect

overall fluency, bul it does not seriously

“nterfere with the communication

of the message

Topic Development

Response is sustained and sufficient to the task It is generally well developed and coherent; relationships between ideas are

clear (or clear

progression of ideas)

Response is mostly

» coherent and

sustained and conveys relevant

jdeas/information

Overall development

4s somewhat limited, usually lacks

elaboration — _or specificity

Relationships “ between ideas may

at times not be

immediately clear

242

TOEFL iBT Speaking Scoring Rubric Independent Tasks (Questions 1 & 2) Score General Description

2 The response addresses

the task, but develop- ment of the topic is limited It contains intelligible speech, although problems with delivery and/or overall coherence

occur; meaning may

be obscured in places

A response at this level

is characterized by at least two of the following:

_ Consistent pronuci- R:

- frequent pauses : and hesitations,

Speech is basically The response intelligible, though demonstrates listener effort is limited range needed because of and control of unclear articulation, grammar and

awkward intonation, vocabulary

or choppy rhythm/ These limita- pace; meaning may tions often

be obscured in prevent full

ideas For the most part, only basic sentence structures are used success- fully and spoken with fluidity

Structures and vocabulary may express mainly

simple (short)

and/or general

propositions,

with simple or unclear connec- tions made among them

(serial listing,

conjunction,

juxtaposition)

may! rely heavil formulaic

_ €XPpI€ssions ˆ

Topic Development

The response is connected to the task, though the number of ideas presented or the development of ideas is limited Mostly basic ideas are expressed with limited elaboration

(details and

support) At times relevant substance may be vaguely expressed or

repetitious Connec-

tions of ideas may

be unclear

0 Speaker makes no attempt to respond OR response is unrelated to the topic

Score

4

TOEFL iBT Speaking Scoring Rubric Integrated Tasks ( Questions 3, 4, 5 & 6)

General Description

The response fulfills the demands of the task, with at most minor lapses in completeness It is highly intelligible and

exhibits sustained,

coherent discourse A response at this level

is characterized by all

of the following:

The response addresses the task appropriately,

but may fall short of

_ being fully developed

It is generally intellig-

ible and coherent,

: with some fluidity of

expression, though it exhibits some notice-

able lapses in the

expression of ideas A

response at this level

is characterized by at least two of the

following:

pelivery

Speech is generally

clear, fluid and

sustained It may include minor lapses or minor difficulties with

pronunciation or intonation Pace may vary at times

as speaker attempts

to recall informa- tion Overall intelli- gibility remains high

Speech is generally clear, with some

fluidity of expres-

sion, but it exhibits minor difficulties

with pronunciation, |

intonation, or _ pacing and may require some listener effort at times Overall intelligibility remains good, however

Language Lo

The response demonstrates good control

of basic and complex gram- matical struct- ures that allow for coherent,

efficient (auto-

matic) expression

of relevant ideas

Contains gener- ally effective word choice

Though some minor (or syste-

matic) errors or imprecise use

may be notice- able, they do not require listener

effort (or obscure

meaning)

The response demonstrates fairly automatic and effective use

of grammar and vocabulary, and

fairly coherent expression of _ relevant idea

Response may exhibit some imprecise or inaccurate use of

vocabulary or

grammatical structures or be somewhat limited

in the range of structures used

Such limitations

do no seriously

Topic Development

The response presents a clear progression of ideas and conveys the relevant infor- mation required

by the task It includes appro- priate detail, though it may have minor errors

or minor omissions

The response is sustained and conveys relevant information

required by the

task However, it

_ exhibits some

incompleteness

inaccuracy, lack of

specificity with

respect to content,

or choppiness in the progrssion of ideas

244 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE NEW TOEFL iBT

TOEFL iBT Speaking Scoring Rubric

Integrated Tasks (Questions 3, 4, 5 & 6)

General Description

The response is

conected to the task,

though it may be missing some relevant information or contain

inaccuracies It contains some intelligible speech,

but at times problems with intelligibility and/or overall coher- ance may obscure

meaning A response

at this level is charac- terized by at least two of the following:

The response is very

limited in content or

coherence or is only minimally connected

to ihe task Speech

may be largely

unintelligible A response at this level

is characterized by at

least two of the following:

Speech is clear at

times, though it

exhibits problems with pronuncia-

tion, intonation, or

pacing and so may require significant listener effort

Speech may not

be sustained at a consistent level throughout

Problems with intelligibility may obscure meaning

in places (but not throughout)

Consistent pronun-

ciation and into- nation problems

cause considerable listener effort and frequently obscure meaning Delivery

is choppy; frag- mented, or telegraphic, Speech contains frequent

Language Use

- : of he message

The response is limited in the range and control of vocabulary and grammar demonstrated (some complex structures may

be used, but typically contain

errors) This

results in limited or

inaccurate connections

Automaticity of

expression may

be evident only

at the phrasal level

Range and control of

grammar and

vocabulary severely limits

(or prevents)

expression of

ideas and connections

among ideas

Some very

Topic Development

The response conveys some relevant informa- tion but is clearly incomplete

of inaccurate It

is incomplete if it

omits key ideas,

makes vague reference to key ideas, or demons- trates limited development of important informa-

tion An inaccurate

response demon- strates misunder- standing of key ideas from the stimulus Typically, ideas expressed may not be well connected or cohesive so that familiarity with the stimulus is necessary in order

to follow what is being discussed

The Tes ponse: fails

relevant content Ideas that are expressed are: often inaccurate, or

limited to vague

utterances or

repetitions ˆ

(including

repetition of

prompt)