TOEFL Speaking Question 4 Lecture
What you will find in this guide:
Question 4
TOEFL speaking question four is relatively easy to tackle but it may pose its own challenges. It requires you to listen to a lecture on an academic topic for about two minutes. The lecture is usually 1.5 minutes to 2 minutes long. It generally explains two ways something is done, or two ways some process is carried out. It usually includes two examples. Sometimes it has just one example. The lecture starts with a short introduction that states and defines the subject (3-5 sentences). After the introduction the example(s) are given.
Some common topics in TOEFL speaking question 4 are:
- Biology/Animals – 60%
- Business/Marketing – 17%
- Psychology/Learning – 17%
- Art/History/Literature – 6%
Key Facts
- You will listen to a lecture that is 1.5 to 2 minutes long. It usually describes two ways that something is done or two ways that a natural process is carried out.
- You will be asked to summarize the lecture.
- You will be given 20 seconds to prepare, and 60 seconds to speak.
Sample Lecture
Let’s check out a sample lecture.
How to Approach Question 4
Step 1: Write your outline structure
Before the recording even begins, have your notes set up in the proper way.
Topic:
Definition/Main Idea:
Example 1:
Details:
Example 2:
Details:
Step 2: Listen and Take Notes
Topic: Life on Mars
Definition/Main Idea: Life=water. Global surveyor says great quantity of water. Valley and Mountains (because of shape). Some say there’s water today
Ex1: Meteorite in Antarctica = no water but that’s a different thing..
Ex2: Evidence from telescope but we can’t see much. Just the poles.
It doesn’t help much..
Step 3: Take note of context cues!
In the TOEFL question 4, you can use context cues from the lecture to demonstrate a range of vocabulary and grammar. Context cues are words and phrases used in the text lecture that introduce a concept you can use in your response.
Step 4: Use transitional phrases to organize your response
- However,
- First of all
- For example
- In conclusion
“The professor in the lecture is talking about……….”
“First, the professor talks about…….”
“Then, he mentions the …….”
“Finally…….”
Speaking Checklist
To assess your own speaking, it is a good idea to download and use the checklist linked here. Using this checklist makes you aware of the features you need to show in your response and gives you an idea of what you need to put more effort and work on.
Let's Practice
Let’s check out a sample lecture.
Question
Question: Using information from the talk, describe what we know about water on Mars, and how we know it.
