Practice/example for Question # 3, TOEFL Speaking

Please read this letter to the school newspaper from a person who lives near Urban College.

Dear Editor at UC Student News,

I live in your neighborhood. Your students are a real asset here; I wish we could interact with them more often and more meaningfully.

Has your administration ever thought of building student housing on campus? UC is DEAD from 5pm Friday until 9am Monday. This is such a shame. If you had campus housing I think this whole neighborhood would develop around UC and you'd have bars, music venues, art galleries, better restaurants, bowling alleys, cafes, you name it. Right now there are so few places to eat or have fun here.

Student life would be so much more enriched!!!! The neighborhood would be so enriched!!!! Think of the new jobs you would create!

Right now you've got a commuter college - and that kind of sucks. College is so much more than getting on a bus and schlepping to and from school. Also, getting to UC is such a pain in the behind. It is necessary to take a bus to the nearest subway. If you had student housing, it would FILL UP in no-time, especially if, unlike other colleges/universities, you did not price gouge students. Create nice, affordable housing and the lives of students and the whole neighborhood would be improved.

Please consider this?

Joe, a guy who lives near UC.

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Dialogue between students:

Jon: Hey, Tess, I'm so glad that someone from the neighborhood is proposing student housing at UC. He's right, I like the school and students but this place is just dead most of the time.

Tess: Well, Jon, I have to agree to disagree with you on this issue. I say leave UC alone, it's good enough.

Jon: What the heck! I thought you were kind of open-minded and open to seeing things change?

Tess: Well, I am, but not in this case. First of all, look around this neighborhood. It's all middle class housing. I don't see any room, any physical room for development. What are they going to do, tear some houses down to bring in art galleries and bowling alleys? I think the people here might be happy with a nice, quiet domestically-oriented neighborhood. They want houses, not a party atmosphere. The whole area around the school is just filled with houses.

Jon: Well, nobody said there's going to be a party atmosphere, just more things to do, more businesses, more jobs! 

Tess: Also, a commuter college is not, in itself, a bad thing, for one, it's cheaper. Let's be realistic, student housing is always much more expensive than off campus housing. Price gouging is almost inevitable. You and I know that colleges are a business, they'll build student housing, charge a fortune for it, and only the wealthiest students will live on campus and the rest of us will commute from home. This way, as it is now, everyone is in the same boat and everyone can save money. I eat breakfast and dinner at home, and save a ton in rent. I'm sure that I'm not alone. There are enough of us who like the situation as it is that we need to keep it this way. Also, I live in a giant city, I don't need a college campus to have fun, I have the entire city to explore. 

Jon: Yeah, let's agree to disagree on this one. I think you are way wrong, but that's cool. Let's get some Chinese take-out at the only place near campus for lunch today - can we agree on that?

Tess: We sure can!   

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Sample answer:

In this letter to the student newspaper, someone from the Urban College neighborhood proposes that student housing should be built at Urban College. He thinks this would benefit the school and neighborhood.

However, in the dialogue, the female student disagrees.

First, she points out there is literally no room for student housing in the neighborhood. It is filled with middle-class housing. She also feels some of this housing might have to be destroyed for student housing or to build places to benefit the students. Basically she feels the residents have a right to a peaceful neighborhood as it already is.

She also feels that commuting to school is just fine. In fact she saves money this way. Furthermore, she doesn't need lots of fun places around campus because she lives in a huge city and can move about freely.

So student housing might benefit both the neighborhood and the school, but the current situation for students and the neighborhood might not warrant change.

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Just for fun, one of my favorite 90s bands:

Pieces of advice for the TOEFL speaking questions

For questions # 1 and #2

1) Your reasons should be as short as possible and not longer than a sentence. 

i.e. I go swimming in the summer because it is good for my health. Then: example. 

I also swim because it is a good social opportunity. Then: example.

Describe a common drink that you drink.

I drink tea because it is good for my health./ It is cheap. / It is stimulating. / It is a social custom in my country. (Short reasons)

2) Make sure your example is different from your reason. Some students just repeat their reason in different words. This does NOT work. You lose points by doing this. An example is different from a reason.

3) By the 25 second mark you should be switching to your second reason.

4) Keep your examples realistic and DETAILED.

For question #3

1) Identify what the reading passage is from: an announcement, a flyer, an email message sent by the professor, a letter to the school newspaper etc..

In this announcement from the university we learn that... 

In this letter to the school newspaper a student proposes that...

2) Be aware that something will be created, changed or eliminated according to the reading. You can use these verbs in your answer: In this memo from the Provost's Office we learn that the university is changing its policy concerning ____________. Now students will have to _____________.

3) When you talk about the reading, talk about what is happening and why. Do not talk about the reading for more than 15 or 20 seconds. You can talk about the reading in two or three short sentences.

4) Catch important verbs and key words in the dialogue that you can use in your answer

5) You can transition from speaking about the reading to speaking about the dialogue by saying: In the dialogue the male/female student agrees/disagrees with this __________________. First he/she says....

For question #4

1) Be able to define the topic of the reading in your own simple words. Use subject + verb + object if you can.

"In this academic reading passage we learn that ________ is a __________"

The professor gives 2 examples of this.

2) "When" is useful in defining a term. i.e. Mutualism is when two organisms help each other.

3) Listen for useful verbs and keywords in the lecture that you can use in your answer.

For question # 5

1) Identify which piece of advice sucks the least. Neither piece of advice is going to be a good piece of advice - they want you to think and so they give you two less than desirable pieces of advice. If one piece of advice is impossible, recognize that. Please, use common sense - one piece of advice is often impossible or really bad. Do NOT choose the worst piece of advice.

2) Learn how to use recommend and suggest properly http://danstoefl.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-use-recommend-or-suggest.html

3) Do not say 'advices' - pieces of advice. Advice is uncountable.

4) State the problem + 2 pieces of advice + I think the student should....+ Further I would not recommend that....... Please study this: http://danstoefl.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-to-answer-toefl-speaking-question-5.html

For question #6

1) Determine the purpose of the professor's lecture PRECISELY. The purpose of this professor's lecture is to teach us two ways that plant/insect mutualism occurs. Don't say, This lecture is about mutualism. This shows that a student is lazy and sloppy.

2) The professor will give two examples of his topic. In each example there will be an explanation and after each explanation the professor will probably also give an example of the explanation. Get the explanation and the example and use them both in your answer.

Common Mistakes on the Integrated Writing Section

Here is an example of common mistakes that students make on the integrated writing portion of the TOEFL exam.  Please study this carefully. This is an essay from one of my students with my corrections.

The reading passage provided 3 ways to protect frog populations from decline and the lecturer criticized the practicality of those three proposals.
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The student's essay with corrections:

The reading and lecture are both about protecting the frog population from extinction. 

NO!!!!!!! This first sentence is not true. The reading proposes three initiatives to stop the frog population from declining and the lecturer addresses whether each of these initiatives will be possible or practical. 

To say that both the reading and lecture are about ‘protecting the frog population from extinction', therefore, does NOT cover what is really happening. You have to be PRECISE on this exam. If you are sloppy or imprecise, you will NOT score high.

The author of the reading proposes three methods to deal with the declining population of frogs. The lecturer casts doubt on the methods mentioned by the author and believes that none of them will work. 

This STILL isn't good enough.  The lecturer does not say these methods won't work. She says these methods are, generally, impractical. These methods, in fact, DO WORK.

My suggestion for an intro: 

Protecting frogs and their habitats is essential for us since frogs help to eliminate harmful insects from human environments. Yet, just how to protect frogs is debatable. For example, in the reading passage we get three proposals as to how we can preserve frog populations. The practicality of these proposals is impugned, however, in the lecture.

First of all, the author points out that pesticides have a great impact on the declining population of frogs. It is mentioned that pesticides affect the nervous systems of frogs and lead to their deaths. It is also claimed by the author that if harmful pesticides are banned in the areas close to frogs the population of frogs can be protected from being harmed. The lecturer casts doubt on this claim. 

No she doesn’t!!!!!! She does NOT cast doubt on this claim. She does NOT say that pesticides do not kill frogs. She admits that pesticides DO kill frogs BUT she says it isn’t practical to stop using them. If they are not used, farmers will lose money. 

She thinks that prohibiting farmers from using pesticides would result in economical disadvantages. That is, if farmers do not use pesticides the amount of their crops will drop and they will not remain successful in a competitive market.

Secondly, the author suggests that anti-fungal treatment on a large scale should be used to deal with fungal infections in frogs. The author mentions that a fungus contributes to a declining frog population by dehydrating them. The lecturer rebuts this argument. 

No she doesn’t!!!!!!!! The argument is sound – if you use the anti-fungal treatment, you will cure the frogs. The problem is that this solution is also impractical to the lecturer. 

She argues that it is not practical to use such a treatment on such a large scale. Instead, the treatment would have to be given to one frog at a time, and this is absurd. She elaborates on this by mentioning that even if treatment is applied to the frogs, the offspring will not be affected; therefore the problem will still exist. 

Finally, the author states that we can protect frogs from extinction by protecting their habitats from specific human threats like excessive water usage. The article establishes that wetlands and water areas are the main habitats of frogs and they lay their eggs there so these areas must be protected from overuse by people.

The lecturer, on the other hand, posits that the draining of wetlands is not caused by people but it is a consequence of global warming. She puts forth the idea that we cannot slow down the declining population of frogs by protecting their habitats from human development but only by combating global warming.

Yes, the final two paragraphs hit the nail on the head and ring the bell. They are right on target. That's how to write for this test.

Assessing TOEFL text books for the speaking section: which are good and which suck

All of these test preparation books for the TOEFL exam are super expensive. Therefore, I'm going to provide my personal assessment as to which of these books are really useful so that you can study for the speaking section more efficiently and inexpensively.

Try to get your TOEFL books from ebay or amazon - I have most of the TOEFL books which have been published and got them at huge discounts (or students whom I helped to pass the exam gave them to me).

THE BEST BOOK FOR THE TOEFL SPEAKING EXAM

Hackers Actual Test Speaking contains 12 practice speaking tests and 1 warm-up speaking test. For the most part, all 6 questions follow the actual format of the real TOEFL exam (with just a few exceptions). This company did a great job for students trying to pass the speaking section. Kudos to Hackers. You made my job as a TOEFL teacher much easier with this great test prep book - some of my students have scored in the high 20s and even reached 30 with the help of this book.

This book gives you 5 complete speaking tests which were actually administered in the past. With Hackers and this book, you'll have 18 practice speaking tests.

This book provides 2 complete speaking tests and about 150 independent writing topics, which can be used as TOEFL speaking questions for question number 1 or 2. The independent writing topic seems to follow the format of TOEFL speaking question 1 or 2. So if you buy Hackers, the previous book and this book you'll now have 20 complete speaking tests and over 150 number 1 or 2 questions to work with.

This book has numerous TOEFL speaking questions but questions 4 and 6 in this book do not always follow the format of the actual TOEFL exam. It would be an ok book for questions 1,2,3,5 - but be careful because it seems that sometimes the number 5 questions can deviate from the format a bit. Interestingly, if you have a good tutor (like me :P) he/she can play around with the scripts that this book provides so that the material can be made to fit the actual test format. For example:

Again, 1,2,3,5 often seem ok, but 4 and 6 don't always follow the actual test format.

Yet again, 1,2,3,5 are mostly OK, but questions 4 and 6 regularly seem to deviate from the actual test's format.

I hope this helps!  Drop me a line at djg51qu@gmail.com if you have any questions or want to recommend a good text for the TOEFL speaking section.

TOEFL Speaking Question #1 sample

What was the most difficult class you had to take in your school career and how did you get through it?

In this case, you really can't strictly use this formula:  Intro + Reason 1 + Example 1 + Reason 2 + Example 2. You will have to revise the formula somewhat.

Example answer:

Intro: Calculus was the most difficult course I took in college and I got through it by doing two things.

We will have to revise the reasons in this case to become reasons why the course was difficult, then our examples will be examples of how you overcame the obstacles.

Reason 1: This course was difficult for me because the professor was a non-native English speaker and I seriously could not understand half of what he said due to his accent.

Example 1: Therefore, I literally worked through each chapter of our text ahead of time so that I could better understand what he was writing on the board. Even without understanding his English, I understood the equations.

Reason 2: Furthermore, I have always felt that any math class was tedious and boring so it was hard for me to study for the tests.

Example 2: So I put together a weekly study group to help me go through the chapters and notes and tests and we had beer and chips and really enjoyed ourselves. Misery loves company, after all.

Conclusion: There are always ways to get around obstacles, you just have to be creative and maybe work a little harder.  

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Yes, Daniel Gauss is probably the best TOEFL coach in this part of the universe outside of Uranus.


I love the music of Joni Mitchell - please enjoy this video:

More challenging Topic 1 and 2 TOEFL practice speaking questions

There are two new schools in your neighborhood – one has a traditional curriculum and grading system, but the other offers a new program where there will be no tests and learning will be fun and based on what a child is motivated to learn. Which school would you say is better for a child?

Describe the best way to catch a mouse.

You are the coach hired to create a new soccer/football team. Should you focus on developing a good offense or defense initially?

Describe the one quality every leader should have.

Describe something you don’t need in your neighborhood and would like to see disappear.

Describe what you would do if a group partner in an academic project won’t participate with the group.

Your flight has been delayed 5 hours, and you are stuck in an airport. What will you do?

Which is better: an easy-going parent or a strict parent?

Will books disappear because of the internet?

A person you know threatens suicide, and you kind of believe he/she may do it. Describe what you will say or do.

You are a park ranger. A bear has killed a man because he tried to take a photo of its cub (baby) even though there are signs saying that everyone should stay away from the bears and especially their cubs. People point out the bear to you and demand that you kill it. Should you?

You catch a burglar in your house and you have a gun. According to the law, you have the right to shoot and kill him. You see that he was carrying rope and intended to tie you up. What would you do?

Your boss invites you to go deer hunting and tells you that the government wants 50 deer in an area to be killed because the deer population has become too extreme for the deer’s own good. Will you go hunting?

10 thoughtful #1 and #2 TOEFL practice speaking questions

Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?

Do you think a company should provide free exercise facilities, or is it up to the individual to find his/her own health club?

Should women be allowed to breast feed their babies publicly, or does this cause too much embarrassment to potential observers?

Have smart phones enriched our lives or have cell phones reduced the quality of our lives?

Describe your last frivolous (unnecessary) purchase.

What should a parent do if he/she notices that his/her child seems to be gaining too much weight?

NASA is looking for volunteers to go to Mars and work as farmers. If they wanted you, would you go? (You can take family members with.)

If you spoke English perfectly, which language would you like to learn next?

Describe one negative factor in society that can be attributed to the advertising industry.

Should universities give extra consideration to students who come from poorer backgrounds or should universities just take the best performing students?

12 More Type 1 and Type 2 Speaking Questions

Describe a hobby that you can make money from?
(for example, coin or stamp collecting)

Would you prefer to use the library or the internet for a research paper?
(I would choose the library since the knowledge gained from books is more reliable than most web sites and, actually, books are often grouped together by topic, so it can be easier to obtain all the books you need at one time.)

What personal trait do you want to be admired for?
(Honesty, being a hard-worker, a problem-solver, being compassionate...)

Would you prefer a multi-choice or essay test?
(Multi-choice requires more memorization while an essay test requires the processing of information. So you are choosing between a tedious but easy process or a more meaningful but more difficult process)

Describe a place which has great meaning for you?
(It could be personal meaning: your grandmother's house - or historical meaning: the tomb of Alexander Hamilton.)

Should you stay at home after college or move immediately?
(Do you value independence or financial security?)

Should the national anthem be played before a baseball game?
(Do you think politics should be removed completely from sports?)

Describe a situation that helped you realize you were stronger than you thought.

Other than passing the TOEFL describe a situation that would make you feel very satisfied.

Are art and music are more important than vocational (job) studies?

If you could only do one thing a day to get exercise, what would you do?

Competition is generally good or bad?

Daniel Gauss

How to answer TOEFL speaking question 3

Example of academic policy reading passage:

The Office of the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences would like to announce that starting with the current freshman class, there will be an 'African American Experience' course requirement. In order to graduate, each student will be required to take one three-credit course dealing with this topic. Various academic departments will be collaborating to design various courses to help students meet this requirement. LAS has made this decision because the African American experience has been traditionally neglected in US history text books. Furthermore, recent developments in US history reveal lingering racial tensions and conflicts and LAS feels its students should be aware of the causes of contemporary historical conflicts as well as possibilities for resolving them.

Example of a dialogue between two students concerning this new policy decision:

Joe: I'm really upset about this new African American experience class.

Maggie: Why? I think the university is right on top of things. This is definitely necessary these days with all the protests and events in the news.

Joe: Well, that's my point. This is a politically motivated class they are shoving down my throat. A few students start protesting on campus and I have to add one more class, it's ridiculous. The university is under pressure by protesters and I need to do what a bunch of trouble-makers want me to do. I should try to organize counter-protests.

Maggie: I think the protesters just brought an important and neglected issue to everyone's attention.

Joe: Also, what if Latino students start complaining? Or Asian students? Every time a different ethnic or racial group protests I need to take another course about that group? Nonsense. Let them fix the American history class so that I get the info I need, instead of tacking extra courses on. I want to know the truth so find a text book that helps me learn in the first place.

Maggie: Well, I'm looking forward to the class. 

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For the reading passage, it might be a good idea to simply talk about what is happening and why. ***So when you read, just read for what is happening and why.***

In this academic policy announcement from the Dean's Office, we learn that students, starting from this freshman class, will have to start taking an African American experience course. This is due to the fact that US history textbooks have neglected this topic and students need to know about what is causing current events.

Now transition into the listening section.

However, the male student in the dialogue strongly objects to this new policy initiative.

Now explain why he is upset.

First of all, he is upset because he perceives this new class to be politically motivated. He feels that the university is only trying to placate protesters. The university is not interested in providing the truth, but in making a group of trouble-makers happy. He implies that he is being forced to learn something only because of disruptive protests.

Secondly, he is concerned about the consequences of the university doing what protesters want it to do. He states that other ethnic or racial groups may also protest in order to change the curriculum. He asserts that the university should focus on the real problem instead: the US history text books. Instead of making him take another class, the school should find a history text that provides the truth.

Do you need a conclusion? Probably not (based on what I've seen elsewhere), but here's a quick one anyway:

Obviously the university is trying to address a controversial problem and this student's objection should be no surprise.

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If you need to get in touch with me for any reason, you can email djg51qu@gmail.com

How to answer TOEFL speaking question 5

Example of a dialogue:

Maggie: Hey Joe, you look so tired.

Joe: I am. I can't get any sleep.

Maggie: What's wrong?

Joe: My dorm roommate asked me for a favor. He said his dad was coming to town to visit him and the dad didn't want to spend money on a hotel.

Maggie: So you agreed to let the dad sleep with the two of you in your dorm room?

Joe: Yes, for one week. He sleeps on a blanket on the floor in our room; we have the two beds. And he snores. He snores like a wild animal! In fact, I think he snores louder than a wild animal. He wakes me up 6 or 7 times a night with his loud snoring. I can't take it any more.

Maggie: Well, just buy some earplugs. It's only for a week. And, you promised to help. Sometimes helping a person requires a little pain and sacrifice.

Joe: I bought some but I hate wearing them at night. They feel so weird in my ears. I have a little trouble going to sleep with that stuff in my ears and then it's hard to hear the alarm in the morning.

Maggie: Well, you look terrible. You have bags under your eyes. You need to tell your roomie to have his dad spend money on a hotel room or you'll just report him to the school and get his dad thrown out. 

Joe: I can't do that. I am stuck with him as a roommate. I don't want to sleep in the same room with a guy who hates me. That would be hell. I need to come back to my room for peace and quiet, not conflict. 

Maggie: Well, do something because you look bad.

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The key to answering a question number 5 is that both choices to solve the problem usually suck, but one choice is often slightly better than the other. Or, sometimes one choice is impossible and the only choice left sucks, but it is the only option.

In this case one choice is impossible: he can't offend his roommate because he lives with the guy. Therefore he cannot get the dad kicked out of the room or ask the dad to leave.

A good format to answer this type of question is: 

State the problem very simply.

State the two suggestions or options very simply (with no reasons)

State which option you'd choose and why (use reasons from the dialogue if you can)

State why you would reject the other option

Possibly make one concluding sentence or sentences

For example:

In this dialogue a student can't get enough sleep. As a favor, he has allowed his roommate's father to sleep for a week in their dorm room and the dad snores very loudly. The snoring wakes the student up a lot.

First his friend recommends that he should wear earplugs.

When Joe is hesitant to do this because earplugs are uncomfortable, she recommends that he simply ask the student to ask his father to leave, or he can report the dad to the school.

If I were Joe I would just wear ear plugs. After all, it is just going to be for a week and he promised the roomie he would help him. (notice you can often get your reason/s from the dialogue itself) Sure the earplugs are uncomfortable but he can sleep with them. He will just have to place the alarm closer to his bed.

Furthermore, the other solution is just a bad idea. He made a promise and if he backs out now his roommate will be very angry. If he reports the roommate to the school, this will create a horrible situation. 

In the meantime, if he suffers through this week, his roomie will really be happy and grateful to him. He just needs to suffer through this.

Formats and the TOEFL Speaking Section

One of the more frustrating aspects of helping people get high scores on the TOEFL is that sometimes I get students who have watched a lot of (stupid) youtube videos and who are convinced that they just have to memorize 'formats' and certain phrases to do well on the TOEFL.

Basically, it's tough to work with these types of students because they are looking for ways to cheat on the TOEFL exam instead of just fixing their English.

If you see some guy on youtube telling you that he has taken the TOEFL exam 20 times himself and is an expert on it and that all you have to do is memorize his phrases and follow his instructions, you would be an idiot to do that. The better your English sentence structures, the better your vocabulary, the better your score is going to be.

So should you ignore all formats?

No. Nobody 'just talks'.  Before any intelligent person speaks, he/she organizes his/her thoughts a bit. So I think if you look at the formats on this blog, you'll see that they are formats which help you to quickly and effectively organize your thoughts for answers.

I think the formats you find on this blog are, actually, among the most useful formats out there.

Daniel Gauss
English Teacher/Tutor
http://djg51qu.wix.com/gauss

Want something fun to read that will improve your vocabulary? Try my very inexpensive English vocabulary building book, please: http://www.amazon.com/York-Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS

How to use "recommend" or "suggest" correctly for speaking question number 5

Many foreign students, in fact, most foreign students of English, do not use 'recommend' or 'suggest' correctly.

And, question number 5 kind of requires you to use 'recommend' or 'suggest'.

Be careful using recommend and an object pronoun.  For instance, this is wrong, wrong, wrong: He recommended me to go to the museum. <---- 100% wrong.

He recommended the museum to me.

or

He recommended that I should go to the museum.

It's the same with suggested.

Wrong ------>  He suggested me that restaurant. <------Wrong

He suggested that restaurant to me.

He suggested that I should go to that restaurant.

So you have to use recommend or suggest plus AN OBJECT plus an INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN

Now, if you begin to speak English really well, you can use a trick that native speakers use.  They often drop the "that" and "should".

For instance:

They recommended that we should visit the planetarium. <---- correct

But, a native speaker might shorten this to: They recommended we visit the planetarium.

Do you see how they drop the "that" and "should"?

Now, be careful!  Sometimes you can use 'recommend' and 'suggest' with an object pronoun.  For example: "He recommended me for the position of teacher to the principal."  "me" works here because it really should be an object.

Here it doesn't work: "He recommended me to apply for a job." "me" is NOT the object here but the indirect object.  "He recommended applying for the job to me."   Or: He recommended that I should apply for the job. Or: He recommended I apply for the job. 

So how can recommend or suggest be used in question #5?  You might have to say, "In the listening section we hear that the student's friend recommends two pieces of advice to him."

Fix these mistakes using the three correct forms above:

1. I recommended him to eat his veggies.

2. She recommended you to call your mother.

3. We suggested them to climb the mountain.

4. You suggested us to drive slowly.

5.  They recommended us to see the opera.


Answers are below:




1. I recommended eating veggies to him. I recommended that he should eat his veggies.  I recommended he eat his veggies.

2. She recommended calling your mother (to you). 'to you' isn't really necessary here because of the possessive pronoun 'your'. She recommended that you should call your mother. She recommended you call your mother.

3. We suggested climbing the mountain to them.  We suggested that they should climb the mountain.  We suggested they climb the mountain.

4. You suggested driving slowly to us.  You suggested that we should drive slowly.  You suggested we drive slowly.

5. They recommended seeing the opera to us.  They recommended that we should see the opera. They recommended we see the opera.

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Hey! Guess what?  I wrote a cool book for foreign learners of English about how badly New York City sucks.  I would recommend that you should buy it. :P :P :P (Sorry, just trying to give you more practice with 'recommend'.)

http://www.amazon.com/York-Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS

But I think it's a pretty good book.  If you want a free copy via pdf file attached to email, please drop me a line.  I'll be happy to zip a copy over. Please be aware this book is not designed to help you on your TOEFL, it is meant to help you fix your grammar mistakes and improve your vocabulary.

Also, please be aware that the book has some dirty words in it - curse words.

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I'm also the guy who used to teach English to a famous (well, they used to be famous) Korean pop group,  I didn't think these performers were being treated well and I said something about it:
http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682

The best format for Speaking Question 5

I've been working with students on the TOEFL exam for a few years now and we all tend to agree that this is the best format for question number 5.

1. Briefly state the problem.
2. Simply state the first piece of advice, with no explanation.
3. Simply state the second piece of advice, with no explanation.
4. State which option you would choose and explain why (do NOT mention the other option at all)
5. State the option you reject and explain why (do NOT mention the previous option)


For example, here's a sample dialogue:

M. Hi Beth, you look a little worried.
W. Well, I am. I am having some problems at the Student Job Center, where I work part time.
M. But I thought you were doing a great job there.
W. I have been doing a great job - everybody says so. But apparently I've been doing too well and the director feels that too many students are saying too many good things about me. So she has moved me from the information desk into the back office where I now have to do data entry. It's boring work and I think I was the best information officer this center ever had.
M. So the director feels that you are outshining her work and the work of the center?  Wow, that sometimes happens.  It's called professional jealousy.
W. She's never going to let me work with my fellow students again. She told me other students need to have the experience I was having and the staff has to be rotated, but I can tell she's upset with me. More students have started coming to the center now that I work there.
M. Well, let's problem solve. At this point you have nothing to lose, so go over her head and email her supervisor and just tell the truth. Let it all hang out.  Spill the beans. Tell her boss that she's messing up the job center by removing the best information officer ever.
W. I've thought of that, but I think I'd get fired. My boss is very good friends with her boss and they would just stick together and fire me. That would look bad on my record and I kind of need the money.
M. OK, just stay there then.  My advice would be to do nothing. Just do the data entry and take your check and accept this situation as a learning experience.
W. No. I think I have to do something.  This really seems wrong to me.  I have been removed from my duties because I was doing a great job.  That is insane.

So now let's use our format:

Problem
Advice
Advice
positive
negative

P = The student's problem is that she has been removed from her duties as an information officer because the director of the Student Job Center is jealous of how popular she has become.

A = Her friend recommends that she should protest this by writing to her boss' boss.

A = He also recommends that if this is not a good option, she should just shut up and do the work she is given.

positive = If I were in this woman's shoes, I would definitely email the supervisor's supervisor.  If what the woman is saying is true, this is a terrible injustice and nobody should remain silent for an injustice, regardless of how small it might seem. Furthermore, she is NOT going to get fired.  If the university fires her for bringing a legitimate grievance to their attention, she can take them to court and sue them. 

negative = Furthermore, the other option is just unacceptable.  If she does not say anything she is going to be miserable and she is going to be doing a job that she is not well-suited for.  She hates data entry but loves working with students. It is clear that she not only has a right but also an obligation to speak up.


So, isn't that a good format?

I think it's a good format because usually one option is usually just very unrealistic or even impossible.  Usually there is just one possible option and one impossible or nearly impossible option.

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Yes, I am the guy who reported to the Korean press that pop stars were not being treated as well as I felt they should have been in New York City:

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742

http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682

Daniel Gauss

Recent speaking question types from the July 2013 test in Manhattan

Someone informed me that TOEFL seems to have changed it's format for Type 1 and Type 2 speaking questions.

He stated that the first question for the Type 1 question provided 3 choices.  i.e. If you were to do volunteer work, which type of work would you choose: 1) Talk to elderly people to make sure they are not lonely. 2) Visit patients in a hospital. Or, 3) (the person could not remember the third choice)

For the second question the person was asked whether he would like to work at a job in which he worked alone, or with a small group of people.

If this information is true, TOEFL does not always provide a 'descriptive' question followed by a 'choice' question.  Therefore you should be aware of that...