Speaking during TOEFL

[maripereira]

Hi guys!

I took the TOEFL exam last year and I though my score (109) was pretty decent. I was a bit bummed because I know I could've done better, though. It's just that during the speaking section I got very nervous about talking in English in the room with the other students. I lost my concentration, mumbled the words... And I'm usually not very shy! But when it comes to speaking another language in front of people, I shut down. What can I do to avoid this and score better next time?

[qaximor]

Just try to ignore everything around you. Remember nobody is judging you. No one can't even hear you everyone is focusing on his exam and not everyone is a great speaker and even though they are and you are not you are trying your best! There is nothing wrong of speaking not perfectly.

[CeliVega]

This applies to every languages ever. How do you improve on a language? You read about it, you write about it, you hear how it is spoken, and you talk in that language. Why is your proficiency in your native language much better than a language that you are not familiar with? Because you practise writing, hearing, reading, and speaking in that language for every single day of your life. You have unconsciously practise in mastering your native language for every single day of your life, which is why you have a great command of whatever your native language is.

So to improve on the oral test of TOEFL, you have to practise speaking in English in your daily life too. If you are lucky there may be native speakers of English living nearby so befriending them is a way of improving your English orally too. If there's nobody like that in where you live, try those online video chatting sites. The more you speak in English the more confident you are in communicating with it.

[yossup]

You just need to focus on yourself. I know it's pretty annoying that they put us in a room with plenty others since it can be very distracting but just try to look at the test as a test of yourself. It's not just a knowledge test but how well you can concentrate and focus. You should do better next time simply by increasing your focus.

[whnuien]

Communicating with others using English language will increase your confidence very quick. There are many people who can speak English well in my country but because they don't practice by communicating they are still shy when they really have to speak English.

[CyberGenius]

I took the TOEFL test a while back and I had 102. But, just like you, I knew I could have done better if not for the speaking section.

I'm not a shy person, and I communicate in English language very often. In fact,  I often think using English and not my local language. However, I think it was awkward speaking to a mic, and with other students around, it was just somehow.

But, the big blow came when the pretty girl sitting close to me got to the speaking section before me and said the exact stuffs I would have gone for in the first section or so. So, when I got to the section I couldn't say almost the same thing she said. I opted for something else, I stuttered, and got nervous which affected my composure till almost the end.