A common requirement in the health care industry is that TOEFLers have “good” speaking skills. However, for those taking the TOEFL iBT, what does “good” really mean?
“Good” means that TOEFLers score 26 to 30 on the speaking section after completing six speaking tasks scored 0 to 4. The total sum becomes a scaled score from 0 to 30. Only the Educational Testing Service knows exactly how this conversion is done. the process works, but you can calculate that 26 out of 30 is 87% proficient. Therefore, a scaled score of 26 points on all six speaking tasks can be split into a total of 20/24 points, which is also 87% proficiency. More specifically, those students who want to score more than 26 points on the speaking section will need the following scores on all six speaking tasks to reach 87% proficiency: 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, and 3, which is a total sum of 20/24 points.
Mathematical calculations aside, ETS-certified test scorers can score oral responses “good” based on rubrics in three specific areas: delivery, use of language, and topic development. The speaking rubrics will be discussed in relation to the two separate speaking tasks.
To obtain a score of 4 on an independent speaking task, the speaker must have good pronunciation. In other words, the response should have a good rhythm without awkward pauses or hesitation. The speaker needs to clearly pronounce the vowel and consonant sounds. In addition, the speaker will be required to pronounce syllables in words and use appropriate stress and intonation patterns. Any minor issues the speaker may have with pronunciation or tone will not affect your ability to be understood. If a speaker does well in these areas, he is said to have a good delivery.
To obtain a score of 4 on an independent speaking task, the speaker must also have good control of their use of the language. For example, the speaker will need to use natural-sounding expressions and have control of basic and complex vocabulary and grammar. However, the speaker may have some minor errors in vocabulary or grammar as long as these errors do not affect the meaning of the ideas expressed.
Finally, to obtain a score of 4 on an independent speaking task, a speaker must have a good development of the topic. First, the answer must answer the question being asked. Second, the response must have appropriate supporting details. Third, the response must be organized in a coherent way in the sense that there is a relationship between the ideas.
In short, as students have oral practice on the TOEFL iBT, they need to know what target conversation score they want to achieve, what level of academic speaking proficiency they will need to have to achieve that score, and they need to receive feedback from an iBT. speech specialist so they can see what adjustments they need to make to improve their delivery, use of language, and topic development.