How long for TOEFL speaking intro?

1 Comment / General TOEFL Advice / By Michael Buckhoff

How long for TOEFL speaking intro? This was a question one of my online TOEFL Speaking Boot Camp students asked.

How long for TOEFL speaking intro? Here is the email that the student sent me.

The student who sent me this email has a current TOEFL speaking score of 23/30 points. However, to clear her healthcare credentials as a nurse, she needs to score 26/30 points. Below is the email she sent me a couple of days ago:

Michael,

I’m so curious about the structure that I constructed for the following question. How long for TOEFL speaking intro? Is the introduction too long? I guess comparing before and now may give an impression of a realistic example to the human raters, but it seems like quite abundant. (There is no recording, but just script is included.) Thank you in advance.

Thanks,

Read the script that the student sent me.

The student wrote a script of her speaking practice test based on the following TOEFL independent speaking task:

When a brand new device of modern technology (for example, a cell phone or a computer) comes out, should you buy it immediately or should you wait before you buy it? Give some reasons to support your opinion.

Here is what the student wrote:

When I was young, I used to be an early adapter who likes to try a modern technology device when a brand new has come out. However, recently, I changed my mind and I became a totally different person who waits before I buy it. This is because I can be a wise consumer who can save money and collect enough information before purchasing.

For example, when Samsung Galaxy Flip phone was innovatively released, I didn’t buy it immediately and waited for a while to review the other people’s opinion about the product based on their actual usage. On the contrary, my friend Jacob immediately purchased the product as soon as it had come out, but he soon regretted it because his new cell phone was so vulnerable.

Based on my friend’s review, I decided not to buy the Samsung Galaxy Flip phone and I was able to save my money because cell phones are usually sold at a higher price at the beginning and the price goes down as time goes by.