TOEFL Speaking templates. If you're anything like me and you're new to the TOEFL or you
know quite a bit about the TOEFL, you've probably heard of TOEFL Speaking templates. But you might
be thinking, what are these things, or maybe you know what these things are but you don't know
how to use them, or maybe you know how to use them but you don't know if you're using them
right, or maybe you know that you're using them right but you're not sure if it's a good idea
or not to use these templates. So, that's what we're gonna talk about today. We're gonna talk
about what TOEFL Speaking templates are how to use them well and to know if they're a good fit
for you. So, my name is Josh MacPherson, I am the head instructor of TST Prep, an online TOEFL
school where our mission is simple, to help you get the TOEFL score you need as quickly
and easily as possible. And today we're gonna go deeper into TOEFL Speaking templates and by the
end of this video you'll know exactly how to use them in the TOEFL Speaking.
So, first of all, what are TOEFL Speaking templates? Well, a template is a basic structure for others to
copy, that's what a template is. A TOEFL Speaking template provides basic organization for your
response. And here's an example from TOEFL Speaking question number one. On the left-hand column is the
template. So, for this question - to me, I definitely think that, I remember when, on top of that, for
example, and to sum up. These are phrases that you can use in your question one response, that you can
use for almost any question one. Now, in this video, I'm not going to talk about that specific question
types, I'm not going to talk about the structure or the specific templates for each of them. In the
link in the description below there is a link to a PDF file, TOEFL Speaking Templates and Strategies
for 26+ and those include templates. So, if you want to know more about specific templates,
then you can download that PDF, but for this video here what I want to talk more about is the
pros and cons of TOEFL Speaking templates, what are the good points and bad points of them, and
actually how to use them when you speak. So, we've talked about that and you have that download
for you to look at actual templates, and go ahead and download that now so you can take a look while
this video is going on, but now I want to get into the pros and cons, the good and bad points of the
TOEFL speaking templates and using these types of responses. So, one good thing about a template
is that you can start the same way every time. Starting is one of the hardest parts of the TOEFL
speaking section because you have to speak on command. They say, "You have to speak for 45 seconds.
You can begin speaking now. You have to speak for 60 seconds. You can begin speaking now." And that's
really scary, and it's hard to kind of start. If you need to know more about the structure of the TOEFL
Speaking questions and how much time, I recommend the videos we have, TOEFL Speaking Questions
Explained, We explained each of them, and I'll put a link in the description below as well. Okay, so
it's one good thing is that you know how to start every time. Here's some example phrases that we
give to students, and that's in that PDF that you can download in the link below. For example, number
one, there's a lot of different ways you can begin. I think or I believe, I feel, personally speaking,
to be honest and so on. So, for each question type we give you some ideas of how to start. Choose one,
and you could start the same way every time. The questions are really structured, so it's easy to
start the same way every time. But one problem is that you might develop a robot voice
with templates. This is the biggest problem with templates really is that you start sounding like a
robot. To give you an example, this is from a question number two. The reading passage announces
a change on campus. So, that's pretty natural, but if you're saying something that you remember and
that you don't feel, you might say something like this, the reading passage announces a change on
campus in particular. So, you're kind of going fast because you know what you need to say, and you're
kind of nervous because you're doing a TOEFL so you just kind of speak fast and you don't feel
what you're saying. Another example, and the man the conversation thinks it's a great idea, and
the man in the conversation thinks it's a great idea. for one thing, you think that.. So, I tried to
even give it a little bit of intonation, but a lot of people just run through these sentences and
they just go really fast because again, you have it memorized, you're nervous and you just sound like,
like you don't feel what you're saying. Very important to feel what you're saying. Second pro
of a template is that it improves your delivery, the way that you speak becomes better because
you have a structure. So, it's easier for you to say something with confidence because you can practice
it a lot. You can practice this beginning- To me, I definitely do not think that co-workers make
good friends. You could practice that a lot. To me, I definitely think. To me, I definitely think.
And that actually improves the way that you're speaking because again, you want to sound natural,
right? By remembering these templated responses and practicing them, you can make them feel
more natural when you speak, you can say it more automatically, with more automaticity, it's called.
But another con of a template is that you might get a question that it doesn't fit, so for example,
if I say, "To me, I definitely think that would you prefer to work at one job your entire life
or to switch jobs," okay, that might be okay too, I can make it fit, but as you keep looking at these
questions, you might get a question on test day where it doesn't fit exactly. So, for example,
sometimes in the TOEFL Speaking they give you an advantage - disadvantage question, what are the
advantages and disadvantages of something, it might be a little hard to say a template with that type
of question. Those questions are rare, but sometimes they do come up, so you want to have a template
to help you feel confident and comfortable when you're speaking, but also you have to remember that
you want to sound natural, and things could happen on test day, so you don't want to rely too much on
the template. Because then you're not trying to speak naturally, okay, so that's another con.
Another Pro for templates is that it structures your thoughts, so it's easier for you to answer
questions because you know, okay I got to say this first, and I got to say this second, I have to give
my opinion, and a reason in an example. It's easier for you to know what you have to do. When you don't
have a template, everything's just kind of random, and you just kind of answer the question how you
feel. But a con again is that your response could feel too structured, you might think, ok, for example,
question one, I have to give two reasons and two examples, so you might start hurrying and go really
fast and you don't sound natural when you speak. So, you want to have that structure, but then you also
want to feel like it's natural at the same time. So, you want structure to help you respond, but you
don't want too much structure to sound unnatural. Another pro of, oh, so sorry, so this is an example
here of when it might be too structured, because if you say the first reason is, the second reason
is, and then this conclusion, "As you can see, the men in the conversation thinks this is a fantastic idea."
You might say that really fast because you want to say everything in the time, you want to say
all of your template, but then again, you're not speaking naturally, and that's what you really
want. You want to go back to that main principle, do I sound natural? You want to say this last sentence
as something like, "As you can see, the man in the conversation thinks this is a fantAstic idea." It
should sound comfortable and natural when you speak. Ok, another pro of templates is that
they're easy to remember. Maybe not, maybe they're hard to remember, but it's easier than trying to
respond differently for each question. One thing I recommend to students when they have trouble
remembering templates is to make a flashcard of the template for each question. One flashcard app
I use pretty often is Quizlet. There's a lot of different ones you can use, but you can use
these to remember some of your TOEFL Speaking templates, you can remember other aspects of the
TOEFL as well. So, that's a great way to kind of try to remember these templates is to use flashcards.
But a con, again, is that it limits creative thinking, and you want to sound comfortable
and natural when you speak. And if you're trying to think of a template, you're trying to fit your
template into the question, you're not thinking as creatively. Instead, you're thinking more in terms
of the template. So, you want to use the template to help you sound natural and conversational. If
the template is not helping you sound natural and conversational, then you want to try to change it
or you want to try to maybe not even use it, it's really up to you. It should reduce your stress and
anxiety, it shouldn't make you more stressed, ok. And it shouldn't make you less natural. It should
make you sound and feel more natural when you speak. Ok, the next one. It organizes your response,
so kind of like structures your thoughts, is that you get an organized response pretty simple and
straightforward. You know what to say first, you know what to say second, you know what to say
last, it's kind of it's pretty helpful, instead of just going into a question cold and just trying to
answer the question. So, it definitely organizes your thoughts and organizes your response. But
again, a con of that is that it could feel uncomfortable, and I'm gonna go back to this first
principle one more time. Remember that you want to sound comfortable and natural when you speak.
If, so this is how you decide if you should use a template, if you should say certain things or not.
Do I sound comfortable and natural when I speak? If you don't, then you shouldn't be using a template,
or if you do, or if you let me say this. At first, you won't feel comfortable and natural
when you use a template. You should try to feel more comfortable over time. If it still doesn't
feel right to you, then try to find something that works for you. One principle we have at TST Prep
that we talk about a lot with our students is that each student is an individual. You are an
individual, there are different things that you can do that fit your personality better, and so
you want to make sure that you do those things that you do things that fit your needs. There's
not one way that you have to follow all the time. This is just advice based on hundreds of students
we've worked with before, it's up to you, what works best for you. Thank you guys for watching
and let me know what do you think. Do you think TOEFL templates are a good fit for you? Leave a
comment in the description below. Thank you again guys and I will see you in the next video.