Hi friends, this video is all about the lesson then speak question type on the Duolingo English
test, you know, the one that looks like this. So this question type is really hard because it
requires you to listen and understand a prompt or a question and then respond through speaking, you
have to speak for at least 30 seconds, and you have 90 seconds in total. And it's hard because it
involves those two skills, listening and then speaking, and that's why I've made this video to
help you. In this video, we're going to do three things. Firstly, we'll take a look at the key
points of this question type. This will help you to understand what this question is all about.
Then I'm going to give you some really useful tips. And at the end, we're going to do lots and
lots of practice. And I'll show you a full sample answer. Okay, we will jump into the key points in
just one moment. But I want to say that if you're new to this channel, Hi, I'm teacher Luke from DETReady.com
Visit our website to find information about the Duolingo English test. We have some
courses to help you specifically with writing. And we have a practice platform. When you sign up to
our practice platform, you can practice all of the different question types on the Duolingo English
test. And you can see the answers immediately. This of course will be greatly helpful for you
when you're studying for the Duolingo English test. Okay, back to this lesson. Like I said,
firstly, we'll take a look at the key points of this question type. So let's do that right now.
Okay, so let's take a look at the key points, the thing you've got to do is, of course, listen to a
prompt and then respond through speaking. And you can listen to the prompt three times within 20
seconds. So we use the word prompt here because the prompt can either be a question something like
what do you think about blah, blah, or it can be a statement, like describe your favorite childhood
memory. And you get to listen to this prompt three times, as long as it's within 20 seconds. After 20
seconds is up, then you have to begin speaking. So I strongly recommend that you listen three times
even if you do think you understand that the first or second time after the 20 seconds is up, you
can't listen again. And of course it's not shown in writing since this is a listen then speak
question. So it's really important that you are able to understand the prompt within those 20
seconds given to you. Okay, there are more key points, of course. Okay, the next key point is
that it's really important that you actually respond or answer the prompt given to you, because
task relevance is on the scoring criteria. So task relevance refers to how well you actually answer
the question or the prompt given. If you do talk about a different topic, then you lose a lot of
points for test relevance, because it shows that you weren't able to understand the question. So
make sure before you start speaking that you really do understand exactly what was said. And
that your response your answer is related to that topic. So when you're answering, you have 90
seconds in total to answer. But importantly, you need to speak for at least 30 seconds. So the rule
is that you should speak for at least 30 seconds after 30 seconds, you can click on the next button
to go to the next question. However, I recommend you try to speak much longer than that, at least
for 60 seconds. Again, if you take a look at the scoring criteria for the production questions on
the Duolingo English test, fluency is one of the points they mentioned. And one aspect of fluency
is about how long you can speak for. So if you can speak for longer than 30 seconds, let's say 60 to
70 seconds, then you will get a better score for fluency. So just try to speak as much as you can
when you're answering these prompts. Now, according to the Duolingo test guidebook, which is
available on their website, you only get this once on the test. Okay, so this one's a bit
interesting. So in the Duolingo test guidebook, they say that you should only get this question
once on the test. However, when I took the test a few months ago, I actually had it twice. And I've
seen that a couple of my students on my Facebook group have said the same thing. They had it twice,
not once. So officially, you should only have it once, but I think sometimes you can get it twice.
So just be prepared for that.
And this contributes to your conversation and production sub scores. And lastly, this is
important. This question type is actually not on the practice test. Interestingly, this question
type is not on the practice test. If you want to practice speaking on the official practice test,
then you only can practice the read then respond one but not this listen and respond one. I don't
know why but it's not an you need to know that. And like I mentioned, this question contributes to
your conversation and production. Sub school. And I know a lot of students struggle to get a good
score in production. So if you can do this question type really well, it will surely be
helpful for you. And I've got some really useful tips to help you do well. So let's take a look at
these tips. Now. As I mentioned earlier, it's really important that you make sure that you
understand the prompt before you begin speaking. And in order to understand I strongly suggest that
you do listen three times, even if you've understood it the first time. So I think that was
really important. Even if you understood the prompt the first time, I strongly suggest you
listen three times, because when you begin speaking, you can't listen again. So if you've
listened three times, it means you're much more likely to remember what the prompt was, and all
the little sections of it because sometimes the prompt is quite long, and it has different
questions within it. So I really recommend you listen three times. Next one, your answer must be
directly related to the prompt. So I did mention this earlier, but I'll say it again, task
relevance is on their criteria. So it's really important you actually respond to the prompt and
not speak about a different topic or go away from the prompt at all. Try your best to make your
answer to be as closely related to the prompt as possible that will help you get a better score for
task relevance. Next up, make sure to use a range of vocabulary and grammar, and you can use linking
phrases to increase your fluency. I made a whole video on spoken linking phrases you can use for
this question type. You can find that video up here or click on the link below in the
description. Linking phrases are useful because it helps make your answers sound much smoother and
more natural. So I recommend you watch that video and study the different phrases in that video.
Next step, speak for as long as you can. This will increase your fluency score. And lastly, practice
often. So it's quite hard to practice this question type since it's not on the practice test.
So watch this video all the way to the end and get practice with the questions I show you. And if you
want more practice, I recommend you use my practice platform. When you sign up to my practice
platform. You get unlimited practice on all of the different question types on the Duolingo English
test, including this listen and speak one. You can practice listening and responding to lots of
different prompts. And you can see sample answers. On top of that you can actually listen back to
your answer and then compare it to a sample answer. This will be great practice for you not
only for this question type, but all of the others as well. So if this sounds good to you, you can
find links to this practice platform below in the description. Anyway, let's get some practice done.
In this video. We'll start off with listening. So I've prepared five listening prompts for you. I'll
play each one three times. And I want you to listen and fill in the blanks which will be on the
screen. This will be helpful because you can check how well you understand these prompts. And after
these five are done, we'll do a full speaking practice where I'll show you a prompt give you 90
seconds to answer and then show you my sample answer. I'm sure this will be really helpful for
you. So make sure you watch the whole video and do all the practice questions here. Okay, well, let's
get started with the five listening ones first. Remember your job is to listen and fill in the
blanks.
Describe a time when you told your friend the truth. What was the truth? What was your friend's
reaction? Describe a time when you told your friend the truth. What was the truth? What was
your friend's reaction? Describe a time when you told your friend the truth. What was the truth?
What was your friend's reaction?
Talk about a job that you would not like to do in the future. What is the job? Why wouldn't you like
to do it? Talk about a job that you would not like to do in the future. What is the job? Why wouldn't
you like to do it? Talk about a job that you would not like to do in the future. What is the job? Why
wouldn't you like to do it?
Talk about a festival that is celebrated in your country. What is it? Why is it important? Talk
about a festival that is celebrated in your country. What is it? Why is it important? Talk
about a festival that is celebrated in your country. What is it? Why is it important?
What school subjects do you think are the most important to study? Why do you think so? What
school subjects do you think are the most important to study? Why do you think so? What
school Subjects do you think are the most important to study? Why do you think so?
describe an art exhibition you have seen? When did you go there? Where was it? What was the like?
describe an art exhibition you have seen? When did you go there? Where was it? What was it like?
So those were five listening prompts. Were you able to understand them? Let me know below in the
comments. Now let's jump into speaking. So I'll give you another listening prompt, which you can
listen to three times. And then I'll give you 90 seconds to speak out your answer. After the 90
seconds is up. I'll show you my sample answer. I hope this is helpful for you. If you think it is
right, yes below in the comments. Okay, then well, let's get started with this. Remember, your job is
to listen and then speak for as long as you can try to speak for around 60 to 70 seconds.
Talk about the differences between working for a big company and working for a small company, which
do you prefer? Talk about the differences between working for a big company and working for a small
company, which do you prefer? Talk about the differences between working for a big company and
working for a small company, which do you prefer?
When choosing a company to work for, there are a few things more important to consider than the
size of the company. Typically, big companies offer higher salaries and have a bigger corporate
ladder to climb, which could lead to more responsibilities and promotions. On the other
hand, at a small company, an individual can make more of an impact. At small companies, your ideas
and hard work have a bigger impact on the long term success of the company, which can feel very
rewarding. These are some differences between working for a big company and a small one. I
definitely want to work for a small company when I graduate from university.
Okay, how was that? Well, now let's listen to a sample answer. I want you to look at this sample
answer and compare it with yours. And that's it well done for finishing this whole video. If you
did finish right I finished below in the comments. I'm always curious who actually finishes these
really long videos. And if you think this video is helpful, I recommend you watch this one here next
or this one here. Okay, that's all for me. Thank you very much and I'll see you next time. Bye.