Student Housing Maintenance - TOEFL Speaking Practice Test with Answers (Integrated)

The TOEFL Speaking Section's Integrated Task represents a sophisticated assessment of language abilities. It tests your capacity to understand complex information from multiple sources and present it in a clear, organized manner.

This challenging task requires excellence in various linguistic aspects: precise pronunciation, natural fluency, appropriate vocabulary, and coherent expression. We've created this targeted practice test on "Student Housing Maintenance" to help you develop these essential capabilities.

Prepare to strengthen your integrated speaking skills! Let's begin this practice session and develop your expertise in handling this complex task.

Instructions:

• You will first read a short passage about a campus-related announcement or proposed change. You will have 45 seconds to read the passage.
• Then you will listen to a conversation between two speakers discussing their opinions about the announcement or change.
• After the conversation ends, you will be asked to respond to a question about what you read and heard.
• You will have 30 seconds to prepare your response.
• You will have 60 seconds to speak about the speaker's opinion and the reasons they give for holding that opinion.

The university has announced a new maintenance policy for student housing.

Student Housing Maintenance 

The university is implementing a new maintenance policy for student housing to improve living conditions. Starting next semester, maintenance requests will be processed within 48 hours, and a dedicated team will be available for urgent repairs. Additionally, students can now submit requests through a new online portal, making the process more efficient. The university aims to enhance student satisfaction and ensure a comfortable living environment. This change is expected to reduce the backlog of maintenance issues and provide quicker resolutions to students' concerns.

Directions: After the passage appears, a timer located at the top of your computer screen will commence counting down the time allocated for reading. Once the reading time concludes, the passage will disappear from the screen, replacing an image showing a student.

Now, listen to this Audio and answer the question that follows and answer the question that follows.

Directions: Once the lecture concludes, the picture of the two students will be replaced by a screen instructing you to prepare to answer the question. Subsequently, the following question will appear on the screen and will be read aloud by a narrator.

Question

The woman expresses her opinion of the new maintenance policy. State her opinion and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.

Hold on to those answer sheets! Before you jump into the sample response, make sure to go through our top 7 Tips for TOEFL preparation. 

Answer Key with Explanation for TOEFL Speaking Test - Student Housing Maintenance

We've provided two sample responses at different proficiency levels (mid-level and high-level). By comparing the differences, you'll gain valuable insights into the key elements that contribute to achieving a top score on the TOEFL exam.

Listen to the audio recording to hear a mid-level answer to the provided question.

Rater’s Comment:

The response earns a score of 1 due to significant language and delivery issues. Language errors include subject-verb agreement, as in "She think the 48-hour timeframe is good," and pronoun reference issues, such as "She is worried about, uh, if they can keep up." Delivery is hindered by frequent filler words like "um," "uh," and "like," which disrupt the flow, and unnatural pauses that affect clarity. The speech is choppy, with unclear pacing, making it difficult to follow. Content development is weak, with repeated phrases like "she is not sure" and "she is worried," and missing support points, such as specific examples of past experiences with online systems. The response lacks coherence and fails to develop the topic fully. To improve, the speaker should focus on reducing filler words, ensuring grammatical accuracy, and providing more detailed content.

Listen to the audio recording to hear a high-level answer to the provided question.

Rater’s Comment:

The response earns a score of 4 due to its comprehensive and coherent discourse, effectively fulfilling the task's demands. The speaker demonstrates advanced grammar structures, such as "Her main concern is whether the university can keep up with the demand," and employs sophisticated vocabulary like "scepticism" and "exacerbate." Complex sentence constructions are evident in "Despite the male speaker's optimism about the dedicated team and user-friendly portal, she remains cautious." The response maintains a natural flow with clear articulation and smooth transitions, as seen in "Overall, her opinion is shaped by her past experiences and concerns about the system's reliability." The content is well-organised, with a clear progression of ideas and effective supporting examples, such as her concerns about the online portal. These elements showcase mastery in language use and topic development, with notable strengths in precise word usage and coherent argumentation.

Great effort on this practice test! Want to keep improving? Our extensive collection of practice materials is here to help you master every aspect of the TOEFL Speaking section.

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