Question 2 in TOEFL Speaking
Learn about Question 2 tasks in TOEFL speaking with an overview, recommended approach and practice question.
by Tim Martyn
Overview
Question 2 is an integrated speaking task. It tests your ability to integrate information from two sources (i.e. a short reading passage and a brief spoken discussion) and produce a spoken summary of that information.
Here are some key points about Question 2:
Reading
- You’ll start by reading a short passage (between 90 and 115 words) about a campus-related topic. You’ll be given either 45 or 50 seconds to read (depending on the length of the passage).
- Different types of passages are used. For instance, you might be shown a letter/email from a student to the editor of a university newspaper, or a bulletin/announcement from a university’s administration.
- The passage will refer to some kind of change (e.g. a new policy, an upgrade to campus facilities). It could be a change that is definitely going to happen, or it could be a proposed change / suggestion, possibly made by a student.
- The passage will give two reasons for the change.
- You can take notes while you’re reading.
Listening
- You’ll then listen to a recording (between 60 and 80 seconds) of two speakers discussing the change.
- One of the speakers will express a strong opinion about the change. This is the speaker you need to pay the most attention to.
- The speaker will either agree or disagree with the change. It’s possible that they will agree with one of the reasons given in the reading but disagree with the other (i.e. have a mixed opinion), but this isn’t common.
- The speaker will give two reasons for their opinion. These will specifically relate to the reasons for the change that were given in the reading passage.
- You can take notes while you’re listening.
Speaking
- You’ll then be asked to state the speaker’s opinion of the change and explain why they hold that opinion.
- You’ll have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.
Recommended approach
Here’s my recommended approach for answering Question 2 tasks.
Reading
As you read, pay close attention to the change as well as the two reasons for it.
You need to take notes because you won’t be able to refer to the passage once the reading time is up. You could structure your notes like this.
| Reading |
|---|
|
change: reason 1 for change: reason 2 for change: |
Listening
Listen for the speaker’s overall opinion of the change, which will usually be made clear towards the start of the discussion. It should be apparent from what the speaker actually says, but pronunciation features such as intonation and stress can also give you clues about their opinion and attitude.
Make sure you also listen for the two reasons the speaker gives to support their opinion. As mentioned above, the speaker’s reasons will specifically relate to the reasons for the change that were given in the reading passage.
Again, you need to take notes. I recommend adding to the ones you took while you were reading. You might find it helpful to organise your notes like this.
| Reading | Listening |
|---|---|
|
change: reason 1 for change: reason 2 for change: |
opinion: reason 1 for opinion: reason 2 for opinion: |
Speaking
Use the 30-second preparation time to tidy up your notes from the reading and listening and organise your thoughts.
There’s more than one correct way to structure your response. However, since this is an integrated task, I think it makes sense to combine information from the reading and listening as much as possible, rather than simply summarising what the reading passage said and then what the speaker said.
Here’s a structure you can use.
| Task | Sample |
|---|---|
| Describe the change and whether the speaker generally agrees or disagrees with it. | According to the announcement, next semester, the university’s going to increase parking fees by 20%, which the woman doesn’t agree with. |
| Describe the first reason given for the change in the reading passage and summarise the speaker’s opinion of it. | The announcement gives a couple of reasons for the fee increase. Firstly, the university wants to use some of the money to upgrade its parking facilities, but the woman doesn’t think they actually need to be upgraded. She thinks a few small repairs would be enough and suggests that parking facilities aren’t really that important. |
| Describe the second reason given for the change in the reading passage and summarise the speaker’s opinion of it. |
You’ll find there’s quite a lot of information given in the reading and listening, but you’re not expected to include all of that information in your response – you’re only giving a summary. That said, your response still needs to be complete enough so that someone who didn’t read the passage or listen to the discussion would understand what the change is, what the speaker’s opinion of it is, and why they hold that opinion.
Finally, speak at a normal speed – there’s no need to rush. You’ll find that 60 seconds is enough time to summarise all of the key information.
Scoring criteria
You’ll be given a score from 0 to 4. Here are the criteria your speaking will be scored on.
| Criterion | What does this mean? |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Do you speak clearly and fluently? Do you speak at a natural pace? Do you have good pronunciation and intonation? |
| Language use | Do you use a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary accurately? |
| Topic development | Do you fully answered the question? Do you express your ideas clearly? How well do you connect your ideas together? |
You can find out more about how Question 2 tasks are scored here.
Practice question
Now it’s your turn to practise. Try the Question 2 task below using the approach outlined above.
Feedback
Click below for the transcript and to listen to a sample response.
Woman: I can’t believe this!
Man: Oh, you read the announcement, did you?
Woman: Yes, I did.
Man: What do you think of the justifications they gave?
Woman: Honestly, I don’t get the argument about upgrades. I think the parking lots are fine as they are. Sure, they might need a few minor repairs here and there, but nothing major. They’re just somewhere we park our cars, after all.
Man: That’s true. But what do you think of the new shuttle service? Sounds pretty convenient, right?
Woman: Actually, I don’t think a shuttle service makes any sense. I mean, at the end of the day, people want to drive – it’s much more convenient.
Man: But don’t you think they’d start taking public transportation if there was a shuttle?
Woman: I doubt it. Personally, I wouldn’t want to have to take a shuttle and then a train or bus just to get home. It’s too much hassle and it’d take forever. It’s one of those things that sounds good in theory, but I bet hardly anyone will actually use it. And the worst part is, we’re the ones paying for it through this parking fee increase! It’s a total waste of money, I think!
Man: Yeah, I see what you mean.
According to the announcement, next semester, the university’s going to increase parking fees by 20%, which the woman doesn’t agree with.
The announcement gives a couple of reasons for the fee increase. Firstly, the university wants to use some of the money to upgrade its parking facilities, but the woman doesn’t think they actually need to be upgraded. She thinks a few small repairs would be enough and suggests that parking facilities aren’t really that important.
The woman isn’t supportive of the university’s plan to introduce a free shuttle service either. The university wants to make it easier for people to take public transportation to the campus and thinks a shuttle will help people get to nearby transportation hubs. But the woman argues very few people will use the shuttle because they like the convenience of driving to campus. She sounds a bit annoyed that staff and students essentially have to pay for a shuttle service they won’t use.
