Speaking 1
Reasons – One of the reasonS that I love my city is that… This is because…
Things – One of the thingS that I can’t stand about TOEFL is that… This is because…
Places – One of my favorite placeS to go is… because…
Movies – One of the greatest movieS of all time is … because…
Worked – When I was younger, I WORKED while I studied.
Wanted – A few months ago, my friend and I WANTED to travel.
Decided – In the end, we DECIDED to book a tour because it seemed easier.
Hated – I was really surprised but I actually HATED the tour because there was no
spontaneity.
** Used to – Now that I’ve gotten USED TO organizing my own trips, I never take tours.
Loved -- One of the things that I LOVED about being a student was that I learned
constantly.
Used – The first time I USED a computer, I think I was about 12 years old.
Enjoyed – I ENJOYED studying [topic] because…
Go to – If I could go anywhere in the world, I would definitely go to… because…
Successful – Successful people have …. in common.
Cultural – There are CULTURAL differences in various regions of [my country]. For
example, …
Conventional – One of the conventional ways that people get around [my city] is by…
Loyal – I consider myself a loyal person because
Person – My favorite person is my mother.
Professor / Teacher – The best professor / teacher I had was … because…
First – The first reason is that the internet is an amazing source of information.
Future – In the future, I would really like to visit … because…
Failure – One of my country’s greatest failures is that…
Culture – One interesting thing about my country’s culture is that…
World – There are lots of places in the world I would like to visit but one in particular is…
Major – When I was in university, my major was …
Junior – I still remember that my junior year of high school / college was really stressful
because…
Perfect – To me, the perfect job would…
Modern – The most modern city in my country is … because…
Bad – That movie was so bad because…
That – That is the reason he’s confused.
Time – I remember that one time, I ...
Exciting – The most exciting thing I did recently was when I…
Succeed – One time I felt that I really succeeded was when I…
For instance – My town has a big problem with … For instance …
Additionally – Additionally, we have a problem with…
Specifically – I specifically remember the time that I… (describe a memory)
Consequently – When I was a kid, I … Consequently, I … nowadays.
City – One of the best cities in my country is … because…
Characteristics – I personally think that one the most important characteristics of a good
friend is to be…
America – When I think of America, the first thing that comes to mind is… because…
Job – My ideal job would be to… because...
Language – If I could learn another language, I would choose … because…
Change – If I could change one thing about my hometown, I would … because…
Generation – One way that my generation is different from that of parents is that nowadays
we … It’s like this because…
Valuable – The most valuable thing I own is… because…
Speaking 2
Advantages -- One of the advantageS of [verb-ing] is that…
 would -- I’d definitely choose to live in a big city because…
Prefer – I know that some people PREFER to live in small towns, but I really prefer big
cities.
City – I (don’t) like living in a CITY because…
Tutor – Having a TUTOR for TOEFL is (n’t) important because…
Dis/advantage - There are a lot of disadvantages of learning English in a group class.
Dis/advantage - The biggest advantage of living in a city is that there are lots of things to
do.
Example – One example of this is…
Equal – I personally think that the government should(n’t) treat men and women equally
because…
Quality – I think the most important quality for a friend to have is…
Quality – If I were going to move to a new town, the most important quality would be…
However – The man thinks this. However, the woman thinks that.
Different – I think that …. is different from … because…
Early – I (don’t) like waking up early because…
Familiar – I (wouldn’t/don’t) like living in a small town because I always see a familiar face.
Regular – I eat … pretty regularly because…
Urban X Rural – I prefer living in urban / rural areas because…
Safer – I think that … is safer than … because…
Natural – I think that … is more natural than … because …
Happier -- [activity] makes me happier than [activity] because…
Comfortable (actually sounds like “komf-tur-bul”) – I think that … is more comfortable
than … because …
Actually – Actually, I don’t like taking vacations in really hot or really cold places.
Time – It’s really time-consuming to… because…
Believe – I really believe that it’s better to …(choice 1)… than to … (choice 2)…
This (not “these”) – For this reason, I dislike cities.
Scholarship -- I think that awarding scholarships is a good/bad idea because…
Education – I think that getting a good second language education is(n’t) important
because…
Speaking 3
Insists -- The University insistS on reducing traffic on campus.
Statement – The University is planning to digitally deliver statements for students’
accounts.
Announcement – The announcement talked about how the university wants to renovate the
classrooms.
Performance – The announcement says that the performance will be held next week.
Visitor – The University says that visitors have to check in at Campus Security.
Decide – The University has decided to renovate some buildings on campus.
Dialogue – The students in the dialogue are discussing whether or not the university’s new
plan is a good idea.
Woman – The woman is excited because…
Object – The man objects to the increase in student tuition because he’s already paying an
arm and a leg.
… so that’s why the guy disagrees.
… so that’s why the guy disagrees with the university’s plan to change.
Speaking 4
Claims -- The author claimS that global warming isn’t real.
Describes -- The text describes two kinds of …
Discusses -- The lecturer discusseS this in more detail.
Casts (doubt on) -- The lecture castS doubt on the reading.
Contrasts -- The text contrastS the lecture by citing only theory.
Passage – The PASSAGE talks about how stalagmites and stalactites are formed.
Explained – The professor EXPLAINED this concept in more detail.
Particularly – The professor particularly has a problem with the idea that…
Refer – The text discusses “cohorts,” a word that refers to a person’s social group.
Term – The professor explains this term in more detail by saying…
Kinds of – The passage mentions two kinds of trees: deciduous and coniferous.
Types of – There are many types of fungus, but the passage focuses on one type called
Southern blight.
Define – The passage defines animal domestication as the process of taming wild animals to
live near humans.
Increase – According to the lecturer, the amount of pollution is increasing.
Ability – The professor explains that people with emotional intelligence have the ability to
make important life decisions with more confidence.
Definition – According to the passage, the basic definition of “a boycott” is some kind of
nonviolent, economic protest.
Definition – According to the passage, the basic definition of “a boycott” is some kind of
nonviolent, economic protest.
… so that’s how spiders are formed.
… so those 2 parts – the antennae and the torso – are how spiders are different.
Speaking 5
Believes -- She believeS he shouldn’t miss his study session.
Asks about -- The woman askS her friend how to sign up for classes.
Suggests -- She suggestS not missing his study session.
 should -- She thinks he SHOULD go to the study session.
 should -- He SHOULDN’T miss the exam if he wants to improve his grade.
 would -- I also think it WOULD be better for him to go to the study session.
 would -- If I WERE the man, I WOULD live off campus because...
 COULD -- Alternatively, he COULD get a job on campus.
 COULD -- If she doesn’t talk to her roommate, she COULD stay mad for a long time.
Prepare – The guy’s upset because he has to PREPARE a report tonight for his class
tomorrow.
Problem – The problem is that it’s easy to procrastinate when you take an online class.
Stopped – He stopped attending class because he was too busy with his job and fell behind.
Suggested – She suggested either studying in the student union or going to the library.
Go to – I believe that the best solution is for them to GO TO the library to study.
Girl – The girl is angry because her roommate lost her library book.
Alternatively – Alternatively, the woman could …
Sure – The man isn’t sure if he is sick, but he thinks he should find out.
Better – It would be better if she talks with her roommate.
Man – The man tells the woman that she should talk with her roommate.
Have / had / has – The man doesn’t have any idea how to complete his research.
After – I think the man should go to the evening class, and then after that, study for the
midterm. If he doesn’t do this, his grades might drop.
Personality – Personally, I think she has a bad personality.
Know – The man is stressed because he doesn’t know how to register for classes online.
Show – The woman suggests that he talk to the Registrar so they can show him how to do it.
Focus – The woman is really stressed out because she can’t focus on any of her lessons.
Even though – Even though she’s studying hours and hours, she doesn’t remember
anything.
Although – Although the woman’s friends came to the table, she didn’t notice them.
… so that’s what I think s/he has to do.
… and so because of those reasons, I think it’s better for him/her to talk with the dean.
Speaking 6
Explains -- The professor explainS the main cause of desertification.
Point out – The professor POINTED out that the impact of water hitting the floor causes
them to break into droplets.
Pointed out – The professor POINTED out the differences among 3 types of volcanoes.
Converted – Carbon dioxide is converted into carbohydrate and stored in the plant.

strategy -- One strategy for improving your accent is to…
strategy -- Another strategy is…
Criminal – The professor argued that criminals should be given psychological evaluations.
Third – The third example the professor gives is about birds.
Grow – Animals generally eat young plants that are growing before they have time to
develop deep roots. This makes it difficult for the soil to hold together, and it can blow away
easily.
Varieties of – Animals’ use a variety of ways to remember where they buried their food
… so those are the beliefs about trees.
… so because of native people’s beliefs, trees were very special and used for things like that.