What Does it Look (and Sound) Like?
First, you will be told the subject of the task and be given instructions. It will be something like this:
You are learning how to welcome shoppers to a large department store. Listen to the speaker and repeat what he says. Repeat only once.
The sentences are usually about giving a tour of some facility or about completing a process step-by-step. You will also see a basic illustration of the subject.
Next, you will hear seven sentences related to the topic. They will play one at a time. Each time, part of the illustration will be highlighted.
After each sentence there is a short pause followed by a beep. You will have 8 to 12 seconds to repeat each sentence after the beep.
How Long are the Sentences? How Hard are they?
Basically, the sentences have three difficulty levels:
- Sentences 1-2: 9-11 syllables (easy)
- Sentences 3-5: 14-16 syllables (medium)
- Sentences 6-7: 19-23 syllables (hard)
The first two might be three seconds, and the last two might be five seconds. The last two are hard.
What Accents will I Hear?
An American accent is used most of the time. You could get an Australian or British accent, but only a mild one.
How is it Scored?
For each sentence you will get a score between 0 (terrible) and 5 (perfect)
To learn more, read the scoring rubric!
Here’s what ETS says will earn a perfect score:
“the response is fully intelligible and an exact repetition of the prompt.” Basically, your goal is to speak clearly and without any changes from the original sentence. A single mistake or change will reduce your score to a 4. This means your goal is to perfectly repeat what you hear.
How about a Sample?
Here’s one about giving a tour of a department store. It has an American accent:
You are learning how to welcome shoppers to a large department store. Listen to the speaker and repeat what he says. Repeat only once.
Sentence One:
Sentence Two:
Sentence Three:
Sentence Four:
Sentence Five:
Sentence Six:
Sentence Seven:
How About Another Sample?
You are learning how to teach people to check out a library book. Listen to the speaker and repeat what he says. Repeat only once.
Sentence One:
Sentence Two:
Sentence Three:
Sentence Four:
Sentence Five:
Sentence Six:
Sentence Seven:
What are Some Effective Strategies?
- Master the first five sentences. Each sentence has equal weight, so even if you f–k up the last two sentences, you can still get a perfect score by doing well on the first five. Remember: 5+5+5+5+5+3+3 = 4.5/5 (which rounds up to 5/5)
- Try to remember the sentences in “chunks” instead of word by word. Like this: “Upstairs, the media room // has printers and large computer screens.” Or like this: “During finals week // the library stays open longer // so students have more time to study and prepare.”
- Don’t rush to speak right after the beep. You can take a few seconds to prepare in your head.
- Practice, Practice, Practice. This is a skill that can be trained. You should do 100 practice sets before test day. Or maybe even 1000. Seriously… it only takes like one minute to do a whole practice set. Don’t be lazy.
Where Can I Find More Practice Sets?
Right here!
Practice 1: Campus Library
Practice 2: Science Building
Practice 3: Campus Gym
Practice 4: Campus Event
Practice 5: Local Gallery
Practice 6: Museum Tour
Practice 7: Local Bookstore
Practice 8: Dining Hall
Practice 9: Arts Festival
Practice 10: Department Store
Practice 11: Making an Appointment
Practice 12: Ordering Food
Practice 13: Self Checkout
Practice 14: Borrowing a Book