When preparing for the TOEFL speaking section, some students might feel overwhelmed because they're unsure of what areas to focus on. As a result, they might try to cover too many different things (even ones that don't provide much benefit) and start burning out because they don't see quick progress. That's why it's super important to know where to focus your energy if you want to improve fast and stay motivated. The key to quick, significant growth lies in fixing the easiest parts. But what are they?

We'll cover a few of these areas, but let's start with the easiest and most important one - structure.


Table of Contents - How to Improve Your TOEFL Speaking Skills


Give structured answers

Structure is the foundation of your response, and it's the easiest part to fix. Other aspects, like grammar, and pronunciation are more challenging because they often involve fossilized mistakes —deeply ingrained patterns of speech that are harder to change at an advanced level. While these areas can definitely be improved, structure offers a quicker win.

You can improve your structure either by practicing at home a lot and getting used to giving structured answers, or you can use TOEFL speaking templates. Even if you're not a fan of them, having a solid introduction helps you get started without hesitation.

During the TOEFL speaking section, you're required to begin speaking after a short countdown. This can feel very challenging, and some students might even freeze up. If you don't know exactly how to start, you may waste precious seconds thinking or stumbling through your opening. Since every second counts, having a pre-prepared introduction ensures you start smoothly.

You can check out our TOEFL speaking templates. They provide a great way to structure your response, helping you avoid wasting time frantically trying to come up with an answer. More importantly, they can support you if you blank out due to stress on exam day. Memorizing an introduction for your responses can significantly boost your performance.

Use linking words

Once you've nailed your structure, the next step is mastering linking words. Linking words, or transition phrases, are essential for connecting ideas and adding information. Examples include "in addition," "as a matter of fact," "actually," "in fact," and "more importantly." You don't need to memorize an extensive list, but it's helpful to pick a few for each category to use when giving an introduction or example.

If you struggle to pronounce or remember certain phrases, opt for alternatives. For instance, if "in addition" is tricky, use "in fact" instead. Practice saying the phrases you'll use most often to ensure you're comfortable and fluent on test day. The most effective way to master linking words is through regular use. Practice daily by using linking words in your writing, such as short essays or summaries of articles and book chapters that require multiple transitions, and by speaking on various topics. Additionally, practice using them in conversations on a variety of topics. This method will increase your familiarity with linking words and improve your ability to use them confidently in both writing and speaking.

You can read our article about linking words in TOEFL to get a great overview of many options that you have. Alternatively, you can use templates. They already include great transition words that will make your speech sound more natural and fluent.

Timing is critical

Poor time management is another typical sticking point that is relatively straightforward to address. Remember that you need to make sure you say everything you want to say during the time allotted for each task. There's no quick fix for this; you simply need to practice speaking with a timer to get used to expressing all your thoughts without finishing too early or getting cut off by mid-sentence.

However, there is also a positive side to this: all in all, you will need to speak for about 4 minutes. So, you could take solace in the fact that it's not a 20-minute presentation you might have to make in the future, but just 4 minutes of talking about some mundane things.

Speak fast (but don't go overboard)

You don't have much time and you need to speak quickly to get all your thoughts across. This means that the faster you speak, the more you can say and the more complete your response will be. As always, you must practice regularly to increase your speed. Record your answers, then listen to them and analyze what was good and what could be improved. More importantly, when practicing, make sure your speed doesn't negatively impact your pronunciation and your words don't become incomprehensible and a mish-mash of sounds.

Use a variety of sentence structures

While, as I mentioned before, structure is key, varying your sentence types adds complexity to your speech and can boost your score. Try to include both simple and complex sentences to show control over a range of grammar. For example, mix shorter statements with longer ones that use subordinate clauses or conjunctions. Make sure you practice this before exam day, so you get comfortable with using a wide range of structures. I'm emphasizing this because if you don't consistently practice beforehand, you won't be able to pull it off on the spot during the exam.

Familiarize yourself with common TOEFL topics

As you already know, TOEFL speaking questions tend to follow certain themes, like campus life, education, academic subjects, and more. You need to regularly do practice tests to get familiar with these common topics and get used to specific vocabulary. This reduces the likelihood of being caught off guard and helps you stay calm during the test.

Make sure you check out our free TOEFL tests to practice speaking and take a look at some of the popular topics.

Work on your pronunciation with shadowing

If you've more or less dealt with everything mentioned above, you can focus on pronunciation. It's pretty important, but not the end-all, be-all.

There are various ways to improve your pronunciation, but one of the most effective techniques is shadowing, where you listen to native speakers and repeat exactly what they say. This helps you pick up the rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation patterns of native speakers. Shadowing works best with short, clear recordings, such as TED Talks or news segments. Start slowly, and gradually speed up as you become more confident.