Day 3 — Speaking Task 2: Take an Interview
Phase I · Speaking · Day 3 of 3 · ⏱ ~2 hours
📍 You are here: Day 1 – Orientation → Day 2 – Task 1 (Listen & Repeat) → Day 3 – Task 2 (Take an Interview)
Today is all about Task 2 – Take an Interview (4 questions, 45 seconds each, no prep time). Learn the strategy, then do a timed, recorded practice with AI feedback.
🎯 Today's goal: Learn the interview strategy and complete one timed 45-second response with feedback.
✅ You're done when: you've answered today's question in 45 seconds, recorded it, and gotten feedback (checklist + ChatGPT).
⏰ Step 1 — Daily Warm-Up։ Anchor It
In Take an Interview, one concrete anchor — a person, place, number, or moment — lifts your answer above Band 4. Pick the answer with a real anchor.
👉 Day 3 Warm-Up Exercise
4 items · auto-graded
🎥 Step 2 — Learn the strategy
Watch each video, then read the PDF it introduces.
- 🎥 Challenges & Tips — video
- 📄 Take an Interview — Challenges & Tips PDF
- 🎥 Practice Checklist — video
- 📄 Take an Interview — Practice Checklist PDF
Key formula: Point → Reason → Example → Conclude. Start within 2 seconds — no "well, um, that's a good question…" (it wastes 4 of your 45 seconds).
🛠 Step 3 — Learn how to practice + set up your feedback tools
🎥 How to practice Task 2 effectively — video
- Speechnotes — turn your speech into text
- Full-screen stopwatch
- NaturalReaders — hear your script read aloud
- ChatGPT — get scored feedback
ChatGPT feedback prompt (paste your transcript, then this):
Please ignore punctuation and capitalization. Give me feedback on the following areas: 1) Grammar 2) Vocabulary 3) Task fulfillment 4) Organization and coherence 5) Delivery (based on the script). Also give me an estimated TOEFL Speaking score from 0 to 6, and briefly explain why I received it (2–3 key reasons). Then rewrite my response as a high-scoring sample answer that could realistically receive a 6 — natural, clear, suitable for a 45-second response, with accurate grammar and strong vocabulary.
🎙 Step 4 — Today's timed practice
Set a timer for 45 seconds. No preparation time. Read the question, then record your answer:
Question: "Tell me about a teacher who influenced you in your school years. What did they do, and how did it affect you?"
Sample structure (a guide, not a script to memorize):
- [5s] Direct answer with name & subject: "I would say my high school English teacher, Mrs. …"
- [15s] Specific behavior: "What made her special was that she…"
- [15s] Effect on you: "Because of her, I started to…"
- [10s] Lasting impact: "Even now, when I write, I think of…"
Then score yourself with the Practice Checklist and run the ChatGPT prompt above.
📚 Step 5 — More practice & scoring guide (optional)
- More speaking task sets — ignore the sample answers, give your own, then check them with the method above.
- Scoring guide — see how raters actually score:
💡 Pro Tips
- Templates help you start, never finish. Use the scaffold + your own ideas.
- Never open with "Well, um, that's a good question…" — start with your point.
- Include at least one "if / because / although" sentence to show grammar range.
- End with a concluding connector ("Ultimately…", "Consequently…") and finish smoothly between 40–45 seconds.