TOEFL Integrated Speaking Vocabulary
Phrases for Tasks 3, 4, 5, 6
Naming the source
● According to [the announcement/student/professor]…
● The [text/student/professor] says that…
● The [text/student/professor] states that… (for reporting facts, not opinions)
● In the text, we saw that…
● In the [lecture/conversation], we heard that..
● From the [reading/lecture], we know that… (for a definite fact)
● As the [text/student/professor] says, …
Showing a contrast
● But on the other hand,…
● Meanwhile,…
● In contrast,…
● …, however,…
● But at the same time…
Listing
● First of all,…
● …, for one.
● First,… Second,…
● Besides that,…
● What’s more,…
● More importantly,…
● But what’s more important is that…
● There’s also the fact that…
Clarifying
● What I mean to say is that…
● To put it another way,…
● That is,…
● I mean,…
Additional phrases for Speaking Task 3
Showing disagreement
● While [the text says…], [the student thinks…] ● Although [the text says…], [the student thinks…]
Reporting an opinion
● The [man] agrees/disagrees that…
● In the [student’s] eyes/opinion…
● [She] believes that…
● The [man] is of the opinion that…
● The [student] claims…
● [He/she] points out that..
Additional phrases for Speaking Task 4
Describing an overview
- [The reading/text/passage] introduces the [concept of…/theory of…]
- [The reading/text/passage] defines the term [“exoplanet”/”parthenogenesis”/“stress timing”…] as…
- [The reading/text/passage] gives an overview of…
- We get a brief explanation of what [“exoplanet”/”parthenogenesis”] means from the
text. It is… - In the [reading/text/passage], we get general definition of…
Reporting examples
- The professor explains this [with the example of…/by describing…]
- The professor illustrates [that point/the idea] [with the example of…/by describing…]
- [He/she] elucidates [the concept/the idea] [with the example of…/by describing…]
- [He/she] elaborates with some more specific examples, such as…
- According to the [lecture/professor], one instance of this is…
Additional phrases for Speaking Task 5
Summarizing the problem
● [The female student] is facing a problem with…
● The issue is that…
● The problem the students discuss is that…
● The situation is
Reporting suggested solutions
● [The male student] is thinking about…
● [He/she] is considering…
● [He/she] points out that [he/she] could…
Reporting opinions
● [She] is afraid that… (possible negative result of solution)
● [He/she] feels that…
● The [man] is of the opinion that…
Giving your opinion
● If you ask me,…
● Personally, I… (Always include “I” after “personally”!)
● If it were up to me, I would…
● I’d say that [he/she] should…
● I think it’s better to…
Explaining why
● That’s because…
● The reason I say that is that…
● After all,…
