The new TOEFL Speaking section: Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview, with practice questions

The short answer

Since 21 January 2026, TOEFL Speaking has two task types: Listen and Repeat, seven sentences you hear once and say back, and Take an Interview, four questions from an interviewer that go from your own life to a social issue. Eleven answers in about eight minutes, no preparation time, each answer scored from 0 to 5. The old four-task Speaking section, with its reading-and-listening prompts and its 15 seconds to prepare, is gone.

What changed

The pre-2026 Speaking section had four tasks: one independent opinion question and three integrated tasks that asked you to read a passage, listen to a lecture or conversation, and then speak for 45 or 60 seconds after 15 to 30 seconds of preparation. The 2026 section keeps none of that. ETS's 2026 specification replaces it with two tasks that measure speaking more directly: can you take in English you hear and reproduce it, and can you hold up your side of a conversation.

	Before 2026	Since January 2026
Tasks	4 (1 independent, 3 integrated)	2 task types, 11 items
Preparation time	15 to 30 seconds per task	None
Time	About 16 minutes	About 8 minutes
Reading or listening to a text first	Yes, in three tasks	No
Score	0 to 30	Band 1 to 6, from 11 items each scored 0 to 5

Speaking is the last of the four sections, after Writing, and it is not adaptive: every candidate gets the same shape of section.

Listen and Repeat: seven sentences

How it works

The screen sets a scene: you are learning to show visitors around a place, a library, a gym, a lab, a campus café, and a speaker takes you through it. You hear a sentence once. A clock starts, and you say the sentence back. The text is never shown. Then the next sentence plays.

The seven sentences get longer and more complex as they go. ETS's sample runs from about 5 words to about 14: a short welcome, a few plain statements about where things are, and by the end sentences with two clauses ("If you need a book from another campus, ask the librarian at the front desk to order it."). You get roughly 8 to 14 seconds to answer, growing with the sentence.

What the scorer listens for

Each repetition is scored 0 to 5 on three things: how much of the sentence came through, in order; how clearly each word was said; and how fluently it came out, without long pauses or restarts. In practice:

• 5: the whole sentence, word for word, clearly.
• 4: the meaning kept, with a small slip: a dropped "the", a tense marker off, two words swapped, one unclear word.
• 3: most of the content words, as a full sentence, but the meaning no longer exact.
• 2: the first part, then a stop or an invention; the meaning in fragments.
• 1 and 0: a few words, or nothing usable.

The task rewards listening as much as speaking. Candidates who try to memorise word by word run out of room at about eight words; candidates who listen for the meaning and say it back as a sentence of their own hold the long ones. This is why the task predicts general proficiency so well, and why ETS put it first.

Seven sentences to practise with

Say each one back after one hearing. Have someone read them to you, or record them and play each once.

1. Welcome to the campus fitness center.
2. The pool is on the lower level.
3. Lockers are free, but bring your own lock.
4. Group classes start every hour, and the schedule is posted by the door.
5. If you want to use the climbing wall, sign up at the front desk first.
6. The center closes at ten on weekdays, so plan your workout before then.
7. Visitors are welcome on weekends as long as they come with a student who has a current card.

Take an Interview: four questions

How it works

You have volunteered for a short research interview, or a scholarship or job interview, about one topic: how people study, how they commute, what they do with free time, technology at work. An interviewer on screen asks four questions. After each one, you answer straight away; Skorway's mock gives 45 seconds per answer, and ETS does not publish a time in its documents. There is no preparation, no notes, no second hearing.

The four questions climb:

1. Something about you, with a reason: "What do you usually do at weekends, and why?"
2. A description or a choice, with a reason: "Would you rather study alone or with a group, and why?"
3. Your view on a wider question, usually "one or two ways": "What are one or two ways a city could make commuting easier?"
4. A broad social question: agree or disagree with a view, or the good and bad effects of a change.

Each turn is short, 15 to 40 words, and starts with a small acknowledgement ("I see." "Interesting.") before the next question, as a real interviewer would.

What the scorer listens for

Each answer is scored 0 to 5 on four things: whether it answers the question and develops it; the pace and flow; how easy it is to understand (rhythm and intonation as much as individual sounds); and the range and accuracy of the grammar and vocabulary.

• 5: on topic, developed with reasons or an example, a natural pace, easy to follow, varied and accurate language.
• 4: on topic and developed, perhaps without linking words; a few words take effort; adequate language.
• 3: a short answer with little development; choppy, with fillers; some stretches hard to follow; a limited range.
• 2: barely connected to the question, or mostly the question's own words.
• 1 and 0: isolated words, or nothing.

The difference between a 3 and a 4 is usually development: one reason and one example, said in two or three sentences, instead of one sentence and silence. The annotated band 5 interview answers show what a developed answer sounds like at each of the four questions.

Twenty interview questions to practise with

Five interviews, four questions each, in the test's order. Answer each one aloud for 45 seconds without stopping to plan.

Free time

1. Thank you for joining us. Today I'd like to ask about free time. First, what do you usually do at weekends, and why?
2. If you had a whole free day with no plans, would you rather spend it at home or out somewhere? Why?
3. What are one or two ways people could make better use of their free time?
4. Some people believe that free time is wasted unless it is spent on something useful. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Studying

1. Thanks for talking with me. I'm asking students how they study. First, where do you usually study, and why that place?
2. Do you learn better from a book or from a video? Can you give an example?
3. What are one or two things a school could do to help students study better?
4. Lastly, some people say that students should be allowed to use AI tools for homework. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Getting around

1. Thank you for your time. I'm interested in how people travel in their city. First, how do you usually get to school or work, and why?
2. If you could choose, would you rather live close to the center with a short trip, or farther out with a longer one? Why?
3. What are one or two ways a city could make commuting easier?
4. Finally, more people now work from home. What is one good effect and one bad effect of that for a city?

Food

1. Thanks for joining. I'd like to ask about food. First, do you usually cook at home or eat out, and why?
2. Can you describe a meal that is popular where you live, and why people like it?
3. What are one or two ways a university could help students eat well?
4. Last question. Some people think it is better to grow food locally than to import it. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Technology at work

1. Thank you for taking part. We're asking people about technology at work. First, what piece of technology do you use most in a day, and why?
2. Would you rather have a job where you mostly work with people or mostly with computers? Why?
3. What are one or two ways technology has changed the way people learn a job?
4. Finally, some say technology makes people work more hours, not fewer. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

How the section becomes a band

The eleven items give a raw score from 0 to 55, which ETS converts to a Speaking band from 1 to 6 in half steps. The band is averaged with the other three sections for your overall band. ETS scores every answer with automated scoring and human raters; in its field test, Speaking was the most reliable of the four sections, and its automated and human scores agreed closely.

Skorway's mock scores every Speaking answer twice, independently, with a third pass when the two disagree by more than half a band, and reports a Speaking band on the same 1–6 scale, with each answer marked up: what you said, what came through, your pace, and what to fix.

How long is the TOEFL Speaking section in 2026?

About 8 minutes of answering, for 11 items: seven Listen and Repeat sentences at 8 to 14 seconds each, and four interview answers.

Is there preparation time in TOEFL Speaking now?

No. In both tasks you hear the prompt once and answer at once. That is the biggest change from the old section, and the main thing to practise.

How many questions are in TOEFL Speaking 2026?

Eleven: seven sentences to repeat and four interview questions.

Can I take only the Speaking section?

No. The TOEFL iBT is one test of four sections, and a score report always shows all four bands and the overall band. A programme that only cares about Speaking still needs the whole test.

Hear how you score before test day

Reading about the tasks is one thing; speaking into a microphone with a clock running is another. Skorway's free mock has the full Speaking section, seven sentences and a four-question interview, timed as on test day, with every answer scored twice and marked up: what you said, what came through, your pace, what to fix, and your answer rewritten a band higher. If you have one minute instead of ninety, the free Speaking check scores a single Listen and Repeat sentence on the spot, no account needed.

Checked against ETS's 2026 specification and technical manual on 6 November 2026. TOEFL® is a registered trademark of ETS. Skorway is not endorsed or approved by ETS.