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TOEFL iBT Take an Interview: practice prompt 6

One real-format Take an Interview prompt with a model spoken answer and notes on why it scores. Read the interviewer's question, take a few seconds to plan, then answer for about a minute. Speak in full sentences and give a reason for what you say.

The prompt

Talk about a skill you would like to have but have never had time to learn. Why does it interest you, and what has stopped you so far?

15 seconds to prepare, up to 75 seconds to speak.

Hear a strong answer

One way this question can be answered well, spoken at the pace and length the task expects. Listen for where the pauses fall, then try it again in your own words and with your own examples.

I'd love to learn to swim properly, and I mean properly, not the surviving I can manage now. It interests me partly because I grew up near water and never learned, which feels like a small hole in my life, and partly because everyone who swims describes it the same way, as the one hour where they can't think about work. What has stopped me is honestly embarrassment more than time. Adult beginner classes exist at the pool ten minutes from my flat, and I've looked them up twice and closed the page both times. Saying that out loud makes it obvious how weak the excuse is. I think this is the year I book it.

Why this earns band 6

  1. Every part of the question is covered: the skill, why it interests them, and what has stopped them.
  2. An honest obstacle is more convincing than 'I have no time', which examiners hear constantly.
  3. Natural spoken features (I mean, honestly, out loud) keep the fluency sounding unrehearsed.

Questions about this answer

What band is this model answer?

It is written to earn the top of the TOEFL iBT scale, band 6, and the notes under it say why.

How long do I get for this prompt?

15 seconds to prepare and up to 75 seconds to speak.

What should I watch for in my own answer?

Every part of the question is covered: the skill, why it interests them, and what has stopped them.

Answer it yourself, then see your score

Record your own answer and get a score with your transcript in about a minute. Your first test is free, no sign-up.

Record my answer

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