TOEFL Speaking Task 2 – Take an Interview

Speaking Task 2: Take an Interview overview

Now it's time to talk about Speaking Task 2: Take an Interview. This is also something new compared to the old TOEFL format, because before we had no such task. We only had independent and integrated tasks in speaking. Now we have an interview, which consists of four distinct parts, and each answer is up to 45 seconds.

Let's dive into the details of this task. The interviewer is going to ask you a series of questions on a familiar topic. Each response is up to 45 seconds, and you have to speak for no less than 20 seconds. There is no preparation time, same as in Task 1, and your response will start immediately after the interviewer's question. All questions will be related to the same single topic, which will be stated right at the beginning of the task.

The four question types: experience, preference, opinion, prediction

The usual flow of this task is as follows, and you can see it on the screen. Question 1 of the interview usually asks about your personal experience. This is considered the easiest part, because you just have to recall a memory, or you can simply make one up. Nobody is going to check it or judge you if you say something that hasn't actually happened.

For personal experience, the question might be like: “Which faculty or department are you a part of, and why did you choose it?” Obviously, you don't have to be part of a department right now. You can just say “I was studying at the physics faculty” or, for example, “I was studying at the biology faculty,” and this is totally fine. So the first question is usually about your personal experience.

The second question in the interview is about preference. It can be a question like this: “What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them?” It is similar to independent speaking in the old TOEFL format, with questions like: “Would you prefer an easy job with fewer vacation days, or a hard job with a lot of vacation?” So this is about preference.

The third question is usually about opinion. You have to form your opinion on a topic, and it can be stated like: “Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?” You have to give your opinion, then explain and support it. This is also very similar to independent speaking, because, as you remember, in the old TOEFL format of 2025, agree-or-disagree and preference questions appeared only in independent speaking.

So the second and third parts are very similar to the old TOEFL format, and the timing is also the same. Later on, we are going to talk about these similarities and what knowledge from the old TOEFL format you can reuse in the new format.

The last question usually asks for a prediction. For example: “Do you think your university should provide support for this?” Say, “Do you think the university should support you with job interviews?” or “Do you think the university should give you extra knowledge about the industry?”

How the interview is scored

What about the scoring of this task? Well, the scoring is very similar to the old TOEFL format, especially integrated speaking. You can get a full score if you fully address the question, your speech is clear, fluent and well elaborated, you use precise and accurate grammar and vocabulary, and your pronunciation is clear.

As in the old TOEFL format, you are going to be scored by multiple criteria. It is important to understand that in this task you give 4 responses, and the overall score will be the average, taking into account every single response in this task. So you have to be precise all along the way.

To get a score of 4, you usually address the question mostly clearly but still have minor issues, like issues with connectors, pacing or pronunciation. To get 3 points, you speak on the right topic but in a limited way, or you make frequent pauses, or your grammar is limited, or your pronunciation is poor.

Strategy 1: Structure your response

So which strategies can you use in this task? First of all, you have to structure your response. That's what I meant when I said that you can reuse something from the old TOEFL format, because structure was the key point of the old format. We had to give an introduction, or quickly state an opinion: do we agree or disagree, do we choose A or B, do we like going to the sea or to the mountains? We have to stick to one opinion.

We state this opinion with a direct answer, and usually this part takes from 5 to 7 seconds. You partially repeat what was asked. For example, the question asks about your preference: “Do you prefer going to the mountains or to the sea during your vacation?” And you say: “I definitely prefer going to the mountains.” You can repeat the question completely, or you can just state your opinion. Usually this part takes from 5 to 7 seconds.

The next part of your response is developing your reason or giving an example. This is the main part, and usually it takes from 15 to 20 seconds. I would say that here you can make it even shorter. You can speak for around 15 seconds, which is totally fine, because this is only one response out of four in the interview. So keep your focus on two things: first, clarity and pronunciation, and second, giving a valid response to what was asked in this particular part.

The last part of the structure is usually the summary of your response. You usually restate your main point or give some takeaways from your response. So this is the structure, and it is important to keep to it.

Strategies 2 and 3: Functional phrases for each part and question type

Strategy number 2: use proper functional phrases for each part of the response. You are free to review this slide anytime after you finish this lecture. It shows phrases for your response from the beginning to the end.

At the beginning of your response, you can say “In my experience” or “From what I've seen personally.” You can start with these phrases. If you continue by stating the reasons, you can use “The main reason is,” “Another factor is” or “This matters because,” and you go to the main part. If you want to give examples, you can use “For instance,” “A clear example is” or “Recently.”

If you want to generalize, you can say “However,” “Generally,” “Largely” or “To some extent.” These are words to summarize, or to move from the second part to the summary. The summary itself can start with “Overall,” “For these reasons” or “That's why I think,” and then you just repeat what you started with.

Strategy number 3 is to organize the phrases by question type. If it is a personal experience question, you can use the first column. You can say “In my experience,” “I remember when” or “Usually I.” These are all very good phrases that you should try a couple of times during your practice. That way you can find the one that fits you best, and you can actually use it as a template. We are going to talk about templates later in this lecture.

If it is a preference question, you can say “I prefer this because,” “I'd rather choose A than B” or “For me, this works better.” If it is an opinion question, you can say “I believe that,” “In my opinion,” “I agree” or “I disagree.” If it is a prediction question, you could say “I think in the future,” “It's likely that” or “If this continues, then something will happen.” These are the phrases you can review, write down and use in your actual responses.

Strategies 4 and 5: Accuracy, pronunciation and templates

Strategy number 4: accuracy and pronunciation. As in TOEFL 2026 Task 1, accuracy and pronunciation matter in this task as well. You have to focus on pronunciation, and for this you have to keep a steady pace and not chase the interviewer's speed. Sometimes the interviewer's questions can be very fast, as is usually the case with native speakers. You don't have to catch up with the interviewer. That is not the task in TOEFL Speaking. Your task is to focus on accuracy and pronunciation, and you don't have to be as fast as native speakers.

Pronounce every word as clearly as you can: clarity beats rare words. In this task you have to come up with responses, so try to use well-known phrases and expressions that you have used before. Don't rely on rare phrases, phrases you invent yourself, or special expressions that you might have heard only once in your life. Use what worked before. That's why it's very important to practice and select your templates.

And the last strategy: form your templates. Even though you don't have preparation time in this task, you can still use templates. This is very important because, as I mentioned in the previous strategies, you can use openers and words that help you summarize your opinion or link one part of your response with another. Those are the words you need to form your templates, and then you master these templates during practice.

Sample interview on urban life: Question 1 (personal experience)

Now let's go to an example of the Take an Interview task. In this case, you're not going to listen to the audio here; you're going to do that by yourself in the practice part of this block. But I'm going to read it with you, and we're going to check the sample answers for this task. Let's start with this example: an interview about urban life.

The directions say: “In this task, you'll hear the interviewer's questions. Answer clearly and fully, in up to 45 seconds.” The first question: “Thank you for speaking with me today. I'm conducting a study about people's experiences and perceptions of living in a city. I'd like to ask you some questions now. Do you currently live in a big city, a small town or a village?”

Before we proceed to the sample answer, I want to say that if you're familiar with the IELTS test, this type of task is very, very similar to what people get in the IELTS Speaking part, except that the TOEFL is computer-based, while IELTS has an offline format where you speak face to face with an examiner. These are different things, but the task is very similar. So if you have some background or experience with IELTS, this will be easier, because you already understand how this format works.

So let's check the sample answer. This is the first question, and it asks about your personal experience, your story: where do you live now? You can start like this: “I currently live in a big city. I moved here a few years ago for university, and since then I've really enjoyed the variety of opportunities it offers. There are always new places to explore, and the convenience of public transportation makes life much easier compared to smaller towns.”

Have you noticed that the second part of the response gives an example of why it is convenient, why you like it? You state that you live in the city, but you also explain why, so you support this statement. This is exactly the structure strategy we were talking about. You have to follow this strategy to make your response feel complete.

The examiners who listen to your response will understand that you are capable of linking complex parts, because you don't only state a fact. In this case, you don't only say “I live in a big city” or “I live in a village,” and that's all. No, you also give an example and support your point of view. You actually explain why you prefer the big city: because of the convenience of public transportation, which makes your life easier. And this makes your response so much better compared to a purely factual response.

Question 2: Your reaction to cities

Let's go ahead. “That's great. Cities affect people in different ways. Some people find cities dynamic and exciting. Others find that cities are overwhelming and drain them of energy. What kind of reaction do you have to cities? Why do you think you react in this way?” At this point, I'll give you 40 seconds. You can come up with your response and say it out loud or in your head, and then we'll proceed to the sample answer.

OK, let's go to the sample answer. Notice that this question asks about your opinion: “What kind of reaction do you have to cities? Why do you think you react in this way?” This is similar to a preference question, but they also ask what you think about your own reaction. So this is more complicated than just retelling facts from your life or your experience. It is a more complicated question. Notice how the linking words are used in this response, and how wisely they are used.

“For me, cities are exciting rather than overwhelming. I really enjoy the energy, the diversity of people and the fast pace. I think I react this way because I like being surrounded by opportunities, whether they're cultural events, restaurants or career possibilities. Of course, cities can be noisy, but overall, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives for me.”

You can see that the last part makes this response much more mature, because you admit that there are some problems with cities: they can be noisy. “But overall, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives for me.” So this response is clearly complex, because it uses linking words. It also uses an introduction, “For me.” It's a rather simple one, but it is an introduction. So this is a very well-structured response to this question.

Question 3: Do people in cities lead more interesting lives?

Let's go to the next one. “OK. Next, I'd like to ask your opinion. Some people believe that those who live in cities lead more interesting lives. They would argue, for example, that people who live in cities have more access to professional opportunities and interesting leisure activities. Do you agree that people who live in cities lead more interesting lives? Why or why not?”

“I would say yes. People in cities usually have more access to cultural events, entertainment and professional opportunities. For example, in my city there are concerts, exhibitions and networking events almost every week, which can make life feel more dynamic. However, I don't think rural life is less interesting. It can be fulfilling in different ways, like being closer to nature. It really depends on what someone values.”

This question by itself is very, very similar to the independent task of the old TOEFL format. You don't have to follow the exact structure of the old format, but you can reuse the samples, because there are lots of samples available on the Internet, and you can even use them as practice for the opinion question in the Take an Interview task.

Note that usually in independent speaking we state only one opinion and focus on it. This is better because it makes your response easier. Of course, you can make it more complicated, like here, but it is not recommended, because it's easier to follow one straightforward line. That way you won't fall into the trap of thinking about what you should say next because your structure is too complex. So the recommendation is to make it as simple as possible.

Question 4: Should cities create more parks?

And the last one: “Good points. Let me ask you one final question for now. For some time now, researchers have been interested in whether green spaces, such as parks, make people who live in cities happier. Do you think city governments should create more parks in urban areas to promote a general sense of happiness and life satisfaction? Why or why not?”

As you can see, this question is more about prediction. Of course, it is your opinion, but it is your opinion on a more specific topic that you might not be familiar with. So you have to come up with an idea of how you're going to respond to this question.

When you use the practice materials provided in this block, you can record yourself and then check the duration of your response and how well you answered the question. This is also useful. Alternatively, you can use a platform such as TestSucceed. We have more than 10 mock tests, together with separate speaking practice, and you're going to get a score and also suggestions to improve your response.

Let's check the sample response: “Absolutely. I think parks are essential for people's well-being. In cities, urban life can be stressful, and green spaces give people a chance to relax, exercise or simply breathe fresh air. For example, when I visit my local park after a busy day, I always feel calmer and more balanced. If governments invest in more parks, it could improve both mental and physical health, which benefits society as a whole.”

Now you can proceed to the practice and compare your responses to the sample answers provided for each task in the speaking practice.