Task 1 — IndependentDifficulty 4/5

Task 1 — Xã hội & công nghệ

TOEFL Speaking practice questions in the real exam format and timing.

Questions

Question 115s to prepare · 45s to speak

Some cities have banned cars from their centres. Do you think this is a good policy? Why or why not?

Question 215s to prepare · 45s to speak

Do you agree or disagree: social media has done more harm than good to how young people communicate?

Question 315s to prepare · 45s to speak

Should governments spend money on space exploration when problems on Earth remain unsolved? Explain.

Question 415s to prepare · 45s to speak

Some people say technology has made us less patient. Do you agree? Give reasons and examples.

Model answer

Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.

KHUNG TOEFL Task 1 — VAN DE XA HOI (45 giay) VI DU — DE: "Do you agree: schools should teach personal finance?" "I agree that schools should teach personal finance as a required subject. The main reason is that financial decisions — budgeting, debt, investment — affect everyone throughout their adult lives, yet most people learn about them only through making expensive mistakes. In my own experience, I graduated without understanding how compound interest worked or how to evaluate a loan. This led to some poor decisions in my mid-twenties that took several years to recover from. Looking back, a one-semester course would have prevented most of that. I can see the other side — some argue that financial education is more effectively delivered by parents or through lived experience — but I still think structured school instruction provides a baseline that not everyone receives at home." DE KHAC TRONG CHU DE XA HOI: "Is social media harmful to society?" → mostly harmful: comparison, distraction, misinformation "Should universities be free?" → yes: equity, public good, long-term investment "Should voting be compulsory?" → no: forced participation ≠ informed participation GHI CHU VE DONG Y/KHONG DONG Y: Neu ban dong y: lap truong > ly do > vi du ca nhan > nhuong bo ngan Neu ban khong dong y: khong dong y ro rang ngay cau dau, roi giai thich vi sao KHONG o giua: "There are advantages and disadvantages" = mat lap truong = mat diem

Vocabulary you can use today

compound interest
lai kep — tai sao quan trong va bi bo qua trong truong hoc
evaluate a loan
danh gia mot khoan vay — ki nang tai chinh co ban
a baseline that not everyone receives
muc nen tang khong phai ai cung duoc hoc
structured school instruction
day hoc co cau truc trong truong — doi lap voi hoc qua trai nghiem
through lived experience
qua trai nghiem thuc te — thanh ngu trong giao duc
Looking back
nhin lai — thoi gian bieu hoi ky tu nhien

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

Cau dong y/khong dong y (agree/disagree) trong TOEFL can CHON MOT BEN NGAY TU CAU DAU. Khong doi 45 giay moi chot. "I agree that..." la cau dau tien. Vi du tu "kinh nghiem ban than" la loai vi du ghi diem cao nhat trong TOEFL Task 1. "In my own experience, I graduated without understanding..." cu the va duoc tin hon vi du ly thuyet. Nhuong bo o cuoi ("I can see the other side...") tao cau phuc tap (complex sentence) va tang Language Use. Nhung phai ngan — 1 menh de. Nhuong bo dai la mat lap truong.

/ɪ/ trong 'specifically', 'typically', 'independently'am cuoi /d/ trong 'structured', 'required', 'delivered'/θ/ trong 'thought', 'throughout'trong am 'insTRUction', 'comPOUND', 'fiNANcial'

Try this topic and see your band

Record 90 seconds. You get four criteria, the exact words that slipped, and your own sentence rewritten two levels up.

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