Task 1 — IndependentDifficulty 3/5

Task 1 — Công việc & cuộc sống

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

Questions

Question 115s to prepare · 45s to speak

Some people prefer a job with a high salary but long hours; others prefer lower pay and more free time. Which would you choose, and why?

Question 215s to prepare · 45s to speak

Do you agree or disagree: working from home makes people less productive than working in an office?

Question 315s to prepare · 45s to speak

Some people plan every detail of their day; others prefer to stay flexible. Which approach suits you better, and why?

Question 415s to prepare · 45s to speak

Is it better to change jobs every few years, or to stay with one employer for a long time? Explain your view.

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 — CONG VIEC / NGHE NGHIEP (45 giay) VI DU — DE: "Would you rather have a job you love with a low salary or a high-paying job you dislike?" "I would rather have a job I love, even if it means accepting a lower salary. The main reason is that work takes up the majority of waking hours, and spending that time doing something genuinely engaging produces better outcomes — both for quality of work and for wellbeing. In my own experience, I worked briefly in finance, which paid well but didn't interest me. I found my concentration would drift, and I'd frequently watch the clock. When I moved to data analysis, something I genuinely liked, my performance improved and I stopped counting down to the end of the day. This showed me that engagement is productive, not just pleasant. While a high salary obviously reduces financial stress, I believe the long-term cost of spending forty or more hours a week in an environment you dislike outweighs that benefit." DE KHAC TRONG CHU DE CONG VIEC: "work for a big company vs small company" → small: more responsibilities, faster growth "work independently vs with a team" → team: more varied, mutual support "stable job vs risky but exciting job" → depends on life stage (honest answer) LUU Y VE THOI LUONG: TOEFL Task 1: 45 giay, khoang 110-130 tu. Nhieu hoc vien noi qua dai → giam diem vi het gio giua cau. Khi luyen: dem giay bang dong ho sau khi noi. Phai ket thuc truoc giay 43.

Vocabulary you can use today

waking hours
nhung gio thuc — toan bo thoi gian hoat dong trong ngay
genuinely engaging
that su thu vi, cuon hut — manh hon 'interesting'
watch the clock
nhin dong ho (do chan) — thanh ngu thuong dung
count down to the end of the day
dem nguoc gio tan ca — bieu hien khong thich cong viec
outweighs that benefit
vuot qua loi ich do — tu hay trong cau nuong bo
long-term cost
chi phi dai han — dat gia ve tinh than, khong chi tien

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

De "high salary vs love job" rat pho bien. Dap an "love job" de noi chuyen hon vi ban co the dung kinh nghiem ca nhan. Nhuong lai: dap an "high salary" can chung minh bang luan di cung voi chi phi doi song, ho gia dinh, etc. Vi du ca nhan phai la tinh huong CU THE CO KET QUA RO RANG. "I found my concentration would drift" la tinh huong. "My performance improved and I stopped counting down" la ket qua. Ca hai phan deu can. Canh bao: TOEFL cham het giao tiep, nhu khong thi, trong 45 giay. Ket thuc som 2-3 giay la tot hon bi cut giua cau.

/ɪ/ trong 'genuinely', 'typically', 'independently'am cuoi /d/ trong 'disliked', 'improved', 'engaged'/θ/ trong 'thought', 'three'trong am 'outWEIGHS', 'enGAGEment', 'FINance'

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.

Related topics