Speaking: Read Aloud and Picture Narration
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| stress/stres/ | Extra prominence given to a syllable or word through features such as loudness, length or pitch. |
| intonation/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃn/ | The rise and fall of the voice across a sentence. |
| narrate/nəˈreɪt/ | narrate |
"Let's eat, Grandma"
- Read it with a pause after eat: you are inviting Grandma to dinner. Without the pause, Grandma is dinner.
- Pauses, stress and a steady speed carry meaning. The Speaking test listens for them.
The Speaking test
- 4 tasks in about 18 minutes, recorded on a computer: Read Aloud, Picture Narration, Non-academic Listen-Speak and Academic Listen-Speak.
- ETS-trained raters score each recording; the total is 0–16. This lesson covers Tasks 1 and 2; the next lesson covers the Listen-Speak tasks.
Put the four Speaking tasks in test order.
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Tasks 1–4 in this order, about 18 minutes in total.
Task 1: Read Aloud
- You have one minute to read a short passage silently, then one minute to read it aloud into the microphone.
- Use the silent minute well: find the hard words, mark where to pause, and decide which words to stress 重音.
- Pause at commas and full stops: "The library is open from eight in the morning | until five in the afternoon, || Monday to Friday."
- Stress the important information: up to four books, within two weeks. Let your intonation 语调 rise a little in a friendly ending: "We hope you enjoy reading with us!"
Listen to a model Read Aloud. Notice the pauses and the stressed numbers.
Match each part with its time.
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Both tasks give one minute to prepare and one minute to record.
Where is the best place to pause? "Students may borrow up to four books at a time ___ books must be returned within two weeks."
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Pause at the end of a sentence. Pausing inside a phrase like up to four books breaks the meaning.
Listen to the model, then record yourself reading the same passage. Use one minute to read it silently first.
Compare your recording with the model: the pauses after each sentence and the stressed numbers carry the meaning.
Task 2: Picture Narration
- You see six pictures that tell a story. You have one minute to prepare and one minute to narrate 讲述 the story.
- Say something about every picture, in order. Use past tenses and time links: first, then, after that, suddenly, finally.
Six pictures:
- Mei misses the school bus. 2. She walks to school in the rain. 3. She arrives in class very wet. 4. The teacher gives her a towel. 5. Her classmates laugh kindly. 6. Mei dries off and smiles.
Story start: "One morning, Mei got to the bus stop just as the bus was leaving, so she had to walk to school in the rain. When she arrived, she was completely wet…"
Which is the best first sentence for the Mei picture story?
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It starts a story with a time, a character, a problem and a reason (so).
Turn pictures into a story
- Don't describe pictures one by one ("In picture one there is a girl"). Tell a connected story with reasons: so, because, when.
- Give the character a name, add a feeling (she felt embarrassed) and finish with the ending in picture 6.
Which sentence keeps the story in the past tense?
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Both verbs (arrived, gave) are past simple.
Tell the Mei story from the six pictures in one minute. Prepare for one minute first, then record. Pictures: 1 misses the bus · 2 walks in the rain · 3 arrives wet · 4 teacher gives a towel · 5 classmates laugh kindly · 6 Mei dries off and smiles.
A strong one-minute story covers all six pictures in order, stays in the past tense and links each step with a reason.
Check yourself
- Record yourself and listen back. Did you include all six pictures? Were your sentences complete? Could a listener follow the story without seeing the pictures?
- For Read Aloud: did you pause at full stops, say the numbers clearly and keep a steady speed?
Common mistakes
- Reading aloud as fast as possible. Clear pauses and stress matter more than speed.
- Stopping after four pictures because time runs out. Practise with a timer so you reach picture 6.
- Changing tense in the middle of the story (she walks … she arrived).
In Read Aloud, the fastest reading gets the best result.
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Raters listen for clear pauses, stress and intonation, not speed.
Recap
- Read Aloud: 1 minute silent + 1 minute aloud; pause, stress, steady speed.
- Picture Narration: 1 minute to prepare + 1 minute to speak; all six pictures, past tense, linked with reasons.
- Practice here is self-checked; only ETS raters give a Speaking score.
Official sources
- Task timings checked on 15 November 2026 in the TOEFL Junior Test Taker Handbook (ETS, PDF).
- Official samples with scored responses: Read Aloud (ETS) and Picture Narration (ETS). The texts and the model recording here are original.