Questions about schedules and documents

Questions 8–10 of the TOEIC Speaking test show you a document on screen: for example, a conference programme, a travel itinerary, an interview schedule or a training timetable. You have 45 seconds to read it before the questions begin. Then a speaker, often someone phoning for information, asks you three questions about it.

• For each question you have 3 seconds to prepare.
• You have 15 seconds to answer questions 8 and 9.
• You have 30 seconds to answer question 10, and you hear question 10 two times.

The information is all on the screen, so this task is not about ideas. It tests whether you can find the right detail fast and say it accurately, completely and in clear spoken English.

Documents use notes and abbreviations, not sentences. Reading them aloud word for word (Ten fifteen, eleven, Room three B) sounds like a list and may confuse the listener. Turn them into full sentences, with the right prepositions:

• at + a time: at nine thirty
• on + a day or date: on Thursday, on the twelfth of November
• in + a room, a month or part of the day: in Room 204, in May, in the afternoon
• from… to / until… for a period: from ten fifteen to eleven

Say abbreviations in full: Q&A → a question-and-answer session, TBC → still to be confirmed, Rm → Room, Dept. → department, a.m. / p.m. → in the morning / in the afternoon or evening. Room numbers are often said digit by digit: Room 204 → Room two-oh-four.

• Question 8 has two parts (what time and where), and the answer covers both in two short sentences. It also adds on the fifth floor from the title of the document, which makes the answer complete.
• Question 9 is based on wrong information. The candidate corrects it politely (Actually, I'm afraid that's not quite right), explains what Maria Lopez really does, and then gives the correct leader and the time.
• Question 10 starts with the number of items (Kevin Osei is leading two sessions), then uses The first one is… The second one is… For each session, the answer gives the title, the time and the place, plus the useful note meet him at reception.
• Notes become speech: 10:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. → from ten forty-five until twelve; Room 503 → Room five-oh-three.
• Timing: each answer fits inside its time at a calm, natural pace (about 30 words for 15 seconds, about 60 words for 30 seconds).

Set a timer and read the conference programme for 45 seconds, as in the real test. Then answer questions 8, 9 and 10 below without looking at the model answers. Each question gives you 3 seconds to prepare. For question 10, read the question twice before you start, because in the test you hear it two times.