TOEFL 2026 Speaking Practice — Level Easy (for score 80+) #37

Listen to each question and give a spoken response. Aim to speak for 20–30 seconds per answer.

Score 100 — Perfect

I remember a time when my smartphone was a total lifesaver. I was visiting a small cafe in Seoul, and I really wanted to order this signature dessert, but the menu was entirely in traditional Chinese characters. I felt pretty lost, to be honest. So, I decided to use the camera feature on my phone to translate the text in real-time. It was actually quite **pivotal** because, without it, I would have just ordered a plain coffee. As a result, I was able to enjoy this amazing green tea cake that I never would have found otherwise. Not only that, but it made me feel much more confident about exploring on my own. It’s **inherently** helpful to have that kind of technology in your pocket, and it definitely saved my afternoon that day.

133 words

Score 80 — Good

I remember a time when I was trying to find a new restaurant for my friend’s birthday party. It was in a really small street, so I got totally lost because the address was confusing. I felt a bit stressed out because everyone was waiting for me. Then, I pulled out my phone and used a map app to find the exact location. It was super helpful because it gave me step-by-step directions, and I finally found the place after just a few minutes. I think my phone is just really important for things like that, you know? It helped me save the day and have a great time with my friends.

112 words

Score 100 — Perfect

In my daily life, I actually keep my phone on silent most of the time because I find constant buzzing to be incredibly distracting. I mean, I’m a student, so I really need to stay focused when I’m studying in the library. If my phone pings every few minutes, I lose my train of thought, and it becomes a **pivotal** challenge to get back to my work. Instead of checking alerts all day, I set aside specific times, maybe once every two hours, to catch up on messages. This approach has been **profoundly** helpful for my productivity. For instance, last week during my finals, I didn’t get distracted by social media updates at all, which helped me finish my papers early. So yeah, keeping my notifications off is definitely the best way for me to manage my time.

138 words

Score 80 — Good

In my daily life, I actually keep my phone on silent mode most of the time. I know some people like to hear every ping, but for me, it is just too distracting. When I am studying or working on my projects, I really need to stay focused. If my phone keeps buzzing, I feel like I have to check it immediately, and then I lose my concentration. So, I just turn off all my notifications and only check my messages whenever I take a break. It helps me get a lot more work done during the day because I am not constantly interrupted by things like that. It just works better for me.

114 words

Score 100 — Perfect

Personally, I strongly believe that smartphones have made our lives way more convenient, even though they can be a bit distracting sometimes. I mean, the ability to access information instantly is just a game changer. For instance, last month I was trying to fix a leaky pipe under my kitchen sink, and honestly, I had no clue what I was doing. So, I just pulled up a quick tutorial video on my phone, and it guided me through the whole process step-by-step. Because of this, I fixed it in like ten minutes without needing a plumber. It was such a **pivotal** moment for me because it saved me a lot of money and time. Not only that, but having maps and banking in my pocket is **inherently** useful for my daily routine. So yeah, the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

140 words

Score 80 — Good

Personally, I strongly believe that smartphones have made our lives way more convenient. I mean, I use my phone for pretty much everything every single day. For example, whenever I need to go somewhere new, I just open a map app and it tells me exactly how to get there. It saves me so much time because I don’t get lost anymore. Also, I can check my emails or do some school work even when I’m on the bus. It’s just really helpful to have all that information in my pocket. So, even though some people say it’s distracting, I think the benefits are definitely better than the drawbacks.

109 words

Score 100 — Perfect

I think it would be a really positive change to have phone-free zones in places like cafeterias. I mean, it’s so common now to walk into a lunchroom and see everyone just staring at their screens instead of talking. Personally, I remember last month at my office, my team went out for lunch, but we were all just checking emails or scrolling through social media. It felt like we were physically present but mentally miles away. If we had a no-phone policy, it would be much easier to have genuine conversations. It’s actually quite profound how much better you connect with people when there aren’t any digital distractions. So, I’m all for it, because these zones could really help us move away from that disproportionate focus on our devices and back toward real human interaction.

135 words

Score 80 — Good

I think it would be a really good idea to have phone-free zones in places like cafeterias. Um, I mean, nowadays everyone is always looking at their screens instead of talking to the people right next to them. If we had rules against using phones in those areas, it would force us to actually have conversations and connect with each other. Like, when I’m at lunch with my friends, we sometimes just scroll through social media and it feels kind of lonely. So, if we put our phones away, we could really enjoy our time together more. It’s definitely a simple way to make our daily interactions feel much more meaningful and real.

113 words