One of the tops on the list of regularly recurring education topic prompts in the DET read then speak education topic. The majority of test-takers are at ease with the topic and material. The challenge is the format: 20 seconds to read a prompt and provide sub-questions as guides, and then 90 seconds to speak from both their and their audience’s perspective, speaking continuously and without rehearsing or speaking without rewind.
It loads directly into each of the education prompt types in the DET, each of the corresponding model answers, and the DET sub-question sequence to help you from getting your content out before 90 seconds.
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The DET read then speak education topic prompts ask you to discuss an actual experience in your life pertaining to the education topic. There are sub-questions to help you explore what was happening, what you did and what you learned.
Identifying phrases: “Describe a time when…”, “Talk about an experience…”, “Think about a moment in your education…”
Response structure: What the situation was + what you did + what you learned from it
Written prompt on screen:
Describe a subject or area of study you found particularly challenging at school or university. What aspects were challenging? What did you do to try and achieve the challenge? What did you learn out of the experience?
Model answer:
To make no mistake about it, there was not a more difficult subject in college that I had to deal with as a student. But it was not so much a problem of mathematics as of the thinking that mathematics called upon. My past learning has helped to identify the ability to remember and reproduce information. I had to form a mental model about the nature of probability and transfer that to new contexts, and that was a totally different form of thinking.
I took the first semester strategy to reread the book chapters and I did very little better there. In the 2nd semester I did a lot of homework each day after class where I solved example problems. This transition pointed me in an entirely new direction that reading it again didn’t.
This lesson was about knowing and being able to use information. I’ve carried that distinction with me since onwards in my approach of learning in other subjects.
Word count: 127. Time target: 80 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
Write a description of a teacher, lecturer or mentor who had a positive influence on your learning. What sort of people were they and who did they teach? What was it that made them successful? In what ways have they helped you outside of school?
Model answer:
My post secondary school English teacher did more to influence the way I write than anyone else in school. The key to her effectiveness was not teaching grammar and literary analysis. That’s because she always treated our ideas seriously, even if they weren’t presented very well.
She would give back the essays that she had seen had problems, obviously structured, and in the margin, she would put a question like “Is this what you believe, or what I think you would have liked to hear? I changed how I wrote, because of that question. It made me conscious that what I was doing was optimizing for what I think teachers like vs. what they think.
Outside the classroom, the ability to make judgments about what I think, versus what’s in the ‘mainstream’ has proved helpful in situations that are not English related.
Word count: 130. Time target: 81 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
Talk about an occasion when there was a lot of pressure and/or not enough time to study or to do academic work. What were the circumstances? How did you manage the situation? What were some insights from the experience that might apply to your own practices or working?
Model answer:
In my senior year at the university, I had to write a major research paper and worked three jobs a week to pay rent. There was a time limit and a great deal of work was required. I had about 6 weeks to create something that takes 12 weeks.
However, my idea was to keep the paper short, and to concentrate the work done, instead of distributing it out thinly. I was able to narrow the question significantly and that meant that there were fewer sources and greater focus on each source. I also had a rule of getting one substantial section completed in each study session, not the number of hours.
The experience showed that I would be an awful lot more effective in constrained work than the experience did show me. When I have a lot of time to do something, it increases my level of anxiety, not decreases. The pressure helped to clarify the decisions made and enhanced the quality of the work.
Word count: 130. Time target: 81 seconds.
General Topic prompts in the DET read then speak, ask about or give the meaning of an aspect in the field of education (a topic) and not a personal experience. Sub-questions lead you to be specific on what you are talking about, to give your reasons for a topic, and to give a specific observation or example.
Identifying phrases: “Describe the role of…”, “How has… changed?”, “What is the importance of…”, “Explain the relationship between…”
Response structure: What the topic is + how it works or why it matters + a specific example or observation
Written prompt on screen:
Explain how technology is important in today’s education. In what ways has technology impacted learning for students? What are the greatest advantages? What are any insignificant restrictions?
Model answer:
In today’s education, the impact of technology on students’ access to information has transformed the way they learn. Wherever you went before digital access, the quality of that place’s library was a significant factor in the depth of your learning. With the help of technology, that got taken down right away. The research databases and courses that students enjoy at well-funded urban universities are now available to the student in a regional zone.
The greatest merit is the increase of autonomy in students’ learning. Students can “go at their speed,” and go over a topic several times without any social pressure from a class to keep up.
The biggest problem with them is that they are distractible. It’s the same tool that puts the student into the lecture that puts him/her into social media. Technology has made education more accessible but not more effective; and their difference is important.
Word count: 131. Time target: 82 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
Explain the difference between how “one’s ancestors” learned and how people are learning today. What are the greatest changes? What are some of the reasons for these changes? In your opinion, are the changes a positive or negative one?
Model answer:
Active search is the biggest change in the way that people learn. People who studied in former decades usually got the information from a fixed curriculum given by teachers and books. The possibilities of what you can learn are truly limitless today but what is increasingly tougher is the ability to navigate this, discern the sources, and integrate ideas from various fields of knowledge.
This transformation has been mostly brought about by the Internet, and then some, but this transformation is in part spurred by the way that humans are producing and distributing knowledge.
I take the view that the change overall has been beneficial but there are challenges it has created that have not been taken up quickly by education systems! Access has increased (this is obviously a positive thing). It is another and more challenging question if improvement in understanding is parallel with increased access.
Word count: 125. Time target: 78 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
Describe what you think the purpose of university education is in today’s world. What is the purpose now that it used to be? What value is there in a university education besides the qualification? Do you feel like the present system works to accomplish this?
Model answer:
University education has not, in practice, just remained the same, in its purpose. Universities have a traditional mandate to supply students with critical thinking and prepare them for civic and professional life. What dominates most students’ life experience these days is probably getting a credential that is required for a job.
That all-important shift affects the way students learn. If a degree is mostly a degrees, the student maximises for the grades and not the understanding. In some disciplines they are quite different, in others they are not the same.
The skills that students need to develop that go beyond the qualification is the capacity to “think critically about evidence and make credible arguments. This will greatly depend on the institution for its implementation in the current system. Some of the best universities are small classes with active learning styles as opposed to large lecture programmes with high student to staff ratios.
Word count: 129. Time target: 81 seconds.
In an opinion prompt from the DET read then speak education topic, you will be asked to strongly declare your stance on a debated topic in the field of education. Sub-questions lead you on in expressing your position, reasoning why, and accounting for complexity or the other side.
Identifying phrases: “Do you think…”, “Is it better to…”, “Some people argue that…”, “Should schools…”
Response structure: Clear position in the first sentence + main reason + acknowledgement of the other side + conclusion
Written prompt on screen:
There are some who feel formal education is necessary and some who feel the same about self-learning or learning outside of school. What were the major good things about each approach? Which one has a better long-term effect? Are the two able to be effective together?
Model answer:
There is no such thing as a substitute for formal education and self-directed learning. It’s a mistake to think of them as rivals. Self-directed learning may not have a plan or goals, face recrimination from others without an external context, or have access to a meaningful body of knowledge that is missing in their personal interests.
With self-directed learning, deeper engagement with specific areas generally follows, as the motivation is internal. Individuals who acquire the skill for curiosity’s sake will probably acquire more than those who acquire the same skill to meet a requirement for a curriculum.
Collaborating as a pair seems to be their magic formula, with one being a map and the other a self-directed learner. The people who obtain qualifications and then keep developing them on their own, are the most educated persons that I know in any area.
Word count: 123. Time target: 77 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
There are some teachers who say that schools ought to focus more on practical and real-life skills like financial skills, critical thinking skills, and communication skills. If you think that schools are not emphasizing these skills at this moment, do you agree? Should they be responsible for giving them their education?
Model answer:
I agree that schools focus on theory too much, but most useful when specific as to what skills and why they are important.
Their financial literacy comes straight to mind as the best example. In adulthood most people will be responsible for the care of a budget, learn about debt and choose how to save money. But this is not what is typically taught in secondary school. Many adults face these decisions with no sense of a conceptual framework, and get sub-optimal results when scaled up.
Critical thinking is more controversial inasmuch as it is not so easily taught as a course. Grows out of investigating challenging texts, argument writing, and arguing points. It will take some time to decide whether schools are under-emphasising its importance or failing to teach the curriculum deeply enough.
Most of the young people who don’t learn financial literacy at school nor from their families don’t learn it until they need it. It is a mistake to avoid.
Word count: 145. Time target: 90 seconds.
Written prompt on screen:
The debate over the effectiveness of online learning is on-going with people arguing both sides of the issue. What are the big pluses and minuses to each format? Under what circumstances is one more effective than the other?
Model answer:
For some students in some contexts, online learning is not as effective as face-to-face learning. The comparison will vary based on what is being learned, who is learning it and the resources available.
For those motivated adult learners ranging from higher order conceptual materials, online learning equates to classroom instruction. Flexibility for pause, rewind, and revisiting options is a good offset to the lack of a live teacher. Class learning yields better results with younger students or for content that could be used in the moment for feedback and discussion.
The mixed evidence on learning outcomes is, in part, due to the highly variable quality of online courses. A well-designed course which uses interactive and provides a tutor is a very different thing to a recorded lecture series however. It is not so much the format as it is the design of the learning experience, and the learner motivation.
Word count: 130. Time target: 81 seconds.
The sub-questions in DET education prompts for reading and speaking are the least utilized item of all the questions in the task. At the beginning of the think-pair-share activity, most of the test takers will only look at them during the 20 second reading time; when they get on the floor and start speaking, they will forget all about them.
Sub-questions in DET read then speak education prompts are not questions to be answered independently, but are a sequence guide. Each sub-question is similar to equating to about one-third of your 90-second answer.
For a prompt with three sub-questions:
Within the 20-second reading window, locate a specific answer that applies to each sub-question, and remember these 3 answers to be anchors.
Before speaking on Prompt 1:
Practise the three anchors, in order, when you begin speaking. Once completed on Anchor 1, add another specific detail and proceed to the next. If you are running short of time in approaching Anchor 3, consider wrapping it up as one sentence instead of something you do not want to do. The worst-case scenario for a DET read then speak education topic response scenario is where only one of the sub-questions in the topic is answered in great detail and the remaining ones are ignored.
Instead of “learn”: acquire, develop, consolidate, build understanding of, internalise
Instead of “teacher”: educator, mentor, academic, facilitator, instructor
Instead of “difficult”: demanding, conceptually challenging, cognitively intensive, technically complex
Instead of “good at”: demonstrate proficiency in, perform consistently well in, show aptitude for
Instead of “understand”: grasp, make sense of, build a working model of, engage meaningfully with
Connectors for DET read then speak education topic responses: “What made this significant was…”, “The broader implication of this is…”, “Looking back, the most useful thing I took from this was…”, “The distinction that matters here is…”
Ignoring the sub-questions. Those students who neglect to respond to the individual parts of the question will answer in a long paragraph, focusing on one part of a question and then running out of time before the end of 90 seconds. Use the three sub-questions to mark sectioning in your DET read then speak education response.
Using multiple words to restate the prompt before responding. You prompted me with a difficult topic and so a non-natural response starts as follows: You asked me about a hard topic so a hard topic is one hard topic that I found difficult was… wastes 8-10 seconds and conveys the message to the AI scorer that the answer is not being given in a natural manner.
Using placeholder language. I learned a lot and it improved my skills. It is the exact same thing as not learning anything, no improvement. Replace it each time it appears what did you do to learn it, in what way did your skill improve, how. This is the one most frequently recurring problem area among learners’ responses in education topics in DET read then speak.
Going under in no time. Add a forward looking if you answered all three parts in less than 20 seconds. The extension line of this Read then Talk/Read then Speak education response is always, “This has continued to impact my approach to my new learning situation.”
Daily 15-minute routine:
Minutes 1-2: Choose an education topic prompt (from one of the following) and have one DET read it aloud. Read the prompt and sub-questions once! Notice the 3 anchors that you have. Don’t write something down!
Mins. 2-6: Write the entire 90 second answer without stopping. Continue speaking although you are unsure during your response.
Mins 6–10: listen to the recording again. Be aware of 3 things: Make sure that you answered all 3 parts, that you used at least 2 words from the words list where everyone’s responses did very well, and that you maintained a consistent position throughout your answer.
Return to the prompt 10-15 minutes later and record it again after applying what you noticed. Compare both recordings.
Weekly education topic rotation for DET read then speak practice:
There are 2-3 sub-questions under most DET read then speak education prompts for the topics.
These are presented underneath the principal statement on the prompt, typically with the introductory words “You might want to consider:” followed by a colon and a series of comma-separated items.
The two sub-questions will have you allocate about 45 seconds per section. There are 3 sub-questions each of which takes about 30 seconds. In both cases you’ll expect responses taking 90 seconds.
Yes. Each of the sub-questions of a DET read then speak education prompt is the whole question. Incomplete response to only one or two questions in a three-part question prompts the AI scorer that only some of the content in the prompt is addressed.
If he or she answers 1 or 2 of the 3 questions in a prompt, the resulting answer will be judged as incomplete for the AI scorer, both for its coherence and for its coverage of the request.
The aim is to respond to the sub-question rather than completing each response with an exhaustive answer but indicating it with at least one sentence to each question.
Deep teams are not normally as productive as balanced teams with a moderate depth because they are the ones that keep sending back runners for good coverage of other sub questions.
Extend, do not stop if you’ve finished education topic response with time remaining, if you finish your DET read.
The next obvious extensions to education prompts are a connection to the student’s inherent life, a general reflection on education or a qualification of the previous statement.
For example: “I believe this is something that most students experience but not something that is discussed very directly” or “Though, I also should add that, this experience may not be reflected in other contexts.” Both add substantial, rather than filler, substance.
No. The DET read then speak education topic is a scored Adaptive task which will affect your overall DET score and your Conversation Subscore.
The Speaking Sample is an assessed video listened to by the university admissions team, but is not scored as part of the actual test.
All programs have to perform a one-time evaluation of their Read Then Speak.Read Then Speak appears in the adaptive test and is judged by the AI scoring system. The Speaking Sample is assessed by humans and at the end. Both play a vital role but demand different evaluation methods and have different applications.
The DET read then speak education task is a major component of your score for Conversation, and a minor component for Production, in your DET score report.
These two subscores relate to the capacity to produce spoken English upon instruction, something Read Then Speak is designed to assess.
If a university has minimum Conversation subscore requirements in addition to their overall conversation score, then your performance on DET read then speak education topics will count towards meeting those subscore requirements.
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