Tips for IELTS Speaking
Makeup of the test: On completion of three other modules (listening, reading & writing) candidate has to appear the speaking test before the examiner. Depending on the centre schedule it may begin in the afternoon on the day or by a given time slot.
There are three errands or parts to the test which takes the form of an interview usually lasting between 11 & 14 minutes: ¾ Part 1 Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes) ¾ Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes) ¾ Part 3 Two-way discussions (4-5 minutes)
The tasks test your ability to perform the following purposes in English:
provide personal and non-personal information
state & give reason for opinions
build suggestions
sum up
speculate
express a first choice
make comparisons & discuss contrasts
share personal experiences
explore
repair dialogue & paraphrase
Process of the test
The test is conducted by one examiner. He or she asks all the questions and assesses you. The test is recorded on audio cassette. You will be taken to the examiner’s room where you will be asked to sit either opposite or at right angles to the examiner. The examiner will then switch on the cassette recorder and start the test.
Marking
Your performance will be assessed on the criteria below:
Fluency & Coherence
Being able to keep going
to talk at a normal rate without unnatural pauses and hesitations.
Being able to link ideas and language together clearly so the examiner understands you.
Lexical Resource
How to prepare for IELTS – Speaking
Having the vocabulary which enables you to express yourself while talking about both familiar and unfamiliar topics or being able to get around any vocabulary gaps without hesitation.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Being able to use a variety of grammatical structures appropriately.
Making as few grammatical mistakes as possible.
Being understood despite making grammatical mistakes.
Pronunciation
Being able to use English pronunciation features like stress and intonation naturally. Not causing the examiner any problems in understanding what you are saying.
The examiner will give you a score from 1 to 9 for each of these factors. They will be converted into one final score between 1 and 9.
Part 1 Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes)
The examiner will introduce himself or herself and confirm your identity. He or she will then ask you a number of general questions about yourself to try and make you feel relaxed. You may be asked about your home or studies. Then you will be asked one or two more sets of questions on familiar topics such as your interests, your country, your family or types of things you like in various categories such as food, clothes, holidays etc. The questions come from an examiner ‘frame’ (pre-determined questions) so the examiner will not necessarily follow-up with questions based on what you say. The more questions that are asked on a specific topic the more difficult they tend to be. However, you do not have to express a point of view or justify it in this part.
Some typical questions/prompts might be:
Where do you come from?
What is your home like?
Tell me about your family.
Tell me about your job/studies.
Is there anything you dislike about your job/studies?
What type of transport do you use most?
Do you like reading?
What kind of television programmes do you watch?
Tell me about a film you have seen recently.
Do you have a pet?
What kind of food do you like?
How often do you go shopping?
What’s your favourite festival? Why?
How do people celebrate this festival?
How to do Part 1
. •Listen to the questions carefully.
. •Give full answers to the questions if possible but don’t anticipate related questions. For example, if you are asked where you live a suitable answer would be ‘I live in the new territories – in a village just outside Sai Kung, called Pak Tam.’ NOT ‘I live in Sai Kung. It’s a really nice town with quite a large population and lots of seafood restaurants. It’s a lovely place to live as it’s in the countryside. I have lived there for ten years.’ as this sounds
How to prepare for IELTS – Speaking
like a prepared answer and the examiner’s next question might be
‘What’s Sai Kung like?’.
•Don’t give one or two word answers as the examiner can only rate you on what he or she hears.
•Make sure you relate what you say to what the examiner asks. For example,
Examiner: Do you like reading?
You: Yes, I dobut I don’t get much time to readthese days.
How to prepare for Part 1
•Make a list of possible topics you could be interviewed on e.g. your home your country your job your interests your school your family food festivals clothes books films transport etc.
•Write questions for each of your topics and get a family member or friend to ask you the questions or put them on an audio cassette and test yourself responding to them.
.•Record yourself answering the questions and listen to see how you can improve your responses.
•Make sure you know all the vocabulary necessary to talk about these topics. Practice the pronunciation of any new vocabulary.
•Think about the language that will be useful e.g. ways of expressing likes & dislikes linkers like ‘even though’ and ‘unless’ tenses to talk about the past and present and your experiences
e.g. ‘I’ve never been to Europe.’ or ‘I went to London for a holiday in 1998.’
Practice for Part 1 Books in the SAC
Focus on IELTS: pp.30-31(your city/town), p.56 (music/language to
express likes and dislikes), p.96 (school), p.147 (holidays).
Insight into IELTS: p.100 (linkers), p.101 (possible topics)
Focusing on IELTS: p.56-58 (possible topics & questions), p.70
(answering questions correctly)
IELTS Tutor: p.2-4 (sample topics & sample answers)
Cambridge IELTS 3: p.29, p.53, p.75, p.99
IELTS to Success: p.36 (sample questions)
Part 2 Individual Long Turn (3-4 minutes)
The examiner will ask you to speak for 1-2 minutes on a topic, which
he or she will give you on a card. The card will give you an outline of
what you need to talk about. You will be given one minute to prepare
and you can make notes. The examiner will give you a piece of paper
and a pen. He or she will invite you to start talking when your
preparation time is up. The examiner will not say anything while you
are speaking but will stop you, if you talk for more than two minutes.
Then you might be asked one or two short follow-up questions.
The topics will be of a general nature. You will be asked to describe
things such as a restjavascript:void(0)aurant you enjoy eating in, a book you have read
recently or a piece of equipment in your house you cannot live without.
You will also be asked to relate what you are talking about, to yourself –
e.g. ‘say why you choose to eat in this restaurant’ or ‘say what you enjoyed about the book’.
For example:
Describe a restaurant you enjoy eating in.
You should say:
where this restaurant is
what kind of menu it has
what other features it has
and explain why you choose to eat there.
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