IELTS Speaking Guide – Tips, Tools and FAQ Materials

IELTS Speaking Guide:

IELTS Speaking is one of the most challenging modules for candidates from a Non-English speaking country.  Speaking is conducted face to face with the interviewer online or offline where masks are yet mandatory. The IELTS Speaking Test consumes 11-14 minutes depending on whether the interviewer is a trained certified examiner.

This test comprises of three sections:

1. General question:

This is also called an introduction round where the examiner asks you questions related to you, your likes and dislikes followed by ‘whys’. The examiner starts the test by his/her brief introduction which is followed by the candidate’s introduction and verification. All the questions asked in this section are familiar.

2. Cue-card:

A topic is given with the prompts or key points and the candidate is expected to speak about it for two-minutes after a minute is given for preparation. This is the turning point of the IELTS Speaking Test where the examiner gets the chance to ascertain your level of English. This is a one-way conversation.

3. Discussion or counter questions:

In this section, the examiner asks the question pertaining to the cue card. This part of the speaking test gives a fair chance to the candidate to expand their answers and speak at length with supporting examples and reasons.

Remember: As the test proceeds, the difficulty level increases.

What is Examiner Looking for?

Examiner measures the English proficiency of the candidate based on four rubric categories:

1. Fluency and Coherence:

Fluency and coherence are two different things, yet related. It measures how well you are able to convey your answers with logic and flow. It is important to adhere to the topic asked. The best way to stick to the topic is by using a range of transition words or signposting words or discourse markers.

These words give a direction to your thoughts without hampering your fluency. Fluency doesn’t mean talking too fast but talking effortlessly. The topic must be developed coherently and appropriately.

2. Lexical Resource:

The capability of the candidate to use the vocabulary with flexibility, without repetition of words. In order to get a higher band score, the candidate must use the idiomatic expressions skilfully and with negligible inaccuracy.

Vocabulary does not here mean the usage of new words, but it also includes the collocations, meaning, and juxtaposition of a particular word with another word. Your range of words must convey the topic precisely, and paraphrasing must be done successfully.

3. Grammatical Range and Accuracy:

Grammatical Range and accuracy account for 25% of Weight-age in the IELTS Speaking test. Band score increases depending on the range of complex and compound sentence structures used with flexibility and with the least errors. Punctuation and sentence construction must be accurate.

4. Pronunciation:

Pronunciation plays a vital role in any language. In IELTS too, the examiner measures your skills in using pronunciation features accurately which are individual sounds of words, stress, and intonation. The speech must be effortless to understand. Mispronunciation of individual words may lead to confusion and reduces clarity.

Must Read: Tips to Achieve CLB 9 In IELTS

Practice IELTS Speaking:

IELTS Speaking Lessons and Tips:

Master five skills in IELTS Speaking Practice, and you are likely to achieve band 9!

1. Smile and be Confident:

Since you are going to face the examiner for an interview, you must be confident in your skin. If you smile, you create an illusion that you are confident. That creates a great First Impression.

2. Maintain an Eye-contact:

You must stay focused and pay attention to the examiner’s question which would help you to build a positive rapport with the examiner and will release your nervousness.

3. Show Willingness to Speak:

Try to speak all the answers at length as the examiner controls the length of your answer. Keep speaking till the examiner stops you. You can make the examiner imagine by using the best story based on some incidences from your life or someone else’ in cue-card topic, or just cook it up.  After all, who doesn’t love stories?

4. Get into the Habit of Answering Why:

Most of the questions will be followed by ‘Why?’, so you must develop the habit of critical thinking. That would help you to develop the content.

5. Avoid Repetition:

In order to achieve a better band score than 6, you must develop the skill of paraphrasing. This will help you prevent the repetition of words and sentence structures. Try to use idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs which would decrease the chances of repeating the words and sentences.

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IELTS Speaking Topics:

IELTS Speaking Topics
Work	Museums
Study	Flowers
Home/Hometown	Sea/rivers/lakes
Art	Water sport
Birthdays	Transport
Dreams	Fashion/clothes/bags/watch
Money	Pets
Technology/Computers/Internet/Mobile phones/ Media	Seasons
Television	Trees
Age	Wedding
Daily routine	Smoking
Friends	Shopping
Family	Festival
Travel/Tourism	Your country
Sport	Games
Food	Neighbors/Neighbourhood
Restaurants	Leisure time
Lifestyle/Health/ Healthy Lifestyle	Communication
Colour	Transportation
Sky	Happiness
Weather	Hobbies
Books/Library/Reading	Newspapers
Movies	Cooking
Environmental problems	Childhood
Humour	Value

6. Vocabulary tips:

As mentioned earlier, in order to Improve Vocabulary, you must use the exact word that fits perfectly with the other words in the sentence. Here are ways to improve the vocabulary apart from watching English movies/ BBC documentaries/ listening to podcasts. Since you already know the topics which are going to be covered in the speaking test, you may use the WORDCLOUD related to these topics. Set the timer for a minute or so, and keep looking at the word cloud. Once the alarm goes off, start writing the words you looked at. You will be amazed to find that your brain could retain 12-15 words in a minute. This is one of the best techniques that I use in my classroom at Aspire Square.

Also Read: IELTS Speaking Introductory Part 1 & IELTS Speaking Introductory Part 2 Topics & Questions

Adding information:

Moreover,

Furthermore

In addition

Stating Multiple Reasons/Examples	Contradiction/Contrast	Time Sequence
For instance	However	Now
Such as	On the contrary	Then
Firstly	On the flip side	After
Secondly	On the other hand	Before
Lastly	But	While
	Although	Nowadays
	Even though	Since
		Previously
		These days

Fillers	Conclusion
I think	Thus
I believe	Therefore
I reckon	Hence
I opine

Note: Harness the power of pauses (punctuation)! That’s how your intonation can be taken care of.

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What is IELTS?

IELTS Exam is an International English Language Testing System which assesses your English proficiency with four different modules: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. This test is taken by candidates who aspire to go abroad to settle or for study purposes and this test is widely accepted across the globe.

There are two types of IELTS Exam:

Pen and paper-based and Computer-based. The latter has gained grounds since the pandemic hit, in 2020.

Based on the type of Visa applied, the test is divided into two categories: General Training (for immigration) and Academic (for study purposes). The validity period of the IELTS Certificate is two years. This test is paper-based as well as computer-based. The score IELTS ranges from Band 1 (lowest) to band 9 (highest), and the bar is set as per the profile of the candidate.

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FAQs:

Also Read: IELTS Speaking Introductory Part 1 & IELTS Speaking Introductory Part 2 Topics & Questions

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