Have you scheduled your IELTS exam with the British Council yet? Do you want some tried-and-true techniques for acing the IELTS Speaking test? If you follow our four top guidelines, you will be able to Get Your Desired Band Score in the IELTS Speaking Test.
Fluency and coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation are the four criteria used to evaluate success in the Speaking test. This article will offer you with one magic bullet for each of these four requirements.
Test Tip 1: Learn to Attentively Listen in Order to Respond Appropriately
This one is self-evident. During the test, you will be speaking for around 85 percent of the time. The rest of your time will be spent listening to the examiner ask you questions. You won’t be able to provide relevant answers if you don’t pay close attention to the examiner. So, practise active listening by employing the following strategies:
- Concentrate on keywords: For example, if the examiner asks you, “Are traditional methods of cooking food disappearing?” You haven’t been carefully listening when you talk about traditional meals. The keywords here were traditional cooking methods rather than traditional foods. So, learn to concentrate on keywords.
- If you didn’t hear a question clearly the first time, don’t be hesitant to ask the examiner to repeat it. But remember, once or twice is plenty.
- If you don’t understand a term, you can request that the examiner clarify it to you.
- If you need more information, summarise the examiner’s question with “so what you’re asking is…”
Also, the best approach to prepare for the part 2 long turn subjects is to listen to podcasts, TED presentations, radio/tv broadcasts, and so on so that you have enough information to speak for two minutes on any given topic. The easiest method to ace this section of the speaking test is to brainstorm after listening to a podcast/tele-talk/audio clip on a certain subject. If you’ve heard a podcast on your favourite type of cuisine, you may prepare your own lecture by brainstorming ideas for your favourite dish/food item. You may create a mind map by asking questions like
- What are the kinds of food available in India?
- Which is your favourite food?
- Why is it your favourite food?
- Where is it commonly available?”
- How is it prepared?
- Who prepares it well? /Can you cook it or do you order it?
- What are the ingredients used in its preparation?
- How does it taste?
After the long turn, you are supposed to have a lengthy discussion with the examiner on the issue. In this section of the exam, you must be able to argue your position, demonstrate your replies, and draw parallels between previous and contemporary circumstances. For example, in part 3, questions concerning food may be asked about people’s eating habits, healthy eating vs junk food, how food is grown, and so on. Make a list of potential questions using the brainstorming approach described above, and prepare your responses accordingly. Pay attention to what others have to say about food. In summary, if you want a higher band on the fluency and coherence criterion, listen and brainstorm.
Test Tip 2: Improve Your Vocabulary by Learning “Words from Lexical Domains
Don’t merely memorise a list of tough terms and then use them at random in the speaking test, such as “plethora,” “mesmerising,” or “ecstatic.” Instead, create lexical areas on often requested subjects to expand your vocabulary and help you score higher on the test. Make a list of all the rare terms from the lexical area of the flavour of the meal, for example, if you are preparing for a subject on food. (Delicious, savoury, spicy, tart, piquant, pungent….). Also, look up some culinary phrases and idiomatic idioms (finger-licking delicious, melt in your mouth, sweet tooth, everything from soup to nuts…) and attempt to utilise these terms and phrases as naturally relevant and meaningfully as possible when discussing that issue. You may also create vocabulary lists for all of the other frequently questioned subjects on the IELTS speaking test. This will enable you to demonstrate a diverse range of lexical resources and get a higher ranking for this criteria.
Test Tip 3: Learn to Think in English to Prevent Common Grammatical Errors
Many of us think in our native language and then convert the statement into English while speaking. As the sentence patterns of Indian languages differ from those of English, this results in a number of grammatical problems. It also slows down the tempo of communication since it takes too long to think in Hindi, translate it in our thoughts, and then speak in English. Begin with thinking about widely used English terms, then go on to phrases, then whole sentences, and ultimately hold dialogues about a topic in your brain in English as the first stage in learning to think in English. Do this for at least half an hour every day, and you will soon be able to acquire the talent of thinking in English. This will allow you to eliminate several frequent grammatical errors, particularly those involving word order, and will help you earn a better grammar band.
Test Tip 4: Listen to English “Music” to Improve Your Pronunciation
Every language has its own style of music. It’s not enough to know how to pronounce a word correctly. The rhythm of most Indian languages is stress-timed, whereas English has a syllable-timed beat. To get a better score on the pronunciation criteria, you must learn to employ the distinctive intonation, stress patterns, and rhythm of English in order to be clearly heard by a native speaker of the language. That leads us back to where we started. Develop the habit of paying close attention to how native speakers employ stress and intonation patterns in their speech. Watch tongue twister videos and videotape yourself doing them. Listen back in and try again until you get it correctly.
Remember that the more you listen, the better you will be able to talk. You may also practise for the real test with the Coaching Square IELTS Assessment Expert’s IELTS Speak READY speaking Practice test.
Above all, try your best and be confident!
