The IELTS test consists of 4 parts. One of them is dedicated to the speaking test. In this test, you will have a formal conversation with an examiner for about 14 minutes. The IELTS Speaking Test consists of 3 sections, and the examiner will assess your speaking skills, vocabulary, and grammar and give the score according to this. Don’t forget that your whole conversation will be recorded. The more fluent you are in this test, the higher your score. But how do you improve your skills in the test and overcome your stress? Join us to learn the essential points of the IELTS Speaking Test.
1. Be careful how fast you speak
– Reduce your speaking speed
Some people think that if they speak faster, they will be more fluent in the language and get a higher score from the examiner. But this belief is wrong. High-speed speaking makes the examiner pay more attention to your mistakes in conversation than skill. Also, if you speak fast, you may not be able to pronounce some words correctly and lose the coherence of the sentences. As you know, the correct pronunciation of words is essential in this test. So remember that talking fast will lower your score. Stay calm and think carefully about your words.
– Don’t speak slowly too much
On the other hand, the tone of your speech should not be too slow. Because when you speak slowly, the examiner may lose the clues of the conversation, and the conversation may seem boring to them. Avoid long pauses and silences to show complete control over the conversation.
– So, how fast should we talk on the IELTS Speaking Test?
The most important thing in a speaking test is your fluency. So try to have a balanced speed to test and keep it constant throughout the conversation. Do not speed up or slow down your tone to speak fluently and show your speaking skills to the examiner.
2. Have ideas correctly in the speaking test
Most participants in the speaking test think that their ideas in answering the questions should be specific and different to impress the examiner. But you should know that this belief isn’t valid. The examiner pays more attention to how you explain, and interesting ideas don’t affect getting the score. When the examiner asks you a question, think about the same subject, and don’t look for strange and specific ideas. Focus more on explaining, and do not forget that the examiner does not rate your personal opinion, and they don’t care about your opinion, anything at all.
But how do you come up with an idea?
It is better not to think about the actual situation in the test because it is difficult to explain and describe the reality at the time of the test and may increase stress. For example, if the examiner asks a question about your best friend, you do not need to think about the facts and try to explain to them because it’s tough. You can already imagine a specific or imaginary person and think of sentences and ideas to describe that person. Practice your pronunciation and mastery instead.
3. Forget to use memorized phrases and expressions
If you are thinking of memorizing specific phrases and sentences before the speaking test to use them in the test to get a high score, you are sorely mistaken. Because the examiner quickly notices that your sentences are memorized and thinks that you are not fluent enough in the language, and you lose your desired score. Also, by memorizing the terms, your answers may be similar to those of other people and may seem repetitive. Memorizing answers changes the tone and speed of speech. You subconsciously say the memorized sentences faster, and the other sentences don’t fit your speech. They (examiners) will realize that you just wanna impress them.
On the other hand, in most cases, the memorized sentences are not used correctly and are grammatically and structurally inconsistent with the whole sentences. The examiner will notice all of this, and your score will drop. So try to use your knowledge instead of preserving phrases.
Conclusion
Lastly, don’t forget that this test has no shortcuts, and the only way to succeed is to practice and improve your skills. The best way is to work on your pronunciation, increase your vocabulary, master grammar, read and talk about English. Also, listen to and practice the speaking tests of previous years.