One of candidates’ most frequently asked questions is having an accent on the IELTS test. Is accent important in the IELTS test? Or what dialect is important to speak in the speaking test? If so, what accent should we have? These are all questions that may come to your mind. For this reason, we have written an article to talk to you about the accent importance in the IELTS test and address your concerns.
Accent in speaking test
First, we examine the accent importance of speaking. Many IELTS candidates think a British or Australian accent may be better than an American accent and more attractive to the examiner. So they spend all their time learning and practicing one of these dialects. We must say that it doesn’t matter what accent you speak in the speaking test.
No one accent is superior to another and doesn’t increase or decrease the score. Other factors are important in the speaking test, and the examiner scores according to them, which we will explain below.
Accent in the listening test
Indeed, an accent is not necessary for the speaking test, and you don’t need to practice it. But this doesn’t mean that you should leave the accent altogether and have no information about it. Because in the listening test, the person reading the text to you may have a different accent. The speaker may speak in American, British, Australian, etc. So to understand what he is saying, you must be familiar with different accents. The best way to do this is to watch videos with different accents.
In this part of the article, you also read about the accent importance of listening.
Important factors in the speaking test
As we said, the accent isn’t very important in the speaking test, and instead, you have to consider other factors to get a good score.
1. Pronunciation
The most crucial factor that you need to practice a lot is the correct pronunciation. Many volunteers confuse pronunciation with accent and think that if a word is mispronounced, it is related to a different accent. This belief is wrong. All the words are pronounced correctly and clearly in every podcast with every accent. So don’t forget that pronunciation is important and has a high score.
2. Fluency and Coherence
The second factor is fluency and coherence of sentences. You need to speak fluently to tell the examiner you are very good at talking.
3. Lexical resource
Having a vast vocabulary is very important in all parts of the IELTS test. In the speaking test, one of the most important criteria is a lexical resource. You should be able to use a variety of new words in the appropriate place in the speaking test to get the examiner’s opinion.
4. Grammatical Range and accuracy
The last factor that is also important is grammar. If you use various words, make fluent sentences, and speak fluently, you will not get points if you don’t use the correct grammar. Because in this case, you show the examiner that you don’t know anything about the basics of language. Don’t miss the important role of grammar in the speaking test.
Conclusion
As you read, just an accent isn’t a criterion for scoring an IELTS test, and using a specific accent will not add a score. Pronunciation plays the most fundamental role. So try to work on it more.