The advice provided here will help you get over your fear of IELTS speaking anxiety, and with time and practice, you’ll be able to talk confidently in IELTS speaking section.

1. Breath

It’s crucial to breathe when speaking anxiously. Take a few deep breaths and lower your brain’s activity. You’ll be able to relax and settle your thoughts using this. You’ll notice a difference if you do this before entering the examiner’s room.

2. Visualization

This is essentially the “fake it until you make it” method. Start the day of your speaking test optimistically. Think about passing the exam with flying colors and visualizing your accomplishment. Don’t focus too much on the examiner’s personality, any random questions you could receive, etc. Simply try your best and get ready for whatever happens.

3. Practice

Your brain functions the same way when you practice something repeatedly. If you often use the same phrases, you won’t need to think about them; they will naturally flow from your tongue. Learn essential phrases such as “I think” can be replaced with “in my view,” and “I like” can be replaced with “I find this/that appealing.” If you use these terms often, they will still come out when you are feeling IELTS speaking anxiety.

4. Remember

Even native speakers might make grammatical or vocabulary errors when speaking. Making errors is common, and nobody will mistreat you for them. You can only learn more and more via mistakes!

5. Mantras

Mantras are something we say to ourselves rather than others. They typically contain a nice or optimistic message and are said in your head. Your mantra may be “I am an excellent English speaker,” for instance if you’re studying the language. A language is a potent tool. The way we think about something varies depending on how we discuss it. Speak positively about yourself: “I am a terrific speaker.” Use the positive to outweigh the bad.

The King’s Speech, an outstanding Oscar-winning film with the same concept, is a must-see case study showing how a King of an empire overcame his fear of speech via a dedicated effort.
Nothing is out of the question if you have faith in yourself!

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It is preferable to practice a little bit every day and progressively advance your abilities than to spend the entire week speaking just your mother tongue till you have an IELTS lesson. Here you may find more tips for honing your IELTS speaking skills.

1. If there is anything you need help understanding, ask the examiner

The IELTS Speaking test is designed to imitate a typical two-person discussion. As a result, you can ask the examiner to clarify a word if you don’t understand it. Say, “I’m sorry. Could you clarify what X means? “

You may also request a repetition of the query. You cannot, however, ask that the examiner clarify the entire passage.

2. Practice English for a full day

Most IELTS candidates need between 10 and 15 minutes to “warm up” and perform at their best on test day. It would be best if you warmed up before your IELTS exam, much like an athlete would before a competition.

Therefore, you should spend 24 hours speaking, writing, reading, and listening in English before your IELTS Speaking test. Although your loved ones may think you’re crazy, it will significantly lower your grade!

3. Give complete responses

In your IELTS Speaking test, “Yes” and “No” are NOT acceptable responses; you must demonstrate your English proficiency to the examiner.

If you provide highly succinct responses, the examiner will have no way of knowing how competent you are. As a result, you should elaborate on your answers using examples and justifications.

4. You should fix your errors

People frequently make little blunders when speaking, especially when anxious about an exam. Correcting your errors as you go along will demonstrate to the examiner that you are a true student of grammar and terminology.

When you make a little error, apologize and repeat the statement as intended.

5. Practice speaking in IELTS

There are several ways to practice speaking. The following are the key points to bear in mind:

It is preferable to practice alone as opposed to not practicing at all. If you don’t have a partner, don’t let that stop you from practicing.

Online, there are countless opportunities for partner practice.

6. Pay attention to the 4 scoring factors. Everything else doesn’t matter

Reflective learning is key. Take notes during your practice sessions, and evaluate your performance objectively.

It won’t help to practice only for the sake of practicing. You must recognize your deficiencies and take steps to correct them.

7. IELTS Speaking scoring system

The IELTS Speaking scoring criterion is divided into four sections:

Lexical Pronunciation Resource

Grammar precision and variety

Coherence and Fluidity

Below is assistance with each component of the IELTS Speaking scoring system.

Pronunciation

The most crucial ability to perfect for the IELTS Speaking test is pronunciation. Simply put, it makes no difference how strong your fluency, grammar, or vocabulary are without proper pronunciation. You will have trouble in every area if the examiner cannot grasp what you are genuinely saying.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary section of the test is likely the one that gets the most misinterpreted.

Most students believe memorizing lists of “high-level” words or idioms will help them get the required grade. It’s the greatest method to DECREASE your score.

Instead of using your vocabulary to brag, utilize it to improve the clarity of your communication.

Fluency

Due to its connections to grammar, vocabulary, and confidence, fluency can be challenging. Fortunately, it’s a problem that can be solved quickly.

Topics for IELTS Speaking

You’ll probably see questions on well-known subjects in Part 1 of the exam, such as:

Your place of employment or academic pursuits, your family, your house, and your likes and dislikes.

This does not imply that you should prepare responses to these questions from memory. Since the examiner will be fully aware of your actions, a lower score may result.

It is hard to know what subjects will be covered in Parts 2 and 3. You may view the findings of my in-depth investigation on this here.

What Does the Examiner Want to See?

Your examiner is NOT looking for:

How many solutions have you committed to memory?

How many “large,” “fancy,” or “high-level” terms can you name?

The number of different grammatical tenses and structures you are aware of.

If your accent is “American” or “British”.

The test taker DOES desire to see:

How well you can communicate in English when speaking.

As you shall see below, there is a bit more to it than that. However, you should keep in mind that the exam’s examiners only determine if you can speak in English by opening your lips.

Avoid making it more difficult than is necessary. Ensure simplicity!

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Unlike many other English language tests, IELTS Listening speakers have a wide range of accents, including those from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and North America.

IELTS Listening solely concentrates on the “neutral” or “standard” accents of native English speakers, despite the fact that these nations are well renowned for their great range of accents.

Don’t worry; you won’t need to master the UK’s Scottish, Welsh, Irish, or Cockney accents. Additionally, you won’t need to understand Newfie in North America.

Texan or Boston accents. There won’t be any speech from Tasmania or rural New Zealand; the only “down under” accents you’ll hear are those of metropolitan Australians and New Zealanders.

A neutral accent is what, then?

Every country has a different system. However, a neutral accent is typically only connected to one or two cities or regions.

The UK English you encounter on the IELTS will be either extremely close to the London standard or the same.

IELTS candidates from Australia will all have a general Australian accent. In cities like Sydney, you’ll hear Australians speaking like this. Most well-known Australian performers also have this accent; consider Margot Robbie or Hugh Jackman.

The US accent is reflected in the North American IELTS rather than the Canadian accent. The majority of North Americans speak with an accent that suggests they are from either the Midwest or California, the two states in which English is widely spoken in the USA. It’s likely a Vancouver or Toronto accent if you encounter a Canadian accent on the IELTS. These accents sound pretty American.

This brings up a unique IELTS situation involving the New Zealand accent. New Zealand English has several distinctive characteristics as a result of New Zealand’s small size and geographic isolation. The IELTS decides not to display the distinctiveness of New Zealand English in its entirety. Instead, IELTS speakers from New Zealand have exceptionally neutral accents by “Kiwi” norms. IELTS New Zealand accents are more like to typical Australian English than authentic New Zealand English.

British English Predominance on the IELTS

Although there are many different IELTS listening accents, British English is the most prevalent. Every IELTS listening track includes British accent audio. British speakers always deliver IELTS listening solo speeches. There will always be at least one British speaker in an IELTS listening discourse, and occasionally there will be more.

British accent audio will also be present in IELTS talks with non-British speakers. You may overhear a British college student speaking with an American professor or a discussion taking place in three different countries at once, including the USA, Australia, and the UK.

IELTS Listening Accents: What You Should Know

Be prepared to hear a lot of regular British English when you study for the IELTS Listening test. Be ready to transition quickly between several accents as well. You’ll need to listen to two or three clearly distinguishable accents at once to perform well on the IELTS Listening test and avoid getting shocked or distracted.

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Promptitude

The first and most important thing you need to do to succeed in speaking and writing is promptitude. If your promptness is low, you will not be able to perform well in these sections. Writing and speaking are sections where you need good promptitude to succeed and have a professional result. Of course, this does not mean you pay attention to speed and forget accuracy. Instead, these two together give a good result, and if you don’t have one of them, your work is useless. The best thing to do to increase promptitude is just practice. If you need two hours for writing, try gradually increasing this time to 40 minutes by practicing. 

General knowledge 

Many language learners don’t pay much attention to having general knowledge. They think they can easily outrun and succeed only with high language knowledge and strategy. No, this is wrong. Sometimes language learners have the low general knowledge to the extent that if they are asked writing and speaking questions in their native language, they cannot answer. It is important to have general information in listening and reading skills. Strong general knowledge is necessary for writing and speaking skills, and your work will be ineffective if you do not have enough information about the question. 

For example, you may be asked about astronauts. In addition to having high language skills in this section, you must have information about astronautics to give a complete and correct answer.

Energy management

If you cannot manage your energy correctly, you will not be able to perform well in the exam session. When preparing for the exam, you should sleep well, eat good food, exercise, and get enough oxygen to attend the exam session in the best mood. If you have studied enough and prepared yourself for the exam but do not have a recovery period, you will not be able to perform well in the exam session. Therefore, energy management is one of the essential features that you must observe to succeed in speaking and writing. 

Body language

If you have noticed, our thoughts and feelings shape our bodies. For example, if you have negative thoughts, your face will suddenly look sad, and your shoulders will bend down. In this situation, you will tell the examiner that you do not have confidence and cannot give good answers to the questions. So practice sitting straight, having positive thoughts, and showing up to the meeting with high energy and confidence to leave a positive impression on the examiner.

Conclusion

As you read, in addition to language information, other factors make candidates successful or not. You may participate in many language courses and have good language knowledge, but you may not get good results due to paying attention to the margins and not following the above. Therefore, language knowledge and knowing strategies are essential but do not neglect these 4 important secrets.

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1. Have different topics

To speak, first, you need to know the topic of the conversation. Where can we get topics for speaking practice? The subject of speaking is often made up of external factors. For example, you either want to practice speaking in class so that you can talk easily in the IELTS test, or you want to practice at home. If you are going to practice at home, it is better first to prepare a list of frequently repeated and relevant topics in the IELTS exams of the previous courses. This will help you get familiar with the IELTS test and not spend time finding the subject.

Of course, it is better to work first on subjects in which you do not have many ideas and do not know the related words. For example, you may find shopping more difficult or easier than food. So try to go to the topics you are unfamiliar with in your list first.

2. Learn different phrases

After specifying the various topics, you should go to the next step. At this stage, in addition to learning vocabulary, try to spend time learning phrases and expressions. For example, words used together, called collocations, can help you a lot. The best way to learn these words is to read them in a sentence to know their exact meaning and location. So reading phrases makes it easy to learn new words and know where to use what sentence.

3. Take notes

After reading these sentences and words, it is time to use them in conversation. Many candidates write and speak all the new words and sentences for practice at this stage. This is wrong. After reading a phrase, note down its keywords. Then think about them, create a brainstorm and try to make new sentences about the topic identified with those words. In this way, you can speak in different situations. 

Conclusion

If, for any reason, you are not eligible to participate in conversation courses, don’t be upset at all. Because you can improve your speaking at home with the help of these steps. But try to follow these steps and star

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So before anything to succeed in speaking, learn the basics of the language. We assume that you are at a good level of general language. So, to be successful in speaking, read these golden tips to get the desired result.

1. Don’t be afraid and be confident

Many candidates lose their self-confidence when they face the examiner and are overwhelmed with anxiety. In this case, efficiency decreases, and the mind cannot process even the examiner’s words. In other words, when you are afraid, your mind is in a defensive mode, and ideas cannot form. So try to sit right in front of the examiner and be confident to show your knowledge to the examiner and get the best result.

2. Increase your vocabulary

In all articles and to improve all IELTS skills, we have told you that the most important and first point is to increase vocabulary. If you have good language and have practiced a lot but don’t know various words, you cannot have a good conversation in front of the examiner. Therefore, the examiner thinks that you don’t have good language knowledge and that your discussions will be repetitive. So, don’t neglect the miracle of knowing a diverse vocabulary so that you can make good sentences.

3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

Many candidates try their best to be perfect in the speaking test and not make any mistakes. But this is wrong. You don’t have to focus on this. Remember that even natives can make mistakes in their conversations. 

You don’t need to think for a long time before speaking and stress whether your sentence is wrong or not. This will make you lose focus. Just start talking and don’t be afraid of anything. Your conversations seem natural, even if you were wrong.

Conclusion

Do not forget that the most important thing is to practice before anything else. None of these tips work without practice. So first, practice enough and prepare yourself. In the end, use these tips and remember them so that you can have a great conversation with the examiner on the day of the exam without any problems and get a good grade.

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Use of idioms

Using different idioms in writing can increase your score and effectively attract the examiner’s opinion. But you need to know what terms to use. For example, using informal idioms in writing is inappropriate, especially in task 2. Try to use idioms that are suitable for your writing and are formal so that you can attract the examiner’s opinion and show your knowledge.

But you should know that the examiner doesn’t grade the complicated words you use and grades your knowledge. So you don’t need to use hard terms. You can get ideas from them and write your opinion about that term.

Use of proverbs

After you have read about idioms, we will now explain to you about proverbs. In this section, unlike the idioms section, we must tell you not to use proverbs if you don’t have to because you may use a proverb to convey your meaning. But this proverb may not be appropriate, and the examiner will interpret your meaning differently. 

This makes your writing disjointed and semantically inconsistent. So you may not get a good result from this section. So try to avoid using proverbs in writing, especially in task 2. Instead, you can turn that proverb into a sentence and write its meaning clearly.

Using idioms and proverbs in speaking

Above, you read about the use of proverbs and idioms in the writing section. Let’s explore these together in the Speaking section as well. I must tell you that there is nothing wrong with using proverbs, idioms, and quotations in the speaking section. It can even be quite effective. Because by doing this, you show the examiner that you have a high level of language knowledge and can use different sentences and words.

But you should know not to lose the fluency and coherence of your speech in the meantime. Try not to use these proverbs if you feel like you might forget your main conversation. Another point you should observe is that you should not use proverbs and quotations too much and only use them in the appropriate place.

Conclusion

In this article, you read about the use of proverbs and quotations. Now you know where it is better to use them and where you should not use them. By practicing and reading past years’ writings and speakings, you can see where these quotes are best used so that you don’t have to worry about this on the day of the main exam.

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1. Summarize

Summarizing helps you greatly in all skills, and you should not neglect it. They are also very important in podcasts. For this, choose the podcast that suits your language level. Try not to make it too long so that you don’t forget the content and don’t get bored.

After you have listened to the podcast once, open a notebook and write the podcast summary you remember. Finally, write down what content from the podcast helped you and what you learned. Write down the necessary keywords that you remember. This will help a lot in improving your understanding. By doing this, you will gradually learn how to listen to a file and not forget it, as well as understand its content. Summarizing podcasts will help you in the listening test.

2. Read the podcast text

Before listening to the podcast, try to find its full text and put it in front of you. Then start the podcast and read the text aloud at the same time as they speak. Sometimes pause the podcast and even brainstorm and talk about the previous sentences. You can even have an imaginary conversation with the podcast speaker and give his answer.

Play the podcast again and repeat until the end. This will strengthen your conversation, and during the speaking test, you will be able to make sentences without stress and pronounce the words correctly. Also, your memory is strengthened in this way. It may seem a little strange at first, but you can be sure it is very useful.

last word

Again, we say that, do not neglect the miracle of podcasts in the language. You can strengthen all your skills by listening to podcasts and doing different things. You can listen to different podcasts and practice while driving, before bed, or resting. Don’t forget that the podcasts you choose are very important and should match your language level.

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Everyone should choose the appropriate method according to their mood and life. But below, we have explained some of the ways that are popular among language learners. Read these ways to improve skills and try, maybe this time you will be interested in reading, and your English skills will improve.

1. Create an English-speaking environment for yourself

Surely you have heard, or maybe you have experienced, that people can learn it better and more easily in an environment where everyone speaks the same language. For those who want to take the IELTS exam and immigrate to English-speaking countries, this is a very difficult task. But there is a way to create an English-speaking environment around you. 

How can this be done? You can always play the sound of different conversations in your room, try to understand their words, and even answer them. Imagine that you are standing next to them and you have no choice but to speak in English. Another way is to do all your work in English when you wake up in the morning. As if you have no choice but to speak English. You can even read daily news in English and analyze them.

2. Create motivation and goals for yourself

Having a goal always gives direction to people’s lives. It makes you motivated to reach them. Try to have both short-term and long-term goals. Write a long-term goal and set small goals to achieve it. Then, after attaining each of the small goals and conquering the summit of success, create motivation for yourself. This motivation can be buying your favorite device. Or you can invite yourself to visit a friend. This is how you try to reach your goals sooner. After a while, you will get used to this, and you will start to read the language regardless of the gift.

Conclusion

As we said, there are infinite ways to learn a language; you can choose whichever one is right for you. We will tell you more methods in the following articles. But most importantly, you must have continuity and repetition. Don’t stop reading and keep trying. This is how you can achieve success.

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