IELTS speaking tips

1. Learn how IELTS speaking is scored

This only makes sense. IELTS speaking is scored according to strict grading criteria and if

you want to impress the examiner, you need to know what the examiner wants! In brief,

pronunciation, fluency and coherence, grammar and vocabulary all count for 25%. To get

more details about what each of these criteria mean, visit my page on this:

2. Before the exam – practice – and listen

Following on from the previous advice, you need to practice before the exam to make sure

that the appropriate skills are automatic. The very best practice is to listen and then speak

– language learning is about repetition. If you don’t have anyone to practise with try here:

3. Understand what you will be asked about – everyday ideas

Typically you will be asked to talk about everyday topics and ideas. As the test goes on

though the questions do become harder and more theoretical. One simple suggestion is to

just to look at the types of questions you will get. You may be surprised at how easy the

questions are! IELTS speaking is not an academic test at all – it’s just a test go your

language. Sometimes people can go wrong because they treat it like an intelligence test

and forget to use good English.

4. Use natural spoken English

The best form of English to use in the test is natural spoken English. This will help you to

speak more fluently and improve your pronunciation. Here are some examples of what

works:

short forms like it’s and not it is

words like quite that we use a lot in speaking

common spoken phrases like I guessand I suppose

The best way to learn this type of language is often to listen to native speakers. If you

don’t have a native speaker to listen to, I suggest you visit my collection of sample

questions where you will find recording and transcripts of my answers. Look at the sort of

language I use and try and borrow it for yourself. To help you I have highlighted the sort of

language you need:

9. If you don’t understand the question – ask

This is a speaking test and not a listening test. If you don’t understand the question, ask

the examiner to repeat or explain it – you should not be penalised for this. If you try to

answer a question you do not understand, you will almost certainly become incoherent.

10. Learn to use a range of functional vocabulary such as opinion language

One thing that you will do a lot in the test is give opinions and talk about what you like and

dislike. The examiner will be listening to see whether you can say I think and I like in

different ways. This can be a tough skill to learn as you may need to learn new speaking

habits.

11. Discover the best way to use your preparation time in part 2

The one scary part of the test is likely to be part 2 where you need to speak for up to 2

minutes. This is a slightly unusual task and you want to use your preparation time well to

help you speak enough. There are a variety of different ways you can use this time and the

best advice is to find one that suits you. Try some of these ideas and work out which one

or ones work best for you:

12. Listen to the grammar in the question

The best advice for IELTS speaking is very simply to listen to the question and answer it.

The reason for this is for this is the one time you are face to face with the examiner and

nerves are a significant problem. If you are trying to remember complex advice, you are

likely to become more nervous and not perform to your best. Keep it simple.

One example here is in part 1. If you here a question in the past tense:

“What sports did you play as a child?”

A good answer will use the past tense – the examiner will be listening for this.

13. Don’t worry too much about using clever language – think fluency

When we speak a language we don’t have much time to choose our words and that means

that we often use far fewer words when we speak than when we write. In IELTS speaking

candidates sometimes go wrong because they try and use “clever” words that they think

will impress the examiner. This can be a mistake for a couple of reasons:

the words may in fact be wrong!

if you spend too much time trying to think of words your fluency may suffer

14. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself – think coherence – the “as I was saying” trick

Part of your score in speaking is fluency and coherence. One way to make yourself more

coherent is in fact to repeat yourself. This is something professional speakers do a lot.

They say something once and then they say it again. The one trick is not use the sam

words both times!. A practical suggestion is to think about finishing your speech by

referring back to something you have already said. A key phrase here may be

As I was saying/As I said before

If you use this it helps show the examiner that you are linking your ideas together and that

in fact is what coherence is!

15. Speak about what you know and what you think

This perhaps should be point number one. One of the best ways to impress an examiner is

to talk personally about what you think and what you know. Examiners just HATE answers

that they think are learnt. In contrast, if you talk about something that you know about

then they will be much more interested in what you say.

16. Give examples

If you are the sort of person who finds it difficult to explain things or tends to give short

answers, then it may help you to try and give examples. Examples are great for explaining

ideas and it is much easier to say for example than because. If you give an example, you

are just describing something you know about and that takes very little mental effort. If

though you say because that is much harder as you now need to think! Be easy on yourself.

17. Think about detail – that’s interesting and good for your vocabulary

Another way to learn to say more is just to add detail. You should remember that this is a

language test and there more language you use the better. That means if you are asked a

question such as

When did you first start to learn English?

The smart thing to do is give detail about when.

I first started to learn English when I was in primary school. We had around 4 classes a

week with our form teacher and sometimes a native speaker came to help her out and talk

to us in English. It was quite funny because we didn’t understand a word he said. At first I

hated it because my teacher was very strict and forced us to write in English every day.

Why does this work? Well if you can give an answer like that you get to use interesting

language such as “native speaker” “help out”. You can only do this if you add detail.

18. Make eye contact

A large part of communication is non-verbal. You are marked by the examiner in the room

and you should do everything you can to show that person that you are a good

communicator. If you do not make eye contact with the examiner, s/he is probably going

to be less impressed with your performance.

19. Immediately before the exam – speak English

The problem for many people is not speaking English, rather it is moving from their own

language into English. The advice here is plain: make certain that you are already speaking

English before you go into the exam.

20. Do not relax too much – it’s not a conversation

This is an exam and you need to show the best side of your spoken English. If you relax

too much and become too conversational, your English may suffer. You need to recognise

that this is not a true dialogue between two people: it is more of an interview with one

person speaking and the other listening.

In a conversation the speaking conventions are quite different: you expect the other person

to share 50% of the talk time and to react to your comments, typically one person will not

speak for any length of time.