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Speaking tips

How to prepare for the IELTS Speaking test, tips and techniques that helped test takers improve and raise their score

IELTS Speaking Band 8.5 Full Test with Examiner’s Feedback

The video you are about to watch features a Swedish student, Joanne, who is answering questions from Speaking Test 16 in “High Scorer’s Choice” IELTS Practice Tests book series.

Joanne is doing a full simulated IELTS Speaking test with an examiner, who is asking her typical IELTS Speaking test questions. This video shows you what happens on the test day in the real examination room.

IELTS Speaking Test has 3 parts.

In Part 1 you should expect personal questions on familiar topics, for instance about your job or studies, your home, your family, etc.

Part 2 is different, because you receive a single topic to talk about for 1 to 2 minutes, with 4 bullet points you should cover in your speech. Another difference between Part 2 and the other parts is that in Part 2 you get 1 minute preparation time and you can write down some ideas to talk about. This doesn’t happen in Part 1 or Part 3.

Part 3 is a longer discussion where the examiner asks you questions related to Part 2 topic. You are expected to give longer, more elaborate answers and talk in-depth about the topics your examiner brings up.

Here is how you can learn from this Speaking test video

1. Get familiar with everything that happens in the Speaking test. It will help you feel prepared when it’s your turn.

2. Listen to the questions the examiner asks and how Joanne answers them. Then think about what YOU would say in response to these questions.

3. Spot Joanne’s mistakes and avoid them when you speak.

4. Go over Examiner’s Feedback below to learn how he rated Joanne’s performance and why (he also points out some of her mistakes!)

5. You can even use this as a Listening exercise, and switch on subtitles on YouTube to understand every word on the recording.

Watch the video on YouTube here:

 

Examiner’s Feedback

This section shows you what goes on in the examiner’s mind when he rates a Speaking test. Make sure you read this before looking at the scores he gave Joanne in every criterion, because this explains the reasons she got those scores.

Speaking Test, Part 1 – 0:22

Joanne spoke fluently and confidently in her section 1, showing that she was perfectly comfortable speaking in English. Joanne had an excellent range of lexis that she used and her vocabulary choices were natural and appropriate; there were only rare instances of her using a mildly awkward expression, i.e. “that goes to a certain extent.” Joanne’s grammatical range was always appropriately varied and there was excellent accuracy. Joanne had no discernable Swedish accent and even had a slight U.S. accent. This allowed her communication to be excellent. One criticism of Joanne is that she provided quite short answers and she was short on the required amount of time for section 1. She naturally spoke quite fast, but fuller answers would have put her in a better position.

Speaking Test, Part 2 – 3:28

Joanne was again very fluent and confident. She communicated well and had no problem with the vocabulary and grammar needed for what she had to say. One issue again was that she spoke very fast and frenetically, and she only managed around 38 seconds of speaking, when she needed to produce between 1 to 2 minutes. Slowing down would have helped her and maybe a bit more calm would have allowed to her to realise she had not addressed all the points on the answer sheet – she didn’t really talk about the type of food served (a lot could have been said on this) and the restaurant’s atmosphere was only touched on by saying that it was “open and friendly”. Joanne’s lexis were well chosen and mostly appropriate, with only one slightly awkward collocation, “so much effort”. The grammatical range and accuracy were excellent and again, Joanne’s pronunciation was extremely good, creating the feeling of a native speaker.

Speaking Test, Part 3 – 4:55

Joanne delivered a good section 3 and she provided some intelligent and thoughtful answers. This time, even though she spoke quite fast again, she managed to give fuller answers to the more demanding questions and speak for the required amount of time. She was not quite as fluent as before and she occasionally got a bit tongue-tied (this could have been down to nerves) and she tailed off a bit at one point. In Joanne’s case, the greater difficulty of the questions actually allowed her to show that she had a greater lexis range than was apparent earlier, i.e. “rooted in the history”, “it impacts”, “specific dietary needs”, “lactose intolerant” and “glucose intolerant” are some examples. She also knew some specific scientific vocabulary, i.e. “allergens”. Together, this showed Joanne had an accomplished English vocabulary. Joanne also produced an excellent and accurate grammatical range and was accurate all the way through. Her pronunciation, as before, was of native speaker standard.

Joanne’s IELTS Speaking score

The marking of the IELTS Speaking Test is done in 4 parts.

Fluency and Coherence 7
Lexical Resource 9
Grammatical Range and Accuracy 9
Pronunciation 9

Estimated IELTS Speaking Band 8.5

Need more Speaking tests with Examiner’s feedback? Find them in High Scorer’s Choice book series.

Talk about a time you had to learn the words of something (model answers for Speaking Part 2 & 3)

In today’s IELTS Speaking lesson Adam is going to help you do really well, if you get this topic in your Speaking test. Adam spent 10 years examining IELTS candidates for the British Council and he is the best person to tell you how to answer Speaking Part 2 and Part 3 questions related to this topic.

You will learn:

– What you can talk about (it doesn’t have to be a poem or a song!)
– What expressions and grammar would work well for this question
– What a good Speaking Part 2 answer should look like (a full 2-minute demonstration from Adam!)
– What Part 3 questions the examiner might ask you if you’re a weak Band 6 or a solid Band 7+. That’s right, people on different levels get different groups of questions!

So, grab a pen and paper and give Adam your undivided attention for the next 15 minutes. It will be REALLY good for your IELTS score!

Watch the video on YouTube here

 

Go here to get Adam to assess your Speaking, estimate you the score you’re likely to get now and tell you how to score higher.


The Part 2 topic Adam talks about in this lesson is,

Describe a time you had to learn the words of something (e.g. a poem or a song) and then say or sing it from memory. You should say:

– Where you were
– Who was listening to you
– What you had to say or sing,
– And explain how you felt about saying or singing something you had learnt.

As you know, Speaking Part 2 and Part 3 questions are related, so Adam continues to give you the Part 3 questions that the examiner might ask. He also gives you model answers for all the questions.

The Part 3 questions Adam talks about are below. For every question Adam suggests an answer, including some great expressions and impressive vocabulary.

Speaking Part 3 questions

Band 6 or lower questions – if you get these, your examiner thinks you’re a Band 6.

– Why do you think it’s true that most young children enjoy learning songs and poems?
– Do you think it’s easier to remember the words to something as a child and more difficult when we become adults?
– Do you think learning songs and poems is a waste of time?

Band 7 or higher questions – if you get these, your examiner thinks you’re a Band 7+ candidate.

– How practical is it for younger students to learn facts about the world (e.g. dates in history)?
– Are there any techniques that schoolchildren can use to remember new information more easily?
– How important do you think it is to teach young students to find and check information for themselves?
– Let’s talk about the value of knowledge.
– Do you think it’s a good idea to use public money for funding museums?
– Do you think it is true that each generation must depend on the knowledge passed on from previous generations?
– Which would benefit a society more, more people with a broad general knowledge or more people with specialized knowledge?

Enjoy the lesson, give it a thumbs up and leave a comment to tell me what you think!