Tips for the IELTS Speaking test

Finally, we have reached the fun part of IELTS. Many people agree that the secret of

success in the Speaking test is being confident and creative person. Does it mean that

others will fail? Not at all! This test is PREDICTABLE. Use the following tips to

prepare yourself to what’s coming and the confidence will come.

What are they looking for?

 If you know what is important to IELTS examiners, it improves your chances of

success. These guidelines refer to every part of the Speaking test. Stick to them and

you will satisfy your examiner.

• Speak without long pauses (when you are trying to think of something to say)

• Understand what the examiner asks you and confirm that by answering

accordingly.

• Demonstrate how many "smart" words you know.

• Use all the tenses when you speak - past, present, future – and use them

correctly.

• Pronounce the words correctly. For example the word “culture” should sound

like “kolcher”, not “kultur”.

• Important! Accent has nothing to do with pronunciation, so it will not affect

your score.

Keep it simple!

This tip refers to the whole Speaking test. Don’t start long and complicated sentences

if you don’t know how to finish them! Keep your sentences simple, and words -

understandable. If you make grammatical error – it’s ok to correct yourself, but don’t

overdo it, you must sound fluent.

When you hear a question, your mind automatically draws an image with the answer.

You can describe this image in your own language, but when you start to describe it

in English, suddenly you don’t have enough words in your vocabulary. So try to think

of what part of that image you can describe, do it and stop there. Don’t let yourself

show what words you don’t know by saying incomplete sentences.

What if …?

It can happen that the examiner asks you a question and you don’t have a clue what is

he/she talking about. Don’t panic! Just say:

• I am not sure what you mean, could you be more specific?

• Could you repeat the question, please?

If you don’t have a ready answer and you are trying to borrow some time, say:

• Well, I never thought about that, but if I do, I would say that…

• Well, it is not a simple question.

If they ask for your opinion, you can start by saying:

• In my opinion…

• I think that…

• Well, if you ask me, …

• When it comes to me, I …

You will probably have to speak in present, past and future tenses. When asked to

speak about future, say:

• I am sure that (something will/won’t happen)

• It is likely/unlikely that (some event will / won’t occur)

Leave a good impression

FINALLY!!! When leaving the room after the interview, look the examiner in the

eyes, smile and simply say: “Thank you for your time. Good bye”.

Isn’t life great?