Join me as I give you tips and techniques for you to get the score you want in the speaking section of the IELTS Academic exam. See you in class!
*****
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING
Now, the key to fluent speaking is, not surprisingly, practice practice practice. But, there are two important things to keep in mind when you are practicing your English;
You MUST practice with somebody who will correct your mistakes. Most people don't have the patience or the technical knowledge for this, that's why it's best to practice with a teacher
You MUST listen. Lots of students ignore or skip over corrections given to them, usually because they are concentrating on what they are talking about instead of how they are talking. Make sure to listen to the person giving you corrections
IELTS TECHNIQUES
Now let's look at some IELTS exam techniques.
FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
As always, the first and most important thing is FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. Answer the questions asked, and do not talk about things not related to the subject.
DON'T GIVE SHORT ANSWERS
The next most important thing is don't give short answers. If they ask you how you contact your friends, don't say "Facebook". Give as much detail as possible. Let the examiner tell you when to stop talking.
SLOW DOWN!
One more thing; slow down! Lots of students panic and speak too quickly. Native speakers do not speak quickly in exams. Speaking slowly gives you more time to think, and it makes it easier to pronounce correctly. Also practice ways of delaying replying to questions to give yourself time to think.
USE THE PREPARATION TIME
Use the preparation time given. In part 2 your are given 1 minute to prepare what you are going to talk about. Don't waste this time. Use it wisely. You can make notes if you want, but this is optional. Personally I think written notes are distracting when you are speaking, but practice with and without notes and see what works best for you.
TELL THE TRUTH
Now my next tip is very easy. Don't lie. Tell the truth. It is true that in the IELTS exam your opinions are not being marked, so you can write whatever you want, and some teachers will tell you to invent stories, but I think that's crazy. In the exam you need all your brain power to focus on your English and you don't need to waste energy inventing things. And it has other advantages also; you can use your experiences to help you speak longer.
THE DAY OF THE EXAM
One other thing which I think is very important relates to the day of the exam. True multilingual people can switch between languages without any problems, which is called code-switching, but most people do not have this ability and it can take some time for their brains to change from one language to another. So, on the day of the exam try to stay in English. Maybe watch an English video when you are eating breakfast, and listen to some English music on the way to the exam. When are waiting to go into the exam room speak in English with your fellow candidates. This will help you to be in English mode when you start the exam.
DO NOT MEMORISE
Finally, do not memorise answers! The examiners will know when you are using memorised answers and they will penalise you. Spend your time practicing your speaking instead.
NOTES
Note that during the exam it is OK to talk to the examiner, and it is also OK to correct yourself or say that you don't understand. But it is not OK to ask the examiner if what you say is correct. Also note that in parts 1 and 3 the examiner can repeat the question, but in part 2 they cannot. Listen carefully.
