About the Speaking test Page 1

Prepare and Practice for the test

Make a Study Plan

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Appendix Page 11

Topics you may be asked to talk about

Connectives/Conjunctives

Kevin McIndoe 2016

Introduction to the IELTSSpeaking Test

A Path to IELTSSuccess

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About the IELTS Speaking Test

The IELTS speaking test lasts only 11-14 minutes; the IELTS examiner will ask questions in three parts.

IELTS speaking Part 1: Short Q & A (Question and Answer) about familiar Topics (3-4 minutes): Questions about where you live, your work/study, hobbies, holidays, sports, entertainment. How many questions depends on how long your answers are. See the Appendix for possible subjects.

IELTS speaking Part 2: Long Turn (2 minutes plus 1 minute for preparation): Candidates are given a topic card and then given 1 minute to prepare a 2 minute answer. Topics include describing or commenting on a person, place, or movie. The examiner may ask 1 or 2 rounding-off questions at the end of this turn.

IELTS speaking Part 3: Discussion (3-4 minutes): This is roughly based on the topic area of the Part 2: Long Turn. Questions typically ask the candidate to compare, analyse or speculate on the given topic. In this part the examiner may push the candidate hard to see the boundaries of their ability.

How the speaking test is graded

Your speaking test is graded and marked from 1-9 in accordance with four key criteria, as follows:

Fluency and coherence: Fluency is about your ability to speak at a normal speed without excessive hesitation and restarting. Coherence refers to your speaking being easy to understand. In order to score highly you need to show willingness to talk at length and develop your topic, use connectives/conjunctives and discourse markers, avoid pauses and restarts.

Connectives/Conjunctives include: 'but', 'and','so', 'if', 'although', 'when', 'while', 'since', 'because'. See other examples in the Appendix.

Discourse markers are words or phrases like 'anyway', 'right', 'okay', 'as I say', 'to begin with'. We use them to connect, organize and manage what we say or write or to express attitude.

Vocabulary: To score highly you must use higher level words, pay attention to collocation (see www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm), and also control your word endings (correctly use singular/plural and use the correct verb ending for the correct tense). In addition you should try to show an ability to paraphrase and use colloquial/slang language. You will also be rewarded for the correct vocabulary to precisely explain things.

Grammar: To score highly you need to use a variety of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and also avoid grammatical errors, such as with articles and prepositions and sentence order especially when they make your speaking difficult to understand.

Pronunciation: Your grade is influenced by the level to which your accent makes it difficult to

understand what you are saying, and also the degree to which you use language features of a native speaker such as intonation, stress, and rhythm.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don't be a parrot. In IELTS, a parrot is a candidate who repeats the question back instatement form, for example: Q: What’s your favourite sport to watch on TV? A: Myfavourite sport to watch on TV is football. As the scoring criteria of IELTS heavily reward

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those who can vary speech, paraphrasing the words or structure of the question is a fast-track route to a higher score: I’m always watching football on TV.

2. Poor pronunciation. Great ideas are worthless if the listener can’t make out your words. There’s a good reason pronunciation accounts for 25% of the score in IELTS Speaking and that’s because it’s fundamental to spoken communication. Before taking IELTS, you should find an opportunity to practice with native or native-level speakers and get an honest appraisal of your pronunciation. If they have trouble hearing your words, it’s very likely the examiner will too.

3. Memorised answers. The examiner is very likely to notice if you try to recite an answer from memory, and there is a penalty for this. The tell-tale signs of a memorised answer include speaking in a ‘written’ style of English, unnatural intonation, and the candidate attempting to ‘rephrase’ the question to the one they want to answer. Any questions you try to memorise answers to are very unlikely to be asked, so it is much more effective to practice speaking about a wide range of topics before you take the test.

4. Answering the wrong question. You will lose marks for coherence if your answer completely fails to address the question. Ask yourself before you begin speaking if you are sure you have understood, and do not be afraid to ask the examiner for help.

5. Saying ‘I don’t understand’. There are much better ways to check for meaning, so learn them! You can use a straightforward request like Could you say that again, please? or ask a checking question such as Do you mean…? that shows you have at least partly understood the question.

6.Overuse of transition signals. It’s helpful to use a few signposting words like first, for example or on the other hand. But if you overload your speech with these youcould actually damage your score. Sounding natural, not like a signposting robot,should be your goal in IELTS Speaking. There are also many words characteristic offormal writing such as furthermore, moreover and in addition that are hardly everused in speech and could actually make you sound less natural if you say them.

7. Saying too much or too little. If you say too little, you miss the opportunity to show off your ability. If yousay too much, you risk sounding less coherent and making more mistakes. As a general guide, answers of two to four sentences are fine in Part 1 . There are clear instructions about the length of speaking time in Part 2. You should aim to say three to six sentences after each question in Part 3.

8. Silence. Different cultures have different attitudes to silence, but for English speakers the attitude is one of near-zero tolerance. It’s fine to hesitate for a few seconds before speaking or between ideas, but silences of longer than five seconds will go down badly. Happily, there’s a solution to this problem and that’s to learnsome filler expressions such as That’s a tough question and Let me see.

9. Flat intonation. Even when you pronounce words clearly, flat intonation will make it difficult to follow what you say. We vary intonation, pitch, volume and speaking speed in order to maintain the listener’s interest and direct attention to your important ideas. Even IELTS examiners, who are trained to listen carefully to everything a candidate says, will find a flatly-intoned response difficult to follow and your response may be marked down for both pronunciation and coherence as a result.

10. Asking for the examiner’s opinion. You are there to answer the questions, not ask them. The examiner will politely redirect the question back your way if you try to stall for time by saying I don’t know, what do you think? If you really don’t have any ideas, just say I’m afraid I know nothing about this topic and wait for the next question.

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Prepare for the test SPEAKING PART 1:

1. DESCRIPTION QUESTIONS: (Strategy: divide into 2 or 3 parts) Sample answer Tell me something about your hometown?

I come from Taipei and I have lived here all my life, although at the moment I’m studying in another city – Taizhong. I suppose if I had to describe Taipei, the first thing I would say is that it’s very crowded, maybe even one of the biggest cities in Asia I guess. It’s so congested that even the locals have problems finding their way around! Another significant characteristic is that it offers splendid examples of contemporary architecture. Actually some of the renowned landmarks are in the middle of Taipei, such as the Taipei 101,the second tallest building in the world.

1. Well, the main thing you need to know is that…(1) + (details)… 2. On top of that I can also add that (2)…+ (details)… 3. Something else that I need to say is that (3)…so actually…(detail)

Starting-off Ok, then; actually; alright; well, you know; Point 1 The first thing I’d like to mention is … The main thing you need to know is … I’d like to begin by highlighting the fact … Point 2 In addition I suppose I should say … Another interesting point … Not only that, but _______is also exceedingly ….. Point 3 And I shouldn’t forget to mention that… I guess I could also say that (it’s) sort-of …….. Finally I’d also like to mention ……..

Practice: Tell me something about your hometown? What does your neighborhood look like?

What does your house look like?

2. LIKING (Strategy: General to specific)

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Rephrasing “liking” I’m pretty fond of… I’m really keen on… I’m a big fan of… I’m passionate about… Structure 1. Well in general I would say …2. To be more precise/specific…3. And I guess this is probably because… Sample answer What kind of animals do you like?

Well in general I would say small animals, to be more precise cats and dogs; and, I guess this is because we often kept them when I was growing up, and they were good companions for me.

Practice:

What do you like about your hometown? Do you like your job/studies?

What sort of music do you like? Do you like reading?

Do you like shopping? 3. DISLIKING (Strategy: General to specific) Rephrasing “Disliking” I’m not really satisfied with… I’m not much of a fan of… I’m not really fond of… …is simply not my cup of tea. I really can’t stand… … simply gets on my nerves. Sample answer Is there anything you don’t like about your hometown?

In general, I’d have to say that I am not so satisfied with the weather. To be more precise, I really can’t stand the summer months. You know, it’s because the temperatures are often as high as 35 degrees, plus it is always humid, so it makes you feel quite uncomfortable!

Practice

Is there anything you don’t like about your hometown? Is there anything you don’t like about job/studies?

Is there any food you don’t like?

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What’s the worst thing about shopping? Are there any clothes that you don’t like?

What type of weather do you dislike? 4. “TYPE OF” QUESTIONS (strategy: depends on) …there’s quite a mixed variety of … …there’s quite an extensive diversity of … … there’s quite a wide range of … … there’s a fairly broad range of … … there’s quite a diverse mixture of … Sample answer Tell me about the different types of transportation in your city.

Of course, you know there’s quite a mixed variety of public transportation in my city. Though I think the most commonly-used one could probably be buses. And the explanation for this could be that they are so cheap and reliable. In fact the average bus fare in my city is about 20 dollars for a single journey from start to end.

Practice

What kinds of restaurants are popular in your country? What types of shops can be found in your local area?

What types of things do people collect in your country? What types of TV programmes are popular in your country?

5. “WH-/HOW OFTEN” QUESTIONS(strategy: concession) Well to be honest, I would have to say that it really depends. Like for instance … Whereas in contrast… Sample answer What sort of restaurants do you usually eat at?

Usually I prefer to get something like fast food such as McDonalds because it’s quick and easy to get. However, if I have more time I would rather have something healthier such as a steak and salad from a decent restaurant like Outback Steakhouse.

Practice

When do you usually read? Who do you spend your evenings with?

When you go out in the evenings, what do you usually do? How often do you play sports?

Where do you usually go shopping?

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SPEAKING PART 2:

Individuals : Appearance / Personality / Hobbies / Relationship / My feeling Buildings : Location / Exterior / Interior / Atmosphere / Service / My feeling Cities : Location / People / Food / Cityscape / Entertainment / My feeling Experience : What / Why / When / Where / Who / My feeling Leisure activities : What / Who / When / Why / My feeling Natural Beauty : Location / History / Visitors / Activities / My feeling Animals : Appearance / Habits / Food / Relationship / My feeling Objects : How I got it / Exterior / Function / Price / another related object / My feeling Organizations : History / Members / Location / Duty / Influence / My feeling Opening: Well I’d like to talk about ……… Ok then, to start with I will talk about ……… The first point: The first thing I’d like to mention is … The main thing you need to know is … I’d like to begin by highlighting the fact … The most important point about _____ is The second point: Going on to my next point which is ______, and the thing that needs to be highlighted here is that (S+V). Now concerning the matter of ______, and what I have to mention here is that ~. The third point: Progressing to the subject of ______. I would like to explain that (S+V). Moving onto the business of ______, What I would like to make clear is that ~. The last point: Finally, I’d like to discuss __________ Finally then, if there is time, I could deal with the last question of (N).

IELTS Speaking Part 2 Example and Analysis

Describe a major decision you have taken in your life. You should say: – What the decision was – What other choices were available to you – Why you made the decision you did And explain if you think the decision was a good one.Sample topic card

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Sample answer:

A really important decision I’ve made recently is to study abroad, which is the reason I’m here talking to you now. No-one from my family has ever had the chance to study abroad before. Myparents were actually hoping I’d start working for our family textile business as soon as I graduate. I think it’s too soon to join the family business though. I really want to study marketing – especially fashion marketing – and English so I can sell our company products to buyers all over the world. If I study fashion marketing in the UK, I can learn how to do business in the fashion industry, which is of course very competitive and fast-moving. As for whether it was the right decision, I’m pretty confident it was and I can’t change my mind now anyway because I borrowed money from my parents to pay for my tuition. I’m going to do my best to finish my course and I will go back to my country with new ideas that will help expand our business. All I need now is to get a good score in IELTS. So, anyway, that’s an important decisionin my life.

Like many questions in IELTS Speaking Part 2, this one deals with an event or action in the past. There is, however, a switch to the present when the candidate is required to reflect on the decision.

Analysis: This IELTS candidate scores highly by:

Getting straight to the point and saying what the decision was in the very first sentence Paraphrasing the topic: A really important decision Using a range of tenses – past simple, present simple and present perfect – with great accuracy Using a wide range of grammatical forms such as a conditional sentence (If I…) and a cleft sentence

(All I need now is…) Signalling parts of the question: As for whether it was the right decision… Avoiding over-formality and using expressions such as actually and pretty that are appropriate to

conversational style Providing a summarising sentence to wrap up the response

Practice In the exam, you have one minute to read the instructions and prepare your answer and make notes. For this class, you have 5 minutes. Then you must speak for one to two minutes on the above topic:

Describe a major decision you have taken in your life.

SPEAKING: Part 3

It’s difficult to predict exactly what questions you will get asked in the third part of the exam, but usually they will have a close connection to the topic we discussed in part 2 of the exam. In addition the following functions may be tested.

1. Different kinds of

What are some of the different kinds of shops in your country?

What sort of people are celebrities in your country?

2. Comparing (time/objects/concepts)

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Do you think people were smarter in the past?

What is the difference between learning skills and knowledge?

3. Predicting

Do you think people will be more intelligent in the future?

Do you think technology can replace teachers in the future?

4. Advantages

What are the main advantages of studying online?

What are the main advantages of studying abroad?

5. Disadvantages

What are the main disadvantages of studying online?

What are the main disadvantages of studying abroad?

6. Problems

What are some of the main problems that students often encounter with learning English?

What problems do students often have with their classmates?

7. Solutions

[for above “how could we solve these problems”]

8. Opinion (why)

Why do you think some people enjoy learning new things?

What are some useful ways to remember things?

Speaking sample task – Part 3 transcript

Part 3 – Two-way discussion

Transcript

Examiner: We’ve been talking about things we own. I’d like to discuss with you one or two more general questions relating to this topic. First, let’s consider values and the way they can change. In Switzerland, whatkind of possessions do you think give status to people?

Candidate: The first thing which comes in my mind is the car. Yes, because lots of people like to have posh cars or expensive cars to show their status, their place in the society.

Examiner: Is that a new development?

Candidate: No, I think it isn’t.

Examiner: People have thought like that for quite a long time?

Candidate: Yes. Another thing is probably the clothing. It starts already when you are young. When the children go to school they want to have posh labels on their jumpers or good shoes.

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Examiner: What do you think of this way of thinking, that I need to have a car or certain clothes to show mystatus?

Candidate: Probably it’s sometimes a replacement for something you don’t have, so if your wife has left you or your girlfriend, you just buy some new, I don’t know, new watches or new clothes to make you satisfied again.

Examiner: You don’t think of it as a healthy way of thinking?

Candidate: It’s probably not honest to yourself. You can understand what I mean?

Examiner: Yes. And do you think this will change? In the future, will cars and designer clothes be status symbols in the same way?

Candidate: I’m sure that clothes will be ... that the thing with the clothes will be the same. I’m not so sure about the cars because cars cause lots of environmental problems and probably in some years, a few years, this will change because it’s not reasonable to drive a car anymore.

Examiner: Can you tell me a little bit more about that? ...

Practise

Examples of possible questions for the Part 2 Topic, 'Describe a major decision…'. Answer these questions.

Which people influence young people when they are choosing a profession?

How could schools provide careers advice?

What are the main factors to consider when choosing a career?

Do you think that parents generally know what is best for their children?

What are some of the skills people use when they make a decision?

What are the qualities that make someone a leader?

How much does advertising influence what you buy?

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Make a study plan In a nutshell (an idiom for 'basically'), the IELTS Speaking Test evaluates a persons ability to speak a natural, fluent and coherent English so that person can live successfully in an English speaking country. To be successful you must take charge of your own learning.

Make a time table for your study to make better use of your time.

Have a speaking-mate to practise with every day or as often as possible. Have your speaking-mate to time and evaluate your performance.

Keep a dairy. Write about your daily activities and thoughts.

Write stories about main events in your life. Include many of the topics in the Appendix.

Take a conversational class.

Review grammar and vocabulary by reading English articles and stories on the internet, for example, search for 'Qingdao' and read about this/your city. Reading more is key to improving yourvocabulary and grammar. Also look at the following web sites:

• www.ieltsspeaking.co.uk/ielts-vocabulary

• www.emigraacanada.com/pdfs/Check_Your_English_Vocabulary_for_IELTS_II.pdf

• www.better-english.com/vocabulary.htm

• www.ielts-exam.net/grammar

• www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar

• www.grammarly.com/handbook/mechanics/phrasal-verb-and-idioms

• www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations – also has Vocabulary, English

pronunciation lessons with audio, English speaking lessons.

Improving your Score

To improve your score in the IELTS speaking section, you should focus on the following areas:

1. Understanding how the speaking test is graded

2. Preparing for and practising common questions that are asked

3. Learning ways of structuring an answer

4. Learning to paraphrase – this is important to get a score of over 7

5. Improving your accent – ensuring you can make all sounds correctly (th, l, r, long vowel sounds) and also getting natural sounding stress, and intonation.

6. Improving spoken grammar – correcting any frequent errors.

7. Broadening your vocabulary – especially building common phrases that can be used in a variety of responses, such as connectives and discourse markers.

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Appendix

Topics you may be asked to talk about

Part 1 Topics

AgesAgricultureAmbitionsAnimalsBicyclesBirdsBirthdaysBooksClothesCollecting ThingsComputersCountryCrimeCultural Events and EntertainmentDaily RoutinesDancingDrawing and PaintingEducation

FamilyFestivalsFilms/MoviesFlowersFood and CookingFriendsGamesGardens and ParksGoing Abroad Long-termGoing out in the EveningsGrandparentsHappinessHealthy EatingHobbies and InterestsHolidays/VacationsHotelsKeeping FitLanguagesLeisure

LettersMeeting PeopleMemories of the PastMusicNamesNewspapersNoiseNumbersOutdoor ActivitiesPhotographs/PhotographyPlaces of InterestPossessionsPublic TransportRainReadingRestaurantsSchool SeasonsShopping

SportsTelephonesTelevision ( TV)The MediaThe SeaTimeTime and Times of DayTransportTravelVisitorsWeatherWeddingsWeekendsWhere You Live NowWritingYour HomeYour HometownYour StudiesYour Work

Part 2 Topics

A BirthdayA Book You Have ReadA Book You Learned Something FromA Book You Might Like to WriteA Building, Structure or Monument A Ceremonial EventA Change in Your LifeA ChildA CityA ClassmateA CompanyA Controversial IssueA Cultural EventA Difficult DecisionA Difficult ThingA Domesticated AnimalA Family EventA Famous PersonA FilmA Film/TV CharacterA Form of TransportA Free DayA FriendA Garden or ParkA GiftA Gift You Gave

A Story from ChildhoodA Strange or Unusual PlaceA Successful PersonA TeacherA Team, Club, Organization or GroupA Three-day HolidayA Time When You Helped SomeoneA Time When You Were BusyA ToyA TV ProgrammeA VehicleA Visit You MadeA Visit You ReceivedA WebsiteA WeddingA Well-known ProductA Work of ArtAdvertisementAn AchievementAn Adventurous PersonAn AmbitionAn AnimalAn Economic ActivityAn Environmental ProblemAn Ethnic MinorityAn Interesting Exhibition

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A Good PersonalityA Happy Event from ChildhoodA Happy MemoryA Happy PersonA Hobby or an lnterestA Holiday A HomeA Hotel A Hotel You Have Stayed A JobA Lake, River or SeaA LeaderA Local EventA Long-distance JourneyA MealA Member of Your FamilyA Memorable ExperienceA Modern BuildingA Music Group, Musician or SingeA NeighbourA Newspaper or MagazineA PartyA Person Who Has Influenced YouA Person You Live withA Person You Would Like to Spend aA PhotographA Piece of Family NewsA Piece of Music or a SongA Piece of NewsA PlaceA Place in a City You Know WellA Place of Natural BeautyA Place You Have VisitedA Positive ExperienceA Postcard or LetterA ProblemA Project or Piece of Work You Did as TeamA Public EventA Quiet PlaceA Radio ProgrammeA RestaurantA RoomA SchoolA School TripA Scientific DevelopmentA Short CourseA ShopA Small BusinessA Sporting EventA Sport

An Item of Clothing or JewelleryAn Open-air MarketArtistic skillBad HabitsEconomic IssueElderly Person Electronic ItemExerciseFirst DayFutureHistorical EventImportant Stage of Your LifeImportant StructureLearning EnglishMaking Yourself a Better PersonMeeting a Person Speaking a Different languageAn Occasion on Which You Were LateParentsPublic TransportRole of MoneySome HelpSome Useful AdviceSomething about a Different CultureSomething DangerousSomething ExcitingSomething ExpensiveSomething Interesting You Hope to Do in the FutureSomething OldSomething That Made You LaughSomething You Are Good aSomething You Bought You Were Not Happy withSomething You Do to RelaxSomething You Made Yourself Something You OwnSports FacilitiesThe Education SystemThe Role of ComputersThe Role of TVThe Way You Work or StudyThe WeatherTwo People from the Same FamilyWhat You Did Last WeekendWhat You Would Do if You Received a Million DollarsYou Would Like to VisitYour Favourite Actor or ActressYour Favourite Time of DayYour HomeYour Ideal HomeYouth Culture

Part 3 topics

The questions will be related to the topic given in Part 2

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Examples of connectives/conjunctions arranged into categories. Time Place Manner Cause Adding Contrasting

(when) (where) (how) (why) (joining alike) (comparing)

afteras soon asat firstat oncebeforefinallymeanwhilenextnownow thatsince thenuntilwhenwhile

wherewherever

as ifbylikelikewise

althoughas a resultbecausebyconsequentlydespitein casein order thatin that casein this wayotherwisesincesoso as toso thatthereforethoughto that endunlessyet

andalsoas well asbesidesin additionincludingmoreoversimilarly

alternativelybutexcept forhoweverin contrastif not ... theninstead ofon the other handor whereas