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IELTS – Speaking Module 2022
Tips and Tricks to Sure Success!
The Speaking Module in IELTS is the same for IELTS Academic and for IELTS General Training. The one-on-one interview with the examiner extends for almost 15 minutes where the candidate will be rated on their fluency, coherence, grammar, accuracy and pronunciation.
The IELTS Speaking Module is comprised of 3 sections
Part 1 covers the introduction and the examiner initiating a general conversation with polite enquiries about the candidate’s background – family, education, job, interests, hobbies and a whole range of other topics relevant to what is said in the introduction.
Part 2 is where the candidate is asked to deliver a small monologue by preparing for a minute with notes like a bulleted point sheet. At the end of the speech, the candidate may be asked a question or two on what was just said.
Part 3 consists of abstract references to what was spoken about in Part 2. The examiner draws the candidate out on his/her depth of understanding of what was just said by engaging in a logical discussion on the abstract significances of the given topic.
A List of Tested-and-Tried Tips and Tricks:
Tip 1: Arrive at the Venue At Least 30 Minutes Early!
Tip 2: Compose your Physical Appearance and Mental Attitude!
Tip 3: Do Not Try to Impress With your Intellect!
Tip 4: Do Not Project a Formal Attitude:
Tip 5: Don’t Speak Too Fast!
Tip 6: Be Prepared to be Thrown Off Track!
Tip 7: Find a Balance Between Generic and Specific Answers!
Tip 8: Utilize the Whole Two Minutes for Speaking in Part 2
Tip 1: Arrive at the Venue At Least 30 Minutes Early!
This will enable you to acclimatize to the spot and relax, so that when the interview starts you are perfectly composed and collected.
Tip 2: Compose your Physical Appearance and Mental Attitude!
You need to engage the examiner with enough confidence but not so much as to appear insolent. Some people are so wrapped in anticipation of what is about to happen that their facial expression is sometimes aggressive. This will never establish a rapport with the examiner. Remember . . . first impressions!
This is why it is important to relax and be composed before you meet the examiner. Maintain eye contact with the examiner as soon as you enter and immediately try to convey a disarming personality.
Tip 3: Do Not Try to Impress With your Intellect!
Engage in polite and general small talk and try to smile naturally a few times. Don’t overdo it. It is vital not to give the examiner the impression that you are trying to appear smart!
There is nothing more ridiculous than a beginner in English trying to impress a habitual English speaker with verbose language filled with complicated words. Even if you are smart, unless you have a thorough grasp of figurative English and the skill to use literal English in common speech patterns you will only appear silly.
This is the personal experience of a person who was smart and brilliant in academics. On her first attempt she scored a band 8, but felt intuitively that her demeanor affected the scoring. She used a pompous vocabulary in elevated sentence structure, which she herself admitted, she wanted to show off. She took another attempt, this time more humble and subdued in her enthusiasm. The net result was that she scored a band 8.5! The point here is that by complicating things you accentuate the exam atmosphere and alienate the examiner. If you just keep things simple talk in everyday English and maintain fluency, you engage the examiner like a friend, or at least he/she empathizes
with you.
Tip 4: Do Not Project a Formal Attitude:
Many people try to compensate for the tension they feel with an attitude of aloof formality. This can be disastrous. The IELTS Speaking exam is an informal one unlike IELTS writing. You are allowed to use informal speech, which is indulged as long as you respect the examiner by avoiding slang or coarse words. Also, steer clear of controversial topics and irreverent opinions. So with those caveats in mind you can just be yourself and speak in your normal style. They don’t expect you to have the attitude of a high school student taking a test.
Tip 5: Don’t Speak Too Fast!
Speaking fast doesn’t convince the examiner that you have learnt the language adequately. You merely need to assure the examiner that you can speak fluently on any topic but with an ease that indicates enough self-confidence. Try to maintain a steady pace in speech throughout the exam. This way you will enunciate your words so the examiner can understand everything say.
Some people have a speaking disorder where they of rush their speech so that words seem elided and indistinguishable. If their accent is too thick this will make them completely incoherent. It could be due to tension. So, it is important to relax as much as possible in the circumstances, and regulate your speech.
There is a neat trick to accomplish this. People are known to be slow speakers. This is just natural and so they are condoned especially in empathy with students of a new language.. So, deliberately speak slow from the very beginning when you introduce yourself. You will get your words across lucidly.
You are not going to going to be reproved for speaking slowly so take advantage of it. Start speaking slowly and maintain that pace. Be sure not to speed up and slow down, that will sound odd. Be sure not to speak so slowly that it is exaggerated and unnatural. You will gain another advantage by this because this trick will enable you to get a few moments more to consider what you will say next.
So, articulate well and speak at a pace that you can steadily maintain.
Tip 6: Be Prepared to be Thrown Off Track!
The examiner knows you have come prepared. But they still like to gauge your mental agility in recovering your composure. Sometimes you will be rudely interrupted mid sentence. This is mainly to see if you are reeling off a scripted scenario or if you are able to think on your feet. The trick is to anticipate the interruptions. Hit the ground running by not being lulled by your own voice. Expect the intrusions into your carefully prepared responses and practice the skill of repartee! You can even express an opinion contradicting your examiner. But obviously you cannot be rude or offensive.
Tip 7: Find a Balance Between Generic and Specific Answers!
It is prudent to give open answers to questions if the examiner is not expecting you to be specific. For example, one student was asked whether she liked the sound of her own voice. This is a jibe at someone who speaks too much. But the new English learner is very unlikely to understand that, and will only interpret it literally. She said later, that rather than appearing at a loss for words, with responses like Gosh, I don’t know or Pausing and saying I haven’t thought about it before…. she answered that she once played back her Whatsap voice message and was really surprised. She felt that was an open answer.
This is a typical situation in these interviews. The interviewer is often unconcerned with the content or context of certain answers but is impressed with the candidate’s ability to maintain their composure.
Tip 8: Utilize the Whole Two Minutes for Speaking in Part 2
You a given a card in Part 2 with the primary topic and several sub categories of the same topic. You are allotted ‘between one and two minutes’. To ensure a higher score, just keep speaking until the examiner chimes in with an interruption or blandly tell you that it’s enough!
Keep in mind there is no set format to your monologue. You can freely dissemble your ideas to convey a sense of fluency. Your primary goal is to talk with seeming intelligence for the full two minutes. There is no order to follow regarding the sub category topics. Just zip from topic to topic taking care to follow the logical thread. Remember that the sub topics are merely points to expand on within the main topic.
Learning to stretch little bits of an idea into a comprehensive answer in two or three sentences must be a point you practice with great effort in your preparation for the IELTS. So this is the list of useful tips to take on your next IELTS. But remember, nothing can replace diligent practice and extensive research on previous questions and answers.