8 wonderful tips to enhance your speaking band scores
Majority of the candidates find speaking a very daunting task .This is because they are unaware about some things.
Here are the 8 wonderful tips to enhance your speaking band scores.
Now, let’s look at my top tips for boosting your performance in the speaking module of your IELTS test.
1) Try to relax!
Most language learners would agree that speaking is the most challenging skill to master. You are required to make error free sentences and think about the appropriate vocabulary and proper pronunciation, avoid direct translation from your native language, convey the right message, bring fluctuations in your tone and connect your ideas in an organized manner.
You can relax yourself by over thinking, but it’s important to remember that the examiner isn’t focusing on your mistakes, but on the pleasant aspects of your speech. They are there to observe what you can do, not what you can’t, and will try their best to make you feel comfortable. Think of it as a short conversation with a friend. It’s all about communication – something you do in your daily life.
Also, remember you’re not being evaluated on your knowledge about specific topics. IELTS speaking topics are based on your general life, experiences and opinions. For instance, you may be asked to talk about your favourite animal, your hometown, your best friend or your job. Most people love speaking about themselves, so just relax and give your best. There are no rights or wrong answers!
2) Extend your answers
This assesses your fluency. Speaking at length is a chance to show how fluent you are. Adopt habit of giving reasons for each and every point of your answer. If the examiner keeps asking ‘why?’, then you are not elaborating enough and the grader is not satisfied with your answer. Fluency is one of the four IELTS assessment criteria, and to sound fluent, you will need to maintain a good flow of speech. So don’t be afraid you are saying too much!
“Look at these example answers to see the difference between a fluent and non-fluent speaker.
•Answer
•Better answer
Examiner: What is your favorite pet animal?
Candidate: My favorite animal is a Dog.
Examiner: Why?
Candidate: Because they are cute and loyal.
Examiner: What is your favorite pet animal?
Candidate: My favorite pet animal is a dog. I have always found myself drawn to dogs because of their independent nature. Unlike cats, dogs are low maintenance. They don’t need a lot of space and they are cheap to feed. We can leave them alone at home all day and they don’t panic or get lonely. They also make great company for us because they are beautiful, purring, intelligent pets that love and entertain us every day.
3) Make the most of your one minute
In 2nd part of the speaking section – where you will speak about a given topic – the examiner will give you one minute to prepare your speech. Use this time wisely!
Don’t panic if you are unfamiliar with the topic; you can create a story, or put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and tell the story from their perspective. For example, if you need to talk about a sporting event you attended, and you do not like sports, you could put yourself in the shoes of a friend who is a sports fan, and talk about their experience as if it was your own. There is no right or wrong answer; you are only being assessed on your speaking abilities.
The points you are trying to cover will be displayed on a cue card, so I recommend using your one minute to quickly write down keywords (sentences take too long) on your notepaper, to refer to if you get stuck. You can add additional points in case you run out of things to speak. For a satisfactory fluency score, you’ll need to keep going without taking too many pauses, so these notes will come in handy!
4) Don’t memorize your Answers!
Speaking section questions follow a common pattern. In part one, you’ll be asked about personal topics, like your hometown, job or your likes/dislikes. Part two focuses on your experiences, so you could talk about a place, person or object. Part three contains a discussion about your views related to the topic from part two.
However, it certainly pays off equipping yourself with relevant vocabulary and common phrases and collocations (common word grouping), it’s important to avoid cramming large chunks of speech. Examiners are well trained to identify memorized responses, and will score you down for this.
Instead, I recommend studying typical vocabulary, by dividing words into categories, such as sport or film. This approach can also assist you to improve your vocabulary for other sections of the IELTS test – and the wider your vocabulary, the better your score!
5) Speak clearly and at a natural speed
Try not to rush your speech. Speaking too fast won’t improve your fluency score, and could result in you making more mistakes. Instead, remain calm, speak clearly and maintain your natural speed. And don’t worry about your accent; all accents are welcome in the IELTS test. Just ensure about your pronunciation.
enhance your speaking band scores
6. Don’t give up!
There are three common cases where you might feel like giving up. All I can say is: don’t!
The first is when you can’t find the accurate word you are looking for. If this happens, avoid any long pauses and try to rephrase or look for other ways explain what you mean.
The second is when you aren’t familiar with a topic or have no opinions on an issue. If this happens, use your creativity to make answer more impressive and interesting. Putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has experienced the situation will help you generate ideas instantly.
The third is when you don’t understand the examiner’s question. If this happens, you can always ask for clarification (but try to avoid asking too many questions).
7. Record you speaking during practice
If you haven’t got the opportunity to practice with an English native speaker, you can still achieve a lot by practicing on your own. How? By recording your practice sessions and evaluating yourself based on the four IELTS assessment parameters like, fluency, lexical resource (your range of vocabulary), grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
Go over your recording to identify your weaknesses. Could you have used good vocabulary? How fluent were you? Could you have used more sentence variations and complex structures? How was your pronunciation? Work on your weakest descriptor until you produce a better recording.
8. Know what to expect
If you are attempting the IELTS test first time, it helps to familiarize yourself with the format and grading criteria. Knowing what to expect will really aid to calm your nerves.
I suggest knowing the answers to the following questions before taking the test:
How long is it?
How many parts are there?
What am I expected to do in each part?
What are the grading criteria?
THANK YOU 🙂
enhance your speaking band scores
enhance your speaking band scores