Study strategies for the IELTS Speaking test 

In this section we will look at study strategies for:

● general speaking practice

● speaking practice for the IELTS test
● specific practice for each part of the Speaking test.

In the weeks before the test you should do some general speaking practice as well as specific practice for each part of the IELTS
Speaking test. To do this you should develop a study program so that you can practise speaking for at least an hour every day.

Speaking activities with other people 

It is difficult to practise speaking alone. Therefore you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with.

Conversation groups

Many towns and cities have English language conversation groups or clubs. Check your local newspaper or the Internet to find a
conversation group close to where you live. Alternatively, find other students who want to improve their English speaking skills and
start your own conversation group.

Everyday situations

Find situations in which to practise your English. If you are in an English speaking country this is very easy to do. You can practise
speaking with local people in places such as supermarkets and shops, restaurants, on the bus, with the taxi driver, etc. It is quite easy
to start a real conversation!

If you do not live in an English speaking country you can still find ways of speaking in English with other people. For example, you
may have English speaking exchange students at your school whom you can talk to. Alternatively, you may be able to find an
Australian, English, American or Irish pub where you are likely to meet other people speaking English as a first or second language.

Speaking activities on your own 

If you are unable to find someone to practise speaking English with, try the following activities on your own.

Television or radio programs in English

Record programs spoken in English onto a cassette. For example, you could record a short news item or the weather report from the
radio or television. Listen to the cassette a few times and ​transcribe​ a small section. By doing this you can practise listening for
fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Then practise speaking this text yourself.

Use audio-visual resources

Go to a library or bookshop and borrow or buy English language textbooks with cassettes or CDs. Audio-visual resources can provide
you with good English speaking models and are often structured to help you develop different areas of speaking (e.g., pronunciation,
fluency and coherence, grammar).

While you are outside

Even if you are not in an English speaking country, you may see English words while you are outside, especially in large towns and
cities. Look at shop names, street names, advertisements, and notices on buses and trains. You can also look at number plates on
cars, telephone numbers or house numbers. As you walk down the street, practise reading the English words you see and saying the
numbers in English to yourself.

Songs and videos

Listen to a song (sung in English of course!) that you like. Learn the words (you can transcribe them or even find them on the
Internet) and repeat them to yourself. Then try to sing with the music and practise this until you know the song without looking at the
words. Alternatively, watch a movie in English and try to learn some of the words and phrases the actors use. This will help you hear
words in context and build your range of vocabulary.

Internet sites have scripts of films in English (often popular Australian, American or English movies). By reading the scripts and
listening to and/or watching the movie, you can learn new words and phrases. Develop your skills in speaking by practising these new
words and phrases.

Thinking in English

Try to ​think​ in English as much as possible. You can do this anywhere and anytime. Throughout the day, you are always thinking, but
usually in your native language. Have a period of time everyday, such as while you are on the bus, taking a shower or lying in bed,
when you think only in English. For example, imagine having a conversation with a friend in English. Imagine what you would talk
about and how you would express yourself in English. You could describe your house, your room or your daily routine.

Study strategies - IELTS speaking practice  

Specific speaking practice for the IELTS test will help you become familiar with the format of the IELTS test and prepare for the
specific types of questions you will be asked during the test. Below are some suggestions for ways in which you can develop your
specific speaking skills for the IELTS test.

Start your own speaking skills group

Find other students who are doing the IELTS test and start your own speaking skills group. Organise your group to meet regularly and
practise each part of the Speaking test. You can exchange ideas for answering questions and receive feedback on your speaking skills
from other students in the group.

Role-play the IELTS interview

Role-play the example IELTS interviews you get in this course as many times as you can. Ask a friend to listen to your responses and
comment on your speaking when you have finished. Alternatively, practise speaking different dialogues with yourself. Imagine the
questions the examiner might ask you and how you would answer those questions.

Listen to and analyse sample transcripts of the IELTS interview

Listen to sample transcripts of the IELTS Speaking test and analyse the candidates’ speaking ability. What did the candidates do well?
What could they improve?

Keep a vocabulary book

While you study, develop a list of vocabulary related to each of the topic areas in the IELTS Speaking test. Use some of this
vocabulary every time you practise your speaking.

Use the Internet

There are many web sites on the Internet that offer suggestions and activities to help you improve both your general speaking ability
and speaking for the IELTS test. Use a good search engine and experiment with key words such as ‘IELTS Speaking preparation’,
‘English pronunciation’ or ‘speaking activities’ to see what you can find.

Some Internet sites allow you to ​listen​ to the news and also provide transcripts in English. By listening to up-to-date information on
current issues you develop your:

● vocabulary and ideas related to IELTS topics

● speaking skills by listening to models of English language.

Useful sites for this include:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/

http://bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml

http://www.cnn.com/

Use newspapers and magazines

To answer questions more effectively, you need to develop your ideas and build your vocabulary by reading English language
newspapers and magazines. If it is difficult or expensive to get English-language newspapers in your country, most of them can now
be found on the Internet. ​http://www.world-newspapers.com/

Newspapers and magazines are usually divided into the following sections:

● News stories - keep you up-to-date with the latest stories and current issues.
● Theme-related information - articles with different themes, for example, technology, health, and entertainment.
● Feature pages – have longer articles on topics of general interest and often discuss a topic from various viewpoints.
● The opinion or editorial page - contain the opinion of the newspaper. They are often presented as a strong argument in favour
of or against a particular topic.
● Letters to the editor - often comment on an article from the previous day (of a newspaper) or previous month (of a magazine)
and can be another good source of ideas on a particular topic.
Checklist  
Fluency 

● Do you speak at a relaxed, natural rate?

● How is the smoothness and continuity of your speech?
● Do you speak easily without too many pauses?
● Do you use other words to express the same or similar meaning when you cannot think of the word in English?
● Do you use fillers when you can't think of a word or expression?

Coherence 

● Are your sentences in a logical order?

● Have you used signposts to organise your answer?
● Have you used conjunctions to link your ideas?
● Have you linked your ideas to the question?
● Do you refer directly to the main idea of the question at the beginning of your answer?
● Do you continue to refer to the main idea of the question using reference words throughout your answer?

How is your interview assessed? 

Your IELTS Speaking test is assessed by a qualified examiner using four specific categories:

● fluency and coherence

● lexical resource (vocabulary)
● grammatical range and accuracy
● pronunciation.

In this step we will briefly introduce what each of these categories means. In the following steps we will examine each category in
detail. In the '​Practice Tests​' section of the module, we will assess two complete interviews using these four categories.
  

Activity - Your aims in the Speaking test 

Think about what your aim is for each of the assessment categories. Then read each point below and decide if it should be one of your
aims or not.

1 Fluency and coherence 

Fluency​ is determined by:

● your rate of speech

● the smoothness and continuity of your speech.

Your aim is to: Yes No

speak at a relaxed, natural pace

speak quickly to impress the examiner

 pause frequently to prepare the next part
of your answer

Coherence​ is determined by:

● sequencing your sentences logically

● using ​signposts​ (first, next, on the other hand, similarly etc.) to mark each stage of your discussion, narration or argument
● using ​cohesive devices​ (and, or, but, so, because) within and between sentences.

Your aim is to: Yes No

organise what you say clearly

present your ideas and information in a

logical sequence that can easily be
followed by the examiner.

2 Lexical resource 
Lexical resource​ refers to your use of vocabulary.

This is determined by:

● the ​variety​ of words you use

● how ​accurate​ and ​appropriate​ your vocabulary is
● your ability to ​paraphrase​, that is, to find another way of saying what you mean when you do not know the word in English
 Your aim is to: Yes No

repeat the same words or phrases to

show you know them

use words correctly to make your

meaning clear

ignore the style of vocabulary appropriate

for an interview

use words of similar meaning, if you

cannot think of a specific word in English

3 Grammatical range and accuracy 

Grammatical range​ is determined by:

● the ​length​ and ​complexity​ of your sentences

● how ​appropriately​ you use complex sentences
● the ​variety​ of sentence ​structures​ you use.

Your aim is to: Yes No

 try to use only simple sentence
structures

Grammatical accuracy​ is determined by:

● how many grammatical errors you make

● how much your errors interfere with communicating your ideas.

Your aim is to: Yes No

be as accurate as possible

4 Pronunciation 
This is the ability to produce speech (sounds) that can be understood.

This is determined by:

● how easy it is for the examiner to understand what you are saying
● how much of your speech is not understood
● how much your own language influences your speech.

Your aim is to: Yes No

speak with clear English intonation and

pronunciation.
Development issues 
Population expansion

1. Is population growth a big issue in your country?

2. Do you agree or disagree with the view that governments should restrict the number of children parents are allowed to have?
3. What do you think will be the biggest impact of population growth on societies in the future?

Urbanisation

4. What are some of the effects of urbanisation on society?

5. What can governments do to encourage people not to live in cities but to live in more rural areas?

Government and the law 

Elections and ​compulsory voting

1. What do you think are some advantages and disadvantages of compulsory voting?
2. Could you see compulsory voting being introduced in your country and would it be effective?

Prison versus ​rehabilitation

3. In what cases do you think prisoners have the right to be rehabilitated so that they can re-enter society?
4. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks on society if more prisoners are rehabilitated?

Relationships 
Family relationships

1. How much do you think family relationships have changed in your country over the last generation?
2. What do you think are some of the major causes of divorce these days?
3. Do you think divorce rates will increase in the future in your country?
Friendship

4. How are friendships different from the relationships you have with family members?
5. What qualities make a person a good friend?

Workplace relationships

6. Is it common for people to form close friendships with their colleagues in your country?
7. What qualities make a good boss?
8. What are some ways in which companies could improve workplace relations (i.e., relationships among co-workers)?

Social issues 
The ​elderly

1. How differently are the elderly treated today compared to a generation ago in your country?
2. What are some ways in which the quality of life for the elderly could be improved?

Juvenile crime

3. What do you think are some of the main causes of juvenile crime?
4. What can be done to decrease the amount of crime among adolescents?

Women in the workplace

5. Approximately what percentage of the workplace is comprised of women in your country?

6. What are some of the positives and negatives to society having more women working?
7. Do you think more mothers will continue to work in the future in your country?

Science and technology 

Technology and communication
 1. How do you think modern communication technology such as email and mobile phones has affected the way people
communicate with each other?
2. Do you think that people communicate better now than they did in the past?
3. What technological changes or advances do you think will happen in the future in terms of communication?

Genetically modified foods

4. How aware are people in your country about GM food?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of GM food?
6. Do you think food technology will do more to improve the quality of food in the future?

Space ​exploration

7. How important do people in your country feel space exploration is?

8. What are the main benefits of space exploration?
9. What do you think is the biggest contribution space exploration will make in your lifetime?

The environment 
Endangered species

1. Do you know of any endangered species in your country or in other countries?

2. How effective have the efforts of governments and environmental groups been to protect endangered species?

Industry and the environment

3. What do you think are some of the most important environmental issues in your country today?
4. To what extent do companies take responsibility for keeping the environment clean in your country?
5. What more could governments do to ensure the protection of the environment?
The arts and entertainment 
Media​ ​censorship

1. To what extent do you think news is censored in your country?

2. What kind of news do you think should be censored, if any?
3. Do you think there will be more or less censorship in the future?

Famous people and the media

4. Are the private lives of public figures protected in your country?

5. To what extent do you think that public figures have the right to privacy?
6. When do you think a public figure’s private life should be publicised?

The arts

7. What are the most popular forms of art (i.e., theatre, painting, sculpture, music, dance, etc.) where you come from?
8. To what extent do you think the arts should be supported by the government?

Health and Leisure 

The Health care system in your country

1. Describe the health care system in your country.

2. How do you think it could be improved?

Sport and exercise

3. Do you feel people are more or less physically active today than they were in the past?
4. How important is sport in schools (i.e., are students who are good at sports given preferential treatment at school?)
5. What are people’s attitudes towards professional athletes in your country?

Food and diet

6. How healthy do you think people’s diets are today compared to 50 years ago?
7. Do you think the quality of food and people’s diets will improve in the future?
8. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using technology in food production?
Education 
Public or private schools

1. How different are public and private schools in your country?

2. Do many people choose to educate their children at home?
3. Why do you think some people choose to send their children to private schools?

Education fees

4. How expensive is it to attend university in your country?

5. What are some advantages and disadvantages of providing free university education for all people?

Relevance of different types of assessment

6. What important tests do students have to take in your country?

7. How effective do you think these tests are in assessing children’s intelligence?
8. Can you see other types of tests being introduced in the future to test other types of intelligence or skills (i.e., emotional
intelligence, organisational skills)?

Patt 1

● home ● music
● country ● the Internet
● family, friends and relationships ● advertising
● job ● media
● studies ● reading
● interests or hobbies ● food
● daily routine ● cooking
Language requirements for Part 2 

In this part of the Speaking test you may be required to do one or more of the following:

● describe ● tell a story

● explain ● summarise
● give an opinion ● suggest

In Part 2 of the Speaking test you will be required to extend your speaking skills.

You can do this by:

● using a variety of sentence structures, including more complex sentences

● using a variety of vocabulary
● linking your ideas using signpost words such as ‘​however​’ or ‘​therefore.​’

et’s evaluate her ​use of vocabulary​ using the criteria from the checklist.

Criteria for assessing vocabulary Yes No

 Range
Does the candidate generally avoid
repetition by using a range of
vocabulary?

Accuracy
Does the candidate generally use words
in their correct context?

Appropriateness
Does the candidate generally avoid
informal expressions?

● describe ● tell a story

● explain ● summarise
● give an opinion ● suggest

Topic card Sola’s notes

Describe an item of technology - a laptop computer

that
you use to make your daily life
easier.
 You should say: - assignments for class
what you use it for- - watching DVDs

where you use it- - on a bus or train because it is

small and light
- at home if my sister is using my
other computer

how often you use it - - almost every day

and explain why it makes your - can use it anywhere/any time

life easier -

Another strategy you can use when you can't think of a word or expression and you don't want to hesitate for too long is to use
fillers​. Examples of fillers are:

● um ● er ● let me see
● uh ● well

More useful signposts 

Here are some examples of other useful ​signposts​ you can use to organise your answers in the IELTS Speaking test.

Sequence ideas
● First (firstly) computers have increased
● Next, our ability to get a job done
● Finally, faster.
● The main reason is
● Another point is
● Another reason is

Give an Example

● For example, now I can make overseas

● For instance, orders by e-mail and the goods
● Namely, are here in only a few days.
● Specifically,
● That is,

● ...such as... ...such as making overseas

orders by email.

Add another idea

● Also, they allow us to get a job done

● In addition, more efficiently.
● Moreover,
● Besides,
 Introduce a similar idea

● Likewise, computers can be a lot of fun

● Similarly, to use.

Introduce a different idea

● However, some people find computers

● In contrast, very boring to use.
● On the other hand,

● Although some people find computers

boring, I am fascinated by
them.

Introduce a new idea

● With regard to other kinds of technology, it is

● When it comes to clear that they have improved
● On the question of working conditions as well.

Summarise your ideas

● All in all, I think the increased use of
● In brief, computers has improved our
● On the whole, lives dramatically.

Give a cause

● Due to my parents’ nervousness, they

● Because of never turn on the computer.

Give an effect

● Therefore, the computer sits in the study

● As a result, without being used.
● For this reason,
● Consequently,

Emphasise a point

● Certainly, I understand their fear of

● Indeed, technology.
● In fact,
● Of course,
● Actually,
● As a matter of fact,
● Naturally,
 Generalise

● Usually, younger people are more

● In general, comfortable using computers.
● On the whole,
● As a rule,
● In most cases,
● Broadly speaking,
● Generally speaking,
● For the most part,
● To some extent

Clarify a point

● In other words, younger people have grown up

● Namely, with computers.
● That is to say,
● I mean,
 Phrases to compare and Comparing and
contrast contrasting

Some ​similarities​ between ... fresh fruit and vegetables

(buying food in my country are cheap and they are also
and here) are that... easily available.
(Buying food in my country
and here) is ​similar​ because
...
... meat is almost twice as
Some ​differences​ between
expensive here as in my
(buying food in my country
country and there is less
and here) are that...
variety here.
(Buying food in my country
and here) is ​different
because ...

Phrases to give Suggestion

suggestions
 (The government) could... ... encourage tourism in our
country by spending more
Perhaps (the government)
money on worldwide
could ...
advertising to promote our
tourist attractions and our
culture.
A good idea would be for
(the government) to...
Maybe (the government)
should ...

One way (the government) ... encourage tourism in our

could ... country ​is​ by spending more
money on worldwide
Another way (the government) advertising to promote our
could ... tourist attractions and our
culture.

ook at following phrases you can use to evaluate.

Phrases to evaluate Evaluation

I believe that (assignments) ​are ... this type of

more assessment gives
effective/better/fairer​because students the time and
... opportunity to produce
better​ quality work.
(Assignments) ​are definitely
more suitable for​ (tertiary
students) because ...
Note​ that in order to ​evaluate​ something, you may have to compare it with something else in order to decide if it is better/worse etc.
You may therefore need to use ​comparative or superlative adjectives​such as those used in the above examples:

● more effective/the most ● more successful/the most

effective successful
● better/the best ● more important/the most
● fairer/the fairest. important
● more popular/the most
popular.

Look at the following phrases you can use to give preferences.

Phrases to give Preference

preferences

I much prefer to ... ... study with a friend or a

group of people.
In general I would rather ...
I usually like to ...
On the whole I usually
choose to ...
Sometimes I prefer to...

No preference

I don’t mind doing either (x) or (y).

“ I don’t mind studying ​either​ with a group o

​ r​ by myself.”

I like doing both (x) and (y).

“ I like studying ​both​ with a group and by myself.”

Look at the following phrases you can use to speculate.

Phrases to speculate Speculation

I’m certain that ... ...the recycling of household

rubbish and other waste
There’s a good / a reasonable products will become more
chance that ... efficient in the future.

Most probably ...

It’s quite possible that ...

I hope that ...

Perhaps ...

I’m not sure if ...

There’s little/ not much chance

that ...

I doubt very much that …