Discourse on IELTS Speaking Module

Procedure

Part 1: Introduction and Interview on Familiar Topics (4-5minutes)

The examiner asks you questions on familiar subjects such as your home town or village work or studies. These are the easiest questions, designed to put candidates at ease.

You will then be asked 2 sets of questions f

Part 2:       Individual Long Turn (3-4 minutes)

You have one topic to talk about for 1-2 minutes. You have 1 minute to prepare for this task.

Part 3:        Two-Way Discussion (4-5) minutes

The topic in Part 3 is related to the topic in Part 2. So if, for example, Part 2 was about a teacher, then Part 3 might be about Education

·  The questions are easy, so the examiner cannot be sure of your level from only Part 1. You can give very easy answers, but this is a chance to make a good impression. If you give easy answers, the examiner will not know if you are Band 4 or maybe Band 5. If you give good, specific answers with explanations, the examiner will think you could be Band 6 or Band 7!

·  You can use this time to practice making good sentences. If you wait until Part 2 and Part 3 to give longer answers, you might not do so well. Athletes and musicians always take time to warm up. You should too!

The interview section of part 1 will follow with questions related closely to your own personal life and then continue with further questions that are related to your wider experience. Inititially you may be asked about your background or your home or what are currently doing. The questions may extend to topics related to your country, such as customs or lifestyles and your personal involvement with these.

The aim of this part 1 interview is to show that you can answer the specific questions that the interviewer asks. There are two main skills that you need to practice for this part of the test:

• You will need to give relevant factual information related to yourself.
• You will also need to be able to express your opinions or your attitudes towards a familiar issue without relying or the interviewer to help you.

The idea is for you to talk and give as much information as you can. Even if you are not sour what the interviewer is asking you, do your best to give and answer. Do not simply answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Do not, however, memorise response. If you appear to be reciting form memory, the examiner will disregard what you are saying.

Before you begin preparing for the interview section of part 1, you may wish to make a list of topics related to your country, culture, lifestyle, personal interests etc.

Once you have completed such a list, think about possible questions you could be asked that relate o skill for this part of the test. You can gain further practice by answering questions you could be asked from task cards of the following pages.

With a partner, practice interviewing and being interviewed. Try to give full and comprehensive answers to each question ad include some of the useful phrases given in this part.

Important phrases you could use:

When giving factual information	When Commenting
Generally	Now, let me see
Usually	Surprisingly enough
Most of the time	Actually
On the whole	Interestingly enough

Phrase you could use to introduce your own opinion:

In my opinion	Well, personally speaking
I personally think	It seems that
I believe that	From my point of view
I feel that	As I see it
To my mind	I am quite convinced that
Obviously	I am fairly certain that

 

This is a selection of sample cue cards for IELTS part 2 speaking.  To help you I have divided them into six topics you need to be able to speak about. Please note how some questions ask you to use the present, future or past tenses.

1.     People

2.     Places

3.     Objects

4.     Habits and likes (or present tense questions)

5.     Plans (or future aspect questions)

6.     Experiences (or past tense/present perfect questions)

In  Part 2, the examiner wants you to have a long turn speaking on your own that lasts between one and two minutes.

You will be given spare paper and a pencil as well as a topic written on a task card. On this task card will e written a general instruction related to the given topic and several suggestions of what you should include in your long turn. You will also be given a minute to think about and or make some notes on what you are going to say. The examiner will tell you when to begin. Speak as clearly as you can, and try to present your ideas in a logical way. If you speak for more than two minutes, the examiner will ask you to finish. Then you may be asked some further questions before the examiner begins the discussion in part 3.

In part2, the topics will be reasonably easy to talk about. You can prepare for this past by choosing simple topics such as a favourite book, or a film or a television program, a special friend, or even a type of animal you like. Make notes about what you would like to say. Study the suggestions for useful phrases in this part to help you organize you speech. Then present you ides to partner. Even if you feel that you do not have very much to say about topic, try to keep talking. Practice speaking for up to two minutes. For further practice, select one of the practice Task Cards. Study the suggestions about what you should say and give yourself one minute to prepare and jot down ideas before presenting you ideas to a partner.

·  The biggest mistake students make is to not take notes. The examiner will give you a piece of paper and a pencil to take notes because speaking for two minutes without stopping is not easy. Even native English speakers will have trouble speaking for two minutes! Students who don't take notes often say, "Uh, I think maybe, um.... Um..., well... It seems to me...". "Uh" and "Um" are Band ZERO! Use notes to help you remember what you want to say. If not, you WILL get a low score.

·  Use the P.R.E.P. method. Start with "P" - make one sentence about your main Point. Then give two or three sentences to provide "R", a Reason. Next give "E", an Example. Describe the example using two or three sentences. Finish by repeating "P", your main Point, but use a different sentence. If you have extra time, give a second example.

·  You must practice! Use a watch and give yourself one minute to take notes on a topic, then two minutes to make four or five sentences using the PREP method. You should practice one or two topics every day before the test.

·  Do not worry about the time. That is the examiner's job. He or she will tell you when to stop.

Phrase you could use to begin Part 2:

To start with

I would like to Begin with

I would like to tell you about

In Part two your sentences will need to follow logically, so the ideas need to be organized using appropriate connective words and phrases such as:

Next	Although
So	Also
Besides this	As well as
And then	Perhaps I should mention
Afterwards	However
Not only…. But	On the other hand/ contrary
Yet	Otherwise
What’s more	Even though

Phrase you could use when giving examples:

For instance	For one thing
Take the way	To give you an idea
Take for example	In particular

Phrases you could use to complete Part 2:

So, in the end	Finally
So,	To finish off
All in all	I’d like to finish with

 

In Part 3, the interviewer will converse with you in greater depth on a particular, more abstract topic. This two-way discussion will be linked by theme to the topic you spoke about in Part 2.

During this part, the interviewer will allow this discussion to become more complex by asking you a series of questions. You may have to give answers that describe, compare, evaluate, justify or speculation ideas related broadly to an issue.

In order to prepare for part3, select one of the practice task cards and ask a partner to discuss the given question suggestions with you. Try also to think of further topics that may be included. In your discussion answers, try to include some of the suggestions for useful phrase related to the skills required for the two-way discussion.

·  Part 3 is the hardest part of the Speaking Test and it comes very fast. Most students aren't ready. When you hear the examiner say "And now I'd like to ask you some more GENERAL questions RELATED to your Part 2 topic", you know Part 3 is starting. Be ready!

·  Do NOT take so much time. Two sentences for each answer is usually enough. If you have a long introduction, the examiner will think you don't know how to answer the question.

·  Use the General-Specific technique. As soon as you hear the question, give a general opinion about the topic. Then give a specific reason or example in the next sentence or two.

Phrase you could use when comparing and contrasting:

The main differences	Just a little different
One of the differences	Totally different
In contrast/ on the other hand	Slightly different
Similarly/likewise	Whereas/while

Phrase you could use when speculating:

It may/could/might/(well) be that	Maybe
It’s quite possible that	I guess
I imagine that	I suppose
Perhaps	I expect

Phrases you could use when justifying:

That’s why	You see
Besides	To be honest
Because	Let me explain
So	The reason why
What I mean is	What I’m saying is

Phrase you could use to give yourself time to think in the discussion:

Now, let me think	The best way I can answer this is
It’s difficult to say exactly, but	Mm, that’s a difficult question. Let me see
That’s an interesting question	I’ll have to think about that
How shall I put it?	Let’s put it this way

IELTS Speaking Band Scores Explanation

How is your IELTS speaking band score calculated? This is an important question for any IELTS candidate because many mistakes can be avoided by knowing what the examiner is looking for and how you are speaking is graded. This description will give you a brief outline of the grading criteria, how band scores are calculated and how examiners typically grade the speaking.

The 4 grading criteria

There are 4 criteria:

Fluency and coherence	How fluently you speak and how well you link your ideas  together
Pronunciation	How accurate your pronunciation is
Lexical resource	How accurate and varied your vocabulary is
Grammatical range and accuracy	How accurate and varied your grammar is

What do these criteria mean?

This is IELTS and IELTS examiners are trained to interpret these criteria in a particular way. In theory it should not matter where you take your test as all examiners grade consistently. I suggest you should spend time understanding the detail here as that way you can avoid many common mistakes.

One main point is that in all the criteria a key idea is being clear. The main idea is whether you can express yourself clearly so that someone else can understand you.

Fluency and coherence

Fluency is about your ability to speak freely at a normal speed. Coherence refers to your speaking being easy to understand.

Fluency is a combination:

1. speed of speech
2. length of answer
3. pausing correctly

Coherence is the ability to:

1. expand your answers
2. answer the questions directly
3. add relevant detail to explain or illustrate your answers
4. connect your sentences by using tenses and connectors

Common mistakes

You should note that very fast or very long answers are not necessarily good, as you may be penalised for poor pronunciation or lack of coherence. In the speaking the main point is that you are able to express yourself clearly.

Another common mistake is to not answer the question. This is where you will be penalised.

Pronunciation

Your grade is influenced by the level to which your pronunciation 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.

The main point here is that your pronunciation is easy to understand and whether you are able to make your meaning clear. Features of good pronunciation include:

1. basic word pronunciation
2. linked speech sounds
3. correct sentence stress
4. correct use of intonation (rising and falling)

You should note that there is no need to have a “British” or “American” accent.

Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)

To score highly you must correctly use higher level words, and pay attention to your word endings (s, ed). In addition you should try to show an ability to paraphrase and use colloquial language.

Once again the key concept here is clarity: do you have enough words to express yourself clearly? This is judged by your ability to:

1. have enough vocabulary to discuss a range of topics
2. to use vocabulary accurately
3. be able to explain yourself when you do not have the right word

Common Mistake

A common mistake here is to use long words without really knowing what they mean.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

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.

There are two key points to understand here:

1. you need to avoid grammar mistakes especially with your tenses
2. you need to use a range of grammatical structures and you should not just use simple sentences all the time

When are they graded?

All 4 criteria are judged throughout all 3 parts of the speaking test – so it is important to concentrate from beginning to end. Although your test will be recorded, you will almost certainly be graded in real time in the test by the examiner sitting in front of you.

How are band scores calculated?

All the criteria count equally

One mistake candidates make is to focus on one or other of the criteria or forget about one altogether (normally cohesion and coherence). Why is this wrong? They all count equally.

What happens is that you get a score out of 9 for each of the criteria, they are added together and then that score is divided by 4.

An example: So let’s take an example. Here is someone who has forgotten to think about coherence and hasn’t fully answered the question. S/he has good general English so does well in grammar and vocabulary, but sadly that is not enough.

• grammar 7
• vocabulary 7
• pronunciation 6
• coherence 4

7+7+6+4 = 24 and 24 divided by 4 equals 6. The message is grammar and vocabulary are not enough – you need to focus on all the criteria throughout the exam.

IELTS Speaking band descriptors

Band 0

Does not attend

Band 1

• no communication possible

• no rateable language

Band 2

Fluency and coherence

• pauses lengthily before most words

• little communication possible

Lexical resource

• only produces isolated words or memorized utterances

Grammatical range and accuracy

• cannot produce basic sentence forms

Pronunciation

• speech is often unintelligible

Band 3

Fluency and coherence

• speaks with long pauses

• has limited ability to link simple sentences

• gives only simple responses and is frequentlyunable to convey basic message

Lexical resource

• uses simple vocabulary to convey personal information

• has insufficient vocabulary for less familiar topics

Grammatical range and accuracy

• attempts basic sentence forms but with limited success, or relies on apparently memorized utterances

• makes numerous errors except in memorized expressions

Pronunciation

• shows some of the features of Band 2 and some, but not all, of the positive features of Band 4

Band 4

Fluency and coherence

• cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction

• links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple connectives and some breakdowns in coherence

Lexical resource

• is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice

• rarely attempts paraphrase

Grammatical range and accuracy

• produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple sentences but subordinate structures are rare

• errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding

Pronunciation

• uses a limited range of pronunciation features

• attempts to control features but lapses are frequent

• mispronunciations are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener

Band 5

Fluency and coherence

• usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self-correction and/or slow speech to keep going

• may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers

• produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems

Lexical resource

• manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility

• attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success

Grammatical range and accuracy

• produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy

• uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems

Pronunciation

• shows all the positive features of Band 4 and some, but not all, of the positive features of Band 6

Band 6

Fluency and coherence

• is willing to speak at length, though may lose coherence at times due to occasional repetition, self-correction or hesitation

• uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not always appropriately

Lexical resource

• has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies

• generally paraphrases successfully

Grammatical range and accuracy

• uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but with limited flexibility

• may make frequent mistakes with complex structures, though these rarely cause comprehension problems

Pronunciation

• uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control

• shows some effective use of features but this is not sustained

• can generally be understood throughout, though mispronunciation of individual words or sounds reduces clarity at times

Band 7

Fluency and coherence

• speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence

• may demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction

• uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility

Lexical resource

• uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of topics

• uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation, with some inappropriate choices

• uses paraphrase effectively

Grammatical range and accuracy

• uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility

• frequently produces error-free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist

Pronunciation

• shows all the positive features of Band 6 and some, but not all, of the positive features of Band 8

Band 8

Fluency and coherence

• speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or self-correction; hesitation is usually content-related and only rarely to search for language

• develops topics coherently and appropriately

Lexical resource

• uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning

• uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skillfully, with occasional inaccuracies

• uses paraphrase effectively as required

Grammatical range and accuracy

• uses a wide range of structures flexibly

• produces a majority of error-free sentences with only very occasional inappropriacies or basic/nonsystematic errors

Pronunciation

• uses a wide range of pronunciation features

• sustains flexible use of features, with only occasional lapses

• is easy to understand throughout; L1 accent has minimal effect on intelligibility

Band 9

Fluency and coherence

• speaks fluently with only rare repetition or selfcorrection; any hesitation is content-related rather than to find words or grammar

• speaks coherently with fully appropriate cohesive features

• develops topics fully and appropriately

Lexical resource

• uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision in all topics

• uses idiomatic language naturally and accurately

Grammatical range and accuracy

• uses a full range of structures naturally and appropriately

• produces consistently accurate structures apart from ‘slips’ characteristic of native speaker speech

Pronunciation

• uses a full range of pronunciation features with precision and subtlety

• sustains flexible use of features throughout

• is effortless to understand