Handling IELTS speaking test confusion

Judging by the frequent comments made by students preparing for IELTS (International English Language Testing System), many candidates believe they’ll lose marks if they ask for speaking test questions to be explained or repeated.

In fact, there’s no specific penalty if test takers who are confused by a question ask the examiner to explain it or say it again.

In conversations between people who are native speakers of the same language, it’s always possible that one person won’t hear another person properly, or needs a word or question to be clarified.

Given that the IELTS speaking test involves a lengthy discussion between a native speaker and a non-native speaker of English, it’s even more likely that either of these situations will happen.

Asking for clarification or repetition during a speaking test allows the communication between the candidate and the examiner to keep going. This is most appropriate.

After all, the test is designed to assess candidates’ ability to use spoken English to answer questions, to speak at length and to talk with the examiner.

Test takers who know how to handle confusion caused by not hearing or not understanding questions will be able to show their speaking abilities all the more.

Feedback on IELTS test performance

Cristina, a nurse in the Philippines, needs to get band score 7 in speaking with an overall score of at least 6.5 in IELTS (International English Language Testing System). She wrote this:

“I took IELTS twice in the last few weeks, and I managed to improve my writing score from 6.5 to 7.0. Sadly, however, I got 6.5 for speaking both times.

“Can the test centre give me feedback on specific aspects in the ielts speaking test?”

Here’s my reply: There’s no doubt that you need well-developed English skills to get band 7 in any skill area (listening, reading, writing and speaking).

However, as you’ve found, it’s particularly challenging to get a high band score in the ielts speaking test. That’s partly because it’s a productive skill and not a receptive skill.

Marks For IELTS Speaking Fluency

Van Anh, a teacher in Vietnam, asked me this question:

“In a recent article, you said that test takers might get a lower mark for fluency if they correct themselves. Can you please explain why correcting oneself risks lowering the mark for fluency? How much self-correction is acceptable in the ielts speaking test? How much is too much?”

Here’s my reply:

The term “fluency” refers to a speaker’s ability to talk readily, smoothly and effortlessly. The rate, or speed, at which the person talks is also a factor in fluency.

A person is said to be very fluent in a language if he or she can speak at a normal pace with few (or no) pauses, very little repetition and very few corrections.

Fluency in any language is important. Listeners can find it difficult to understand or follow the ideas a speaker wants to communicate if the speaker has problems with fluency. For this reason, fluency is assessed in IELTS.

[IELTS Article] Improving your speaking fluency

In the speaking test in IELTS (International English Language Testing System), the examiner assesses how fluently you speak: can you speak smoothly and continuously, and at a normal speed?

Here’s an example of poor fluency. When asked, “What would be a perfect place to have a holiday?,” one of my students said:

“A place ... a perfect place ... I think that a perfect place that I would want to visit is ... A perfect place would be Phuket ... Phuket Island.”

The student paused many times and repeated words in order to add new information. Unfortunately, this would result in a low score for “Fluency and Coherence,” one of the four areas assessed in the speaking test. Here are five ways to improve fluency.

Think in English

Psychologists specialising in language have determined that a different part of the brain deals with foreign languages (e.g., English) as opposed to your native language (such as Thai).

You have to regularly use the English part of your brain if you want to develop it. Therefore, spend at least 20 minutes every day thinking in English. Do it when you don’t have to concentrate on something else, for example, while you’re walking, travelling or taking a shower.

Furthermore, the most inefficient way of speaking in English is first thinking of what you want to say in Thai, translating it into English, and then saying the English translation.

It’s also the most ineffective way of trying to improve your English speaking ability. Why? It’s because you’re constantly hopping from the “Thai area” of your brain to the “English area” and back again. This adds unnecessary steps in communicating, and fluency is often worse as a result.

What should you do? Just create sentences in English, without using any Thai. When you get used to doing that, you’ll find it’s much easier to talk. Your fluency will develop faster, too.

Don’t try to be perfect

A fear of making mistakes could easily make you too shy to speak English. Your spoken fluency might therefore not improve at all. Worse still, you might not be able to have a conversation in English even if you know much grammar and vocabulary.

As well, if you try to be perfect all the time, you’ll probably speak slower than normal, repeat or correct words, or include pauses in your speech.

This is a common problem among candidates needing a high ielts band score, like 7.0. For example, by concentrating on avoiding grammar errors in order to get a high grammar score, their fluency suffers, resulting in too low a score for fluency.

No matter what your language level is, don’t expect to speak without making errors. If you focus too much on grammar rules, for instance, it’s easy to become nervous or even forget about your fluency.

My advice is: don’t worry about making mistakes. Just relax and think about the message you want to communicate.

[IELTS Article] What is speaking fluency ?

Some reasons Why IELTS candidates lose marks for fluency and some ways to overcome them

The speaking test in IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) takes between 11 to 14 minutes. The examiner will rate you in four areas:

• How well you can speak fluently and coherently.
• How effective your vocabulary is.
• How accurate and appropriate your grammar is.
• How clear your pronunciation is.

You’ll be given a mark for each area, and the marks will then be averaged to give your speaking test band score.

Let’s look at fluency. Many people think that speaking fluently means being able to speak perfectly (or very well) or speaking quickly. However, they’re wrong. “Speaking fluently” means being able to speak smoothly and continuously. In other words, with little or no pausing (or breaks), repetition and corrections when speaking.

In the speaking test, aim to speak at a relaxed pace. Your delivery should sound smooth, not “stop-start.” Of course, because you need to think about what you’re going to say, it’s natural to pause now and again when speaking. This is accepted as a normal part of speaking in any language, and you won’t be penalised if you do that in the IELTS speaking test.

In contrast, you may lose marks if you show you’re having difficulty knowing what to say or how to say it. This will become evident if you repeat or correct yourself, speak slowly, often have short or lengthy pauses, or stop speaking altogether. Any of those behaviours risks lowering your fluency mark.

Here are some reasons why IELTS candidates lose marks for fluency and some ways to overcome them.

More Tips For The IELTS Speaking Test

More tips for the IELTS speaking test To maximise your score, use specific techniques for each part of the test

The speaking module in the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam is challenging for most candidates.

Here are my tips for each part of the module.

Part 1: The interview

• Look confident. To create a positive impression, greet the examiner in a friendly and polite way. Try to look relaxed, and don’t tell the examiner you’re nervous.

• Paraphrase questions. You may reuse the language in questions (e.g., “What’s your favourite sport?” − “My favourite sport’s tennis as...”), but it’s more natural to use pronouns (e.g., “It’s tennis as...”).

Even better, use introductory phrases like: “I’ve really loved playing tennis ever since I was in high school as...”).

• Avoid short answers. Avoid giving one-word or short responses. Instead, answer questions directly, and whenever possible, give a simple explanation or example.

As a general guide, aim for two-sentence answers in Part 1, and try to speak for 30 to 40 seconds.

• Keep it simple. Only talk about what you know you can say in English, and answer questions clearly.

In other words, don’t make your answers complicated or too difficult to explain in a couple of sentences.

• Respond appropriately. If asked what your favourite (something) is, or what the most popular (something) is, give just one example.

However, if you’re asked to list things, like what types of transport are available in your hometown, give more than one example.

Top tips for the IELTS speaking test

Apart from good preparation, there are things

you can do during the test to improve your mark

From what I’ve seen, the speaking module in the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam would have to be the one that raises the most anxiety among candidates. A lack of preparation, a fear of speaking in English for an extended period, and a lack of awareness of how the scoring scheme works contribute to this anxiety. The impact on a test taker’s score for the speaking module can be significant.

Obviously, doing sufficient and proper preparation before the day of the exam will help to minimise the stress associated with the speaking test. However, I always recommend that candidates only do preparation courses with English teachers who are expert in the exam.

Certainly, these teachers can give guidance on how to improve a test taker’s language skills. Because of their deep understanding of IELTS, however, they can do some thing that most teachers can’t.

What is that? They can point out the particular areas in which a test taker needs to improve in order to get a higher score in the speaking module.

Sometimes, only small things need to be either avoided or improved to see a significant effect on the score that a candidate would get in the IELTS test.

Apart from good preparation, there are also things that can be done during the test itself. Here’s an introduction to some of the things you should do throughout the test to improve your chances of getting the best possible score.

Practising speaking at home There are ways outside your IELTS classroom to develop your speaking abilities and confidence

A student sent me this query about IELTS (International English Language Testing System):

“I cannot go to IELTS preparation classes because I often work in the evenings and sometimes on the weekends. How can I develop my speaking skills at home, by myself? Where can I get some practice speaking test questions? How can I improve my pronunciation and fluency?”

Some misunderstandings About the speaking test in IELTS

It’s clear from the comments that candidates and students make that there are many wrong ideas about the speaking module in IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Here are three common misunderstandings.

“If the examiner stops you, your English is bad.”

An IELTS candidate had this to say after her recent exam:
“When the examiner asked me something and I was answering, sometimes, he didn’t wait and let me finish what I wanted to say. Maybe he didn’t like what I was saying or my English was no good.”

The fact is that examiners may need to interrupt candidates in any part of the speaking module.

In Parts 1 and 3, examiners must ask test takers a range of questions to allow the candidates’ speaking skills to be fully assessed. Each question tests candidates’ ability to use English in a different way.

For example, one question might test how well candidates can satisfactorily compare items in English. The next question might test whether test takers can talk about possible events in the future.

Consequently, if a candidate gives a longish answer to a question, the examiner may decide to interrupt. This gives the examiner the opportunity to ask other questions to assess different aspects of the candidate’s English.

The most important Speaking skill in IELTS

Recently, a test taker asked me this about the speaking test in IELTS (International English Language Testing System): “Can you tell me what the most important skill for speaking is? Is it pronunciation? How is pronunciation marked?”  My reply was:

Regarding your question about the most important speaking skill, there’s no simple answer. Four areas are assessed in the speaking test, and you need to be good at all four. Having good vocabulary, for example, is not going to help you get a satisfactory band score if your grammar is weak or your fluency is poor.

Areas assessed

Here are the four areas assessed by examiners in the speaking module and an outline of the factors influencing your band score:

Fluency and Coherence: Can you talk at a normal rate of speech (not too fast and not too slow), with normal effort, and without too many pauses or corrections? Can you present and link ideas in an understandable and connected way?

IELTS Speaking - Part 2 (Talking about a place)

In Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking Test, you are asked to talk for 1-2 minutes about a person, place, thing, event or activity which is familiar to you. This article will address how to discuss a place.

During Part 2 of the test:

• you are given a card which says - "Describe..........." and includes some ideas about what you should talk about when discussing this topic.
• you are given a pen and paper to take notes.
• you have 1 minute to write notes and prepare your answer.
• you then need to talk for 1-2 minutes.

Accent matters in the speaking test

Accent matters in the

speaking test

How will having a Thai accent

affect your pronunciation score?

Benz, from Bangkok, asked me about the speaking test in IELTS (International English Language Testing System):

“I read on a website that people doing IELTS shouldn’t worry about having an accent as a candidate’s accent is not evaluated by examiners. Is that true?”

Here’s my reply: In the IELTS speaking test, test takers are assessed in four areas: “Fluency and Coherence,” “Lexical Resource” (the words and phrases used), “Grammatical Range and Accuracy” and “Pronunciation.” An accent can definitely affect a candidate’s score for “Pronunciation.”