IELTS Speaking Skills | How To Pass

How To Pass the IELTS Speaking Exam - Key Skills

Understand the exam format

There are 3 parts to the Speaking test.

Part 1 – Introduction and interview. The examiner asks you general questions – home, family, work, studies or interests. You will be expected to talk for 2 – 3 mins.

Part 2 – you are given a Task Card which asks you to talk about a particular topic for 2 mins.

Part 3 – you & the examiner discuss issues related to the topic on the Task Card for 4 – 5 mins. You may be asked to compare, further explain, predict, suggest or assess the issues.

IELTS.org provide these sample Test Papers.

Understand what an effective speaker is

Students should speak effectively in the exam. Both what you say and how you say it are important.

An effective speaker:

engages the listener immediately;

makes it easy for the listener to listen;

is aware of body language.

Before looking at the IELTS speaking exam in more detail, students my benefit from viewing this tutorial on effective speaking.

Five effective speaking rules

#1 – think about what you are going to say – plan it;

#2 – engage the listener in your first sentence;

#3 – keep your sentences short;

#4 – slow down – leave lots of pauses;

#5 – most of what you say is communicated with body language.

How you communicate

words only contribute 7% of the message you are communicating;

both what you say and how you say it is important. Use pauses, intonation and modulation;

speak slowly using frequent pauses, keep sentences short and make eye contact with the person you are speaking with;

adopt the five effective speaking rules.

Plan your speaking

The first thing you say in a speaking exam is very important – it sets the first impression for the examiner.

Thus planning what you say in all three speaking tasks is important.

How to Plan?

A simple and effective planning method is to think I, B, C – Introduction, Body & Conclusion.

Answering all aspects of questions effectively is important:

listen carefully for keywords in questions;
think I, B, C – Introduction, Body, Conclusion;
introduce your subject slowly and clearly;
you must engage the listener in your first sentence – speaking rule 2. Be imaginative in your introduction & use examples.
build a story around your answers;
do not answer the question immediately, rather build the story first;
aim for a strong Introduction & conclusion.

Part 1 Speaking Test

IELTS.org provide these sample Test Papers.

Part 1 answers are crucially important. Students should understand this.

The questions might appear simple, but they crucially give the examiner the first impression of your speaking style and ability. If you leave a poor impression with the examiner at this stage, it is very difficult to undo this impression of you in later speaking exam sections.

Plan your Speaking – Part 1 Questions

Think I,B,C

Introduction – build a story – 1 sentence;

Body – add detail – 2 sentences;

Conclusion – a strong finish – 1 sentence;

aim for 4 sentences.

A poor example of answering a Part 1 question.

Question: Where does your family come from?

Student answer: My family comes the Lam Dong Province. I live with my Mother & Father. [ Student says nothing else ].

This is a very poor answer for several reasons:

the answer is too short & answered immediately;
the answer is not engaging – speaking rule 2;
the question is not ‘who do you live with?’

Build a story around your answers

A better approach – do not answer the question immediately.

Question: Where does your family come from?

Build a story around the answer. ”My family comes from one of the most beautiful Cities in Vietnam, located in the central highlands, famous for it’s Berry fruit and Flowers – Da Lat in the Lam Dong Province. If you have never been there it is a great place to holiday for a few days.”

Another acceptable example – build a story, not answer the question immediately and is 4 sentences long.

Question: Who you live with?

“I really enjoy the people I live with. They are a lot of fun. I live with two other flatmates in the University dormitory. Every Friday night we have a party with pizza, music and bubble tea. In my view, all first year students should experience life in a University dormitory.”

Part 2 Speaking Test

You are given a task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic for 2 minutes. You have 1 minute to prepare your talk. The card asks four questions and to explain one aspect of the topic.

read carefully and identify the keywords in each question. It is important to answer all 4 questions;

the first thing you say in a speaking exam is very important – it sets the first impression for the examiner;

introduce your subject slowly and clearly without answering the first question immediately. Build a story first;

the last question always asks you to explain one aspect of the topic. This is important because the examiner listens carefully for these answers. You should give 3-4 answers. Many students under-estimate this exam instruction and do not fully expand upon it. Doing so is one key to success in the exam;

be imaginative in your answers using examples.

Effectively plan your answer

Effective planning for the Part 2 Speaking exercise is fundamentally important. Poor planning will result in a poor grade.

Think I,B,C

Introduction – build a story with 2 – 3 sentences;

introduce your talk clearly, slowly and engage the listener:
I am going to talk about ….
I would like to tell you about ….
then build a story around the introduction that is engaging;

Body – add detail with 6 – 10 sentences answering the three Where / What / What questions;

Conclusion – a strong finish with 3 – 4 sentences explaining the ‘Why’ aspect of the question.

you must explain the aspect question with 2-3 answers or examples.
to sum up my opinion is that / in conclusion / in my view….

Part 3 Speaking Test

you & the examiner discuss issues related to the topic in Part 2. For example, you may be asked to compare, further explain, predict, suggest or assess the issues;

try to think of examples from your own experience, e.g. you might say ‘I heard or read that ….’ or ‘currently in Vietnam …. ’. Be imaginative and make it interesting;

use vocabulary that suggests positively you agree or disagree because you are being asked about your opinion, e.g. ‘That is a good point’ or ‘I do not share that point of view ..’

Part 3 lasts 4–5 minutes.

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