Speaking partner wanted – try YOURSELF

Nearly all the skills required to fulfill the Speaking task are controlled by yourself. Only in Part 3 do you
actually have a conversation (though you can ask questions and for clarification).

SO how to get that high score?

In Part 1, the majority of the questions are simple asking for information about yourself questions. So
obviously you need to know about; your friends/your studies/ your neighborhood/your hobbies etc.
EASY – if you don’t know about yourself then who does???? (So the skill here is to learn to give short,
BUT informative answers – answers with details and information.)

In Part 2, well you need to analyse the question on the cue card, looking for the main idea, then the
task. You are usually given 3 suggested areas of information to include. You are given 1 minute to write
down key words/ideas (so a bit like Writing TASK 2 eh??)

NOW THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO SHOW YOUR GRAMMATICAL SKILLS, YOUR VOCABULARY SKILLS,
AND HAVE YOUR IDEAS RUNNING LOGICALLY.

In my classes I teach Speaking Part 2 by getting the students to write out the answer to a typical Part 2
question. I ALSO tell them to write on the paper WHO/WHAT/WHERE/WHEN/WHY. So here you can see
that I have extended the area of suggested information to include (this gives them more ideas and
makes it easier to fill the 2 minutes required!!)

Next my students take half a blank A4 sheet and totally fill it with their answer. This will be a full 2
minute answer when spoken. They need to include good topic vocabulary and as in writing, use good
linking words to connect the ideas.

Now there are a few things that you can do – 1. Edit your answer, underlining topic vocabulary, and any
adjectives (all good scoring words) 2. Speak and time your answer 3. Record your answer, how do you
sound? Check for intonation and stress.

In Part 3 it’s all about giving your ideas/opinions. Here you need to have some basic knowledge on all
the main IELTS topics – education, environment, society, and so on. For Part 3 then obviously you need
to read a good newspaper every day that has many sections that can give you topic vocabulary and
ideas. Learn to ask WHY? About everything you read – this will help you with making your ideas and
opinions.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS A LOT THAT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING AT HOME, AND
WITHOUT A PARTNER. GO ON TRY IT !!!!