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Table of Contents
Part 1 - The 5 Most Common Mistakes
Based on my 20 years teaching experience, I’ve identified the most frequent mistakes many IELTS students are making that prevent them from succeeding in the IELTS Speaking Test.Â
Here they are together with some suggestions on what you can do instead.
Mistake #1: Writing and Reading Aloud Your Answers
Many students practice for IELTS Speaking by writing out their answers to questions and then reading them aloud.
This is a common technique but a really bad one for IELTS SpeakingÂ
Why?Â
Simply because, you won’t be able to do this in the test, nor can you do it in real life either.
The problem
If you practice like this, you will become reliant on this process and when you have to answer questions quickly in the real test, you cannot. You are too slow to answer.Â
What’s more, reading aloud sounds unnatural. It will sound like you have memorised your whole answer.Â
What to do instead!
Practice speaking out your answers directly, without writing or reading them aloud.
Focus on listening to audio answers more than reading. Practice repeating sounds without reading.
Simple put, you learn to speak better, by speaking more, not by reading and writing.Â
Mistake #2: Memorising Answers
Some training schools teach students to memorise their answers to all possible questions in IELTS Speaking.
This is extremely difficult, because there are so many topics and possible questions, and you have no idea which ones you will get. Â
The problem
If you memorise answers, and suddenly you forget one word in the test, you will freeze and won’t be able to answer.
Also, if the question you are asked is slightly different from the one you have prepared, your memorised answer will not fit and you will be marked down.
Examiners are trained professionals and they know if you are giving a memorised answer.
What to do instead!
Memorise and practice chunks and phrases.
Practicing chunks gives you much more flexibility and will make you sound much more natural.Â
What are Chunks?
Groups of words that often go together and are often pronounced making one sound.They include; grammatical chunks, vocabulary chunks, collocations, phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions, etc…)
Mistake #3: Using Formal English
Some students think they should use formal English in IELTS Speaking, because they think it is an academic test.Â
They learn written English from literature, newspapers and academic books, and then practice using complex, written phrases in their answers.
The problem
IELTS Speaking is a test of natural, conversational English.Â
You should use informal language in the test (but do avoid slang).
Remember, the speaking test is the same for both academic and general modules, and you need to use informal conversational English.
What to do instead!
Learn to speak informal, conversational English.Â
How do you practice that?Â
Well, simply learn language and vocabulary from listening – then you know the language you hear is conversational English.
Mistake #4: Learning Lists of Vocabulary
Word lists are not bad in themselves, sometimes they can help.
However, many students are given lists of vocabulary in alphabetic order, and told to learn them by heart!
The problem
Word lists give you very little context.Â
This often means you don’t know how to use the word, and so that makes it harder to use this vocabulary while speaking.Â
As a result, you may not remember it, and may not be able to use it during the test.Â
What to do instead!
Learn vocabulary in context.
Listen to audios and watch videos to learn vocabulary in context and then you will also know how to use it.Â
Learn vocabulary by topic as this will help you connect words and expressions, making them easier to remember.
Learning by topic also means you can focus on generating ideas within that topic and linking them together.Â
All of this will help you use vocabulary more easily and fluently.
Mistake #5: No Pain, No Gain!
Some students believe learning English grammar and vocabulary should be hard work.
It’s not surprising, given our experience at school is often of teachers telling us how difficult English is, and how we must struggle and fight to learn it!Â
The problem
The more negative your feeling is towards English, the more likely you are to give up.
Research tells us, the more stressed we are, the less we learn.
When we relax, our learning increases.
What to do instead!
Enjoy your study!Â
Make a simple change in your mindset, and think that it is possible to learn English and do well in IELTS.
It may take time, but the more fun you have, the more you will learn.
Part 2: The Speaking Success System
Do you make some of the above mistakes too?Â
No worries.Â
The good news is you now know what to look out for and you can start learning English in a better way.Â
Here is a simple a step-by-step plan for you to succeed in the IELTS Speaking test.
I call it the Speaking Success System:
- Try
- Discover
- Practice
- Build
#1 Try
Take a question and try to answerÂ
You can do this with any question that might appear on the exam.
Just give your spontaneous (= not prepared) answer.Â
If you can record your answer and then listen back.Â
You will see what you can and cannot say.
This will help you identify knowledge gaps, so you know where you still need to improve.
#2 Discover
Watch or listen to a proficient or native speaker answering the question.
This may be a video, a podcast or in real life.Â
Remember to listen to answers, don’t read them.
This helps you discover natural spoken English (remember: not formal written English)
It also helps you learn the pronunciation and intonation.Â
In addition, you will discover chunks in context.
It’s a good idea to take notes of useful chunks.
#3 Practice
Practice repeating the chunks.Â
Practice using them in slightly different ways.
This may include repeating, saying the opposite, making true phrases, substitute drills and many more activities.Â
Finally, practice answering the same question from step 1.Â
Try to use the chunks you learned from the video in your own answer.Â
You’ll notice your answers will already start to sound much better!Â
#4 Build
Give different answers to the same question from step 1.Â
This helps you avoid memorising whole answers. (Remember to avoid that mistake!)
It also helps you build flexibility.Â
You will be much more confident in the test because you have improved your overall level of spoken English, and built your flexibility.
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