How To Ace The IELTS Speaking Part 2

IELTS Practice

August 04, 2018

Are you getting anxious thinking about how you'll perform in the IELTS Speaking Test, fearing what if you make silly grammatical mistakes?

Well, the Speaking section is feared by many of us for the same reason as you have, but there are tips to understand when you practise for IELTS so that you know how to speak fluently and confidently.

The IELTS Speaking Test is the shortest section, lasting only 11-14 minutes. The Speaking Test is similar for both the IELTS Academic and General Training. In this section, you have a discussion with a certified examiner which is recorded.

There are 3 parts in the Speaking section:

Part 1: Introduction and Interview (You will need to answer questions about yourself, friends or family.)

Part 2: Long Turn (You will need to speak about a given topic.)

Part 3: Discussion (You will be asked more questions about the topic discussed in Part 2)

In the Speaking Section Part 2-Long Turn, you will be given a cue card containing the topic and key points on which you need to speak for two minutes. You will be given a minute to prepare with a pencil & paper to make notes, then the examiner will ask you to talk for 1-2 minutes.

Many of you worry about how to speak fluently for two minutes to score a band 7 or more in this section. Well, no need to worry, below are some IELTS Speaking Tips which should be focussed upon while preparing for the exam.

1. Confidence

One of the crucial roles in the Speaking Section is being Confident throughout the exam. When you get nervous, you flutter, you stumble on words; you either end up repeating the same sentence or speak something which does not make any sense. So, speak with confidence as if you're talking to a friend, telling him/her a story.

2. Map Out Ideas

When you're given a pencil & a paper, make the most of it. Utilize it to map out the ideas that you can form about the topic. Make an Introduction, a Body, and a Conclusion. It is vital that your speech should be cohesive to make it more engaging and stimulating.

Ask the universal questions like who/where/what/why/when/how

For example, if you had to describe a friend of yours,

Ask questions like:

How did you first meet?

For how long were you friends?

What do you do together?

And this will help to get more details of the incident or a situation and use it correctly in your story.

Some candidates make a mistake of not using the preparation period which is given to them and jump to the speaking part without thinking through and end up not having much to speak. So, instead of deciding immediately what you want to talk about, sit and think it through about the different aspects and perspectives you want to cover in your speech.

3. Rise & Fall Of Your Voice

Intonation!! A major, major key point to narrate a good story is an intonation. It is imperative to not speak in a monotone manner, as if you have learned it by heart, instead change your tone. Have your voice rise and fall with keywords and sentences. Word/Sentence stress is very significant during the Speaking section. Changing the tone of your voice in different parts of your sentences will make it more interesting. Engaging your listener is the chief role of your speech; make the examiner engrossed in what you say. By creating such kind of an interest, it can be quite beneficial to you as this will mask the silly grammatical or vocabulary mistakes that are made while you speak.

4. Fluency

Don't blurt out mere sentences but transition through different sentences to connect the ideas, by employing words such as, and, in fact, because, not only�but also. Furthermore, try not to fix every mistake you make along the way, this will break the continuity and make it very uninteresting as you want your story to flow from beginning to end. One way to maintain the fluency in your IELTS Speaking Test is to imagine as if you are telling a story about something or someone to a friend.

5. Close Your Eyes & Imagine

You don't have to exactly follow the card; you can structure your ideas logically and go with the flow; the pertinent thing is to be comfortable with what you say. Before making notes, you can also try to close your eyes and envision the picture in your mind. Some people are better as visual thinkers than verbal thinkers so it will be much better to imagine a picture so that it can become relatively easy to describe it. By looking at an image, you see more and more details which can make your speaking more attention-grabbing!

6. A Personal Touch

Making use of Colloquialisms (informal language or slangs) can add a personal touch to your speech. You don't have to focus much on your accent, your natural way of speaking is always acceptable, and adding slangs like the best thing I've ever seen or it was a piece of cake will make the examiner more connected to your story.

7. Practise, Practise & More Practise

Last but not the least is "Practice makes it more perfect." Unless you don't consistently practise, you won't achieve your desired goal. You can do IELTS Speaking Practice with a friend who can correct your mistakes, give vocabulary ideas, and improve your descriptions. Record yourself, analyse it and learn to do better and better each time.

So, by following these suggestions, you can improve the Speaking section of the IELTS exam, but you can't do it all alone. It is always better to have professional guidance and advice to progress more and more.

Along with the Speaking section, you can also improve your Listening, Reading, and Writing skills by the proficient coaching provided by our experts at IELTS Tutorials. So, Sign up now and Get 20+ Free Practice Tests, Quality Materials, Analysis of your Performance, Online Coaching and many other beneficial deals.

If you need any further assistance, you can always visit our website.

So, Keep Practising!

Good Luck!