IELTS Tutorial Blog

Having problems with your IELTS speaking test? If you are, then you are not alone. Thousands take the test but only a handful get their desired score. Based on the 2017 IELTS statistics published in the www.ielts.org website, on the average, candidates usually get about a 6.0 for speaking. This is a band score away from the required 7.0 for academic module test takers such as medical professionals. So, what can candidates do to prepare for the speaking part of the test?

First, look for a good teacher or language center that could assess your speaking skills first so you would know your strengths and weaknesses. From there, you would know what to focus on and prepare more for. The more that you are aware of your ability, the better you will be able to prepare yourself as you won’t be wasting time working on something that you are already good at. If your weakness is your pronunciation, then you can devote more time to this and in time improve on the way you speak.

Second, read books, magazines, and newspapers. Part of the speaking test is being able to use good vocabulary and one of the good ways of picking up good language is through reading. In addition to rote memorization of words or terminologies, reading is an effective tool for learning new words in terms of how they are used. The more one sees a word used in a certain context, the more one would become more familiar to it. In time, you’ll be using these words as if they were your own.

Third, watch movies and listen to music in English. By watching movies and listening to music in English, one would become acquainted with how native speakers pronounce certain words or express themselves in certain ways which could greatly help one not just improve on speaking but listening as well. Exposure to the sound could help test takers learn how to pronounce words and express thoughts and emotions properly in English. Please do remember to expose oneself to different kinds of English accents as the IELTS features several varieties of English such as British, American, and Australian. Though the English accent used in the IELTS is fairly neutral, it would help exposing oneself to different types of English accents for good measure.

Finally, have a good night’s rest a day before your interview. No amount of preparation would be enough if you are dead tired on the day of your interview. You have to be calm and composed during your interview to be able to answer the questions properly during the speaking test.