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IELTS Tip #5

7/22/2015

Dos and Donts and Some Useful Expression

I would like to share a number of Dos and Don'ts that I believe are helpful for your speaking performance.

Dos and Don'ts in the speaking exam

Dos

1.      Show the examiner you are confident by smiling and looking at him or her in the eye.
2.      Make sure you understand the stage 2 topic task. If you don’t ask!
3.      Tell the examiner if you need to think for a brief moment.
4.      Answer the questions clearly and in detail, but not in speeches. The emphasis should be on quality, not quantity. Your answers should get longer as the interview progresses.
5.      Make sure you have prepared by thinking of your past, present and future.
6.      Show that you are in control by talking freely about yourself and your past.
7.      Keep your speaking speed consistent and smooth.
8.      Make sure you have practiced enough before the test so that the past, present and future tenses you use are accurately formed and appropriate.
9. Pause and try to string together sentences rather than push language ahead

Donts

1.      Don’t tell the interviewer your English is poor.
2.      Don’t pretend you understand the question. You’ll ultimately lose face.
3.      Don’t rush to give an answer out of fear of making the interviewer wait.
4.      Don’t talk too much in the beginning when you are most nervous. On the other hand, don’t talk too briefly, giving many “one-word” answers and letting the interviewer do all the work.

5.      Don’t give word for word, memorized answers, “playing roulette” by gambling one of them will come up.
6.      Don’t let the interviewer take complete control by waiting for prompts.
7.      Don’t use stuttering and repetitions to stall for time.
8.      Don’t neglect the issue of grammar. Even though fluency and vocabulary is important, you still must try to form accurate sentences.
9.      Don’t be stubborn and try to discuss thoughts that you cannot support. Simplify your thoughts.

The following expressions can be helpful for certain questions

Useful Expressions

Current Personal Information

Recently, I've been studying at Langara College.
I've been studying English now for one year at the New Oriental School.
At the moment I'm studying/working at a private college/a restaurant.
I am currently working/studying/preparing for my father/the IELTS exam/my finals.
Asking for Background Information Before that I studied/worked at Fudan University/ a multinational company.
After I graduated, I went on to work for my father.
About three years ago, I was working at a factory.
As soon as I graduated, I then went on to be trained as a teacher.

How to Hesitate  (Note that hesitation is a natural part of using a language. Please do not over-rely on any one of these and try to use a variety)

Let me think about this for a second and I will get back to you.
That’s an interesting question I’ve never thought about.
Let me see if I can gather my thoughts for a moment.
Just give me a second to collect my thoughts.
Well, that’s an interesting question, let me think.
Actually, that’s a good point. Well I suppose that may be the case in many instances.
In fact, that’s a perspective that I have not thought about for a while.
You see, my mother is perhaps a difficult person to describe, so where can I begin?
You know, a lot of people have asked me that very same question and I suppose the best way to describe it would be to tell you about its history.
How shall I put it, things are not as easy as what you might think.
It's like this, you see.

Giving Opinions on simple issues

Personally, I think I will achieve my goal.
As I see it, this is not very difficult.
Frankly, I think the problem is much deeper.
Well, to tell you the truth I am not really sure what I’ll do when I first arrive.

Stating Your Intention

I'm preparing right now to go to university, so my short-term plan is to get high marks for my courses.
I've already found out a lot about the schedule, for instance, the first train leaves at 6 am.
I plan to go for a trip around Europe, before I start my studies in England.
I think I'll contact my friends once I am in Canada.
I’ve thought about changing majors.
I'll be seeing my wife soon.
I'll do all I can do to find a job, just try again and again.
I'll make an effort to come and see her.
I'll see if I can't change my husband’s mind.
I'm going to visit my mother.
I'm planning to go for a vacation for three months.
I've decided to go to study French in Montreal.
I expect I'll be under a lot of pressure looking for work.
I'm hoping to find a job in the first month.
I'm thinking of going on to study for my masters.
I intend to stay here for good.
My intention is to help the class.
Perhaps I'll even buy a car.

Stating hypothetical situations

If I'm successful, I'll probably rich so, in the long term, I hope to buy more properties.
If I'm not successful, that is if something goes wrong, I think I'll probably go back to school.
I probably won't fail, but if I do I'll retake my exam.
Sometimes I wonder whether I'll make the right decision.
I might even go to the Disneyland.
Of course, I could always ask for help, if I run out of time.
It's always possible that I will come back to Beijing.
I don't know if I'll pass, but I might be able to do sometime else.

Expressing Probability of 100%

I'm certain I'll get the job.
I’ll definitely come to the wedding before I leave.
Without a doubt I’ll be the top of the class.
I am sure that I will be accepted.

Expressing Probability of 80 –88%

There's a good chance I’ll be living with my friends.
Chances are I’ll be living in an apartment.
I'm almost certain I'll find a job quickly.
I’ll almost definitely come back in no time
In all likelihood I’ll not be coming back for three years.
I’ll very likely be late for work again.

Expressing Probability of 50-80%

I’ll probably study at a language school.

I’ll likely go on a vacation before I start looking for work.
I’ll possibly go shopping in my first week there.
I might drop off for a visit.
I may try to look for my friends in Auckland.
Perhaps I’ll study engineering.

Probability 10-50%

I possibly won't attend my graduation ceremony.
Maybe I won't go for a driving class.
I may/ might not go to the movies much while I am there.
Perhaps I won't cook for myself..
I probably won't find a job so quickly.

Probability 1-10%

There's not much chance I will get there on time.
I doubt very much that I will get the scholarship.

Probability 0%

I definitely will not join my girlfriend this year.
I'm sure I won’t be missing out much.

Asking Somebody to Repeat Something

Could you just repeat that, please?
Could you say that again, please?
I'm sorry, could I ask you to repeat that word, please?
I'm sorry, could you mind repeating that, please?
I'm sorry, would you mind saying it again?
Sorry, I didn't catch that.
Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you were saying.
Sorry, what did you say?
Sorry, what was that you said?
Sorry, what was his name again?
Sorry, when did you say?
Pardon me?
Would you repeat what you said, please?
I beg your pardon?

1 Comment

IELTS Tip #3: Speaking Exam:

7/15/2015

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Avoiding Showing Struggle While Speaking

The evident signs of struggle show up in the fluency mark but they also give an indication to the examiner how much control and confidence you have in English. There are a number of different types of struggle:

1) Hesitation fillers that show struggle.

These are often in the form of uhhh, uhh or hmmm, errrr, etc. The reason they occur is often merely that the language has not caught up with the thought. If it were your 1st language that brain can access the words automatically since the connection to memory is very well refined.

What to do about it

The best way to deal with these is to recognize that you are doing it a lot and try to employ different strategies. I suggest that you merely pause to think and, if you must fill in, do it with 'thinking fillers' such as "Well,....Let me think,....That's a good question,......I will talk in a further post about the pause and string technique which allows better pacing. In general, pausing can be a very good strategy for letting the language catch up with the thoughts.

2) Hesitation by repetition

This often occurs with band level 5.5-6.0 candidates. Essentially the candidate repeats many phrases (eg " So the main, the main, the main problem is, is,is that....). Instead of the uhhh, uhhh, the candidate fills in by using the same word again. This shows to an examiner that the candidate is struggling with the sentence and because it affects the speakers smoothness, it can affect the fluency mark.

What to do about it

The best advice is to again, as mentioned above, try to have more productive fillers and to make sure the thought is completed before moving on with the words. It sure makes a big difference when someone points out to you when you are doing it.

3) Long pause hesitation

We can get very stubborn when trying to communicate and we want the right words to communicate our thought. What can happen is that a candidate can get stuck trying to remember a word. In the meantime, a lot of struggle signs appear on your face which again affects an examiner's impression of your control and confidence in the language.

What to do about it
The preventative advice I would give is not to trap yourself into it. In other words, do not make your thoughts too complex for this exam because you may find yourself having difficulty communicating. It is best sometimes to simplify your thoughts and emphasize the language you know so well already. If you are stuck on a word, do what people do in traffic with their cars. Simply go around the word and use a simpler word or expression. Its perfectly ok to exit a train of thought and even tell the examiner you want to explain it in a different way. In other words, exit a struggle situation fast.

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IELTS Tip #5

Dos and Donts and Some Useful Expression

IELTS Tip #3: Speaking Exam:

Avoiding Showing Struggle While Speaking

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