Speaking Part 2 : Tips
A student asked me whether the following formula is useful for speaking part 2:
• I guess I could begin by saying something about (point 1) and I think I would have to choose…
• Going on to my next point which is (point 2), I really need to emphasise that (explain point 2).
• And now with reference to (point 3), the point I want to make here is that (explain point 3).
• And so finally, if I have time, in answer to the question of (point 4), really I should mention that…
So, are these 'formula phrases' a good idea? My answer is no!
As an English speaker and ex-examiner, I find these phrases annoying. It's obvious that they are memorised, and they do not address the question topic. Please don't expect the examiner to be impressed by this kind of thing.
There are a couple of benefits to learning a formula: it gives your answer some structure, and it might make you feel more confident during the test. However, the disadvantages are greater:
- Your focus is on the phrases you have memorised, when it should be on answering the question with relevant ideas.
- The examiner thinks that you are using memorised phrases because you are unable to produce good language spontaneously. In other words, your use of long formula phrases suggests that your level of English is lower.
It's impossible to prepare for every question that you might get in the speaking test, but what are the essential things to prepare for?
Here's my list of essentials:
- Favourites: Don't go into the test without knowing what your favourites are. Prepare to talk about your favourite book, film, music, and website.
- People: Be ready to talk about a famous person and a member of your family.
- Activities: Have you prepared some ideas about a hobby? Can you describe a typical day in your life? Try to remember some special moments in your life, such as birthdays, festivals and weddings.
- Places: You need to be able to talk about where you live. Also, think about the places you have visited, what you did there, and why you liked or didn't like them.
- Things: Can you talk about the things you use every day, something you would like to buy, or a present that you received?
Remember that in part 2 you are always asked to "describe". Make sure you prepare some good adjectives for each topic, make sure you can talk about your opinions and feelings, and think about some examples or stories to make your descriptions more interesting.
Here are three quick tips for IELTS speaking part 2 (the short speech):
- Use the 1 minute preparation time well
Think about how you would answer the question in your own language, then write down as many ideas as possible in English. - Give real examples
Say what you really think, talk about your real life, and give real examples. Examples are really important; whenever you don't know what to say, give an example from your own experience.
- Don't worry about grammar
You haven't got time to think about passives or conditionals. Focus on answering the question - ideas and vocabulary.
When I wrote my funny situation description last week, I wasn't trying to use 'difficult' grammar or vocabulary. Maybe you read it and thought that it was too 'easy' to get a band 9. If you thought that, you would be wrong!
Here's why my description would get a band 9 (according to the IELTS criteria):
- Fluency and coherence
The fact that I told a story made my answer really coherent (clear and logically organised). In terms of fluency, my description was written rather than spoken, so of course there are no pauses or hesitations. - Lexical resource (vocabulary)
The description might seem simple, but it isn't. A wide resource of vocabulary is used naturally and accurately. There are definitely some 'less common' and idiomatic phrases (e.g. engrossed, the time passed, I suddenly realised, get going, my leg was dead, tipped over, to my surprise). - Grammatical range and accuracy
Unless you can find any mistakes, it would be difficult to give my description anything less than 9 for accuracy. The range of structures used is also easily good enough to impress the examiner. - Pronunciation
Hopefully this wouldn't be a problem as I'm a native speaker!
In Friday's speaking lesson I described a funny thing that happened to me. I found it really easy to write my description because I told a true story. I wasn't worrying about grammar or vocabulary; I just told my story in a natural way. The key to a high speaking score isn't your use of 'complex' grammar structures, big words or idiomatic phrases. The key is to speak as naturally as possible, and real examples or stories help you to do this
For part 2 of IELTS speaking, I encourage my students in Manchester to prepare ideas for 6 main topic areas:
- Describe an object (a gift, something you use etc.)
- Describe a person (someone you admire, a family member etc.)
- Describe an event (a festival, celebration etc.)
- Describe an activity (e.g. a hobby)
- Describe a place (somewhere you visited, a holiday etc.)
- Describe your favourite (book/film/advertisement/website)
Most questions fit into one of these topics. For example, "Describe a river, lake or sea which you like" is number 5 - you could describe a holiday by the sea, or a city with a river.
Don't take the test without preparing some ideas for these topics first!
A student asked me whether it would be a good idea to use the phrases below to organise last week's description of a market:
- I would like to start with the first point which is where the market is.
- Going on to my next point which is what the market sells, well…
- With reference to the question of how big the market is, well…
- As a final point, I would like to explain why I enjoy to visiting it.
Personally I do not recommend using phrases like these. While you won't lose marks for using them, you won't gain marks either. But here's the problem: the time you spend saying these linking phrases is time that you should be spending on the real content of your answer. Focus on answering, not linking!
- Can you use the past tense when describing a person who is still alive?
- Which tense should you use when describing a person?
The answer to the first question is yes. You can say: "My father was always a good role model for me when I was growing up." This doesn't mean that your father is no longer alive; it just means that you are no longer growing up!
The answer to the second question is it depends. As we saw above, you can use the past tense, but it would also be easy to add the present and/or future tense: "My father was always kind to me when I was a child, and he still helpsme whenever I need something. I'm sure he will always be there for me."
Many students worry that they need to maintain eye contact with the examiner. This is a good idea in part 1 and part 3, but not necessarily in part 2.
In part 2 of the speaking test, you don't need to worry about eye contact. It's more important to look at the question and the notes you made.
• Use the question to organise what you are saying. Answer the question point by point, and make sure you cover all parts of the task.
• You should also look at your notes. Hopefully you wrote down some good ideas during the preparation time.
Remember: the examiner will not reduce your score for lack of eye contact, but he/she will reduce your score if you don't answer the question well.
Many candidates struggle to speak for 2 minutes because they answer the first two or three points on the task card too quickly. They only give a detailed answer for the final point.
Look again at my sample answer in last week's lesson. Notice how I answer each point on the topic card in detail. Instead of answering the first point with just one sentence (e.g. "I'm going to talk about chess"), I added three more sentences describing the game. I did the same for the questions about 'where' and 'who'.
The last point on the task card usually asks for your opinion (why?), and it's easy to say more about this. However, if you want to fill the 2 minutes, I suggest that you practise giving longer, more detailed answers to the first three points on the task card.
This week I've been thinking about different ways to use the 1-minute preparation time. Here's what I've learnt:
- One minute is a very short amount of time! I found it just as difficult as my students did.
- A simple list is probably faster and easier than a diagram or mind map.
- You need to decide on your topic as quickly as possible. Then spend most of your time making notes.
- Try to write at least one key idea for each part of the question.
- Don't write sentences, and don't waste time erasing "mistakes".
- Try to use a topic you have already prepared.
- Forget about grammar. Focus on answering the question.
- Finally, fast preparation is a skill that you can practise. Why not train yourself by making notes for a few different questions every day?
The following photo shows a part 2 question with my notes below. As you can see, I couldn't write much in 1 minute, but I followed the advice above.