Speaking is a big part of our everyday life. If you aspire to live in an English speaking country, you have to communicate in English at all times. While if you are someone who wishes to pursue higher education abroad, you should aim for the highest score. Many universities abroad require a certain band level before accepting students.
The pressure is also more intense because you are sitting face to face with the proctor. During the test, you have to think fast and respond with proper grammar and fluency. The good thing is that there is always room for improvement, especially if you dedicate time to practice. You can enhance your speaking skills alone, but it is highly recommended to do it with other people, particularly native speakers. It must also be formal and unconstrained.
During practice, record your voice so you can listen to it afterward. Having a helpful partner, is better. Listen carefully to how you speak and deliver the words and on how you communicate with your partner.
Reflect on the accurateness of your words and your discourse sound characteristics. Furthermore, ask your partner to give you a score depending on your performance.
The complexity of the test makes people conclude ideas that are far from the truth. Perhaps, the most popular misconception that often worries examinees is that you need to sound like a native English speaker. It is a myth. In the pronunciation evaluation, the assessor looks more on the intonation and word stress. There are dictionaries online that could help you identify if your tone and pronunciations are correct. Many examinees also tend to believe that they should not use complex grammatical structures during the test.
Examiners are not allowed to give you their opinion during the test or pass on any hints. The recording ensures a fair testing environment for everyone. If you want your speaking test to be remarked, your testing center will use the recording taken during your test day to conduct the remark. A different examiner than the one on your test day will listen to the recording.
This ensures an unbiased remark. The examiner will listen to the recording and report their determination to your IELTS testing center. Who will compare this new band score to your original you received on your testing day. If your mark has changed, your testing center will update the band score and reissue your Test Report Form showing your new score.
When an examiner is new to grading the speaking module, these new examiners are evaluated by more senior examiners.
This is where the recording of your test comes into play. Depending on the seniority of your examiner, your performance may be marked again. If there is a wide gap between the two scores given by each examiner, then a third, more experienced examiner will look at your test once more. They strive to provide a standardized and fair test to everyone who takes the IELTS exam, so the organizers may listen to your recording to check that your examiner followed proper protocols. New examiners may use the recording of your speaking test during their training.
If you feel that you received a lower score than you deserve for your speaking test, you can request a remark. You must submit a request for a remark within six weeks of the date shown on your Test Report Form.
This part may look easy because the examiners are friendly. In the other parts of the exam you are on your own, so it may seem like you have someone to help you in this part. However, the examiner has to follow very strict rules so that all the candidates get the same treatment to ensure fairness. They evaluate all the candidates based on the same criteria. The truth: All the four sub-tests have the same level of difficulty, but you may find one part of the exam easier than others depending on your language skills.
Your accent is not an evaluation criterion. Pronunciation is assessed, but you are not expected to have a native accent. Online dictionaries have this feature. You can click on the little speaker sign to hear the word pronounced correctly.
You can also read out loud to improve your pronunciation , or try to imitate native speakers and ask them to correct your pronunciation. For example, a candidate who just uses short and simple sentences will get a lower score than a candidate who is trying to use a conditional clause, even if they make some mistakes. Of course you should only use complex grammatical structures that accurately reflect what you want to say. When practicing, record yourself and then go back and listen to yourself carefully.
Write down the grammar mistakes you hear yourself make, so that you can improve your use of grammar when you speak. Pronunciation Uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control Shows some effective use of features but this is not sustained.
Lexical resource Manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility Attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success. Grammatical range and accuracy Produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy Uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems.
Pronunciation Shows all features of band 4 and some, but not all the positive features of band 6. Fluency and coherence Cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction Links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple connectives and some breakdowns in coherence.
Lexical resource Is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice Rarely attempts paraphrase. Grammatical range and accuracy Produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple sentences but subordinate structures are rare Errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding. Pronunciation Uses a limited range of pronunciation features Attempts to control features but lapses are frequent Mispronunciations are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener.
Fluency and coherence Speaks with long pauses Has limited ability to link simple sentences Gives only simple responses and is frequently unable to convey basic message Lexical resource Uses simple vocabulary to convey personal information Has insufficient vocabulary for less familiar topics Grammatical range and accuracy Attempts basic sentence forms but with limited success, or relies on apparently memorised utterances Makes numerous errors except in memorised expressions Pronunciation Shows some of the features of band 2 and some, but not all, of the positive features of band 4.
Fluency and coherence Pauses lengthily before most words Little communication possible.
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