Many students and candidates consider the IELTS Speaking section to be the most difficult and the most stressful part of the exam. Others think it is quite simple because it bears resemblance to a conversation with a teacher. Both views have a right to exist. Knowing the format of the IELTS Speaking test, the assessment criteria, and what the examiner is listening for while you are speaking will definitely help to avoid mistakes, reduce stress, and achieve the highest possible score. So, how can you make your response sound ‘more pleasant’ for the examiner’s ears? Let’s find out.
IELTS Speaking assessment criteria
As you may know, the examiner will be attentively listening to everything you will be saying, and rating your response on a scale from 1 to 9 on the following criteria:
| IELTS Speaking criteria | What they mean |
| Fluency and Coherence |
|
| Lexical resource |
|
| Grammatical range and accuracy |
|
| Pronunciation |
|
Does this mean that all the parts of the Speaking section are equally important? Yes, it does. These four aspects influence your score in all 3 parts of the test.
READ ABOUT: Which part of IELTS Speaking is most important?
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Things to be done
IELTS criteria are your guide to what should and shouldn’t be done after you enter the Speaking Exam room and the examiner greets you. Remember these tips and you will achieve excellent results.
- Practise, practise, and practise. The more you speak English, the more you improve. It is also a good idea to record yourself and assess using the same criteria the examiner applies. It will help you understand what you are good at and what you lack.
- Relax. The best way to reduce stress is to imagine you are talking to someone you know well, e.g. a friend or a family member. What is more, you need to remember that the examiner does not evaluate your knowledge of the subject or your opinion on the issue. What he or she is interested in is how you use your English to express your thoughts and ideas.
- Stick to the topic. Your answer must be relevant. Even if you are not familiar with the topic or you simply do not know what to say, focus on the aspect of the question you do know and move your answer onto related but more familiar topics.
READ ABOUT: How to deal with unexpected questions in the IELTS Speaking test
What to do to fulfill each criterion
According to the first aspect, which is ‘Fluency and Coherence’, the examiner will be listening to whether you are able to speak independently and naturally for some period of time, usually a minute or two. This means that you should not hesitate or speak too fast or too slowly. If you do not search for words, speak at your natural pace, add relevant information to the topic, use a variety of linking words and phrases or fillers, you are likely to get a good mark for fluency.
Remember, even if you didn’t do well in one part of the test, the examiner assesses your overall performance. Keep going, and you might do well in the following part.
The next aspect, ‘Lexical resource’, allows the examiner to evaluate how wide your range of vocabulary is. What is more, the examiner will be listening if you can use those words properly. What does this mean? You should pay attention to the correct forms of the words. Sometimes candidates might use nouns instead of verbs, or adjectives instead of adverbs, past tenses instead of the present, singular nouns instead of plural, etc. In addition, you should use proper word combinations as natives do. They are called collocations. If you have doubts, pay special attention to them during your IELTS preparation.
What might help you demonstrate your range of vocabulary to the examiner? First of all, using the words you are 100% sure about. Often candidates make things more complicated for themselves by trying to impress the examiner with some extraordinary vocabulary without knowing how to use it. In most cases, this will only help you to reduce your score. Using familiar vocabulary will bring you more scores if you do it properly.
Secondly, try to add more detail to your response. This will help you showcase more vocabulary.
Thirdly, try to speak about your own or the experiences of people you know well. This will help you reduce stress and reveal a wider range of vocabulary.
To achieve a high score for ‘Grammatical range and accuracy ’, you should use different tenses and longer sentences. However, this does not mean you have to show off your grammar. If you try to speak in deliberately long sentences all the time, you will sound unnatural. The examiner will listen to the variety of structures you use and if you can do it properly. The main tip here is to use only appropriate tenses you are confident about. For example, if you use the structures you don’t usually use, you are likely to make a wrong step. This might influence your band score. On top of that, you’d better concentrate on answering the questions the examiner asks you rather than on the grammar you are using. Candidates who get band 6+ make some mistakes but they can be understood.
‘Pronunciation’ matters in this section of the exam as well. However, pronunciation is not the synonym of accent. In fact, this is how you link sounds, words, if you speak with the proper intonation, and if you are able to speak clearly. Remember, you have to answer the examiner’s questions at your natural pace. If you speak too fast, you are likely to make more mistakes and mispronounce some words. Even if you have an accent, which is just a part of your identity, but it does not interfere with comprehension, the examiner is likely to give you a good score. On the other hand, if you pronounce the words in a way when the examiner cannot understand what you are saying, this can reduce your score. Record yourself speaking and see what mistakes you are making.
The Speaking section of IELTS is challenging, but now you know what is required from you. What is left is practice. Join our online IELTS Academic preparation course to practice, do a mock test and get instant feedback from IELTS experts.
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