Matt McGinniss - IELTS Speaking Strategies for Success

IELTS Speaking Strategies for Success

Academic & General

by Matt McGinniss & Matt Cudmore

Published by Englishtec Pty Ltd

https://www.englishtec.com/

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Disclaimer

The authors and publishers of this book shall in no event be held liable for any loss or damages that may occur due to information contained in this book.

Introduction

W ELCOME TO IELTS SPEAKING Strategies for Success Academic & General.

Its great that you have taken a positive step towards success in IELTS by using this book.

Our goal is to help you get the IELTS score you need. We genuinely believe you can do it by following our strategies and language structures.

We start with the first strategy that involves understanding the exact structure of the speaking test. We then move through a series of strategies that will prepare you for the types of questions you can expect to hear on the test and build your confidence on test day.

Are you ready to build your speaking skills? Lets get started!

Strategy # 1 - Know the Speaking Test Structure

T HE speaking section of the IELTS test occurs between the test candidate (you) and the examiner (a qualified IELTS examiner).

The key to success is knowing the structure the test. This will help you prepare to speak fluently , accurately and for a long time .

In total it takes about 14 minutes to complete and the test is the same test for both General and Academic IELTS.

For the paper-based and computer-based test, you will do the same test section with a real-life examiner.

The best thing about the speaking test is that you already know the types of questions you will be asked and the way you need to answer them. We call this the test structure.

The structure of the speaking test is as follows:

Part 1: Personal Questions

Time: 4-5 minutes

Style: Examiner asks questions and you answer

Speaking Skills:

• Introducing yourself
• Talking about family, hometown and other common topics and situations
• Giving basic opinions

Part 2: Individual Long Turn

Time: 1 minute planning and note-taking, 2 minutes answering

Style: Candidate is shown a topic to prepare and can take notes

Speaking Skills:

• Organising ideas
• Continuous speaking without interruption
• Showing a range of language skills

Part 3: Developing a Discussion

Time: 4-5 minutes

Style: Examiner asks questions and you answer

Speaking Skills:

• Explaining more complex ideas
• Expressing opinions and beliefs

Strategy # 2 - Part 1 Personal Questions

B EFORE THE TEST YOU should practice talking about your personal information in English. Be prepared to talk about topics including:

• family
• friends
• town/city
• culture
• festivals
• events
• sport
• exercise
• movies
• hobbies
• study
• job
• future career
• lifestyle

E XAMPLE PART 1 SCRIPT

The following are some example questions and answers that you might hear in the speaking test:

1. Where are you from?

Im from Castle Town, which is a town located in the South-West of Amazonia. This is the place where I lived until I was twenty years old. After that I moved to Capital City, which as you might know is in the north of the county.

2. Tell me about your hometown.

My hometown is a traditional place that is not very often visited by tourists. It has a population of approximately fifty thousand people and because it is located close to the ocean the main industries include fishing and farming. Although it is a quiet town, it has certainly experienced rapid growth in recent years.

3. Tell me about the home where you live now.

I currently live with my cousins family in an apartment near the city. The apartment is quite small, with one main living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Its on the third story of an apartment block so it can get quite noisy at night. The best thing about it is the location. Being close to the city means it is convenient to go out during the week and on weekends.

4. Tell me about your family.

There are four members of my family. My father works as an engineer for a large company. My mother is an accountant, and my sister is a student like me. I have a very close relationship with all members of my family and we often gather for meals on the weekends and birthday celebrations.

5. Tell me about your work or study.

At the moment I work in a retail store in a large shopping mall in the city. The shop sells clothes so I am gaining a great deal of experience in customer service and cash handling. Although this experience is quite helpful, I look forward to the opportunity to get a professional job at some stage in the future.

6. What form of transport do you use to get to work?

Normally, I take the bus. This journey takes approximately thirty minutes from where I live at the moment. Occasionally, my cousin gives me a lift in his car. This is much shorter; it only takes about fifteen minutes.

7. What do you like doing in your spare time?

I dont really have any hobbies that I do on a regular basis. However, I like playing computer games, especially on my tablet computer. Although I know playing games can be addictive, I try to limit the amount of time I spend playing to no more than about three hours per week. Aside from that, I quite like cooking, and my friends often say that Im quite a good cook.

8. Do you like going to the movies?

Yes, I often go to the movies during my holidays when I have more spare time. I like watching action movies the most, although I also like comedies and sometimes animated movies.