100. IELTS Speaking: Five Speaking Points You Need to Improve

The IELTS speaking test can be quite nerve-racking.

This is because it not only tests our mastery of English grammar rules, but

also tests how fast we can comprehend the questions, recall the relevant knowledge, formulate the answers and deliver the answer in a fluent way with correct pronunciation -and all in very short span of time!

It provides hardly any time to think, to consolidate your thoughts into a logical answer and ensure that the delivery is smooth and in accordance with all the rules of grammar and enunciation.

This is why many believe this to be one of the most challenging parts of the IELTS exam.

Being prepared, however, will help you feel more capable and confident about acing the test.

To prepare it is useful to note the criteria for assessment used in IELTS.

This post covers the criteria used and includes tips to boost your score.

1. Fluency

Fluency consists of speaking in a fluid or flowing manner. It means speaking without any unnecessary stops or pauses caused by hesitation, stuttering or thinking of the next thing to say for a relatively prolonged period.

Here are some tips to help develop fluency. Prolong the last syllable of the last word in your sentence while completing the thought for the next sentence. Also use fillers to help you have more time to think of your next point. And practice talking about different things and giving each a longer and more extensive definition, description or explanation.

2. Pronunciation

Pronunciation deals with the proper way of saying words producing the appropriate sound for each letter and/or syllable of the words used. As well as, putting the stress properly in a word or in phrase or sentence.

To improve pronunciation, study the proper position of the tongue with the palate, gum, teeth, etc. when producing the sounds for each letter for each word that we use as part of our answers. Study, also, where the proper stress on each word, phrase or sentence should be. The dictionary is a good source to find the correct way of saying words. For phrases and sentences, listen to where the stresses and pauses are placed in reliable recordings from the BBC / CNN etc.

3. Coherence

Coherence involves putting ideas together in an organised manner that show ideas are related to each other and it is arranged in a logical way.

A helpful exercise to develop coherence is dissecting a sample paragraph, itemising them and indicating a main point for each, and analyzing why they were positioned in that order in the given paragraph. A useful tool for coherence is the use of conjunctions like “first,” “next,” “in addition,” and more.

4. Grammatical accuracy and range

Grammatical accuracy deals with how much we adhere to the rules of English grammar which include verb tenses, antecedents, parallelism and more. Grammatical range deals with the structures of phrases, sentences and the different parts of speech as applied in the text which can either be simple or complex.

To further develop grammatical accuracy and range, review all the rules of grammar and read many materials with excellent grammatical formats and study their structures. Compose your own written text using different structures making sure all the grammar rules are followed. Then later compose directly as you speak.

5. Lexical resource

Lexical resource constitutes our vocabulary. It is involved in the type of words that we use, its level of use (whether it is common or not), its frequency of use and its appropriateness in its use.

The best way to improve on lexical resource is to read a lot, learn new words, their meanings and how they are properly used. Once an unfamiliar word crosses our sight, list it down, find its meaning from a dictionary, study how it is used in context, and use it in your own sentence.

Now that we have some knowledge on what the points or criteria are with which the assessment of the IELTS Speaking Test will be based on, we have a better insight into what points to work on. Begin improving your skills. From the five given principles, work on one principle at a time. Start with what you find most difficult especially when you only have a limited time to prepare before your scheduled IELTS exam. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect,” so the more you practice the closer you get to perfecting your skills. There is no such thing as “something being too hard or impossible,” it only really just takes one step at a time, with that step done continuously, consistently, and with commitment.
The audio version contains plenty more tips, download it here:

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099 Fernando Jumps 1.5 Bands is off to Canada!!

In this episode Fernando explains how he had to pass first time.

He was travelling from Venezuela to Montreal, Canada and so obviously wanted to nail it first time!

Fernando shares a technique for getting full control of articles and prepositions.

He also shares:

-how he managed to focus on the right arguments (task2)

-how he planned his essays so they scored high

-a great resource for building your vocabulary.

Download the whole interview and then share it with someone you think is having a tough time with IELTS.

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Flickr image

 

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098 IELTS Motivation, preparation and tips.

In this episode I look at a range of inspiring motivating quotes to help you pass IELTS.

Each quote is read and then applied to IELTS to help you, it’s either a tip, a strategy or just good old encouragement.

Here are a few to give you an idea:

 

Fall seven times and stand up eight.
–Japanese Proverb

In reference to PRACTICE TESTS!!!!

 

IELTS preparation instant advantage when you apply this…

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

For example, go into the speaking with a strong belief you are going to perform amazingly and the confidence alone from this belief will boost your score.

 

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.

–Newt Gingrich

STICK AT IT. -Get a routine, get organised, and pass IELTS.

 

 

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

–Robert Collier (1885-1950),

Do you have a routine for your IELTS prep? Making it a habit will help you immensely.

 

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

― Nelson Mandela

It may take a while to get your IELTS result, but stay on course!

 

“Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything.”

― Marilyn Monroe

We’ve all failed at something at least once!

 

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

― Anthony Robbins

A constant routine for your IELTS preparation will get you IELTS success. I promise you.

 

“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying”

― John C. Maxwell

Never give up! Practice with practice tests, and don’t spend more cash on real tests!

 

“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”

― Catherine of Siena

True, but some students (mine), endure less!

 

“With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable”

― Thomas Fowell Buxton

Stick at it! Don’t let your latest IELTS exam result stop you. Ever.

The audio version contains tonnes more tips, download it here:

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097 After five attempts Lorraine finally passes IELTS!

Lorraine had taken IELTS five times.

Here is the first email I received from her:

Good day sir. I just bought your sentence guide tonight. I hope that you could really help me improve my writing skills. Thank you

And then after working together she sends me this (unedited):

Sir ben I have good news! I can go to canada now! And its all thanks to you! I took the ielts exam again this april and got the results I need so i can migrate to Canada. Im so overwhelmed right now because Im so near in reaching my goals! Thank you sir ben for your patience in teaching me! I am very grateful to you thats why Im always recommending your site to all my friends so you can help them too. Thank you once again, sir ben!

She had attended an IELTS “preparation centre” -but still failed.

She was even scoring Band 9 in the listening!!!

So what was the problem with her writing?

Have a listen to find out more.
Below is an example of the essay corrections Lorraine was getting:

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096 IELTS Writing: 7 ways to improve your sentences

A sentence has one job above all others -to convey information. It’s job is not to be clever.  It’s primary task is to present information.

And in your case, score points.

That’s not to say it can’t, or shouldn’t, sound nice. Or be clever.  —But those are a bonus.

It is so important to be understood, because then the examiner can determine whether you have understood the question too.

Subjects separated from verbs 

Read the two sentences below then determine which is easier to understand.

England, together with most other Western European countries in the 18th Century undergoing industrialisation, transitioned from a largely agrarian society to a more factory orientated economy.

England transitioned from a largely agrarian society to a more factory orientated economy, much like most other Western European countries in the 18th Century undergoing industrialisation.

Can you see in the first one that you have to wait 13 words to find out what happens to England? You have to hold all this information in your head until you get to the verb “transitioned“. Forcing the reader to hold all this information in their head creates a strain, and in your case the reader is the IELTS examiner!

 

Sentences can be heard.

Sentences are not just related to the eyes, the ears participate also — basically good writing sounds good when spoken. This is more difficult to implement but you can always try it, perhaps by reading your work to a native speaker.

 

Variety

Each sentence must be different from the last, this creates interest. Vary your usage. Short – long – short. sentence moves into a long sentence. Sentence openings should not be repeated twice in a row.

Listen how boring this sounds:

There are many countries that have banned smoking in public places and have greatly increased the quality of life of their citizens. There are many other ways to improve a society, a government could reduce taxes then there would be more money for each person…   

 

 

Some clauses are independent, others are dependent.

The former stands on their own. I’m not going to get into a big lesson here, but sentence construction relies on you knowing that dependent clauses cannot form their own sentences

A dependent clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. It does not express a complete thought so it is not a sentence and can’t stand alone.

Since the country in question clearly lacks funds…..

Before the country developed…

Whenever universities are established abroad…

 

Long Sentences I

Long sentences reduce comprehension for readers. The longer the sentence, the greater chance you will lose the reader’s attention and understanding.

Ideally one idea per sentence.

Within the context of academic writing, being able to write short, crisp sentences is a great virtue. Again and again, in reading over students’ IELTS essays, I observed that longer sentences are more difficult to comprehend. In addition, students tend to make more grammatical errors when writing long sentences.

 

Long Sentences II

A run-on sentence is a sentence that takes a lot of independent clauses and puts them together without the a punctuation or conjunction. In practice, a run-on sentence is one that goes on and on and on. Feels rambly. Loses cohesion.

They cause readers strain, are difficult to read, you have to hold a lot of information in your mind before reaching the end of the sentence. This strain makes reading difficult. Another example of inflicting strain is when subjects and verbs are separate.

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094 How to prepare for IELTS Reading

ANYONE attempting to the IELTS reading section without preparation will struggle to reach a Band 7. This part of the exam is not easy and even native speakers have challenges.

In this post we cover:

-the three types of reading

-what is active reading and why it’s useful

-a technique to get you practising everyday

-a range of preparation exercises to get the exam skills you need

THE THREE TYPES OF READING

Elementary – the most basic and deals with “what is being said”. Elementary reading is therefore the style of reading you learn first.

Inspectional – often with a time limit, and covers three points; What the text is about? The structure of the text, and what are the parts of the argument? For this we skim, and pre-read to get a feel for the text. Inspectional reading is the type of reading you will do most in the exam.

Analytical – usually the slowest type of reading, concerned with the details, usually reading every single word in the phrase, mainly for understanding and finding meaning. Analytical is also necessary for the exam but will be used to a lesser extent largely due to the time limit in the exam.

ACTIVE READING

 

This is another vital skill I would strongly recommend mastering for IELTS success. Active reading means actively getting involved in the text by marking, underlining and drawing on the text. This extra involvement makes it easier to remember because you have now attached something from the physical world to what was previously just in your mind. Active reading helps you focus (and keeps you awake!). It also facilitates understanding because if you can express your understanding in the written form it is more than likely crystal clear in your own mind.

Here are some guidelines to help you when approach some text:

– underline and circle important phrases and words

– vertical lines next to a long important passages

– stars / asterix in the margin for dates, numbers, measurements and times (common questions in reading exams)

– use a series of numbers to signal the development of an argument or process

– write in the margins and create your own subheadings

If you have to read a lot for your studies or work I would strongly recommend this timeless classic “How to read a book“.

HOW TO PRACTICE EVERYDAY

One of the best ways to learn a new skill is through practice and repetition, and habits are the best source of repetition to harness.  For example, if you have difficulty practising IELTS everyday then try and incorporate your IELTS preparation into an existing habit. So if most mornings you start with a coffee and reading some online news site like bbc.com, rt.com, or msnbc.com then start turning that routine into a practise reading session. You could choose an article and start ACTIVELY READING IT instead of just reading it the normal way. You could also engage in some of the exercises below, the point being is that soon you will start doing it every morning and you will be much less likely to skip a session. This technique comes from a great book about habits.

6 DRILLS TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION

1. Pre-assessing an essay
Pre-assessing an essay involves creating a notion of what the essay holds by surveying the title, subtitles, framework and other tools used in the essay. One example would be in a page of a magazine, we can read the heading (and subheadings, if any), and take a quick look at the diagrams, charts or pictures, if any, to get a sense of what the essay is about, and so decide whether it is interesting enough for us to read or not. If the title and images provide the notion of the essay being about a particular place in the globe that you have not seen nor heard of before and you are fond of traveling, then this assessment helps in your decision making process to really read the article thoroughly.
Pre-assessment helps the mind to be open to the ideas related to the seen heading and images, which eventually provide ease in understanding the essay or article.

2. Browsing for the main point
This only requires going through the text lightly and fast to get an overall concept. We go about this by focusing only on getting the general point of the text and not really paying attention to the details. We can use this skill when for instance reading about the ingredients and how a particular dish is prepared to know whether it is good for our health or not.
Browsing in search of a main point is an essential skill when we want to obtain a comprehensive perspective or idea without needing to go deeply into the text.

3. Foreseeing the content and purpose of the text
Knowing the topic, we can use our stock knowledge to speculate about what the text will be on or what it was written for or what it is aimed to do. Let us take a flyer with the name of an amusement park and the images of the different rides and other entertainment activities that they offer, from these you can foresee that they are promoting the services offered by that particular amusement park and that the language or terms used in the flyer will be predominantly about entertainment and leisure.
Foreseeing is a good tool in understanding a text because you make use of your own knowledge and experiences about the topic to draw the ideas that will help you comprehend the complete thought of the text later on.
4. In-depth reading
In depth reading or reading completely while taking note of details involved in the text is a reading exercise that requires a little more effort. It requires more concentration and retention because here, every point must be looked into. For instance, we would like to prepare an éclair for some expected guests. Because the steps are not that simple and easy to remember, and to make sure that it comes out the way it should, not too hard nor too soft, and not too sweet nor lacking in taste, we will need to employ in-depth reading on its recipe. This means that we need to take note of the details like the exact amount of each ingredient, the level of mixing or beating required to produce the exact consistency required, and the necessary oven temperature for every phase of the baking process. In-depth reading may also involve reading the text again to ensure that we have understood or captured every detail and important information in the text.
In-depth reading is a skill that is necessary to develop because it enables us to understand exactly and completely what the meaning and message of the text is.

5. Drawing word meaning from context
It is not expected for us to know every word in the dictionary, hence, it is inevitable that we encounter some words, we have never heard of before or we have known for a particular meaning but it was used to deliver a different meaning in the text. This is why it is important to develop the skill of drawing the meaning of a word from the context of how it was used. This calls for the use of our abilities in analyzing, reasoning, and searching for relevant details. In the line, “His family gathered about him after he was knocked out, waiting for him to come around,” the phrase to “come around” is composed of two words with different meanings and when put together may mean “to arrive within a particular location close to the speaker.” But in the given line, the words, “gathered around,” “knocked out,” and “waiting” seem to give clues that the meaning of words, “come around,” was different, in this case it was “to gain back consciousness.”
Drawing the word meaning from the way the word was used in the text is a very helpful skill in enriching our vocabulary and it will be important in understanding the meaning and message of an entire text which is needed in the IELTS exam.

6. Discerning the tone of the writer
Here, we bring focus on the sentiments and viewpoints of the writer. There are texts that are better understood when the thoughts and feelings of the writer are analyzed. In the lines, “Is there hope for the youth?”we can feel that the author is concerned about the member of the younger generation and so we can expect that the text is about ways to make things better for them.
There are times when a topic can bring different, even opposing ideas. Examples would be religious or political controversial matters. This is why it is important to get clues about the attitude and perspective of the writer in order to really understand the purpose of the writer for writing the text and the different points that writer aims to draw our attention to.

 

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092 IELTS Simon The 10 Types of Reading Questions

In this podcast I have a chat with an old friend of mine, a great IELTS tutor, a funny charismatic guy, also ex‐military! His name is Simon ‐ but nooooooooo ‐ he isn’t the other Simon with the IELTS blog, but he is from Manchester and equally as sharp! Listen to this podcast and learn:

‐ The 10 types of reading questions
‐ How to tackle  “Features matching” questions.
‐ Why you shouldn’t read every word of the text…
‐ A handful of test busting tips for solid exam preparation.
‐ An important tip to help you avoid sneaky examiner tricks (negative sentences).

Have a listen below, then let me know your thoughts.

IELTS exam is split into different modules that entails all the skills that are required to be tested for you to pass the full exam.

Reading is one of the modules and it’s the second part that takes an hour to complete. That is 60 minutes only. With limited time there are several things you need to check out for you to score a high mark of 7.0 and above in Reading. There are several tips I can share that I am sure will boost your score. To begin with, I need to inform you about different types of questions.

 

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 1) Multiple choice questions

These are types of questions that requires you to pick the correct answer from the given choices which are in capital letters of ABC and .This type of questions tests your ability to understand detailed and specific information.

 2) Information identification questions

These are types of questions that requires you to identify whether the given information is either true false or it’s not given. This type of question tests your ability to clearly understand what the text is talking about.

 3) Information matching

These types of questions requires you to find a specific information and placing them where they fit to be. You need to have clearly understood the text and be able to understand every paragraph and what information it contains.

 4) Head Matching

These questions requires you to pick a heading from the given headings and place each of them to the paragraphs. Mainly, if you have clearly understood the given text, you’ll be able to make a heading out of every paragraph.

 5) Sentence completion

In this type of question, you will find an incomplete sentence. You are supposed to complete it with words taken from the text. You therefore need to quickly map the incomplete text to a particular location in the text for you to find the correct answer.

 6) Summary completion

A summary part of the text will be given to you. You are required to complete it by picking words from the text with a given maximum number of words to complete it.

 7) Features matching

These are types of questions that that requires you to find a specific information about given features and match it. For example you can be given different people who discovered different things at different times. You are now required to match who discovered what at what time. You therefore need to be very keen when matching.

 8) Matching sentence endings

This is a very simple question. Part of a sentence is picked from a line in the text. What you need to do here is to just locate where it has been taken from and complete the sentence and there you have your have your correct answer!

 9) Short answer questions

You have to be extra careful here! This is a question that expects you to answer the question from the given facts in the text. Moreover you need to check the number of words because you are limited. A maximum number of words is always given.

 10) Matching information

You just need not to get this question wrong. All that is required of you here is to find some given information and place them where they fit.

 

Having highlighted the kind of questions you would expect in an IELTS reading exam,try this few tips and expect exemplary performance!

 i) Read many articles

A week or two prior to the exam, ensure that you read as many articles as you can. This will give a certain kind of experience and confidence for that matter. This is the most important tip here. You can’t just wake up someday and go hit a band score of 8.0 in reading module without reading practice.

 ii) Skimming

This is a reading technique that allows you to read through a given text very fast and within the shortest time possible while identifying main ideas of the given text. This technique will help you save on time and will also allow you to have an idea of what the text is all about within the first reading.

 iii) Scanning

This is a technique where you read through every line very quickly looking for a specific word or phrase.

It comes in handy when you are looking for a one word answer. It’s quite different from scanning because the latter doesn’t require you to find any specific word or phrase.

 iv) Use Key words

This is self‐explanatory. Reading a text without identifying the keywords is a suicide mission! Don’t try it.

Ensure that you mark some of the keywords as they will be helpful when time for answering questions come .You wouldn’t need more time to scan through the text again.

 v) Title

The title of the text that you are reading will tell you what the text is all about. First read the title. It will give you an idea of the content of the text so you’ll have an ample time comprehending since you already have an idea of what you are reading.

 vi) Time management

This is very key! The reading module is 60 minutes long and there are three questions for you to answer.

Do NOT share time equally so that you allocate each question twenty minutes. The IELTS standard works with an increasing difficulty that means the last question difficulty level will be higher than the last two so make sure that you’ll have close to thirty minutes for the last question.

 vii) Check grammar

Be extra careful with the grammar at the beginning of the questions. More so the negatives because they totally change the question and if you are not careful enough you may end up answering oppositely with all your gathered confidence. Every beginning of a sentence is very important.

 viii) Do not read the whole text.

Yes! You heard me right. Time is of essence here. There will never be enough time to read through all the text. There are parts of that text that you will never find any question rising from so no need to read. Just remember that your job is to look for the right answers not reading everything.

ix) If you can’t find an answer of the current question, leave it pending and proceed.

The trick here is moving from the known to the unknown so just mark it maybe with a big star and move on to answer other question but always remember that you have unanswered question. Once you have finished writing your answers then go back for it.

x) It is very tragic to answer all the questions in the question paper and get caught up by time before transferring it to the answer sheet.

I would strongly recommend that after answering every question, just flip over to your answer sheet and write your answer.

xi) There are those questions that dictate the number of words.

Ensure that you abide by the rules. Count your words one by one and remember that a vowel in a sentence e.g. “a” is also counted as a word.

xii) Spelling mistakes will always count.

Try as much as possible to check on your spelling when you are writing short answers and if you get time after answering all the questions then check once again in case you made any spelling error.

xiii) There are those questions that you are required to complete the sentence.

Make sure that you put all your attention on the meaning of the sentence not just throwing any word to fit in. You need to do well in this exam remember.

xiv) There is something called intelligent guessing.

At times you’ll be given difficult words in the passage that you may have no clue at all. What should help you make a correct guess is the context in which the word has been used. Certainly this difficult word will always be related to the topic of the given text.

xv) At times the unfortunate happens.

I am talking of elapsed time and you haven’t finished up. If you have a multiple choice question left guess! There is always a 25% chance that you’ll get a correct answer in a question of ABC and D multiple choice answer.

 

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Goodluck!

 

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