Did you know that the second part of the IELTS Speaking test can be the most difficult for candidates, even Native Speakers.
But don’t despair, it can also be the easiest part, and the most enjoyable.
There is a valid reason for this part of the IELTS test, and I will explain this below.
One reason for Part 2 is to allow the candidate speak at length and meet the fluency criteria.
A second reason is to allow the examiner to grade your ability for the follow up questions in Part 3.
They are trained to listen carefully for language range, grammar accuracy and pronunciation is normal speech.
They can then chose the best question sets in Part 3 that allows you to display your real language ability. So it’s important to fill that 2 minutes the best you can.
Part 2 Structure
You are given a set of prompts and a question.
The prompts are not particularly challenging, but follow a pattern to give you ‘ideas’ and ‘structure’ for your 2 minute talk.
This gives the examiner ‘a further opinion‘ to your level, ready for Part 3.
One way to do well in this section is to try and relax.
A relaxed candidate always performs better and responds well.
If you don’t understand something, always ask the examiner to repeat the prompt question.
The examiner can’t help you directly, but repetition might help you understand the prompt better.
Other tips are
- Don’t give the examiner an opportunity to ask ‘can you say anything else about that’.
- Speak for the full 2 minutes until the examiner stops you.
- Don’t hesitate too much, you are allowed to make some mistakes, it’s natural.
- Connect your sentences and use the structure given in the prompt.
- Attempt to use complex sentences rather than short, simply ones.
and
- Don’t be afraid to correct yourself.
What if you really don’t understand the prompt or even worse the prompt doesn’t apply to you?
If you’re preparing for IELTS, and feel you cannot answer some of the speaking questions properly, simply because they really do not apply to your current life experience, then don’t worry as you’re not alone.
For example:
Q. Talk about an object you own that is especially valuable or important to you.
Problem: I have a quite spartan lifestyle and I don’t have any emotional attachment to any objects I own.
Q. Talk about an object that has had great influence in your life, and explain how it influenced your life.
Problem: While I could talk for hours about books that I love, I don’t really feel that there is a book that has truly influenced my life.
IELTS Speaking Topic: A tourist attraction
Describe a tourist attraction you visited.
You should say:
when you visited it
why it is a tourist attraction
who you went with
and say what you liked and didn’t like about the experience
Okay, so the tourist attraction that I’m going to describe is the city centre of Cambridge which I visited in the late summer of 2018. The city of Cambridge is a really popular tourist destination in the UK, and although it doesn’t have the association with Harry Potter, like Oxford does, I think it’s a more popular attraction than Oxford especially with students who have come to he UK in the summer for language courses.
So, Cambridge is famous for its university of course but is also well-known for some of the smaller colleges connected to the university like Trinity College and Kings College. It also has the Mathematical Bridge, Newton’s apple tree, and Corpus Clock. Another reason why it is a tourist attraction is the Punting on the river Cam. In the summer, a really popular activity is to hire a punt and spend an hour on the water. It’s a bit like Venice, but not as warm.
So, the reason I was there was because of an organised excursion. I accompanied a small group of pre-sessional law students who had just arrived from China and Thailand. I wasn’t the group leader or guide but as the native speaker, and their lecturer for the next 6 weeks, I did have some limited welfare responsibilities for them although they were basically young adults and independent.
It was a good day, I’d done this tour previously with teenage students for a summer school programme, so although I didn’t need to use a map, we followed the tourist trail stopping for photos as and when. It was a much better day than being responsible for teenagers, for example, we stopped for coffee and ice cream at the central market and then the students went to do their own thing like go shopping so I got time to relax. The thing I didn’t like, and it’s always the same in Cambridge, is the amount of tourists, there are just so many it can be a little stressful sometimes, and the other disappointment was the sky literally opened as we were walking back to the coach so we got completely soaked!
Solution to this problem
IELTS is a test of your language ability, not intelligence or knowledge.
You may think the IELTS test is an interrogation, but you don’t really need to answer with the truth.
However, I would feel more comfortable with the be honest approach, even if it does not directly answer the question.
You would probably be able to answer more naturally, and therefore be more fluent.
Which one do you think is a better strategy?
You can use tips and information on this website to help make it easier to obtain a higher score, but remember you still need to work at learning the language to be successful.
Please share to someone you know and in the meantime take a look at my Facebook Page and Website for IELTS answers and you can also join my Facebook Group here too.
Good Luck
Jonathan
