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 beautiful place where you want to live
Describe a a beautiful place where you would like to live.
You should say:
where this place is
how you know about this place
and explain why you would choose to live there.
Well, to be truthful, one of the places I would really like to live is in Shanghai, in the area of the Yangtze River Delta in East China. I know about this place as a close friend of mine from the UK has lived there for the past 8 years or so.
I have been to Shanghai a few times during these years, both for short business trips and travelling. There are many domestic and foreign corporations, so I imagine it’s easy to find business opportunities there. On top of that, it is also well-known for attractions like the busy City God Temple, or the peaceful areas like Century Park and Yu Garden. Of course, for tourists, Shanghai also has a world-famous and breath-taking skyline.
If money was no object. I’d try and find a spacious flat in a high-rise in a rural area of Shanghai because the air quality would be relatively good, and it would be easy to avoid the traffic congestion of the city centre.
Shanghai has excellent transport facilities, so it would still be easy to access the shopping malls, schools, medical clinics or if we are looking for entertainment.
Shanghai is surprisingly old but something that fascinates me about Shanghai is the rich collection of buildings and structures of various architectural styles. The Bund, for example, contains lots of well-preserved early 20th-century architecture which reflects Shanghai’s colonial past and history.
Of course, it’s also a modern city and so the city is a mix of the old and the new. There are large number of modern architectural styles that have sprung up recently throughout Shanghai, a good example is the Shanghai Museum.
As I love taking photographs it would be a great for photography so that would be another good reasons why Shanghai would be an ideal city to spend a great deal of time in.
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
I’m Jonathan I’ve taught IELTS and University English in more than a dozen universities and schools around the world. I’m a parent, traveller and passionate about language teaching and helping students achieve their dreams. Whilst living in Austria or working in Asia, I run IELTS courses to help students get to where they want to be. If you are serious about IELTS, connect with me to see how I can help you.
