IELTS Training with Jonathan

Helping Busy People Succeed in IELTS.

IELTS Speaking

Foreign Food – What is a good IELTS Speaking Part 1 Response

By on 0

The topic of Foreign Food in IELTS speaking Part 1

For many people, the first part of the IELTS Speaking test can be the most stressful and where the most mistakes are made.

Not only are you in a test situation, but you have the stress of meeting the examiner, who you don’t know, who may speak with an unfamiliar accent or at some speed.

But don’t worry, it can also be the easiest part, and the most enjoyable of the IELTS speaking test if you know a few key points.

There is a valid reason for this part of the IELTS test, and I will explain this below.

IELTS SPEAKING TOPICS Foreign Food

One reason for Part 1 is to ease the candidate into the test, and allow the candidate to tune into the voice of the examiner.

In general the examiner and these questions are there to help you. 🙂 

The three sets of questions are not particularly challenging, but are varied in topic and allow the candidate to ‘warm up‘ and ‘gain confidence‘ and additionally give the examiner ‘a feel‘ to immediate level.

Advice on Part 1 IELTS Speaking

One way to do well in this section is to relax.

A relaxed candidate always listens better and responds well.

Other tips are 

  • Don’t give the examiner an opportunity to ask ‘why’. Always try to give a reason
  • Connect your sentences, when you can
  • Attempt to use complex sentences rather than short, simply ones
  • Don’t hesitate too much
  • It’s okay to make some mistakes, that’s natural

and

  • Don’t be afraid to correct yourself

If you don’t understand something, always ask the examiner to repeat the question. 

Foreign Food as an IELTS Speaking Topic

Think about these examiner prompts.

What answer would you give to these questions?

  1. Have you ever tried foreign food? 
  2. Do you like to try new food? 
  3. What kinds of new food have you tried recently?
  4. What kinds of foreign food are popular in your country?
  5. Do you like any food from the countries near your country?

IELTS Part 1 features three random topics chosen by the examiner.

There is a around a minute of speaking time allowed for each section of part 1, so if you can answer the question fully AND extend it, you will get asked fewer questions!

  • Have you ever tried foreign food? 

Yes, I love trying foreign food.   When I went to the USA, I was there for a long stay and so I was able to try all sorts of American food, especially hamburgers, sandwiches, as well as meatballs and Italian food in New York.  I also love Japanese cuisine a lot.

  • Do you like to try new food?

Yes, when I visit a new place I always try to seek out local food, especially street food.  Many people eat what they are used to when they travel, like Mac Donalds or KFC, or go to a Chinese restaurant. Maybe because it’s a kind of comfort food, but I really try to experience a lot of  new things.  It gets you closer to the real lifestyle of that country. 

  • What kinds of new food have you tried recently?

Well, I recently tried oysters served with lemon and white wine, it was really delicious. I’ve  also tried pineapple on an American pizza, I didn’t really like that so much. It was a strange combination.

  • What kinds of foreign food are popular in your country?

In my country, Japanese food like Sushi and Sashimi are becoming more popular, as well as being very healthy in general. Many people also like Korean BBQ. It’s also now common to see more and more western fast food chains appearing near shopping centres, like Burger King an KFC, as well as coffee shops like Starbucks. I prefer the healthier food though so I tend to avoid these places.

  • Do you like any food from the countries near your country?

Well, foreign food is becoming more accessible in my country, especially Japanese food because it is seen as being fresh and generally healthy.  I like most foods from the countries that surround China, as I said, Korean food is popular, and it’s very different to Japanese.

Share
Pin
Share
Tweet
0 Shares

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.

Sign up to the Newsletter

Studying – The Perfect Speaking Part 1 IELTS Response

By on

The topic of Studying in Part 1 Speaking

Did you know that the first part of the IELTS Speaking test can be the most difficult for candidates.

Not only is the candidate in a test situation, but the candidate is has to deal with listening to an examiner who may speak with an unfamiliar accent or at some speed.

But don’t despair it can also be the easiest part, and the most enjoyable. 🙂 

Speaking Task 1 Studying

There is a valid reason for this part of the IELTS test, and I will explain this below.

One reason for IELTS Speaking Part 1 is to ease the candidate into the test, and allow the candidate to tune into the voice of the examiner.

The three sets of questions are not particularly challenging, but are varied in topic.

They allow the candidate to ‘warm up‘ and ‘gain confidence‘ and additionally give the examiner ‘a feel‘ to the candidate’s immediate level. 🙂 

One way to do well in this section is to relax and let the examiner lead the converstation.

A relaxed candidate always listens better and responds well.

IELTS Speaking Tips

  • Don’t give the examiner an opportunity to ask ‘why‘ or ‘why not’
  • Don’t give an over-complicated or over-extended answer
  • Try to connect your sentences where you can
  • Attempt to use complex sentences rather than short, simply ones
  • Don’t hesitate too much, you can make some mistakes

and

  • Don’t be afraid to correct yourself

If you don’t understand something, always ask the examiner to repeat the question. 

Studying as an IELTS Speaking Topic

Think about the questions which follow and think about the kind of answer you could give.

Aim to give an answer that lasts between 8 to 20 seconds.

What time do you like to study? 

What’s the best time for you to study? 

Do you like to study alone or with your friends? 

Who do you usually study with?

My IELTS Speaking Advice

IELTS Part 1 features three random topics chosen by the examiner.

There is a around a minute of speaking time allowed for each section of part 1, so if you can answer the question fully AND extend it, you will get asked fewer questions!

Look at these examples and see how the candidate has said just enough to statisfy the speaking requirements.

  • What time do you like to study? 

Ok, so I prefer to study in the evening because the house is quieter then and I am more alert. There are also fewer distractions. In the mornings, I tend to feel a bit drowsy, especially after breakfast so it’s difficult to concentrate. There also seems to be more distractions in the morning.

  • What’s the best time for you to study?

Well, I suppose the best time to study is when you have enough spare time to fit it in and also when you feel in the mood. I try to timetable my study, but it’s not always easy or possible.

  • Do you like to study alone or with your friends? 

I prefer to study with someone else.  It is less boring than studying on your own and keeps you alert and ‘on your toes’. You can chat, and it’s a good opportunity to take a break with someone to refresh your mind. You can also help each other by concentrating on the weaker areas of your learning but you have to be careful not to waste each others time.

  • Who do you usually study with?

At my school, we normally have a study period after lessons, so I sit with my best friends. In the evening I have to do private study and so I’m alone. I have to complete a lot of chores before I can ‘call it a day’, and I have to review my classwork.

Share
Pin
Share
Tweet
0 Shares

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.

Sign up to the Newsletter

How to answer – A tourist attraction – IELTS Speaking Part 2

By on

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.

IELTS SPEAKING AND WRITING

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

How is IELTS Speaking is marked

By on 0

IELTS Speaking, Marking and the IELTS Band Scores

Marking Criteria Speaking IELTS

In IELTS Speaking, performance is assessed on the following criteria specific to speaking:

Fluency and Coherence:

Do you express ideas and opinions clearly and coherently, without long hesitations?

Lexical Resources:

Do you use a wide range of vocabulary?

Grammatical Range and Accuracy:

Do you use a wide range of structures and make only a few minor mistakes?

Pronunciation:

Are you easy to understand?

Do you use English pronunciation features naturally?

Four band descriptors and a sliding scale

The overall result of each criteria is translated into a score on the IELTS nine-band score. 

What can you do to improve your performance in the Speaking test?

Be relaxed and try to be friendly.

Remember the examiner is trying to find out what you know, not what you don’t know.

You can ask the examiner to repeat the question if you don’t understand the question the first time.

You can say: Sorry, could you repeat that, or I didn’t understand what you said, could you say it again?

Get confident and record yourself and practice speaking on a variety of topics for 1 – 2 minutes.

This will help you gain confidence and practice your time management. You can also assess you own speaking fluency and pronunciation.

Be wise in your choice of vocabulary 

For example, don’t use unfamiliar, long words if you are not sure of their meaning. 

If you cannot remember the exact word you want, paraphrase and try to express your idea using similar words.

It is much easy to impress the examiner with an attempt to paraphrase rather than use a word incorrectly.

Practice making notes, spider-grams, and mind maps which will help you to talk on various topics in one minute.

The secret to a good speaking attempt is practice, understanding of the task and confidence. Many people find it difficult to answer questions unless they have practiced this skill, so practice!

Try to develop your answers instead of answering in just one word.

Record yourself and speak loudly and clearly into a recorder then develop your answers into a sentence or a number of connected sentences. 

Avoid using slang and abbreviations.

Using slang and abbreviations just doesn’t work in the speaking test. Imagine you are in a job interview. Would you take shortcuts or speak to the interviewer like you would to a friend?

Please do not tell the examiner what grade you require or ask how well you have done. This will only cause embarrassment and the examiner won’t tell you.

You might want to ask the examiner about your potential grade, but the examiner is a professional and is not allowed to discuss such matters. 

Do not use memorised chunks of language. Examiners are trained to recognise this. Furthermore, what you have memorised may not be relevant to the topic being discussed.

If you learn a phrase or a chunk of language, don’t try to fit this into your test. Language learnt like this is unnatural and it will appear unnatural too.

Avoid the common mistakes I have noticed recently –

Here are some quick and easy general speaking errors to avoid in the test: 

Not Speaking enough.

Giving short answers. 

Not developing your answers.

Giving prepared answers.

Not being able to answer.

Repeating the examiners question as your topic sentence.

Giving any of the above is likely to annoy the examiner.

The only acceptable mistake is ‘not being able to answer’ a question.

In cases such as these the examiner will always try and help you because they want to see what langauge you can display.

In the other cases, an annoyed examiner is less likely to help you produce a good speaking response and so your score might suffer.

Remember these tips and 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.

Sign up to the Newsletter

How to use idioms in IELTS writing and speaking.

By on 0

When can Idioms be used in IELTS?

IELTS JONATHAN IDIOMS

The ability to use idioms in IELTS satisfies the Band 7 Criteria in both speaking and writing.

But, candidates need to be careful when using idioms.

 

IELTS JONATHAN

 

Firstly, some idioms are redundant because of overuse. This means that although a native speaker may understand the meaning of the idiom, the speaker would very rarely use it as it would sound strange to others.

A good example of this is ‘it is raining cats and dogs‘ meaning heavy rain.

IDIOMS IELTS SPEAKING

Part of the marking criteria for IELTS speaking is ‘skillful use of idiomatic expressions’. Notice ‘skillful use’. An examiner would be unlikely to regard ‘raining cats and dogs’ as skillful because of its ‘overuse’.

IDIOMS IELTS WRITING

Idioms are often regarded as informal and so they should NOT be used in Academic Writing Task 1 or 2.

However, in contrast, if used in General IELTS Writing Task 1 or 2, the examiner may give additional marks for idiomatic expressions as the task may require a more informal approach, but again these expressions need to be skillfully used.

Let’s consider some nice examples of idiom to describe intelligence.

Intelligence is often compared to light. Have a look at these idiomatic expressions and see if you understand the reference to intelligence.

Positive Connotations

She is the brightest child in the class.

She outshines everyone else.

He is a brilliant student of English

He shines at languages.

They had a flash of inspiration.

He final performance in the test was dazzling.

Likewise with Negative Connotations

He didn’t impress me very much. In fact, he seemed quite dim.

This is the work of a very dull mind.

In addition, intelligence is often compared to sharp, cutting instruments such as knives, a razor or scalpel.

He’s incredibly sharp. He knows everything!

She has a razor-sharp mind.

He has a keen intellect.

We dissected the problem piece by piece.

He was an incisive critic.

Conclusion

In summary, you should NOT use idioms in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 or 2, however in the IELTS General paper the task may require this and this may improve your score.

In IELTS speaking, it is not enough to simply use some idiomatic expressions, but you will improve your IELTS Speaking score if you can use them ‘skillfully’ or with some ‘sophistication’.

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

IELTS TRAINING 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.

Sign up to the Newsletter

How to – IELTS Speaking and Natural English.

By on 0

How to obtain a Higher Speaking Mark

Speaking Strategies IELTS

To obtain a higher mark in IELTS Speaking the examiner needs to see the skilful use of Lexical Resource and Clear Pronunciation.

Speaking IELTS Tips

Lexical Resource accounts for 25% of the overall speaking band as does Pronunciation.

Take a look at my example of how you could impress the examiner with natural language and natural speech.

Lexical Fillers

There are two ways to say, “You know” because there are two main meanings for this phrase.

  • You can use the phrase “You know” with the meaning of, “You already know (the answer to your question)”.
  • It is also quite natural to use this phrase in conversation when we are trying to explain something but don’t know the exact word or words that we want to say.

Look at this example answer in Speaking Part 3

Q: “What’s the difference between traditional fairy tales and modern stories?”

A: “Well, traditional stories are usually set in the traditional lifestyle that people had, which was typically rural, whereas most modern stories have modern, urban settings. As well as that, most traditional stories are either myths that explain a natural phenomena such as how the moon came to be in the sky or stories that teach you a morality lesson, …you know, like teaching people what is good and bad behaviour,. But most modern stories are not myths or moral tales; they just tell a short story, which, you know, is often an adventure story or a mystery story, for example,  what we might see in a TV program or in a movie.”

The above is a very natural way to speak and could equally be replaced by other phrases such as “like”, “something like”, “similar to”, “what I mean is” or “such as”.

More advance Lexical Fillers

  • Finally, another way of using “you know” is when you are introducing a new piece of information or a new fact. Look at this example: “You know, I’ve only been living in London for the past three months, so I don’t know the city as well as I know my hometown.”

“You know, the diet is Asia is changing. As countries grow richer, the demand for meat increases while demand for rice decreases. You know, that could be a serious environmental problem in the future.”

In both examples 2 and 3, the stress is placed on “know” and the acceptable pronunciation becomes “y’ know”,

“Y know, I’ve only been living in London for the past three months, so I don’t know the city as well as I know my hometown.”

You can practise listening to a recording that shows you the two ways to say, “you know”: here.

When introducing a new piece of information, the second way is the correct way.

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

Share
Pin
Share
Tweet
0 Shares

IELTS TRAINING 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.

Sign up to the Newsletter

Let me help you get the IELTS Result you need

JUST WRITING FEEDBACK

Speaking Feedback

IELTS TRAINING 

IELTS FEEDBACK

YOUR PRIVACY

TERMS AND CONDITIONS