What Does IELTS 6.5 mean if you’re a Native Speaker.

IELTS 6.5 is reckoned to be about the level of a GCSE grade C pass at 16 years old, or a little higher.*

What will also surprise you is that not all native English speakers in the UK achieve that in the IELTS test.

High Scores in IELTS

8.5 or 9.0 is about the level of a well-educated native speaker with a wide vocabulary, varied sentence structure, advanced reading skills and the ability to structure a complex essay for academic purposes. Probably less than 5% of the population are at this level

I would be surprised and embarrassed if I couldn’t achieve an overall 9, (but mostly very surprised), and a great many people would not score 8.0 or higher.

What does that mean to a Non-Native Speaker?

So if you, as a speaker of English as a second or foreign language, are having trouble getting a 7.0 or higher, please be realistic about it: quite a lot of English people wouldn’t be able to either.

I hope that you found this information useful.

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 Research Reports: Online Series ISSN 2201-2982

The Best Approach to Task 2 Writing

Paragraphing in Task 2 Writing

Strong Arguments for Task 2

Writing the Introduction

Writing a Line of Argument

Cohesion for Task 2 Writing

Writing – Benefits of a Foreign University Education

 

The Perfect Speaking Part 1 Response

Plants and Gardening

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.

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

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.

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.

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’ you think something.
• Connect your sentences.
• 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. 

Plants and Gardening

Think about these questions, what answer can you give,

1. Do you keep plants at home?
2. Did you grow any plants when you were young?
3. Do you know anything about growing a plant?
4. Do people from your culture send plants as gifts?

TIP
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!

• Did you save money when you were young?

There is a small garden at the back of my house where I grow herbs. There is also a bush and few small trees. I particularly like Lavender and Lemon trees.   I enjoyed helping my mum in the garden when I was younger as we had the opportunity to talk.

• Have you ever given money to other children?

When I was small my Grandfather gave me a Chrysanthemum plant.  I looked after it as best I could as I had little gardening knowledge as a child.   It turned out to be a beautiful plant and bloomed every Autumn. 

• Do you think parents should teach children to save money?

Yes I think I might have green fingers.  I can get cuttings to grow quite well. I also know something about planting and watering them and giving them fertiliser and pruning when required.  As plants have differing needs, I always make sure to read the care instructions before planting them.

• Do parents give children pocket money in your country?

Yes, in China some flowers have particular meanings to people.  Red Peonies are often given to people to wish them both luck and wealth.  Red roses are traditional for weddings as they indicate romantic love. Lotus flowers are probably the most well-known outside of China, and represent purity, long life, humility and honor.

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

Solution to this problem

IELTS is a test of your language ability, not intelligence or knowledge.

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

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 law in your country

Describe a good law in your country.
You should say:
what the law is
how you first learned about this law
who benefits from this law (or, who is affected by this law)
and explain why you think this is a good law.

Well, I’d like to talk about the law which has been introduced in an attempt to cut the use of the plastic bags. Several years ago, the British government approved a law to reduce the excessive consumption of plastic bags. They introduced this law as it was suggested that plastic bags were a main source of visible pollution. I think this is obvious because these bags aren’t degradable and this kind of plastic is easily blown by the wind. So, it was easy to find these bags in rivers, ponds and bushes. Another point, was that plastic bags were often used only once before being discarded and this was another good reason to discourage their use.

So, the central government followed the lead of Wales and introduced a 5 pence charge, which has recently risen to 10 pence, to try and reduce the demand for single-use carrier bags because this plastic takes centuries to degrade.

Consequently, it seems that things are improving and there are encouraging signs.  There have been other campaigns, such as a ‘Bag for Life’ by major supermarkets where consumers have been encouraged to purchase durable, reusable bags, while some large supermarket chains, such as Asda, have introduced a charge for biodegradable bags and they give rewards to customers who bring their own bags to the store.

I believe it’s really noticeable now that there is a lack of plastic bags seen in the streets, but sadly other rubbish is now more noticeable too. I think it was a very good law and I feel that more initiatives should be introduced to combat this social problem of plastic waste and others types of waste too. 

 

Solution to this problem

IELTS is a test of your language ability, not intelligence or knowledge.

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