Hey! The IELTS cue cards change every 4 months, with 50% of topics being replaced every April, September, and December. This means that it is almost impossible for students to know and prepare for the 50 possible cards that could appear in their test. Honestly, I think that this is a good thing! Part 2 of the speaking test is supposed to test your ability to speak naturally about a topic, not to test your ability to memorise pre-prepared answer.
Welcome to the second lesson in our IELTS 101 series – an introduction to IELTS speaking. This should be a fantastic episode for anybody who is just starting their IELTS preparation as Nick and describe what happens in each part of the test and what the examiner is looking for in your performance.
Hey! Believe it or not, your IELTS speaking examiner is hoping that you will do well in the exam. Seriously, nothing is easier for an examiner in any field to assess a candidate who performs well in a test. Unfortunately, not every student performs as well as they can on test day (often because they have been given some “IELTS Speaking Tips” that are just plain wrong!). In fact, there are some words that every examiner dreads hearing. What are they? Let’s find out!
The IELTS speaking test can often seem like the most difficult 14 minutes of a students’ life. But, you can definitely maximise your chance of achieving a high score if you can master good test-technique. These are my top 5 IELTS speaking tips.
Every candidate has the chance to apply for an IELTS remark if they feel that their scores do not reflect their true exam performance. However, NOT every candidate who doesn’t get the band scores they need should do this! There are many factors that you should take into account before deciding on applying for an enquiry into your results – and a couple might surprise you!
This is a question that I see time and time again in Facebook groups. Well, actually, it’s not usually a question, but a complaint. An angry complaint that accuses the examiner of ruining the student’s speaking performance.
IELTS Speaking Part 1 lasts between 4 and 5 minutes, during which the examiner should ask you between 7 and 11 questions. Think about that – 5 minutes for 11 questions. That works out at about 27 seconds per question (including the time it takes the examiner to ask them!).
I think that nothing that fills an IELTS test-taker with fear as much as the idea of being handed a Speaking Part 2 cue card and having NO IDEAS. In fact, just the idea of sitting there for 60 seconds with nothing but the the sound of your own beating heart in your head and the taste of panic in your mouth is the stuff of nightmares 💀. But, fear not, in today’s blog, I want to show you six techniques that you can use to make sure that you ALWAYS have something to say in your two-minute talk.
I want to start this post by telling you something that you might find a bit shocking. Are you ready? In IELTS Speaking Part 2, you don’t need to address all of the bullet points on the IELTS cue card. That’s right, there is no penalty for missing one, or two or even three! 😲
In IELTS Speaking Part 3, you move from the personal to the general. While Part 1 and Part 2 ask you to answer questions based on your life experiences, in Part 3 you are asked to comment about abstract topics. And for me, this this is the part of the test where the examiner really gets to test your language and academic skills. That means that for IELTS Speaking Part 3 success, you will need to be able to discuss abstract topics with ease. Learn how in this blog post.