How to prepare for IELTS-Speaking

How to prepare for IELTS – Speaking
Details of the Speaking Test
Structure of the test
The speaking test is the last test you do on the test day. You will be given a time slot between about 2pm and 6.30pm.
There are three tasks or parts to the test which takes the form of an interview lasting between 11 & 14 minutes:
Part 1: Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes)
Part 2: Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)
Part 3: Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)
The tasks test your ability to perform the following functions in English:
provide personal and non-personal information
express & justify opinions
make suggestions
speculate
express a preference
make comparisons & discuss contrasts
summarise
relate personal experiences
analyse
repair conversation & paraphrase

Procedure of the test
The test is conducted by one examiner.
He or she asks all the questions and assesses you. The test is recorded on audio cassette.
You will be taken to the examiner’s room where you will be asked to sit either opposite or at right angles to the examiner. The examiner will then switch on the cassette recorder and start the test.

Marking
Your performance will be assessed on the criteria below:

Fluency & Coherence
Being able to keep going, to talk at a normal rate without unnatural pauses and hesitations.
Being able to link ideas and language together clearly so the examiner understands you.


Lexical Resource
Having the vocabulary which enables you to express yourself while talking about both familiar and unfamiliar topics or being able to get around any vocabulary gaps without hesitation.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Being able to use a variety of grammatical structures appropriately.
Making as few grammatical mistakes as possible.
Being understood despite making grammatical mistakes.

Pronunciation
Being able to use English pronunciation features like stress and intonation naturally.
Not causing the examiner any problems in understanding what you are saying.

The examiner will give you a score from 1 to 9 for each of these factors.
They will be converted into one final score between 1 and 9.
Part 1: Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes)

The examiner will introduce himself or herself and confirm your identity. He or she will then ask you a number of general questions about yourself to try and make you feel relaxed. You may be asked about your home or studies. Then you will be asked one or two more sets of questions on familiar topics such as your interests, your country, your family or types of things you like in various categories such as food, clothes, holidays etc. The questions come from an examiner ‘frame’ (pre-determined questions) so the examiner will not necessarily follow-up with questions based on what you say. The more questions that are asked on a specific topic the more difficult they tend to be. However, you do not have to express a point of view or justify it in this part.

Some typical questions/prompts might be:
Where do you come from?
What is your home like?
Tell me about your family.
Tell me about your job/studies.
Is there anything you dislike about your job/studies?
What type of transport do you use most?
Do you like reading?
What kind of television programmes do you watch?
Tell me about a film you have seen recently.
Do you have a pet?
What kind of food do you like?
How often do you go shopping?
What’s your favourite festival? Why?
How do people celebrate this festival?

How to do Part 1
Listen to the questions carefully.
Give full answers to the questions if possible but don’t anticipate related questions. For example, if you are asked where you live a suitable answer would be ‘I live in the new territories – in a village just outside Sai Kung, called Pak Tam.’
NOT ‘I live in Sai Kung. It’s a really nice town with quite a large population and lots of seafood restaurants. It’s a lovely place to live as it’s in the countryside. I have lived there for ten years.’ as this sounds like a prepared answer and the examiner’s next question might be: ‘What’s Sai Kung like?’.
Don’t give one or two word answers as the examiner can only rate you on what he or she hears.
Make sure you relate what you say to what the examiner asks.
For example,
Examiner: Do you like reading?
You: Yes, I do but I don’t get much time to read these days.

How to prepare for Part 1
Make a list of possible topics you could be interviewed on e.g.
your home
your country
your job
your interests
your school
your family
food
festivals
clothes
books
films
transport etc.
Write questions for each of your topics and get a