General Intro to IELTS Speaking Test

Exam process

Part 1 Introduction and Interview 4-5 min

Part 2 Individual long turn 4-5 min

Part 3 Two-way discussion 4-5 min

Part 1

4-5 min, 3 topics, 9 questions

Examiner can ONLY:

  1. repeat question
  2. ask you to elaborate

Examiner CANNOT:

  1. explain
  2. create their own questions

Part 2

1 min for notes, 1-2 min to talk

Can look at topic card and notes while speaking

Example:

Describe a person who often helps others
You should say:

  • who this person is
  • what this person does
  • how this person often helps others

and explain how you feel about this person

Only in part 2 can you:

  1. see the questions
  2. prepare

Cannot ask for new topic

Part 3

4-5 min, room for discussion and debate

Topic is linked to part 2

performance in part 3 is the deal breaker

You CAN:

  1. ask for explanation
  2. redirect the question
  3. ask for new question

Grading Criteria for speaking

四个评判标准：

  1. Fluency and Coherence
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Lexical Resources
  4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Fluency and Coherence

Dos:

  1. Speak at length
  2. Use connectives and discourse markers flexibly
  3. Develop topic well

Don’ts:

  1. Repeat and self-correct frequently
  2. Have a lot of language-related hesitation
  3. Over-use connectives and discourse markers
  4. Use connectives and discourse markers wrong

Pronunciation

Being intelligible and clear is the most important

Dos:

  1. must pronounce vowels right
  2. can be slow yet also fluent
  3. intonation matters a lot
  4. practice word stress and sentence stress
  5. pause where needed (clear meaning)

Lexical Resources

less common add idiomatic words

effective paraphrase

topic-related vocabulary

style and collocation

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

uses a range of complex structures flexibly

frequently produces error-free sentences

some mistakes persist

Part 1 Intro, Brainstorming, Ideas

Question Styles

Question types:

  1. Yes/No Questions

    必须先回复 Yes 或者 No

  2. Wh- Questions

    直接回答，不用重复问题

  3. Choice Questions

    二选一，Neither 或 Both

  4. Hypothetical Questions

    Yes/No/Maybe/I don’t know

Main topics:

  1. People
  2. Places
  3. Objects
  4. Events

Mandatory Frames:

  1. where you live now

    住宿，房子类型

  2. hometown

  3. work/study

Basic Answer Structure

TS + SD Principle

Answer = Topic Sentence + Supporting Details

Topic Sentence: to give a clear, simple, direct answer

Supporting Details: to elaborate and make your meaning clearer, to communicate effectively, to show your linguistic ability

Topic Sentence

no need to repeat the question

no need to paraphrase the question

must answer accordingly

Brainstorming

How to add details: opinion, description, comparison, prediction, reason, example, result, reference

Linking Words

连接相似或等同观点 连接对立观点 解释或重述重点 强调观点
and / also but / yet in other words… indeed
besides on the other hand, … in particular… in fact
as well as still, … to be specific
not only…but (also)… although / even though that is…
another in spite of …
给出另一种可能性 举例 表达观点 给出原因
or such as I think because
either … or like … I feel as / for
otherwise, … for example I believe due to
on the other hand, … for instance In my opinion as a result of
alternatively, … in my view for the reason that

Basic requirement

Mainly scored on:

  1. Fluency
  2. Pronunciation

Basic grammar must be correct

  1. 第三人称单数
  2. 一般过去时（常见不规则变形）
  3. 完成时
  4. 被动语态
  5. 虚拟语气