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I've got my IELTS speaking test in a few hours. Is there anyone here who has taken the test and has some tips to share?
It's my first time appearing for the test and I could use some tips. Thanks.
It's my first time appearing for the test and I could use some tips. Thanks.
I am a native English speaker, and I got a half a point off because I was nervous and stuttering and hesitating.
They will ask you open-ended questions, so if you can, answer with anything even if it isn't true. They asked me about someone I look up to, and I panicked because I didn't have an answer.
My assessor was very kind. I think that generally they're not particularly antagonistic or hoping you fail, so pretend that you're telling someone new about yourself.
As a general rule: the truth is to be avoided because it's probably boring. Answer with a surprising, weird, controversial, but non-inflammatory (important!) stance. The examiners will respond emotionally, losing focus of at least some slip-ups, and award higher scores in confusion.
I agree about avoiding the truth. It often is quite boring but when it's not boring, it can be very difficult to communicate. Much easier to just lie and talk about what you might have done if you were an interesting person who happens to be able to talk a lot about cars, because you read online in English about cars, for example. Just chat, try and offer up stories that have threads that the examiner can tug on. Talk about where you did something, with whom, when you went there, why you felt how you did, lots of details that can be teased into further conversation.
Conversation with English learners that is like pulling teeth is excruciating for an examiner and does nobody any favours when it comes to marking it.
I can't comment on the IELTS test but I have done the CAE. Most important thing is to try to be relaxed (so arrive early, but not too early, stay hydrated and filled etc.). Good luck!
Edit: the fact that you are on an English first forum that uses quite sofisticated language, is a sign that your English is very good already
I'm going to be honest here and let you know that you probably speak better english than any actual english speaker does. I haven't taken the test because I'm a native english speaker but I can assure you, your english is great.
Well, foreign learners often have better “textbook” English. But that being said, it’s important to keep in mind what a natural language is. Native speakers, in a very tautological way, define what the language is by their actions. They’ll say all kinds of things which are do not adhere to textbook rules, but rather than being wrong, it’s more accurate to say that the textbooks capture a snapshot of language at a particular moment, and that the textbook is out of date.
The point of a language is for a certain group to communicate, after all, not a set of arbitrary rules to be adhered to.
Whenever my Swedish friends are nervous or insecure about their English, I tell them to stop worrying and just say whatever with confidence. If it's wrong, but you have enough charisma, other people will start saying it that way and it will become correct later.
This is why I purposefully and confidently butcher articles when I speak German.
How did you arrive at that conclusion?
I took the test some years ago. You can't really study for it, so the only advice is to be focused, hydrated, and have energy.
I'm probably too late to be helpful to OP, but in case it's useful to anyone else: I've also taken this test for my native language and found it unusually unnerving. I would hesitate to endorse the suggestions to make things up; my assessor asked a lot of follow up questions and probed for more details to the point where even though I was being honest I felt a little uncomfortable with the level of personal detail they were getting into, and in a scenario where I was making things up I would think - especially if I wasn't speaking my native language - I would quickly run out of details to answer with. Structure and confidence are important, introduce topics you feel confident exploring in detail in case your assessor is like mine and don't give away all of the details you have to discuss in the first answer.
Thanks for the info, bud.
How did it go? Did any of the responses help?
I had prepared by watching some YouTube videos. The fifteen minutes just flew by. I don't know if did well. Waiting for the results.