IELTS Speaking: What to do if you are missing out on ideas: Strategies to keep the flow going

During a conversation, have you ever taken a moment to pause? When you speak, have you ever noticed your fluency? There is no guarantee that we will notice such points every time and they are often overlooked. It is generally seen that individuals are mostly shy to converse in English so they communicate in their native language as they feel more confident. But if you are planning to go abroad for your higher studies then it is essential and quint- essential for you to improve your English. By practicing IELTS SPEAKING module it will become effortless for you to speak fluently in front of the examiner.

In order to perform well on the exam, candidates should remain calm and relaxed to prevent nervous behaviors from affecting their performance.

In order to achieve a higher score, you need convincing and fluent speech. Speaking requires good grammar and vocabulary together, so you must work on your pronunciation. Speaking fluently and proficiently will come naturally with continuous practice.

What are the constituents of IELTS Speaking?

IELTS Speaking PART 1:

It basically consist of general questions related to an individual. for instance: your job, your kith and kins, your interest. Keep your personal life honest. However, you can lie about the questions answers of which you are not aware.

For instance: If examiner inquires from you “ Have you ever been to an island?” But unfortunately you haven’t been to an island so you can lie about it. In the event that your spoken statements are lies, your score will not be affected as long as your answers are logical and accurate.

IELTS Speaking PART 2 :

In this part you will be given about 1 minute to think on the cue card. Then, you have to speak on the cue card for about two minutes. Normally the questions involved are:

WHAT?

WHEN?

WHY?

EXPLAIN HOW YOU FELT?

Avoid taking long pauses as it will give wrong impression on the examiner and ultimately lead to losing of marks.

IELTS Speaking PART 3:

Third part is in continuation of the second part only as it will involve follow up questions. For instance: “Do you think it’s better to rent or to buy a place to live.” These questions should be answered in full detail followed by an example.

Now , suppose the examiner has asked you a question and you don’t have any idea. Depending on your general awareness, you can either answer yes or no. Remember, that you should not get petrified and stay calm while answering the question as the examiner is there to test your English and not general knowledge.

Examiner will give you bands on the following resources:

• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy
• Fluency and coherence
• Pronunciation

Having no idea what the examiner is asking is strange, isn’t it? It makes a bad impression on the examiner to be stuck after a question is asked. Here are some of the tips that you should keep in mind as it will be beneficial for you in the IELTS Speaking module.

1. In case you don’t understand the question well, what you should do?

In this case , try to use the below mentioned sentences and phrases :

• I apologize, I am not sure I get you. Do you mean (that)…?
• Can you rephrase the topic?
• Well, it is a daunting question

By using these, you will be able to stay engaged with the examiner and your scores will not be affected.

2. What you should say in case you get stuck?

It is very common for the students to get stuck in the questions due to lack of ideas. Use the below mentioned words and phrases instead of remaining numb while conversing with the examiner to demonstrate that you are active.

• Actually, …
• To be honest, …
• In Fact, ….
• Well ,….

Instead of saying, I think… you should use the following phrases.

• I’m convinced that…
• From what I reckoned….
• Personally I consider….
• I’d like to point out that…
• I hold the opinion that…

What should I do if I’m unable to pronounce some words?

• Vaguer Words: Candidates aim to impress examiners by using advanced vocabulary words. Nevertheless, they cannot remember how to pronounce certain words correctly. You should therefore substitute a less vague word for it.

Use Synonyms

Another most effective method to improve your speaking is use of synonyms. You can use phrases & idioms with similar meanings.

For instance:

Easy — Piece of cake

Difficult — Hard nut to crack

Rarely — Once in a blue moon

Let’s consider an example : Cooking is very easy for me.

Now, you can write this sentence using phrase :

Cooking has become a piece of cake for me.

4. How should one start and end the speech?

• You should focus on an impressive beginning and end of your speech, as well as being at ease while speaking in front of the examiner. It feels awkward to mumble ‘Yeah, that’s right…’.

Some of the points are mentioned below which will enable you to initiate the beginning and give you some time to think about your responses.

• Honestly, I don’t quite remember.
• Well, that’s an interesting question.
• Well, it’s actually hard to say.

To finish your sentence, use the following:

• All I’m trying to say is …
• Let me put it another way…
• If I can rephrase that…
• What I’m suggesting is….

CONCLUSION

Thus, I would like to conclude by saying that students should keep calm and wear a smile while answering the question. You can seek further help by joining IELTS one on one speaking classes at PENPENCIL .