IELTS Speaking Band 7 is the target for many of my students.
But why is it so difficult to get a 7.0 score in IELTS Speaking when your other module scores are higher?
One reason is that speaking is very much a skill, rather than a set of knowledge, so it takes longer to acquire. The best way to improve is with continual practice, ideally with feedback from a teacher.
Lack of understanding of the assessment criteria also causes IELTS students to focus on the wrong things. For example, they may worry about the tiny features of pronunciation and trying to sound like a native speaker. These efforts can make a difference, but pronunciation is only 25% of your score in IELTS Speaking.
And what percentage of the IELTS Speaking score is based on having an interesting life story and knowing the solutions to all the world’s problems? 0%!
IELTS Speaking Tip 1: Keep talking
According to the assessment criteria, an IELTS Band 7 candidate:
Speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence
In IELTS Speaking, your score goes up when you say more, even if that results in more errors. That’s because IELTS is a test of what you CAN do, not what you can’t. So say as much as you can in response to the question until you run out of ideas or start repeating yourself. It’s not a bad thing if the examiner has to interrupt you.
IELTS Speaking Tip 2: Use an idiom or two
According to the assessment criteria, an IELTS Band 7 candidate:
Uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation
The IELTS examiner is listening for evidence that you can go beyond ‘textbook English’ and start using real, idiomatic English. So impress the examiner by including a few idiomatic phrases like “I’m a bundle of nerves” to mean “I’m nervous”.
IELTS Speaking Tip 3: Paraphrase the question
According to the assessment criteria, an IELTS Band 7 candidate:
Uses paraphrase effectively
If the examiner asks you a question and you can immediately think of a way to paraphrase it—i.e. express the same meaning in other words—go ahead and say something like “Oh, you mean (paraphrase question)?” This is a very effective strategy to demonstrate one of the core skills that the examiner is listening to. Try to do this two or three times during the test.
IELTS Speaking Tip 4: Use linking words to connect your ideas
According to the assessment criteria, an IELTS Band 7 candidate:
Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility
What does this mean in normal English? It means that you use a range of expressions like ‘in other words’, ‘also’, ‘however’ and ‘on the other hand’ to connect your ideas. The keyword is range. The examiner doesn’t want to hear you say ‘on the other hand’ a hundred times! So record yourself speaking and notice if you use a phrase like ‘on the other hand’ too much. If so, use a different phrase instead. Now you can start demonstrating a good range of linking words.
IELTS Speaking Tip 5: Don’t be afraid of mistakes
According to the assessment criteria, an IELTS Band 7 candidate:
Frequently produces error-free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist
That means it’s possible to make some mistakes and still get IELTS 7.0 or 7.5. However, some candidates score poorly because they worry too much about mistakes. As a result, they speak too slowly and their mistakes become MORE obvious! It’s more important to demonstrate fluency (See Tip #1) than it is to produce error-free speech. Of course, it’s also good to correct yourself if you do notice a mistake.
Splendid Six 