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IELTS Preparation tips

The best ways to study for the four IELTS sub-tests: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking

IELTS Speaking Band 7.5, Full Test with Examiner’s Feedback (Murat)

In this video you will watch Murat take a mock Speaking Test – it shows you what happens on the test day in the real examination room. Due to COVID19 precautions there may be a plexiglass screen between you and the examiner, and you may be required to wear a face mask for your Speaking test. It is a good idea to ask your IELTS test centre about this, so that you know what to expect.

The questions our examiner is asking Murat are on topics that often come up in real IELTS Speaking exams. You can find the exact questions in Speaking Test 20 in the “High Scorer’s Choice” IELTS Practice Tests book series.

There are 3 parts in the IELTS Speaking Test.

In Part 1 the examiner asks personal questions on everyday topics, such as your job or studies, your home, your family or friends, your habits, likes and dislikes.

Part 2 is different, because there is no discussion in it. Instead, you receive a topic card (cue card) to talk about for 1 to 2 minutes, with 4 bullet points you should cover in your talk. Part 2 is the only part of the Speaking test where you get 1 minute preparation time and you can write down some ideas to talk about. This doesn’t happen in Part 1 or Part 3.

In Part 3 the examiner asks you questions related to Part 2 topic. You are expected to give longer, more elaborate answers and talk in-depth about the topics your examiner brings up.

How can you make the most of this Speaking test video?

1. Get familiar with everything that happens in the Speaking test. It will help you feel prepared when it’s your turn.

2. Listen to the questions the examiner asks and note how Murat answers them. Then think about what YOU would say in response to these questions.

3. Spot Murat’s mistakes and avoid them when you speak.

4. Go over Examiner’s Feedback below to learn how he rated Murat’s performance and why (he also points out some of his mistakes!)

5. You can even use this as a Listening exercise, and switch on subtitles on YouTube to understand every word on the recording.

Watch the video on YouTube here:

 

Examiner’s Feedback

This section shows you what goes on in the examiner’s mind when he rates a Speaking test. Make sure you read this before looking at the scores he gave Murat in every criterion, because this explains the reasons he got those scores.

Speaking Test, Part 1 – 0:20

Murat delivered a good and confident section 1. He provided thoughtful and full answers and easily fulfilled the time requirements. Murat spoke mostly fluently and coherently, with only short pauses to access ideas rather than language. He also uses humour to add to his communication. Murat’s vocabulary was excellent and he showed a range of appropriate lexis, sometimes showing he had access to some higher-level language, i.e. “significant impact” and “schemas of the world”. Murat’s grammatical range and accuracy was also very good with only some minor errors creeping in, i.e. he used “favourable” once instead of the adverb, “favourably”, and he had a tense consistency mix up once, saying “when I go back” instead of using “went” as he was referring to the past. Murat has a discernable Turkish accent, but it very rarely impedes his communication.

Speaking Test, Part 2 – 6:13

The cue card Murad was given is below:

Describe a memorable journey that you once took.You should say:
– what this journey was
– why you took it
– how long it took
– and explain why you feel this journey was so memorable.

Murat gave a good, full section 2. He was a little hesitant from time to time, but in general he was mostly fluent and always coherent. Murat showed that he had a good range of lexis to express what he wanted to say. There were, however, some occasional awkward moments when not quite the right word was chosen, i.e. “approach on/of the outside world”, “best for them”, “forced to believing”, “and the only option out” and “the same out-take”. “Criteria” was also slightly misused. These are all fairly minor examples though and the communication was very good. Murat’s grammar was very accurate and he used an appropriate range of structures to communicate. Again, Murat displayed an accent, but this did not interfere with communication in any way.

Speaking Test, Part 3 – 9:31

In Section 3, Murat gave intelligent and full answers and easily fulfilled the required time. There were more pauses in this section to access ideas and some language with the more demanding questions, but in general Murat was fluent and coherent. There was again some slightly awkward language expressed, i.e. “on a greater scope”, but this did not happen often. There were also lots of examples of elegant and well-chosen language, i.e. “without misinterpreting what others have to say.” Again, Murat’s grammar had a good range and very good accuracy. He didn’t really provide many complex structures, but he was able to speak without needing them. His accent again did not impede Murat’s pronunciation and excellent communicating ability.

Murat’s IELTS Speaking score

The marking of the IELTS Speaking Test is done in 4 parts.

Fluency and Coherence 7
Lexical Resource 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy 8
Pronunciation 8

Estimated IELTS Speaking Band 7.5

Need more Speaking tests with Examiner’s feedback? Find them in High Scorer’s Choice book series.

If you’d like to get your own Speaking evaluated, you can – go here to learn how.

IELTS Speaking Band 7.5 Full Test with Examiner’s Feedback

The video you are about to watch features a Polish student, Magda, who is answering questions from Speaking Test 18 in “High Scorer’s Choice” IELTS Practice Tests book series.

Magda is doing a full simulated IELTS Speaking test with an examiner, who is asking her typical IELTS Speaking test questions. This video shows you what happens on the test day in the real examination room.

IELTS Speaking Test has 3 parts.

In Part 1 you should expect personal questions on familiar topics, for instance about your job or studies, your home, your family, etc.

Part 2 is different, because you receive a single topic to talk about for 1 to 2 minutes, with 4 bullet points you should cover in your speech. Another difference between Part 2 and the other parts is that in Part 2 you get 1 minute preparation time and you can write down some ideas to talk about. This doesn’t happen in Part 1 or Part 3.

Part 3 is a longer discussion where the examiner asks you questions related to Part 2 topic. You are expected to give longer, more elaborate answers and talk in-depth about the topics your examiner brings up.

Here is how you can learn from this Speaking test video

1. Get familiar with everything that happens in the Speaking test. It will help you feel prepared when it’s your turn.

2. Listen to the questions the examiner asks and how Magda answers them. Then think about what YOU would say in response to these questions.

3. Spot Magda’s mistakes and avoid them when you speak.

4. Go over Examiner’s Feedback below to learn how he rated Magda’s performance and why (he also points out some of her mistakes!)

5. You can even use this as a Listening exercise, and switch on subtitles on YouTube to understand every word on the recording.

Watch the video on YouTube here:

 

Examiner’s Feedback

This section shows you what goes on in the examiner’s mind when he rates a Speaking test. Make sure you read this before looking at the scores he gave Magda in every criterion, because this explains the reasons she got those scores.

Speaking Test, Part 1 – 0:22

In section 1, Magda showed that she had a good and confident command of English. Although she was occasionally a little hesitant (due to nervousness and to access ideas rather than language it seemed), she spoke mostly fluently and communicated what she wanted to say coherently all the way through. She also used some humour at appropriate times to express her feelings. Magda had a good resource of lexis and she only occasionally used an awkward word or phrase (i.e. “fast-pacing”). There were also some examples of higher-level language, i.e. “holistic view”). Magda’s grammar usage was varied and accurate. She had an almost negligible Polish accent, which did not affect communication in any way. Magda’s answers were slightly short. She just achieved the time required for section 1, but developing her answers more would have been more impressive.

Speaking Test, Part 2 – 4:24

Magda spoke clearly, coherently and fluently in section 2. She mostly spoke quite slowly, but this is not a problem – people talk at different speeds. Magda also again used humour to add to what she wanted to say. Her vocabulary range was again very good, though I felt that “and” was used too many times to help develop her monologue. Although it was not wrong, it sounded a bit awkward. Magda’s grammatical range was again good and accurate, though not without error, i.e. “vacations” and “how much sacrifices”. Magda’s accent was again non-intrusive and allowed excellent communication.

Speaking Test, Part 3 – 6:51

Magda produced a good section 3, though her fluency was affected by the more demanding questions. Her coherence was not really affected and she communicated her ideas without too many problems and she provided varied and intelligent answers. Magda’s lexical resource was again good and she showed she could access higher-level vocabulary, i.e. “psychological and physiological problems” and “impact significantly”. Her use of the conjunction “moreover” was well used too. There were, however, some moments of awkwardness as well, i.e. “consume themselves in frugal lifestyle” and “retiring people”. Magda’s grammatical range was again appropriately varied and her accuracy was very good, though not without error, i.e. “life expectancy is much, much bigger”, “support system” and “the least problems”. As in the previous sections, Magda’s pronunciation was excellent.

Magda’s IELTS Speaking score

The marking of the IELTS Speaking Test is done in 4 parts.

Fluency and Coherence 7
Lexical Resource 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy 7
Pronunciation 9

Estimated IELTS Speaking Band 7.5

Need more Speaking tests with Examiner’s feedback? Find them in High Scorer’s Choice book series.

If you’d like to get your own Speaking evaluated, you can – go here to learn how.