How to get Band 7+ in IELTS Speaking (video lesson #1)

This video lesson will make life so much easier for those of you aiming at Band 7+ in Speaking. Adam, our very knowledgeable ex-IELTS examiner, is telling you step by step everything you need to do to start scoring 7 (or 8, or 9!) in the Speaking test, concentrating on the harder Parts 2 and 3.

Watch Adam explain and demonstrate with examples how a Band 7 candidate should talk, including expressions and idioms that are great for Band 7+. We promise what you’ll learn is worth your time!

The Part 2 topic Adam is using as an example has been asked in recent IELTS Speaking tests:

Describe a time you had a challenge that you thought would be very difficult. Please say

– What the challenge was
– Where and when you did this difficult thing
– Why you thought it was difficult.

In the video Adam explains what grammar forms you should be using for this type of topic, what tenses, and if you need a refresher, he also explains the difference between Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous, Simple Past and Present Perfect.

Moving on to vocabulary, Adam explains the need for synonyms in your speech, and then he talks about how crucial idiomatic language is for getting Band 7 in Speaking. He gives many examples of idioms – such as ‘At my wits end’ or ‘to dodge a bullet’ (there are more in the video).

Finally, Adam spends quite some time on Part 3, giving you the questions you may be asked related to the Part 2 topic. He also offers some ideas of things to say to answer those questions and what vocabulary you can use.

And once Adam is done teaching, there is a mock test for you to do! Adam will ask you questions as if he were your Speaking examiner, and you can answer them and record yourself. This is great to see if you’re using the expressions he talks about in this video, to check if you’re using the grammar he talks about and if you’re doing it well, and how fluently you are talking. You can then listen to the recording to check for fillers – how many times you use words like ‘um’, ‘er’, ‘ah’, ‘like,’, ‘well…’, ‘you know…’. You can also check if you’re making little grammatical or vocabulary mistakes, or if you hesitate a lot, and that recording will make it easy to catch yourself doing that.

Watch the video on YouTube here

Go here to get Adam to assess your Speaking, estimate you the score you’re likely to get now and tell you how to score higher.

Done with Lesson #1? Watch Lesson #2 here.