In this series, Greg Archer, the author of Mindset for IELTS, provides bite-size support for teachers new to preparing students for IELTS. In his fourth instalment, Greg looks at the Speaking test.
What is the format of the Speaking test?
The Speaking test has three parts. Part 1 lasts 4-5 minutes and the examiner asks the student general questions on familiar topics. In Part 2, known as the ‘Individual long turn’, students are given a topic on a task card and allowed one minute to prepare, before talking about it for two minutes. At the end of that section, the examiner asks a follow-up question. The topic in Part 2 is carried on in Part 3, where questions explore more abstract ideas – and are more linguistically challenging. This lasts 4-5 minutes.
How can I help students improve their speaking?
Lower-level students will need more time to frame their replies, so introduce phrases that can buy them some thinking time. Greg says examiners will also be looking for Fluency and Coherence, so encourage students to sound as natural as possible.
Explain to students aiming for higher levels that they don’t need to speak in a completely linear way; digression and referring back to previous comments can help produce answers that flow naturally.
What happens if a student gets a topic they don’t know much about?
Greg says completely unfamiliar topics are unlikely. However, if they get a subject they don’t know much about, there are strategies and lexical support within the Mindset series that help students deal with that.
Do students need to use a British or American accent?
In Greg’s view, the Speaking test is about how well the examiner can understand the student – so having a specific accent isn’t necessary, but being intelligible is vital. Understand your students’ abilities and correct pronunciation where it’s not intelligible. To practise emphasis and stress Greg recommends working on ‘chunks’ of words.
For more tips and information, be sure to watch Greg’s full video below.
In the next instalment, Greg will offer advice on preparing students for the Listening test. Meanwhile, have a look at Greg’s previous videos on Writing Task 1, Task 2 and Reading.