IELTS Speaking

1
IELTS Speaking

• By Chris Tang

2
Are you afraid of IELTS speaking test?
3
You dont have to be!!!

• Predictable
• Easy preparation
• Lots of tips to use

4
On Entering the Test Room

• Waiting out at the door
• Do you have a mobile on you?
• Psychological suggestion

5
So how do you say it?

• Ive taken the test for times. For my previous
  tests, I always got X for my reading, X for my
  listening, and X for my writing. But I havent
  got enough for my speaking. So I have to take the
  test over and over again until one day I can get
  at least 6.5 for my speaking.

6
Why you can say it?

• The four official marking criteria
• Pronunciation
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Fluency
• What you say doesnt really matter, but how and
  how well you say it!!!

7
General mistakes to avoid

• Vocabulary
• Overusing words like good, nice, beautiful,
  interesting, delicious
• Learn to paraphrase
• Can you list ten positive words (adj.) to
  describe a person?
• What about ten negative ones?
• Good and well, Clever and smart, Bored and boring
• Say no to Chinglish

8

• Grammar
• Plurality, third person pronoun, past tense,
  perfect tense, misusing gender-related nouns
• Pronunciation
• Mispronunciation
• Be intelligible, so enunciate
• Fluency
• Speed is not fluency
• Join and expand ideas Avoid pauses Avoid
  repetition Expand rather than listing things

9
First things first

• Standard What is your full Chinese name?
• Variants What is your full name?/ How should I
  call you?/ How should I address you?
• Answer Long??? Or short???
• My name is ____. (even Name is___.)
• My full name is ____, and I also have an English
  name, ____. You are welcome to call me ____.
• Remember what matters?

10
First runner-up

• Are you working or studying?
• Principle Dont make it too difficult.
• Eg. Im studying. And I study ____ in _____, one
  of the top universities in China and I will be
  graduating in 2 years time.
• Im working for ____ as an administrative
  staff/sales/secretarial staff. Ive been doing
  this job for many years and I still like doing
  it.

11
Like it and not like it.

• Eg. Why did you choose this major? Do you like it
  and why? Do you like your job?
• Be prepared. You may stumble at the easiest
  questions.
• Dont talk big, talk small.
• Tell a story rather than giving empty, lifeless
  reasons.

12
A dose of panacea

• It is all because of my girlfriend. She is the
  one and only woman I love the most on the earth.
  In order to make her happy, I would like to do
  anything for her, including. Because I just want
  to be with her, to be where she is.
• It is because when I was young, I had a teacher
  and he always told me about , which has deeply
  influenced me. So I

13
East or west, home is the best.

• Where is your hometown and could you please tell
  me something about your hometown?
• Answers that may let people laugh their head off
• My hometown is Xin Jiang.
• My hometown is .... But Ive never been there
  before.
• My hometown is . It is a very beautiful place. I
  love my hometown.
• It is your homeTOWN in contrast to homePROVINCE,
  homeCOUNTRY, homePLANET.
• It is where you were born and grew up in contrast
  to where your parents or grandparents came from.

14

• Elaborate in four aspects
• Location, population, climate, and something
  special.

15
Let me show you how!

• My hometown Taizhou, is located in the middle
  part of Jiangsu province along the Yangze
  river,it has a population of 5 million people,
  and the mostly temperate climate here offers an
  excellent environment for various agricultural
  activities and for tourism It has produced many
  well-known scholars and intellectuals, one of
  them is our Chairman Hujingtao, who has spent his
  early years studying here.

16
A bit about climate or seasons

• Climate
• Wet/warm/tropical, dry/arid/semiarid,
  temperate/continental, etc.
• Four distinct seasons spring, summer,
  autumn/fall, winter
• Beijing's climate is defined as "continental
  monsoon." The four seasons are distinctly
  recognizable. Spring and autumn is the best time
  to be in Beijing, particularly in the months of
  April, May, September and October.

17
And if you choose to describe the seasons

• Spring
• Warm, windy, dusty, sand-storm, flowers start to
  bloom
• Make it poetic. Eg. When spring comes, everything
  wakes up from their long and cold sleeps. Trees
  turn green, and flowers also start to bloom it
  seems like the world is, all of a sudden,
  rejuvenated.
• Season of new life/rebirth

18

• Summer
• Hot, rainy, wet (lots of rain), stormy, humid,
  sunny, stuffy, sweltering, sauna-like
• Learn to use a variety of descriptives to say
  very.
• Quite, rather, pretty, fairly, really, so,
  extremely, totally
• One can even use analogy. Eg. It is like an oven
  in summer time.
• Activities holiday
• Holiday season

19

• Autumn/Fall
• Cool, crisp, mild, cozy, clear sky, golden
  season, azure sky
• Golden season, season of harvest
• Winter
• Cold, freezing, snowy, icy, short days, long
  nights
• Silver season, Christmas season

20
Id like to own my own house!

• Do you currently live in a house or an
  apartment/flat? Where do you live? Can you
  describe what is in your home?
• Lets see a few pictures.

21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
To compare two or more things

• Always think in terms of
• Cost/price
• Features (what makes it really what it is)
• Effects (popular?)

24
What are the differences between a house and an
apartment/flat?
House Flat
Price Expensive Cheap (affordable)
Space Spacious Cramped
Location Far from town Near town
25
Im a traveholic.

• Do you love traveling? Do you often travel?
• To answer Yes and No
• Sure. You bet. Absolutely. Definitely.
• Not if I can help it. Not a chance.
• Is ice cold? Does bird fly?

26
Shop till you drop, and sports stuff

• Do you play sports? What sports do you play?
• Do you often go shopping? What do you buy?
• Common answers I play soccer, basketball,
  tennis, table-tennis (listing things)
• Better answer I often buy lots of different
  things from food to drinks, from clothes to
  shoes. Anyway, I enjoy shopping, cause it brings
  me great joy.

27
Food, forever I like. Cooking, um, yet to be
answered.

• Avoiding overusing the word delicious
• Flavor spicy, hot, sweet, sour, bitter, salty,
  savory, light
• Vegetables and fruits
• Cooking methods boil, fry, steam, roast, bake,
  grill, stir-fry, stew, braise, barbecue
• Texture chewy, tender, crispy, flakey

28
Other questions, but they are easy!

• What is your favorite kind of music/
  book/movie/food? What kind of do you like?
• What is your favorite time in a day/ month/season
  in a year?
• What is your favorite kind of music?
• Genres pop, jazz, blues, rock, classical,
  instrumental, rap (urban), gospel
• When it comes to music, I have to say
• Im very much into/ fond of/ fascinated by/about
  is the greatest passion in my life
• When I am listening to, I feel like
• For example, for instance, once
• Think outside of the box

29
Lets give it a try!

• Well, I am not really into music. But sometimes I
  do like listening to religious music, I mean,
  Christian music. Christian music is always about
  singing praises to God and reminding people of
  their responsibility to live a pure and holy
  life. It is music that purifies life. It helps me
  a lot. Whenever Im listening, I feel like being
  lifted up to heaven and drawn close to God. It
  gives peace to my mind and joy to my soul.

30
Lets get serious Topic/Cue Cards

• Four categories
• People
• Place
• Object
• Event
• And I dont care what category it is. I always
  have my way.

31

• Well, today I am going to talk about none other
  than my uncle. My uncle is quite famous in his
  place. People often call him Mr. Traveholic. And
  just as this name suggests, he loves traveling
  very much. And actually traveling is one of the
  most important things in his life. And he has
  been to many places throughout China, from Harbin
  in the north to Guangzhou in the South, from
  Shanghai in the east to Urumuqi in the west. And
  he always says his favorite place of all is
  Qingdao, because of its natural beauty, its food
  and its unique local culture, which all drive him
  to return to Qingdao to visit over and over
  again.
• First, Qingdao is famous for many of its
  interesting places, its beautiful beaches, and
  its clean streets. Hundreds of thousands of
  visitors are attracted here from all over the
  world by its enchanting natural beauty.
• Second, the local food and snacks are also
  something one can never miss when visiting
  Qingdao. They come in various colors, shapes and
  tastes, to suit different palates and wallets.
  They are not only exotic and delicate to the
  tongue, but also to the eye.
• Last but not the least, Qingdao is also famous
  for its unique cultural heritage represented in
  local festivals and Qingdao beer. Especially,
  Qingdao beer. It is quite a big name in China. It
  is loved by millions of people, including me.
• Anyway, that is my uncle, a traveholic, and
  Qingdao, a great place to visit.

32
People Cards

• Who the person is
• What the person looks like
• What the person is like (character and
  personality)
• What the person does/has done
• When and where you met this person
• Why you like/dislike/admire/choose to talk about
  this person

33
Who question

• Well, I am going to talk about
• When it comes to , I would like to talk about
• (Snow White) was a very good friend of mine.

34
???

• A childhood friend
• I would really like to talk about Slobbery, a
  childhood friend of mine. Slobbery is his
  nickname, because he used to let saliva dribble
  from his mouth while sleeping in class. His real
  name is XXX. But anyway, he is a nice buddy

35
Ones Looks

• General descriptors good/bad-looking, handsome,
  beautiful, pretty, plain, homely, ugly, awful
• Significant parts on the face eyes (eye
  colorblack, green, blue, hazel), eyebrow,
  nose(aquiline nose), mouth, teeth, cheek, chin
• Other parts of the body torso, limbs

36
Quotation from Gone with the Wind

• Scarlet OHara was not beautiful, but men seldom
  realized it when caught by her charm as the
  Tarleton twins were. In her face were too sharply
  blended the delicate features of her mother, a
  Coast aristocrat of French descent, and the heavy
  ones of her florid Irish father. But it was an
  arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw.
  Her eyes were pale green without a touch of
  hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and
  slightly tilted at the ends. Above them, her
  thick and black brows slanted upward, cutting a
  startling oblique line in her magnolia-white
  skinthat skin so prized by Southern women and so
  carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens
  against hot Georgia suns.

37
Character and Personality

• Kind, warm-hearted, easy-going, faithful, honest,
  responsible, accountable, trustworthy, reliable,
  compassionate, humble
• A giving person, a man of his word, a me, me,
  me person, an angel of mercy, double-crosser,
  double talker

38
What One Does

• Occupation
• Time, Location and Story
• Significance or meaning
• Eg. A friend looking after you when you are sick.
  It shows that he has heart of gold.

39
Why?

• Good character/personality impresses or touches
  you
• You have learned a life lesson from them
• Story

40
A Childhood Friend

• Relating topics child, friend
• Tell me about a child that you know
• You should say
• How you know them
• What they look like
• cute, short, chubby, messy hair, dirty hands,
  innocent and pure
• Something about their personality
• And say whether or not they are similar to how
  you were as a child

41

• I would really like to talk about Slobbery, a
  childhood friend of mine. Slobbery is his
  nickname, because he used to let saliva dribble
  from his mouth while sleeping in class. His real
  name is XXX. But anyway, he is a nice buddy.
  Round-faced with chubby cheeks, and usually
  dressed in his baggy pants, he can hardly conceal
  his over-weighted body. But you know kids. They
  never worry about their body weight. Dont be
  fooled by his looks. He isnt as tough as his may
  look. He is the tenderest thing Ive ever seen.
  Whenever other kids laugh at him or bully him, he
  would run to a corner and cry like a girl. Well,
  if you ask me whether Slobbery is similar to how
  I was as a child, I would say no. But he surely
  resembles that kind of people who are one person
  on the outside, different on the other.

42

• When it comes to a childhood friend, I cant help
  thinking about Princess Fiona, my best playmate.
  Her real name is Annie. Even now, I can still
  recall her black curly but long hair, and her
  favorite red dress with black strings tied around
  the waist. She looked so beautiful and elegant,
  just like a princess. So we all called her
  Princess Fiona. Not like me, Princess Fiona was a
  strong little girl. She never cried, even when
  she stumbled over rock and hurt her knees. Now
  shes become a big girl and even stronger, while
  I am still who I am, never able to become like
  her. And that is Princess Fiona, my best
  playmate.

43
Common People Cards

• A person youd like to spend time with
• Famous person
• A person who is good at cooking
• A person who has influenced you
• A person who helped you
• Old people
• Best friend
• Etc.

44
Famous person

• Who he/she is
• How you got to know this person
• What this person is famous for
• Why you choose to talk about this person

45

• Who my uncle
• How live in the same neighborhood
• Famous for traveling
• Why I also love traveling

46
Place Cards

• What the place is
• When and with whom you visited that place
• What did you feel when you visited that place
• Why do you visit that place

47
What Questions

• Name of that place
• Location
• be located/situated
• sits/lies
• Features
• Ten adj. to describe a place

48
When and with whom

• Long time ago?
• Several years ago? Many years back?
• Just last year?
• A few months ago?
• A couple of days ago?

49
Feeling High or Down?

• Feeling
• Sad, excited, thrilled, down, frustrated,
  depressed, etc.
• Feeling like

50
Why?

• Reasons
• Tourist spot, beautiful
• Understand the local culture and customs
• Story

51
Common Place Cards

• Hotel
• Shopping mall
• A place where there is water
• Tourist site
• Library
• Historical site
• A place you want to visit
• Etc.

52
Object Cards

• Eg. A useful equipment, a gift, a toy
• Elements
• What it is
• What it looks like what functions it has
• Where/when you got it who gave it to you
• How/why

53
Common Object Cards

• A piece of news
• A book
• A TV program
• An artistic statue
• A gift
• A piece of clothing
• A course
• A childhood game
• An advertisement
• Etc.

54
A Useful Equipment

• What it is cell phone, mp3 player, computer
• What it looks
• in color/incolor, in shape/inshape
• Trendy, classy, hi-tech, in, fashionable
• Function
• Why it is special

55
Sample Answer

• Well, I would love to talk about my little
  girlfriendiPod, a trendy mp3 player, which I
  would always take along with me wherever I go.
  Though it is a mp3 player, I seldom use it to
  listen to music, but something called Podcast,
  which basically is a kind of radio program
  broadcasted on the web. There are so many
  different programs, about culture, news, politics
  and even language learning. I am particularly
  fascinated by the free educational resources it
  provides. Now I have French, German and Japanese
  learning programs on my iPod. Given me some time,
  I am pretty sure I can speak some French, or
  German, or Japanese, at least some daily phrases.
  In a word, iPod is special to me not only because
  it can accompany me wherever I go just like my
  girlfriend, but also because it is a new
  technology that I have greatly benefited in
  language learning.

56
Event Cards

• Topic questions
• What it is
• When and where it takes/took place
• Who (participants) and how (effects)
• Why

57
Common Event Cards

• A journey
• A change in life
• Help/advice received
• A sport/traditional/public event
• An important/difficult decision
• A traffic jam
• A successful experience
• Etc.

58
A Change in Life

• What it is
• Going to college, graduation, going to work,
  getting married, divorced, becoming a
  gay/lesbian???
• When and where it happened
• How it changes/has changed your life
• How you feel
• Why

59
Sample Answer

• Honestly I havent thought about this much. The
  one and only great change I can think of now is
  leaving school. Look, after going to school for
  more than 16 years, all of my life has been so
  used to school, my daily schedule, my mindset, my
  social life, etc. The world outside the school
  seems so familiar and yet so strange. My feelings
  are mixed with ambition, hope, expectation, as
  well as uneasiness, insecurity and worries. It is
  such a difficult time. I am like a person lost in
  the no-mans land, not knowing where to turn.
  Anyway, most people have to face this change once
  they leave school. It is a total challenge. But
  just as one great mind has once said, life is
  always full of changes and uncertainties we just
  do all that we can and hope for the best.

60
Help/Advice Received

• What it was
• When and where you received it
• Who gave it to you
• Feeling
• Why

61
Sample Answer

• When it comes to this topic, I cant help
  thinking about last year when I was overwhelmed
  by lots of works that I have to do. It was my
  college graduation year. Besides all of the
  lectures I had to attend, the graduation paper
  alone was a heavy task there were tons of
  reference books to read, a series of surveys to
  be conducted and also the revision and editing
  works. It was just too much for me. But thank
  God, my professor XXX offered to give me a hand.
  Basically he gave me some very good ideas and
  challenged me to consider a slight modification
  of my project structure. Then he introduced me to
  someone who happened to have done the similar
  kind of project. Woow, I was feeling just like
  Oh, thank you dear God. I choose to talk about
  this, because it means so much to me. Without his
  help, I just cant imagine myself successfully
  completing such a great project and finishing my
  graduation paper.

62
Stage III

• Two principles
• Take evasive action
• Relate it to yourself (dont talk big, talk small)

63
Evasive Action

• Version 1 That is a good question. I never
  thought about this question before. But if you
  look at this question from different
  perspectives, you may just have different
  answers. Well, I am not really sure. Thank you.

64

• Version 2 That is a very good question. I
  remember reading about this before somewhere. I
  have read about it on the Internet. But I dont
  wear their colored glasses and remember exactly
  what it said about this. There seem to be many
  different views. Because people all have
  different education backgrounds and experiences.
  They tend to look at things through thus have
  different ideas. Well, this is not my field. I am
  not sure. Thank you.

65
Relate to yourself

• Example
• What do you think the government should do to end
  the economic crisis?
• That is a good question (evasive action). But I
  dont think it is very bad for everyone, both
  poor and rich. So I sincerely hope the government
  can do something about it.

66

• Example
• Do you think primary school students should have
  homework?
• That is a very good question (evasive action).
  But I do remember when I was young, I had too
  much homework to do. I dont think I had very
  happy childhood. So I think when I have children,
  I would like them to have no homework or little
  homework. I they can really have a good memory of
  their childhood.