EnglishClub

For most English students one of the most stomach-churning skills to learn is speaking. It’s the physical act where people can witness you using an English skill in action and it can drive many students crazy.

Every English teacher has at least a dozen students who have asked them with a desperate expression on their face: How can I improve my spoken English?

Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast answer. It all comes down to your confidence and your ability to shrug off what you think others might make of your English-speaking skills.

Let me give you a few tips on how to get better. Practice these and you should be speaking English with superhuman strength!

1. Fake it till you make it

This is the first thing you need to do. It’s difficult but if you can pull it off, it will help you no end.

What you have to do is gain fake confidence in your English-speaking ability. Literally, pretend that you are fluent in English and not care whether you are making any mistakes at all.

Try to convince yourself that you can speak English very well and allow yourself to speak with others.

This is hard to do. But if you can do it your confidence in yourself will grow and grow. Eventually, the fake confidence will shift out the way and be replaced by real genuine confidence.

Confidence in your English ability is most of the battle. Do this and you are winning!

2. Mistakes are your best friends

Many students worry about every little mistake they make when speaking English. So much so that many students close their mouths and stop trying to speak at all.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Regard every single mistake as a tiny lesson that is helping you get better day by day.

Learn from them and be happy that your mistakes can help you improve.

There is a very apt phrase that says: Fail forward. What it means is that each time you make a mistake you are going forward a little each time. Remember this and stop letting mistakes hold you back.

3. Relax

You must relax when speaking English. Don’t let your shoulders tense up around your neck. How can you speak properly if you are not relaxed?

Key things to remember when trying to relax are taking deep breaths, smiling, taking your time and not putting yourself under too much pressure to improve.

Smiling and breathing are paramount. Always have a big smile on your face when speaking English with someone. Smiling gives us natural confidence and helps us to relax. It’s simple and people will respond to you with more friendliness if you are smiling.

And don’t forget to take deep breaths as they can really help you relax. Each time you pause to say something new, fill your lungs with air and it will instantly make you feel more at ease.

4. Practice alone

When you are alone, you can still practice speaking. Use a mirror to speak English. Observe yourself as you speak English, become accustomed to the sight and sound of yourself as you speak English.

It will no longer feel alien or strange to you when you speak English with other people.

You can also read out loud. Take any reading exercise that you have to do for homework and instead of reading inside your head, open your mouth and read out loud. This is another way for you to make speaking English feel like a perfectly normal thing to do.

And practice speaking by watching your favourite movies. Take a short five-minute scene and watch it over and over with English subtitles on. Then try reciting the lines the actors say in English by yourself.

This is a great way to practice pronunciation and intonation too.

Everyone loves watching movies so give this a try. It works even better if you do this with some friends.

5. Make friends with English speakers

This may be very hard to do — especially if you are nowhere near any English-speaking people.

But if you do know someone from an English-speaking country try to make a friend of them. As you spend time together, you will learn to speak English just by being in their company.

You could also offer classes in your own native language — this is called Language Exchange. You spend two hours together, first talking in your language and then in English.

Everyone gains something from it.

6. Make an English-only group

Finally, you could gather together in an ‘English Only’ group. Select a few friends from your English class and meet somewhere and only speak English.

You could choose relevant topics to talk about and then you try to have a conversation using only English.

You will find that some of your friends will know certain vocabulary that you do not, and you will know vocabulary that your friends also do not. Thus you can all help each other. Plus, it could be good fun.

Conclusion

Yes, it is very difficult to get past the barrier of gaining confidence in speaking English. But you have to truly believe in yourself.

That is the one thing that is holding most English students back. They simply think they cannot do it.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Force yourself to believe that you can speak English and that you are getting better each and every day.

Practice the ideas above and you will find that your English-speaking skills will get better and better.

Part Two of the IELTS Speaking test is the mini-presentation/monologue section in which students have to speak on their own for one or (preferably) two minutes on the topic they are given, including the four sub-points on the task sheet. The fact that this is not the question and answer format of Part One and much of Part Three (plus most classroom and everyday communication) is obviously quite challenging and a shock to students coming across the idea of extended speaking for the first time. This task is also the ultimate test of the abilities to speak fluently and tie ideas together, both of which they will be marked on in the exam. As with Part One and Part Three, they also need to show their good pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and ability to stay on task.

Teachers also find Speaking Part Two to be a challenge, both in terms of giving students as much practice as they need and in actually teaching for this part of test rather than just doing tasks in class. I have found that one of the best ways to both provide enough practice and to make sure you are teaching as well as practising it is to tie Speaking Part Two in with other parts of the exam.

Tying IELTS Speaking Part Two In With Speaking Part Three

IELTS Speaking Part Three questions always follow Speaking Part Two in topic, so it is very easy to link these two parts together. The easiest way to think of suitable questions to follow on from a Speaking Part Two task is to collect typical Part Three questions starters such as “What do you think the government should do about…?” and adapt them for the topic you want to use.

As opinions language is important for Speaking Part Three, you could ask them to give their opinions on good and bad tactics for Speaking Part Two and then elicit good language for giving opinions. These phrases can then be used to practise Part Three. They could also give their opinions on a Speaking Part Two model answer to provide the same link.

Tying IELTS Speaking Part Two In With Speaking Part One

Although students will never have the same topics in Speaking Part One and Part Two of one test, many of the typical topics for Speaking Part One (hobbies and free time, friends and family, home town, accommodation, festivals and celebration, media and the arts, technology, etc) could come up in Speaking Part Two instead. This means that you are very justified in doing questions of both types in one lesson. You could, for example, do Part One-style personal questions on hobbies, brainstorm suitable vocabulary, then do mini-presentations on the same topic.

Tying IELTS Speaking Part Two In With Writing Part One

There are quite a few similarities between these two parts of the exam, e.g. their length and the fact that candidates mainly have to describe. Ways of linking them together include:

• Give them the visual stimulus from a Writing Part One task (e.g. a graph or table) with the instructions removed and ask them to speak about it on their own for one or two minutes. When they finish, their partner should add any information they missed. They can then look at the instructions, see how what they said compares to it (usually not very well as the instructions always asks them to “select the main features”) and then do the same speaking task but sticking more closely to the instructions. You could also just give them speaking tasks which are like the real writing tasks, e.g. “Speak about the graph/chart/table you are given for one or two minutes. You should take about: What the visuals and its parts represent/What the main features are/Some comparisons”.
• Give a Speaking Part Two task on the same topic as the writing task, e.g. talking about a hobby for one or two minutes after examining a pie chart showing Australians’ use of their leisure time.
• You can also design tasks to elicit language that is likely to be needed in the Writing test (e.g. comparing and contrasting phrases, or language of trends), using that as the link between the two parts of the exam.
• Do an exercise on linking expressions in writing (“firstly”, “looking at…”, etc) before or after something similar with a Speaking Part Two model answer script.
• Do error correction with a model answer, then do the same with the other skill.
• Discuss how well the model answer sticks to the question, then do the same with the other skill.
• Change examples of repeating language or the words in the question, then do the same with the other skill.
• Do the same with adding more complex language.

Tying IELTS Speaking Part Two In With Writing Part Two

You can also ask students to talk about Writing Part Two questions on their own for one or two minutes as is suggested for Writing Part One above. Alternatively, you can add another stage by doing Speaking Part Three on the same topic as Speaking Part Two (as in the exam) and use one of those Part Three questions as the basis of the writing task that you will discuss and/or set them for homework.

It is sometimes useful to compare IELTS Writing Part Two with real academic writing, and this links in quite nicely with looking at similarities and differences between Speaking Part Two and formal academic or business presentations.

Reading And Listening

You could give students a Speaking Part Two task on the same topic as an exam listening or reading, either as a lead-in or after. If you are lucky, their might also be vocabulary in the text that they can use in their answer, or you could brainstorm vocabulary in the same categories before they start speaking.

Tasks could be designed to bring up dates and other numbers (e.g. “Talk about a long holiday in your country, including: Dates etc). Understanding numbers is vital for the first part of the Listening paper.

Students could also listen to or read an IELTS Speaking Part Two model answer and do IELTS-style comprehension questions (e.g. completing a summary) while they read or listen.

General And Miscellaneous

It should be fairly easy to design Part Two style speaking tasks on students experiences of and tactics for other parts of the exam, e.g. “Talk about a tactic you use in the listening paper” or “Speak about something you have done to develop your reading skills”.

The IELTS Speaking test is taken one-to-one with an examiner and also recorded to be marked. After checking their ID, the examiner asks the candidate personal questions on two or three topics such as education and family. This is followed by a stage where the candidate gives a one- or two-minute mini-presentation on a topic given to them. They are given one minute to prepare and can make notes if they like. After one or two questions about what they said during their presentation, the examiner moves on to more general discussion of related topics.

What Students Need To Do To Get A Good Score In IELTS Speaking

Students will need to properly answer the questions with complex, fluent and accurate use of grammar, vocabulary and functional language. Longer answers should also be well organised, e.g. include linking and signalling expressions.

Probably even more vital than that list of demands is to show that they can really communicate, e.g. by what they say being a real answer to the question and being a reasonable length (rather than a pre-prepared speech or minimal response). Another important way of showing real communication is the way they deal with sticky moments such as not understanding. Things they are likely to need to do to cope with (potential) problems are:

• Asking for clarification, e.g. when the question is ambiguous, and answering questions they might not have fully understood
• Filling the silence, e.g. when pausing for thought
• Having nothing (else) to say, e.g. because the question doesn’t match their situation or they can’t remember the information
• Making sure they have answered or are answering the question
• Getting back on topic, e.g. by asking for a reminder of what the question is
• Correcting themselves

• Signalling the start and end of answers
• Expressing uncertainty and speculating
• Giving examples
• Talking about personal experience
• Generalising
• Giving and justifying opinions
• Comparing and contrasting
• Expressing preferences

Example Classroom Activities

Asking for clarification/Answering questions they might not have understood

• Give students a list of questions that could possibly be ambiguous, e.g. “How many people are there in your family?” Someone asks one of the questions and their partner should confirm something about it (e.g. “Including me?”) before answering, using a different phrase each time.
• In pairs, give students different lists of questions which have very difficult vocabulary in them plus explanations of what those things are supposed to mean. Tell them that the person answering must confirm the meanings of the questions, using a different phrase each time.

Filling silence

• Give students questions that are almost impossible to answer or will at least need thought. They give each other scores based on how little silence they leave and the range of language they use while thinking.
• Give students a task or game where they should speak as long as possible. They give each other scores based on how long they speak, but with points taken off for silence.

Nothing to say

• Similar to the Asking for Clarification game above, students have to find a reason why they can’t answer every question as it is asked, e.g. “Actually, I had no choice” for “Why did you choose that subject?”

Making sure they are answering the question

• Give students difficult to understand questions to ask each other. They should try to answer without asking what they mean, instead asking for clarification during or after their answer. (This is not a good tactic in the exam!)

Getting back on topic

• Students give answers to Speaking Part Two questions without being able to look back at it during those two minutes. Their partner should try to spot when the person speaking has gone off topic, interrupt them, and continue answering the question after using a phrase like “Anyway,…” or “Getting back to the question,…” They can continue interrupting each other until all parts of the question are answered or two minutes is up.

Correcting

• Give students answers to the questions that they are going to be asked that are probably slightly different from what their own would be, e.g. “I was born about 100 kilometres from here” for “Where are you from?” They should answer the questions with the sentences that they have been given, then correct themselves and give an answer that is true, e.g. “What am I talking about 100 km?? It’s more like ten.”

Start and end

• In groups of three, two students compete to be the first to speak when a question is asked, e.g. by launching straight in with a starting phrase like “My first thoughts on that are…” before they’ve even decided what they are going to say. However, if they then pause more than three seconds or go off topic their partner can interrupt them.
• Students try to give long answers to questions without pausing for more than three seconds, including clearly marking the end of what they are saying rather than just stopping or fading out.

Uncertainty/Speculating/Generalising

• Students are given over-generalised sentences such as “Japanese people think…” and must agree on a more accurate version such as “Most Japanese people traditionally thought that…”

Examples

• One student gives examples of something such as “unpleasant things on holiday” or “consequences of global warming” until their partners guess exactly what they are giving examples of. They must use a different phrase each time, i.e. they can’t use the phrase “For example” more than once.
• Students take turns giving examples of something until one of them runs out of ideas.

Experience

• One student talks about different experiences of one thing until their partners guess exactly what they are talking about. Tell them that they must use different phrases such as “One time…” and “When I was younger…” each time.
• One student gives true and made up examples of their personal experience of one thing and their partner should guess which aren’t true.
• Students talk about personal experiences and their partners should guess whether it was their own or someone else’s.

Comparing/Contrasting

• Students must answer all questions by comparing and contrasting, including ones where it wouldn’t be necessary in the exam, e.g. “Pasta, because it’s easier than potatoes” for “What your favourite dish?”