The BBC Learning English web page gives some great vocabulary for “journalism.” Have a look at the page and try to learn some of the words. You never know when these words and phrases might come in useful in your IELTS exam!! Click here to visit the site.
interview
Vocabulary for types of journalism
Position of adverbs
He ate quickly his breakfast.
Can you identify the adverb in the above sentence? I am sure that you know it is quickly but can you see what is wrong with the sentence? Out of a class of 14 advanced students, 5 made this mistake yesterday. That’s right!! 5. Five. FIVE. Clearly, the adverb is in the wrong place and these advanced students should have known this. They are all capable of scoring an overall IELTS band score of at least 7 but 5 of them still made this basic mistake. Do you know where the adverb should be in the sentence? More importantly, do you know why it must go there? (more…)
The speaking exam – the first part.
The first part of the IELTS speaking exam only takes between 4 and 5 minutes. That’s not a lot of time – unless you have nothing to say. Read this post to find out how to give yourself time to think of what to say.
One thing that you can do before the exam is learn vocabulary and expressions relating to the different subjects that you might be asked about in this part of the exam. Make lists of the vocabulary and expressions you learn and try to use them in conversation with other English speakers. Don’t do this the night before your IELTS exam : it will be too late then. (more…)
Don’t wear phrases out.
I was talking to a group of IELTS teachers about my post Thinking on your feet and they asked whether I had made it clear that some words and phrases should not be overused. I don’t think I made this clear. Sometimes it is possible to just answer a question.
When someone asks you your name, you don’t have to think about your answer. It is not an interesting question. There is a simple answer to the question. Just answer the question! (more…)
Thinking on your feet
When you are having a conversation, you don’t always know the answers to questions and sometimes, you might not know what to say next. In lots of conversations, you will have to pause for a moment to collect your thoughts and plan your next words. This is perfectly normal and natural in your own language but it can cause IELTS candidates to panic. They think they are in danger of getting a lower IELTS band score for their speaking exam because they don’t answer all questions immediately. (more…)
Was that a good interview?
In “Why does the examiner keep asking me questions?” we looked at how giving full answers to interview questions is very important. Most IELTS candidates try very hard to perform well in their interview and really want to know what the interviewer thinks about the interview, once it is over.
The question is :
is it okay to ask the examiner for immediate performance feedback?
An IELTS teacher told me a very sad story the other day. Her student needed a IELTS band score of 6.5. The candidate was weak but had worked very hard. The IELTS teacher felt that the student needed more time to prepare for the exam but the student had personal deadlines and needed to take the exam as soon as she could. At the end of the IELTS interview, the student asked the IELTS examiner if her interview performance had been acceptable. The examiner told her not to worry and that she had performed well. The student was very happy.
Time passed and the results came through. This student had achieved a overall band score of 5 in the IELTS exam but had a 5.5 in the IELTS speaking exam. The teacher thought that this IELTS band score was a true reflection of the student’s level of English but also thought that the student must have put in a superb performance to achieve a 5.5 in the IELTS speaking exam.
The student was devastated. She felt that the IELTS examiner had given her false information and should not have “lied” to her about her speaking exam performance. The teacher had to spend a great deal of time pointing out the following:
1 The IELTS examiner does not know what band score you need so asking whether your speaking exam performance was good (or bad) is relative only to the performance itself. If you ask for your grade directly, the examiner will not give it. The examiner needs time to reflect at the end of the speaking exam before giving you a speaking band score.
2 The IELTS examiner is not going to comment negatively if you have performed badly. The examiner may think that your level of English is low but you have performed exceptionally well in the speaking test (considering your level.)
3 The best judge of performance is often you. You will know how well you have done but you won’t know what IELTS band score the IELTS examiner will give your performance.
The student was upset but eventually realised that she needed to study more to improve her level of English so that she would have a better chance of getting her target IELTS band score of 6.5.
She followed this advice IELTS : running a marathon
She worked hard for another 4 months and she eventually achieved her IELTS goal.
Why does the examiner keep asking me questions?
The examiner needs you to speak so that your oral fluency and accuracy can be assessed. It’s difficult to do that if you are silent and it’s really not practical for the examiner to just ask you to speak.
Imagine this:
Examiner: Good morning. Please sit down.
You: Good morning.
there is silence
Examiner: Well?
You (smiling but confused): Well?
there is more silence
and more…..
Examiner: You have twenty minutes. Speak.
You: About what?
the silence returns
The questions that the examiner asks you are not meant to trick you or confuse you. You might feel confused if you don’t listen to the question properly but the examiner really does want to give you every opportunity to speak. The questions are designed and asked to give you something to speak about.
When you answer the questions, you have a chance to show off your English and demonstrate what you can do. There’s no point answering the questions with a one word answer. Put yourself in the examiner’s shoes. What IELTS speaking band grade should the following IELTS candidate get?
Examiner: Do you study or work?
IELTS candidate: Study.
Examiner: Okay. What are you studying?
IELTS candidate: Science.
Examiner: That’s interesting. Which science are you specialising in?
IELTS candidate: Biology.
It would be really difficult the grade the English heard. The examiner might feel frustrated and would be forced to give a low grade based on the performance of the IELTS candidate. This would be sad, especially if the IELTS candidate was able to produce better English than this.
When you are being interviewed, you have to put on a show. You have to perform and during your performance you must demonstrate your level of English. Interviews are an artificial situation : both for you and for the IELTS examiner. You are not chatting over dinner in an expensive restaurant. More often than not, you will be one of many candidates that the IELTS examiner will interview during the day and examiners can get tired. Don’t make them work too hard : help them to see that your English is fantastic by giving full answers to their questions.
How could you answer this question in a full sentence (or more!) of at least ten words? Think about it for a minute or two before you read the answer of our fictional IELTS candidate below.
What do you do?
Here’s a great answer to this question :
“At the moment, I am working as a cook in a restaurant. It’s just a temporary job. I am starting my master’s at the University of Bristol in three months. Working in the restaurant is great fun but it’s only for the short term.”
Notice how the IELTS candidate answers the question but gives lots of detail. The candidate mentions their current job and also their plans for the future. The candidate also states how they feel about the current job.
This is much better than saying “I am a cook.”
Look at the following questions. How could you answer them in a sentence of 10 words or more. Could you give 2 sentence answers?
1. Do you read a lot?
2. Where are you from?
3. What time of day do you prefer?
4. Do you eat a lot of meat?
5. Do you prefer camping or hotel holidays?
Don’t forget to give reasons for your answer. Try to explain your answer.
The only way to get better at answering questions fully is by practising every day. Find lists of possible IELTS speaking questions and think about how you would answer them.
20 years and have helped over 22 different nationalities improve their English language skills. I understand how important a good band score in the IELTS exam is and I know how to help you achieve your target grade.