In the last article, I talked about how the opening of the IELTS speaking test goes. We looked at the formalities at the start and then how the opening discussion would go with maybe up to 3 questions being asked about some personal part of the candidate’s life. Today, I will discuss what happens when these opening questions have finished.
Examiners will have questions sheets for section 1. When the three opening questions have been asked, the examiner will have 2 topics to ask the candidate about. These topics are of a general nature and the questions will not be of a complex nature. The topics will necessarily be linked thematically. They will test how a candidate can speak on normal topics with fairly descriptive style questions. The ieltshelpnow.com IELTS practice tests give 20 of these types of questions topics if you want to see what they are like.
Each topic has four questions and therefore each candidate will have up to 8 questions that they can be asked in this section after the opening personal questions. The advice really is the same as the personal questions given last week. Don’t just give the shortest possible answer. This is frustrating for the examiner, who is trying to make an initial assessments of the candidate’s English. Of course not everyone can talk at length on every topic, but with a little practice and imagination, anyone should be able to give a fairly good answer to these questions. The longer you can speak, the more you can impress the examiner with your fluency and ability to speak longer turns. The ieltshlepnow.com IELTS practice tests also provide 10 recordings feature real candidates dealing with IELTS practice tests. These recordings are run as the IELTS speaking tests are run, so have a listen to see what it is like.
In the next help article I will give you a run down on section 2 of the IELTS speaking test and how to do better with it.