5.1 Mastering IELTS Speaking PDFebook PDF

The IELTS Teacher presents…
Lecture 1
Mastering IELTS
Speaking:
Express Course
Welcome to the course!
The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 1

Why should you listen to me?
A bit about me:
I’ve been running a website called The IELTS Teacher since 2013, and in that
time I’ve given thousands of one-to-one Skype lessons to hundreds of
students. I also run a team of brilliant teachers who provide these lessons too.
The majority of our students have gone onto achieve their IELTS goals, with
many achieving band 7, band 7.5, band 8 and in some cases band 8.5 and
band 9 in their Speaking tests.
Through my years of exclusively IELTS-focused lessons, I’ve learnt the most

common mistakes students make in the Speaking test, and I’ve also
formulated a number of strategies to help students nail the score they need.

An introduction to the course
• Who is this course for?: If you’re aiming to achieve Band 7 or above in
IELTS Speaking, this course is for you.
• How the course is structured: 5 sections designed to address each

part of the Speaking test, helping you to produce confident, accurate
answers by focusing on band descriptor requirements.
• Why this course works: This course works because it addresses the
most common difficulties encountered when responding to IELTS
Speaking questions. It offers a number of clear strategies for tackling the
different parts of the Speaking test and gives you a foundation for
practice moving forward.

How the course is structured
Section 1 - An Introduction to the Course
Areas covered:
• Course structure / aims
• An overview of the IELTS exam
• Focus on the Speaking test
• Band descriptors (Fluency/Coherence; Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation)

Section 2 - Part 1: The Interview
Areas covered:
• Getting started (Fluency and Coherence)
• Paraphrasing (Lexical Resource)
• Identifying the question (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)
• Recognising your weaknesses (Pronunciation)

Section 3 - Part 2: The Long Turn
Areas covered:
• Segmenting and the ‘ACE’ strategy (Fluency and Coherence)
• Common vocabulary mistakes (Lexical Resource)
• Common grammar mistakes (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)
• Syllable stress (Pronunciation)

Section 4 - Part 3: The Discussion
Areas covered:
• Discourse markers and listing (Fluency and Coherence)
• Idioms and collocations (Lexical Resource)
• Complex sentences (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)
• Sentence stress and intonation (Pronunciation)

Section 5 - Conclusion
Areas covered:
• Handling anxiety
• Getting guidance
• Secrets to success: Tips and techniques in IELTS Speaking
• A model answer: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

What this course is and is not
This course is not:
• a vocabulary booster. There are a number of other Udemy courses which aim to provide you
with new vocabulary in specific topics
• a grammar fixer. We’ll certainly look at important grammar points in this course, but other
courses will look at these in more detail.
• a pronunciation coach. Again, there are other courses on Udemy which will help you here.
This course is:
• a 20-lecture crash course on how to improve your IELTS Speaking score as soon as possible
by highlighting a number of helpful strategies you can use and revealing the most common
mistakes students make. To make the most of this course, find a tutor to practice with!
The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course

How to approach this course
Recommendation: Complete within 2 weeks. However, if you have responsibilities, take your
time.
To make the most of this course, you should:
• Bring a focused and committed attitude to every lecture, taking notes as you listen
• Continue to practice alone by answering and recording IELTS Speaking questions frequently
• Listen to at least 2 podcasts or educational YouTube videos in English every day
• Find an IELTS Speaking tutor with whom you can practice
• Try to enjoy the process!

Contact:
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or
suggestions. I read everything you send!
You can contact me via:
• Udemy. Just use the comment function at the side of the

page.
• Email: matt@theieltsteacher.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theieltsteacher
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/theieltsteacher
• My website: www.theieltsteacher.com
The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Writing: Task 1 11

Section 1: General Overview
Lecture 2
An Introduction to
IELTS
Walking you through the
exam.

What is IELTS?
• IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. IELTS.
• It is the most world’s most popular English language proficiency test.
• Over 2 million tests taken per year.
• Assesses all skills - Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking.
• Accepted by schools, universities, employers, and immigration

authorities.

How IELTS is structured: Walkthrough
Academic 2 modules General Training
Universities / Academic Careers Visa Applications / Non-academic Careers
Academic Reading Sections/ Important

General Reading
Skill Time
questions Points
• Each section = 1 long text • Section 1+2 = 2-3 short texts
• Books, journals, magazines 30 mins (+10 4 sections x 10
Pencil only. Audio
• Section 3 = 1 long text
Listening for transferring questions = 40
played once only.
answers) questions
• Non-specialist - academic • Notices, magazines, newspapers,
1 hour (save 10 books, official/company docs
mins for 3 sections /
Reading transferring 40 questions Pencil only.
Academic Writing answers) General Writing
Task 1 word min =
1 hour (20 mins
• Task 1: Graph / Diagram 2 Tasks, 2 150 • Task 1: Letter
Writing Task 1 / 40
questions Task 2 word min =
mins Task 2)
250
• Task 2: Essay • Task 2: Essay
3 parts - no Part 1 = interview
Speaking 11-14 minutes set number of Part 2 = long turn
questions Part 3 = discussion

How IELTS is scored
IELTS Band Score CEFR Score Ability Level
• There is no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ in IELTS
9 C2 Expert user
• You are graded in each component, 8 C1/C2 Very good user
and the average gives you your score 7 C1 Good user
6 B2 Competent User
• L = 6 / R = 7 / W = 6 / S = 7: 5 B1/B2 Modest User
Overall score = 6.5 4 B1 Limited User
3 A2/B1 Extremely Limited User
• IELTS scores are valid for 2 years 2 A2 Intermittent User
after certification 1 A1 Non-user

IELTS score requirements
• 5.5 - 6.0 = Entry to a university Foundation course
• 6.0 - 6.5 = Entry to a Bachelor’s degree course
• 6.5 - 7.0 = Entry to a Master’s degree course
• 7.0+ = Typically required to work in English-speaking countries in

professions such as medicine, law, accounting and academic research
Make sure you check with each employer / university / immigration office
exactly what score you need!

Lecture 3
Understanding
IELTS Speaking
An in-depth look at the
IELTS Speaking test.

IELTS Speaking: Key points
• 3 parts
• 11-14 minutes all together
• Part 1: 4-5 minutes / Part 2: 3-4 minutes / Part 3: 4-5 minutes
• You will speak to a real-life examiner, not a machine
• You will be told when the test begins
• The test will be recorded

Part 1 Example Questions
The Interview
Free Practice
Part 1 of the Speaking test is called the ‘Interview’ stage.
The examiner will introduce themselves and ask you to introduce yourself and
confirm your identity by providing your passport or identity card.
They examiner will then ask a few general questions on familiar topics like work,
home, family etc. There is no set number of questions.
There is no need to create extended, developed answers here. This section

should help you relax and talk naturally, as if to a friend.

The Interview
Free Practice
What is your job? What do you do at weekends?
Do you like your job? What does your home look like?
What do you study? How long have you lived in your home?
Is it a popular subject in your country? How many people are in your family?
How do you spend your free time? Do you have any pets?

The Long Turn
Free Practice
In Part 2, the examiner will give you a task card which asks you to talk about a
specific topic, with further prompts to help guide your talk.
You will be given one minute to prepare and make notes.
You will then be asked to talk for 1-2 minutes.
The examiner will stop you once the two minutes are up.
The examiner may ask you follow-up questions based on your talk.

The Long Turn
Free Practice

The Discussion
Free Practice
In Part 3, the examiner will ask you questions related to the topic in Part 2.
These questions are made to give you the chance to discuss more abstract
issues and ideas. There is no set number of questions.
Answers to these questions should be longer and more developed than answers
to Part 1 questions.
The examiner will tell you when the exam is over.

The Discussion
Free Practice
What kinds of books are popular with children in your country? Why do you think
that is?
Do you think people pay attention to advertising on television? Why is this?
Have relationships between parents and children changed in recent years in your
country? Why?
What jobs can be affected by different weather conditions? Why?

Lecture 4
What Do You
Want From Me?
The IELTS Speaking
marking criteria.

How IELTS Speaking is assessed
IELTS examiners assess your speaking performance by looking at 4 things…
Fluency and Grammatical Range

Lexical Resource Pronunciation
Coherence and Accuracy

Fluency and Coherence
According to the official IELTS Speaking
In other words:
band descriptors, to achieve band 7
and above you: • speak for a long time without
struggling to find the right words
• “must speak at length without
noticeable effort or loss of coherence” • don’t worry too much if you
occasionally hesitate, repeat words or
• “may demonstrate language-related
correct yourself
hesitation, or some repetition and/or
self-correction” • link your ideas with appropriate words
and expressions, but try not to use
• “must use a range of connectives and
the same expressions every time
discourse markers with flexibility”

Lexical Resource
According to the official IELTS Speaking In other words:
band descriptors, to achieve band 7
and above you: • show that you can talk about a variety
of different topics by using a range of
• “must use vocabulary flexibly to topic-related vocabulary
discuss a variety of topics”
• use a few idioms and less common
• “must use less common and expressions in your answers, and
idiomatic vocabulary and show some make sure to include collocations
awareness of style and collocation”
• avoid repeating the same words
• “must use paraphrase effectively” throughout

Grammatical Range and Accuracy
In other words:
band descriptors, to achieve band 7 • do not only speak in very simple
and above you: sentences, but try to include more
complex structures too
• “must use a range of complex
structures with some flexibility” • try to avoid making grammatical
mistakes, but don’t worry if you make
• “must frequently produce error-free a few over the course of the test
sentences, though some grammatical
mistakes may persist” • aim for a sentence accuracy rate of
50%+

Pronunciation
band descriptors, to achieve band 7 and In other words:
above you:
• make sure all Band 6 band descriptors
• “must show all the positive features of are met, and also meet a few of the
Band 6, but not all of the positive Band 8 band descriptors
features of Band 8”
• show you can pronounce words
• “must use a wide range of pronunciation accurately, both with stress and
features with mixed control” sound, and use appropriate intonation
• “should be generally understood (Band • make sure you can be easily
6)” / “should be easy to understand
understood
throughout” (Band 8)

Band descriptors: A summary
Fluency and Grammatical Range
Lexical Resource Pronunciation
Coherence and Accuracy
• Speak clearly at • Use vocabulary to • Show a range of • Show control over

length
discuss various grammar, simple a range of
topics
and complex
pronunciation
• Use a range of features
connectives
• Use less common/ • Don’t make too
idiomatic many grammatical • Effectively use
• Use discourse vocabulary
mistakes
intonation and
markers
stress
• Show style and • May make some

• May show use collocations
mistakes
• Be understood
hesitation, but try

to avoid too • Paraphrase • +50% sentence • Only occasional
much of it effectively accuracy mistakes

Section 2: Part 1 - The Interview
Lecture 5
Getting
Started
Getting off to a good start -

The importance of a strong start
Compare these two answers to the same question. Which answer do you
think is stronger?
Do you enjoy your job? Why / Why not?
Answer 1: Well, umm, that’s a difficult question. I mean, it depends on,

uhh, a lot of things. Um, I like meeting lots of different people.
Answer 2: Yes, I do, I enjoy it a lot. I love my work because it gives me a

chance to meet people from a huge range of different cultures.

think is stronger?
Answer 1: Well, umm, that’s a difficult question. I mean, it depends on,

uhh, a lot of things. Um, I like meeting lots of different people.
Answer 2: Yes, I do, I enjoy it a lot. I love my work because it gives me a


think is stronger?
Answer: Yes, I do, I enjoy it a lot. I love my work because it gives me a

1: Use the language and grammar in the question to help you make a
strong start. Do not worry about repetition, at least not when starting.
2: Answer the question directly, and then develop it with one or two points.

think is stronger?


think is stronger?


Example questions
• Do you like to travel?
• How long have you lived in your home?
• Who did the cooking in your family when you were a child?
• How popular are bicycles in your town?
• What are you studying at the moment?
• Do you like to spend your free time alone or with other people?

Bad starts
THE OVERCOMPLICATED: The question of whether I am a fan of travelling or prefer

staying homebound is not a simple one to which I can respond. Journeying to exotic
nations is ….
THE GET-TO-THE-POINT: Hmm, well, that’s a very good question. So, well, actually, I
guess it would be, around about, more or less…
THE OVERLY BRIEF: My mother cooked.

Bad starts
THE IRRELEVANT: Well, the most popular form of transport is cars. There are cars
everywhere in my city, they cause so much traffic.
THE REPETITIVE: English is the subject I am studying at the moment, so I am studying

English at the present time.
THE ‘EXAM VOICE’: It is my firm belief that spending free time alone is most
pleasurable. This is a consequence of …

Example questions

Example questions

Good starts
I do, yes. I love travelling because I’m really curious about the world and I think going out and
seeing new places is the only way for me to satisfy this curiosity.
I’ve lived in my current home for about the last three years. I moved to this place from London,
the capital, when I was in my late twenties because I was getting tired of city life.
My mum did the cooking when I was a child. I’ve never really thought about why, but I guess at
the time it was just traditional gender roles for mums to cook and dads to work, rather than the
other way around.

Good starts
Bicycles are fairly popular where I live, but cars are still more common by far. I think bikes are
gaining more popularity though, and I’ve certainly noticed that many more bicycle lanes have been
built recently.
I’m studying English Language and Literature at the moment, over at King’s College in London. I
started my studies two and a half years ago.
Personally, I prefer to spend my free time on my own. For example, last week I was given the night
off work, and I chose to spend the time unwinding with a book instead of meeting with friends.

Continuing your answer
• I do, yes. I love travelling because I’m really curious about the world and I think going out and seeing new
places is the only way for me to satisfy this curiosity.
• I’ve lived in my current home for about the last three years. I moved to this place from London, the capital,
when I was in my late twenties because I was getting tired of city life.
• My mum did the cooking when I was a child. I’ve never really thought about why, but I guess at the time it
was just traditional gender roles for mums to cook and dads to work, rather than the other way around.
• Bicycles are fairly popular where I live, but cars are still more common by far. I think bikes are gaining more
popularity though, and I’ve certainly noticed that many more bicycle lanes have been built recently.
• I’m studying English Language and Literature at the moment, over at King’s College in London. I started
my studies two and a half years ago.
• Personally, I prefer to spend my free time on my own. For example, last week I was given the night off
work, and I chose to spend the time unwinding with a book instead of meeting with friends.

Continuing your answer
• I do, yes. I love travelling because I’m really curious about the world and I think going out and seeing new on
s
places is the only way for me to satisfy this curiosity. rea
a i l
• I’ve lived in my current home for about the last three years. I moved to this place from London, the capital, d et
r a
when I was in my late twenties because I was getting tired of city life. ex
t
i o n
• My mum did the cooking when I was a child. I’ve never really thought about why, but I guess at the time it c at
ul
e
was just traditional gender roles for mums to cook and dads to work, rather than the other way around. s p
o n
r is
• Bicycles are fairly popular where I live, but cars are still more common by far. I think bikes are gaining more p a
om
popularity though, and I’ve certainly noticed that many more bicycle lanes have been built recently. c
a i l
et
• I’m studying English Language and Literature at the moment, over at King’s College in London. I started e d
ti m
my studies two and a half years ago.
p le
am
• Personally, I prefer to spend my free time on my own. For example, last week I was given the night off e x
work, and I chose to spend the time unwinding with a book instead of meeting with friends.

Lecture 6
Avoiding
Repetition
Preparing for paraphrasing -
Lexical Resource

Why paraphrasing is important
In the previous lecture, we looked at how we can use the language in the
question to help us get started.
However, once you’re into the answer, you should try to avoid repeating
the same vocabulary. Repetition demonstrates a lack of flexibility with
language.
Band 7: “Uses vocabulary flexibly to discuss a variety of topics.”
Band 6: “Has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and

make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies.”

Two examples
• Would you rather live in a hot place or a cold place?
I think I would rather live in a hot place. I like hot weather, so a hot place
would suit me. It’s quite hot where I live, so I like where I live.
Personally, I’d rather live in a hot place. I’m happiest when I’m in warm
weather, I can go to the beach and enjoy sunbathing. The temperature
gets pretty high where I live, so I’d be happy staying here.

Two examples
would suit me. It’s quite hot where I live, so I’d rather live here.

Two examples
would suit me. It’s quite hot where I live, so I’d rather live here.

Working on paraphrasing
Paraphrasing in the Speaking test is different to paraphrasing in the Writing test:
when you’re speaking, you don’t have time to go through all the synonyms you
know! It’s all about preparation.
So here are the dos and do nots of paraphrase practice in Speaking.
DO: Play the IELTS word association game. Play the ‘one minute topic’ card
game. Have conversations in English. Listen to talks on a variety of topics
(ted.com is a great resource). Read, read, read. And, of course, practice regularly!
DO NOT: Try too hard to demonstrate your range. Take really long pauses when
trying to find the perfect word. Repeat the same words over and over.

Play the IELTS word association game

Play the IELTS word association game
This game should ideally be played with 2+ people, but can be played alone
for practice purposes.
Choose a word from your IELTS question (e.g. hot in ‘would you rather live
in a hot place or a cold place?’). Now, take it in turns to say the first word
that comes to your head (or just keep saying new words if you’re playing
alone).
For IELTS practice, the twist on this game is that you should write down
every word that is said.
Then, look at the first 5-10 words and turn those words into a sentence.

Example #1
HOT - Would you rather live in a hot place or a cold place?
• warm
• high temperature
• summer
• beach
• sunshine
• sunbathing
• swimming
• ocean
I’d rather live in a warm place, I love the high temperatures in summer. Some of my favourite
things are sunbathing at the beach, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying the sunshine.

Example #2
SHOPPING - Do you enjoy shopping? Why / Why not?
• stores
• credit card
• shopping bags
• clothes
• fashion
• sales
I do, I love going around to lots of different stores with my credit card and
coming out with loads of shopping bags! I’m really into fashion so I’m always
buying clothes, particularly when they’re on sale.

Example #3
SCHOOL SUBJECTS - What school subject did you enjoy most at school?
• mathematics
• equations Your answers don’t need to be as
• sums long as this in Part 1, but this is a
• logic great way to practice using varied
• teacher vocabulary when speaking about a
• homework range of topics.
• calculator
The subject I enjoyed most was probably mathematics, maybe because working out
equations and sums with logic was simple for me, and we had a great teacher too.
And the homework was usually easy because you could just use your calculator!

Play the ‘one minute topic’ game
Again, this game should ideally be played with 2+ people, but can be played alone
if necessary.
Take a number of cue cards and on each card write down a topic (e.g. ‘sport’).
Shuffle the cards and place them face down on the table.
Set a one minute timer on your phone or watch.
Turn over the first card and then start the timer. Now speak! The aim here is to talk
about that topic for one whole minute without any preparation.
Have your friend take notes, or if you are alone, record yourself and note what you
talked about. Note which words you repeated a lot and try to think of alternatives.

Some Examples
Home

Some Examples
Home

Some Examples
Television

Some Examples
Television

Some Examples
Sports

Some Examples
Sports

Some Examples
TOO EASY? Increase the difficulty by adding an extra minute for each topic!
Colours

Resources for improving vocabulary
This course is designed for those who are looking to improve their IELTS
speaking scores quickly. As such, we do not have time to look at long lists
of vocabulary for different topics.
However, if you would like to learn new vocabulary for specific topics, I
recommend these resources:
Check Your English Vocabulary for IELTS by Rawdon Wyatt
Vocabulary for IELTS Advanced by Pauline Cullen
Udemy courses!

Lecture 7
Identifying
the Question
Answering in the correct tense -

Listening for grammar
As we’ve seen, thinking about the examiner’s choice of vocabulary is very
important.
But it’s also vital to listen to the examiner’s grammar.
Notice the difference between these two questions:
Do you enjoy travelling?

Present simple
Have you done much travelling recently?
Present perfect

important.
Do you enjoy travelling?

Present simple
Have you done much travelling recently?
Present perfect

important.
Do you enjoy travelling? Yes, I do / No, I don’t

Present simple
Have you done much travelling recently? Yes, I have / No, I haven’t
Present perfect

Grammar in practice
Try to fill in the gaps of the model answer using the verbs below in their
appropriate form.
- Did you enjoy your time at school?
Yes, I ___. My teachers ____ fantastic, really helpful, and I _____ a lot of
enthusiasm for my subjects. Looking back, I ____ grateful that I ____ to a
school where students and teachers ____ one another.
have be do go feel respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
Yes, I did. My teachers ____ fantastic, really helpful, and I _____ a lot of
have be go feel respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
Yes, I did. My teachers were fantastic, really helpful, and I _____ a lot of
have go feel respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
Yes, I did. My teachers were fantastic, really helpful, and I had a lot of
go feel respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
enthusiasm for my subjects. Looking back, I feel grateful that I ____ to a
go respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
enthusiasm for my subjects. Looking back, I feel grateful that I went to a
respect

Grammar in practice
appropriate form.
enthusiasm for my subjects. Looking back, I feel grateful that I went to a
school where students and teachers respected one another.
For grammatical accuracy, respond to the question in the appropriate tense.

For grammatical range, look for opportunities to include a different tense.

The wonders of time travel
Sometimes, changing tenses is the natural and obvious approach, such as
with this question.
- Have you ever been to an art gallery?
Yes, I have, I’ve been to a few. I last went to an art gallery a few months
ago, when I visited London to do some sightseeing. The gallery was
running an exhibition on Russian art, which I found quite fascinating.
After using the present perfect to answer the initial yes/no question, we
naturally moved into the past simple to offer more detail. Notice how we
found an opportunity to include the past continuous too.

The wonders of time travel
Other times, you may need to think outside the box for an opportunity to
include another tense (or two, or three).
- What types of music do you listen to?
Oh, it’s hard to say. I like lots of different genres of music: rock; classical;
hip-hop; pop. I used to listen to country, but I’m not really a fan of that
anymore. Right now, I’m listening to a lot of classical music.
Here, we moved from the question tense, which is present simple, into the
‘used to’ past and then the present continuous. This is better than staying in
the present simple (e.g. …, but I don’t like …).

The dangers of time travel
However, you need to be careful to avoid changing tenses at inappropriate times
or in an inaccurate way. Make sure the context fits; don’t just change tenses with
no purpose.
- Do you prefer to have one particular friend or a group of friends?
Personally, I prefer to have one friend. I used to have had loads of friends, but we
weren't very close, and that was tiring. Now I have just a couple of really good
friends, which has been much better.
The used to form here is inaccurate and should be: I used to have.
The present perfect is used inappropriately here because of the use of ‘now’,
which means we should use the present simple: which is much better.

The most common tense mistake I see in Part 1 is that candidates will
use the present tense when they are being asked a question about the
past.
- Has your fashion changed since you were a child?
Yes, I think it has changed. When I was young, I always wear baggy jeans
and bright and colourful t-shirts, but these days I am wearing more form-
fitting clothes with muted colours.
Where are the errors here?

The most common tense mistake I see in Part 1 is that candidates will
use the present tense when they are being asked a question about the
past.
- Has your fashion changed since you were a child?
Yes, I think it has changed. When I was young, I always wore baggy jeans
and bright and colourful t-shirts, but these days I wear more form-fitting
clothes with muted colours.
Where are the errors here?

Practice
Here’s a question where you should be able to use what we’ve learnt.
Firstly, identify the tense. Answer in that tense. Then see if you can bring
in one or two other tenses.
Have a go first, and then see if it’s similar to mine.
- Has anyone ever taught you to dance?
No, they haven’t, I don’t think I’ve ever had formal lessons. Having said
that, I was dancing just last week at my friend’s wedding! Though I’m a
terrible dancer as my balance is awful!

Practice

Practice

Lecture 8
Recognising
Weaknesses
Targeting your problem spots -
Pronunciation

The importance of pronunciation
It’s very important that you speak as clearly as possible in the Speaking test. The clarity of your
speech is the essence of your pronunciation score.
However, bear in mind that you are not being tested on your accent. Your accent will not have
an impact on your score. What will?
• The pronunciation of individual sounds
• Word stress
• Speed
• Sentence stress
• Intonation

The pronunciation of individual sounds
This is a tricky topic to cover as there are so many individual sounds in English. It’s important
for you to try and identify which ones you struggle with.
From my experience, here are the most common problem areas, with advice on how to fix
these issues.
BEFORE WE BEGIN:
• exaggerate your sounds
• pronounce very slowly
• notice the changes in tension, mouth shape, tongue position etc.
• give your jaw a massage when it’s over!

The pronunciation of consonants
• θ (this is the unvoiced ‘th’ sound in ‘thing’, ‘thief’ and ‘both’)
The most common mispronunciation here is to pronounce this sound as a ‘d’, or ’t’, e.g. ting (for ‘thing’), baht
(for ‘bath’) and dief (for ‘thief’). The trick here is the position of your tongue and how you use your breath.
Stick your tongue far out. Now hold your tongue between your teeth. Breathe through your teeth. This should
be creating the unvoiced ‘th’ sound already. Now say the word: thank you.
• ð (this is the voiced ‘th’ sound in ‘those’, ‘there’ and ‘although’)
This is a voiced ‘th’, which means you should feel some vibration in your throat. The same problems with ‘d’
and ‘t’ sounds appear when attempting this sound.
Instead of sticking your tongue far out, stick it out just a little. Try to make the sound of a buzzing bee (vibrate
the tongue). Now say the word: There. Try to exaggerate the buzzing bee sound for practice.
Tongue twister: Although they thought of these things here, they gathered both of those things there.

• l (this is the ‘l’ sound in ‘long’, ‘light’ and ‘belly’)
This pronunciation feature is most challenging for East Asian speakers as there is often no distinction
between the sound ‘l’ and the sound ‘r’ seen below.
To make the ‘l’ sound, press the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Push air through
your mouth and flick the tip of your tongue forward. Your lips should not move with this sound. Try the
word: click. Pronounce it very slowly.
• ɹ (this is the ‘r’ sound in ‘wrong’, ‘right’ and ‘berry’)
To make this sound, keep the tip of your tongue down, not up. It should not be touching anything.
Press the mid/back of your tongue against the insides of the top teeth. Round your lips (think, the
word ‘round’ begins with a round-lip shape) and push air through your mouth: round.
Tongue twister: Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry (ad infinitum)

• w (this is the ‘w’ sound in ‘west’, ‘worse’ and ‘rowing’)
This pronunciation feature is often difficult for German, Eastern European and Indian speakers, commonly confused
with the ‘v’ sound below.
With this sound, you need to shape your lips into a kissing gesture. Don’t worry, there are other Udemy courses to
teach you those skills… The trick here is to push air through your mouth while making this gesture. Now say the
word: weird. Make sure your top teeth are not touching your bottom lip.
• v (this is the ‘v’ sound in ‘vest’, ‘verse’ and ‘roving’)
Often, this sound is confused in the opposite direction, with the sound above.
The trick here is simply to stick your front teeth out over your bottom lip, like Bugs Bunny. Breathe through your
mouth with your teeth in this position and say the word: very. There is no need to purse your lips here.
Tongue twister: She had very weird vicious wishes that the worst would happen to the versed men; these very
weird vicious wishes made the versed men very wary that the worst would happen.

The pronunciation of vowels
• iː (this is the ‘ee’ sound in ‘beat’, ‘sheep’ and ‘reach’)
To make this sound, you need to put on your widest smile. Not a weak, yearbook photo smile, but
a wide, cheesy grin. Tense your facial muscles (lips, teeth, tongue, and chin) and say: cheese.
A good way to check if you’re getting this right is to place your finger under your chin. Your
muscles there should feel tense.
• ɪ (this is the ‘ih’ sound in ‘bit’, ‘ship’ and ‘rich’)
Now relax. Release the tension in your facial muscles, open your mouth slightly, and place the tip
of your tongue behind your bottom teeth. Now say the word: win. Now: winning at speaking.
Tongue twister: Strict vegans eat beet chips with bean dip, and keep meat and fish dishes out
of reach.

Moving forward
Pronunciation is an essential part of your score in IELTS speaking, so it’s vital that you first
recognise your weaknesses and then turn them into strengths.
To help you with the first part, record yourself speaking for one minute (an extract from a book
is fine) and then pass the recording to an English teacher or a native friend or acquaintance.
Ask them to point out any pronunciation difficulties.
Once you have identified your weak spots, the following tools will be very useful in helping you
to improve in these areas.
• ‘Sounds’ - a pronunciation app from Macmillan
• YouTube - a good way to actually see the shape / movement of the mouth
• Personal tuition / pronunciation coaching

Section 3: Part 2 - The Long Turn
Lecture 9
Segmenting
Your Talk
Dividing and organising Part 2 -

What is segmenting?
Segmenting is the act of breaking something up into smaller, more
manageable parts.
Think of an orange. Could you fit a whole one in your mouth? That would
be impressive, but probably not. Hence, orange segments.
The same idea applies to our talk in Part 2.
It is hard for the examiner to digest what we’re saying when we don’t
break up our talk. But if we do break up our talk, if we segment, we
appear much more fluent and coherent.

How to segment
Describe a child that you know.
You should say:

who this child is and how often you
see him or her
how old this child is
what he or she is like
and explain how you feel about this child.

How to segment
Step 1

Locate any parts of the
You should say: topic card that are quite
who this child is and how often you ‘black-and-white’.
see him or her
how old this child is In this case, who the
what he or she is like child is (Leah, my niece)
and explain how you feel about this child. and how old the child is
(7 years old).

How to segment
Step 1

Locate any parts of the
You should say: topic card that are quite
who this child is and how often you ‘black-and-white’.
see him or her
how old this child is In this case, who the
what he or she is like child is (Leah, my niece)
and explain how you feel about this child. and how old the child is
(7 years old).

How to segment
Step 1

These parts of the talk will
You should say: come first as they are too
who this child is and how often you small to form their own
see him or her segments.*
what he or she is like I’m going to talk about my
and explain how you feel about this child. niece. Her name is Leah,
she’s 7 years old and my
older sister’s second child.
*It is not important for the talk to run in the order of the card.

How to segment
You should say:

see him or her

How to segment
Step 2

Write down three points for
You should say: each of the remaining
who this child is and how often you prompts on the topic card.
see him or her
how old this child is If possible, follow the idea,
what he or she is like support, example (ISE)
and explain how you feel about this child. strategy to give you a clear
sense of progression.

How to segment
Step 2

How often
You should say:
who this child is and how often you • Once a week
see him or her
how old this child is • Sundays - family meal
and explain how you feel about this child. • Saw her last Sunday

How to segment
Step 2

What she’s like
You should say:
who this child is and how often you • Intelligent / naughty
see him or her
how old this child is • Takes after her mum
and explain how you feel about this child. • Helped bro with math
HW; didn’t do hers!

How to segment
Step 2

How you feel
You should say:
who this child is and how often you • Protective
see him or her
how old this child is • Can be quite clumsy
and explain how you feel about this child. • Watched her like hawk
at park

How to segment
You should say:

see him or her

How to segment
Step 3

Consider how you will
You should say: introduce each segment.

see him or her Always begin your talk
how old this child is with “I’m going to talk
what he or she is like about…”.

After, you have options.

How to segment
Step 3

DIRECT:
You should say: “I see her about once a
who this child is and how often you week.”
see him or her
how old this child is INTRO:
what he or she is like “With regards to how
and explain how you feel about this child. often I see her, I’d say it’s
about once a week.”

How to segment
Step 3

DIRECT:
You should say: “She’s a very intelligent
who this child is and how often you child, but quite naughty.”
see him or her
what he or she is like “As for what she’s like, I’d
and explain how you feel about this child. describe her as intelligent
but quite naughty.”

How to segment
Step 3

DIRECT:
You should say: “I tend to feel quite
who this child is and how often you protective over her.”
see him or her
what he or she is like “If I think about how I feel
and explain how you feel about this child. about her, I’d say I’m
quite protective.”

How to segment
Step 3

Write a ‘D’ or an ‘I’ next
You should say: to each of your columns
who this child is and how often you with their three points.
see him or her

how old this child is This way, you won’t
what he or she is like stumble over your words
and explain how you feel about this child. worrying about how to
begin your segment.

Planning One minute!?
It may seem unrealistic to get this
kind of planning done in 1 minute,
PLAN but it can be done with practice! Try
replacing the titles with letters (e.g.
‘WSL’ for ‘what she’s like’).
INTRO: Niece, Leah, 7 y/o, sister’s 2nd child.
*D* *I* *D*

How often What she’s like How I feel about her
I. Once a week I. Intel* / naughty I. Protective

S. Sundays - fam meal S. Takes after mum S. Can be clumsy
E. Last week E. Bro’s math HW E. Park - hawk idiom

Model answer
You should say:

see him or her

Model answer
I’m going to talk about my niece. Her name is Leah, she’s 7 years old and she’s my older sister’s second
child.
I see her about once a week. She goes to school during the week, but all our family usually get together on
Sundays for a family meal. In fact, I saw her just a few days ago for our Sunday lunch, along with her two
brothers, and we all had a lovely time together.
As for what she’s like as a person, I’d describe her as very intelligent, but a bit naughty. I think she takes
after her mum in that way, who was just like that when we were kids. For instance, just the other day Leah
was helping her older brother with his math homework, but when it came to doing her own, she refused
and had a tantrum! I can remember my sister doing something very similar when she was that age!
I guess I tend to feel quite protective over her, which is probably because she’s prone to being quite clumsy.
She’s already had quite a few accidents in her time, so it’s important to keep a close eye on her. I took her
to the park a few weeks ago, for example, and had to watch her like a hawk while she was on the swings to
make sure she didn’t fall off! Still, she’s a really fun child to be around and she always makes me laugh.

Lecture 10
Common
Vocabulary Errors
Avoiding typical vocabulary mistakes -
Lexical Resource

It’s not just about range
One of the most common worries I hear from my students is that they feel
they don’t have enough vocabulary.
This is often not the case. The lexical range of most students at this level is
quite wide, but we all sometimes feel (even us natives) like we need more
vocabulary to communicate ourselves with more clarity.
By all means, continue adding to your vocabulary set. But at the same time,
do not forget the importance of accuracy when it comes to vocabulary.
Let’s look at some of the most common lexical errors made in Speaking, and
how we can avoid making these mistakes ourselves.

Word formation
Word formation relates to whether words are formed accurately. There
are a few things that can go wrong with word formation.
There can be mistakes with prefixes (un-, in-, de-, im-, pre-, anti-, etc.)
There can be mistakes with suffixes (-less, -ful, -ation, -ify-, -itis, -ion, etc.)
When we change from one suffix to another, we often change to a

different word class.
Here are some mistakes I hear frequently in terms of word class.

Word formation
I hate doing my homework, it’s so bored.
I need to fill my weekend with lots of activities, otherwise I’m really boring.
Eek, no! In the second sentence, you’re telling everyone you’re no fun!

Word formation
I hate doing my homework, it’s so boring.
I need to fill my weekend with lots of activities, otherwise I’m really bored.
Eek, no! In the second sentence, you’re telling everyone you’re no fun!
This is a problem of suffixes, as we looked at earlier.
You describe SOMETHING as bor-ING.
You FEEL bor-ED.

Word formation
Can you find the mistakes in these sentences? Can you fix these mistakes?
I’m really interesting in archaeology, I love the idea of digging up the past and learning about
how people from the past lived. I find that completely fascinated.
My husband and I have just booked a holiday to the Caribbean for next summer, so I’m really
exciting as work has been so stressed recently. I can’t wait to feel more relaxing.
One thing I find really annoyed is the way that children these days spend all their time on their
phones. No wonder they’re so boring!
I didn’t do that well in my exams last year, which was a little disappointed. I hope to do better
this year as I’m a lot more engaging than I was last year.
I love IELTS! It’s so enjoying!

Word formation
Can you find the mistakes in these sentences? Can you fix these mistakes?
I’m really interested in archaeology, I love the idea of digging up the past and learning about how
people from the past lived. I find that completely fascinating.
My husband and I have just booked a holiday to the Caribbean for next summer, so I’m really
excited as work has been so stressful recently. I can’t wait to feel more relaxed.
One thing I find really annoying is the way that children these days spend all their time on their
phones. No wonder they’re so bored!
I didn’t do that well in my exams last year, which was a little disappointing. I hope to do better
this year as I’m a lot more engaged than I was last year.
I love IELTS! It’s so enjoyable!

A lack of precision
Another problem is when vocabulary does not communicate an idea precisely
enough. To score a band 8, the speaker must “use vocabulary… to convey precise
meanings.”
What does this really mean?
Compare these two sentences:
I don’t think my secondary school was very good because of the teachers and
facilities there.
I think that my secondary school was quite disappointing, which could be down to
the lack of passionate teachers and high-quality facilities.

A lack of precision
Another problem is when vocabulary does not communicate an idea precisely
enough. To score a band 8, the speaker must “use vocabulary… to convey precise
meanings.”
What does this really mean?
Compare these two sentences:
I don’t think my secondary school was very good because of the teachers and
facilities there.
I think that my secondary school was quite disappointing, which could be down
to the lack of passionate teachers and high-quality facilities.

A lack of precision
There are a couple of ways we can fix this issue when it comes to defining
things (the area where we need most precision).
First, we can round up all the adjectives we are too dependent on. Here are
some of the most common, though you may have some of your own:
good, nice, lovely, beautiful, bad, funny, interesting, important, fine, boring,
happy, sad, big, small, strong, weak
It’s important to mention that these words are okay! If you worry too much
about paraphrasing, you’ll sound unnatural. However, if we want to be more
precise, we may need to think about explaining further.

A lack of precision
Check out these sentences and consider how you could make them more
precise.
The last holiday I took was to Tenerife. It was nice, we had very good
weather.
My favourite film is probably ‘Titanic’. I think it’s great, it’s very exciting and I
love the characters.
My least favourite subject at school was definitely maths. It was just too
hard. I’m really not very good at maths.

A lack of precision
precise.
The last holiday I took was to Tenerife. It was nice, we had very good
weather.
My favourite film is probably ‘Titanic’. I think it’s great, it’s very exciting and I
love the characters.
My least favourite subject at school was definitely maths. It was just too
hard. I’m really not very good at maths.

A lack of precision
precise.
The last holiday I took was to Tenerife. We had a brilliant time there thanks to
the sun shining down on us all week. I don’t think I saw a single cloud.
My favourite film is probably ‘Titanic’. I think it does a tremendous job of

bringing a real historical story to life, and the characters are so believable.
My least favourite subject at school was definitely maths. I found that subject
really difficult; anything related to logic, algorithms and sums has always been
a struggle for me.

A lack of precision
The second thing we can do is avoid describing things with negations.
The film wasn’t very good.
My home isn’t that big.
The experience wasn’t very interesting.
The shirt wasn’t very expensive.
The holiday isn’t going to be that long.

A lack of precision
The second thing we can do is avoid describing things with negations.
The film was pretty terrible, with lifeless characters and a boring plot.
My home is quite small, though it feels cosy and homely to me.
The experience was really dull; I could barely keep my eyes open.
The shirt was pretty affordable. It was on sale so I got it for a bargain.
The holiday is going to be quite short as we only have time for a city break.

When you don’t know a word
Forgetting or not knowing a word is a common occurrence in the
Speaking test.
If this happens, don’t panic! As long as you can accurately, naturally and
fluently communicate this problem, you can still save your marks.
“When I was younger, I used to do a sport called hockey, which involves

two teams with hockey sticks trying to put a, a, … I’m sorry, the word
seems to have escaped me / sorry, I seem to have forgotten the
word …, but it involves putting a flat, round, black object into the
opposing team’s net by hitting the object with their hockey sticks”.

Lecture 11
Common
Grammar Errors
Avoiding grammar mistakes in Part 2 -

Grammatical Accuracy
In the last grammar section, we looked at the importance of responding
to the questions in Part 1 in an appropriate tense.
We also looked at the potential for bringing in a variety of tenses to our

answers.
Both of these points also apply to Part 2.
Accuracy is important from the moment you open your mouth to speak!
Make sure you give the examiner a good first impression…

Getting Started
One area you really shouldn’t be messing up is your introduction.
Do NOT try to start with some fancily-worded, complicated opening line.

Keep things simple and accurate. Steady your nerves with a
grammatically solid introduction.
Two options:
I’m going to talk about …
I’d like to talk about …

Getting Started
I’m going to talk about my dog …
I’d like to talk about my holiday to Spain …
I’m going to talk about my best friend …
I’d like to talk about a competition I took part in last year …
I’m going to talk about my first job …
I’d like to talk about my favourite book …

Now add a relative clause
I’m going to talk about my dog, whose name is Ellie.
I’d like to talk about my holiday to Spain, which we took last April.
I’m going to talk about my best friend, whose name is Jack.
I’d like to talk about a competition I took part in last year, which was for all
the math majors at my university.
I’m going to talk about my first job, which was as a retail assistant.
I’d like to talk about my favourite book, which is called ‘Great Expectations’
and was written by Charles Dickens.

Now add a relative clause
Name
I’m going to talk about my dog, whose name is Ellie.
I’d like to talk about my holiday to Spain, which we took last April.
Name
I’m going to talk about my best friend, whose name is Jack.
I’d like to talk about a competition I took part in last year, which was for all
the math majors at my university.
I’m going to talk about my first job, which was as a retail assistant.
Name
I’d like to talk about my favourite book, which is called ‘Great Expectations’
and was written by Charles Dickens.

Tense mistakes
Probably the most common mistake made in Part 2 is using the wrong tense
when speaking. This is most apparent when we need to move away from
the present. Check out this talk and see if you can find any tense mistakes.
Describe a sport you used to do.
You should say:

when and where you did it
how often you did this sport
who you did this sport with
and explain what you liked and/or
disliked about this sport.

Tense mistakes
I’m going to talk about football, which is a sport I used to play around ten years ago.
In fact, I still play it now when I have the opportunity, but not competitively. As a kid, I play football all
the time. I was part of a local football team, and every Saturday we go to the sports centre to
compete with kids from other local teams.
It was just once a week we play football, but I wish it was more. I used to look forward to the games
every week. I still sometimes think about joining a competitive team as an adult.
My teammates were all my friends, and we all get along well. Sometimes there were fights and
arguments, but these are rare. I remember our last game together; I score an own goal and my
friends were so angry, but then I score at the right end and all that anger disappear!
I guess I liked football so much because I have quite a competitive spirit, I’ve always had a lot of
drive to win. Football gives me the chance to tap into that drive, it gives me a huge adrenaline rush.

Tense mistakes
In fact, I still play it now when I have the opportunity, but not competitively. As a kid, I play football all
the time. I was part of a local football team, and every Saturday we go to the sports centre to
It was just once a week we play football, but I wish it was more. I used to look forward to the games
every week. I still sometimes think about joining a competitive team as an adult.
My teammates were all my friends, and we all get along well. Sometimes there were fights and
arguments, but these are rare. I remember our last game together; I score an own goal and my
friends were so angry, but then I score at the right end and all that anger disappears!
drive to win. Football gives me the chance to tap into that drive, it gives me a huge adrenaline rush.

Tense mistakes
In fact, I still play it now when I have the opportunity, but not competitively. As a kid, I played football
all the time. I was part of a local football team, and every Saturday we went to the sports centre to
It was just once a week we played football, but I wish it was more. I used to look forward to the
games every week. I still sometimes think about joining a competitive team as an adult.
My teammates were all my friends, and we all got along well. Sometimes there were fights and
arguments, but these were rare. I remember our last game together; I scored an own goal and my
friends were so angry, but then I scored at the right end and all that anger disappeared!
drive to win. Football gave me the chance to tap into that drive, it gave me a huge adrenaline rush.

Tense range
In fact, I still play it now when I have the opportunity, but not competitively. As a kid, I played football all the
time. I was part of a local football team, and every Saturday we went to the sports centre to compete with
kids from other local teams. I’d been playing for six years by the time I stopped.
It was just once a week we played football, but I wish it was more. I used to look forward to the games
every week. I still sometimes think about joining a competitive team as an adult. I think I probably will
someday.
My teammates were all my friends, and we all got along well. Sometimes there were fights and arguments,
but these were rare. I remember our last game together; I scored an own goal when I was panicking and
my friends were so angry, but then I scored at the right end and all that anger disappeared!
I guess I liked football so much because I have quite a competitive spirit, I’ve always had a lot of drive to
win. Football gave me the chance to tap into that drive, it gave me a huge adrenaline rush.

Article Errors
There are a number of rules behind articles, more than can be covered quickly here. However, here are the
rules behind the most common mistakes I hear in the speaking test:
Definite article (‘the’)
We use this article when we believe the listener knows exactly to whom or what we are referring.
• with superlative adjectives: The best film I have ever seen is The Godfather.
• when mentioning something again. When I was younger, we went to a park near our house everyday. The
park was so great because …
• when talking about inventions (countable nouns only) : The steam engine was a major turning point.
• when talking about groups of people: the elderly, the poor, the privileged, the super-rich.
• when the first noun in ‘[noun] of [noun]’ is specific: the distribution of wealth is quite imbalanced these days.

Article Errors
Indefinite article (‘a/an’)
We use this article with singular countable nouns
• when the listener does not know exactly to whom or what we are referring:
• When showing someone/something is part of a group: There is a reason why teachers encourage their
students with prizes (one reason out of several).
• When we want to say something about all things of that kind: A student cannot be expected to be well-
behaved all the time (not a specific student).
• We do not use articles when referring to plurals or uncountable nouns: There are many reasons why … /
Information on the internet can sometimes be unreliable…
• When the first noun in ‘[noun] of [noun]’ is NOT specific: I drink a cup of tea every morning (a different cup of
tea each time).

Countable/Uncountable Nouns
So, indefinite articles apply to non-specific countable nouns, but should
never be used with uncountable nouns.
However, it can be difficult know which nouns are countable and which
nouns are uncountable. Most mistakes here apply to uncountable nouns
being treated like countable nouns.
Here follows a list of the most commonly confused uncountable nouns.
Are you guilty of making these errors?

Advice
Uncountable noun. Always.
My dad gave me some great advice when I was younger.
Her advice was awful.
The man is good at giving advice.
We can use the noun ‘piece’ to turn this into a countable form via a ‘[noun] of [noun]’ unit:
When I was young, my dad gave me two pieces of advice which I’ve never forgotten.
Only use this when you are giving a specific number. It sounds unnatural to say He gave me lots of
pieces of advice.

Training
Uncountable noun. Most of the time.
I had to go through a lot of training to get my job.
We need to attend training most afternoons in my office.
Training is an essential part of any job.
We can use the noun ‘course’ to turn this into a countable form via a compound noun:
We have to attend two training courses every month.
Technically, ‘training’ (when referred to in ‘course’ form) is a countable noun. But it is very rare to see it
spoken of this way. The examiner may raise his eyebrows at We have to go to two trainings per month.

Research
Uncountable noun. Always.
My university course requires me to do a lot of research.
Research is an essential part of being an academic.
According to research from Oxford University, … .
We can use the noun ‘piece’ to turn this into a countable form via a ‘[noun] of [noun]’ unit:
Every piece of research I do brings me closer to finally qualifying for my PhD.
You may have done a lot of work on your university course, but I can assure you that you did not do
any researches.

News
Uncountable. Always. (Try to forget about the ’s’ when considering the grammar.)
The news is nothing but negative these days.
You know the saying: no news is good news.
Most people get their news from the internet now; I think many people have stopped watching the news on
TV.
We can use the noun ‘piece’ to turn this into a countable form via a compound noun or a ‘[noun] of [noun]’ unit:
I want to share two pieces of news with you. ///// I read a news piece yesterday which was very interesting.
The first option mostly applies to information related to our lives, whereas the second option above is used mostly
in terms of ‘the news’ (in journalism).

News
Uncountable. Always. (Try to forget about the ’s’ when considering the grammar.)
The news is nothing but negative these days.
You know the saying: no news is good news.
Most people get their news from the internet now; I think many people have stopped watching the news on
TV.
We can use the noun ‘piece’ to turn this into a countable form via a compound noun or a ‘[noun] of [noun]’ unit:
I want to share two pieces of news with you. ///// I read a news piece yesterday which was very interesting.
The first option mostly applies to information related to our lives, whereas the second option above is used mostly
in terms of ‘the news’ (in journalism).

Find the errors
Describe a writer you would like to meet.
You should say:

who the writer is
what you know about this writer already
what you would like to find out about
him/her
and explain why you would like to meet this
writer.

Find the errors
I’m going to talk about Stephen King, who is the writer of horror books and is one of my
favourite authors.
I knew a few things about Stephen King already. Firstly, I know he came from a very
humble beginnings. He grows up quite poor and his dad left home when he is a kid. He
wrote prolifically until a time of his breakthrough short story, Carrie, which is written in his
trailer on an old typewriter.
If I can meet Stephen King, I’d ask him how he comes up with the new ideas after all this
time. He must have wrote over fifty books by now. That takes a lot of commitment to
works, and probably a lot of researches. I’d also ask him what is his favourite book.
I guessed I’d like to meet Stephen King because he seems like the kind of guy you could
learn a lot from. I think he’d have a lot of good advices after all that life experience.

Find the errors
I’m going to talk about Stephen King, who is the writer of horror books and is one of my
favourite authors.
I knew a few things about Stephen King already. Firstly, I know he came from a very
humble beginnings. He grows up quite poor and his dad left home when he is a kid. He
wrote prolifically until a time of his breakthrough short story, Carrie, which is written in his
trailer on an old typewriter.
If I can meet Stephen King, I’d ask him how he comes up with the new ideas after all this
time. He must have wrote over fifty books by now. That takes a lot of commitment to
works, and probably a lot of researches. I’d also ask him what is his favourite book.

Find the errors
I’m going to talk about Stephen King, who is a writer of horror books and is one of my
favourite authors.
I know a few things about Stephen King already. Firstly, I know he came from a very
humble beginnings. He grew up quite poor and his dad left home when he was a kid. He
wrote prolifically until the time of his breakthrough short story, Carrie, which was written in
his trailer on an old typewriter.
If I could meet Stephen King, I’d ask him how he comes up with the new ideas after all this
time. He must have written over fifty books by now. That takes a lot of commitment to
works, and probably a lot of researches. I’d also ask him what is his favourite book is.

Lecture 12
Syllable
Stress
Natural stress in individual words -
Pronunciation

What is syllable stress?
First off, what are syllables?
Place your left hand in front of you, and with the second and third fingers of
your right hand, tap out a beat on your left hand. Tap, tap, tap.
Now, say the word: pedestrianisation. Tap your right fingers for every ‘beat’
you can hear.
Peh-des-tree-un-eye-zay-shun. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7.
Each one of these beats is a syllable. And one (sometimes two) of these
syllables are ‘stressed’ more than others.

What is syllable stress?
Let’s pick out a shorter word.
Banana.
Now, what happens if we pronounce it like this?
BA-nana.
Or how about
Bana-NA.
Sounds strange, right? This is the essence of syllable stress. It is the first ‘NAR’ and
second syllable in banana.

Why syllable stress is important
See if you can make sense of these sentences:
1. a) I cah’reed the wuh’tehr to the puh’tee of eluv’en peh’pell.

b) I carried the water to the party of eleven people.
2. a) I am absolutely convinced that all children should learn guitar.

b) I am absolutely convinced that all children should learn guitar.
We firstly need correct syllable stress to help people understand us!

Why syllable stress is important
The second reason syllable stress is important is that incorrect stress can actually
change a word’s meaning and/or class. This is true of homographs (words spelt the
same but with different pronunciations and meanings).
Let’s look at an example:
I have to contest whether this beauty contest is necessary.
Where is the stress in ‘contest’? Remember, there are two uses here.
I have to contest whether this beauty contest is necessary.
Nouns tend to place their stress on the first syllable, whereas verbs tend to place their
stress on the second syllable.

More patterns in syllable stress
Stress pattern is a huge area in English, too large for us to fully cover here. However,
there are a few more common patterns for us to look at.
Suffixes with stress on suffix itself
Some suffixes are always stressed as the final syllable in a word:
engineer, mountaineer, auctioneer, profiteer, pioneer, puppeteer
Portuguese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Viennese, Lebanese
refugee, employee, addressee, guarantee, referee, absentee, devotee
cigarette, etiquette, brunette, bachelorette, Smurfette

Patterns in syllable stress
Suffixes with stress before the suffix itself
Here, the stress falls on the syllable before the suffix.
decision, application, recommendation, expansion, implementation, cohesion, station
simplicity, audacity, immunity, modernity, divinity, actuality, urbanity, intrepidity, sanctity
extensive, massive, inventive, creative, expressive, explosive, inexpensive, conclusive
biology, physiology, astrology, analogy, archeology, genealogy, ideology, eulogy
fantastic, animalistic, sarcastic, journalistic, egotistic, hedonistic, optimistic, pessimistic,

enthusiastic

Patterns in syllable stress
Stress with compound nouns
If the first part of a compound noun operates like a noun, stress the first word:
suitcase, typewriter, tea cup, headphones, water bottle, dog lead, armchair,
sunlight, beauty contest, air conditioning, handshake, pocket watch
If the first part of a compound noun operates like an adjective, stress the
second word:
black market, young learner, full moon, mobile phone (both), heavy heart, bad
blood, good tidings, old fogey, spare change, soft touch, blank space

Exceptions!
Unfortunately, there are quite a few exceptions to all of these patterns.
There are verb/noun homonyms where the verb stresses the first syllable (process, benefit, figure).
There are verb/noun homonyms where the noun stresses the second syllable (dissent, concern).
There are compound nouns which start with adjectives and yet the stress will be on the first
syllable (loudspeaker, blackboard).
There are compound nouns which start with nouns and yet the stress is on the second syllable
(worldwide, world leader).
Don’t stress (pun intended)! Try to notice and record these exceptions when they appear in your
everyday listening. It’s okay to mess up a bit on exam day!

Practice
Record yourself saying these sentences, and then play this video to check how accurate you
were.
1. I would object to the view that people are more productive with headphones on.
2. Personally, I feel those who benefit most from simplicity in education are young learners.
3. I suspect that world leaders have concerns about the increase of global warming.
4. The president’s egoistic exploits have gained him worldwide attention in journalistic circles.
5. Many people protested the validity and acceptability of the protests against refugees.
6. In order to decrease cancer rates, there needs to be a decrease in cigarette sales.

Section 4: Part 3 - The Discussion
Lecture 13
Discourse Markers
and Listing
Creating a sense of ‘progression’ when speaking-

How to create ‘fluency’
Fluency is about flow. It’s about smooth transitions between ideas. It’s
about the examiner being able to follow you without any effort.
How can we improve our ability to create fluency?
By using discourse markers.
We use discourse markers to connect, organise and manage what we say

and what attitude we want to convey.
Let’s have a look at which discourse markers will be most helpful for our
purposes in IELTS Speaking.

An example
Have a look at this answer to a Part 3 question and consider how easy it is to
follow and how natural it sounds.
Do you agree that there is a right age for children to stop living with their
parents? Why is that?
I do agree with that. Children eventually get to an age where they need to live
independently. Then they can reach their goals. Many of my achievements in life
have been possible because I moved out of home once I reached adulthood.
Children who don’t move out once they reach adulthood are setting themselves
up to be overly reliant on their parents. Anxiety and entitlement follows. They
shouldn’t be pushed out as this can harm their development.

An example
Have a look at this answer to a Part 3 question and consider how easy it is to follow
and how natural it sounds.
Do you agree that there is a right age for children to stop living with their parents? Why
is that?
Well yes, I do agree with that. The way I see it, children eventually get to an age
where they need to live independently because then they can reach their goals. In
fact, many of my achievements in life have been possible because I moved out of
home once I reached adulthood. Children who don’t move out once they reach
adulthood, in contrast, are setting themselves up to be overly reliant on their parents.
After that, anxiety and entitlement follows. They shouldn’t be pushed out, though, as
this can harm their development.

Do and Don’t…
You can see that discourse markers are not that tricky. In fact, they’re very simple to use. That’s the
point. They make language easy to follow.
DO: Notice how native speakers use discourse markers, and notice how often they use them.
Remember your daily listening practice!
DO: Use discourse markers to link ideas together that may be difficult to follow without them.
DON’T: Overuse this language. Well, I mean, if I think about it, it’s like, um, you know, really, yeah,
well, I suppose education should finish at 18.
DON’T: Be too repetitive in the locations of your discourse markers. You aren’t restricted to just using
DMs at the beginnings of sentences. Some can be used in the middle or even at the end of your
sentences: We need to tackle economic disparity, I feel. We can’t do it unless everybody is on board,
though.

Listing
Much of the time, answers in Part 3 are scattered, disorganised and full of
errors due to the exhaustion of the candidates. Discourse markers help us
to present organisation, but do not exactly do the organising.
Using a strategy which is easy to follow can help to fix this. ‘Listing’ is one
such strategy, and it also takes advantage of DMs. And it’s as easy as …
1.
2.
3.

Listing
1. Start with an introduction to your list, using the language from the
question to help you.
What skills and abilities do people most want to have today?
There are a couple of skills which people most want to have today.
There are a number of skills which are sought after by people

nowadays.
There are a number of abilities which people really want these days.

Listing
2. Introduce your first idea, preceded by a ‘listing’ discourse marker (e.g.
firstly; first of all; to begin with; first and foremost).
First of all, programming skills are in very high demand in our

current world.
Firstly, one of the most sought after skills today is programming.
To begin with, programming skills are hugely popular nowadays.

Listing
3. Support your idea with an explanation, example, result or alternative
sentence.
This is probably because so much of what we do is online these days.
For example, almost everyone in the modern world uses the internet.
This skill underwent a huge surge in popularity with the spread of the
internet.

Listing
Now repeat steps 2 and 3 with a second (and potentially third) point.
Remember to change the ‘listing’ discourse marker!
Secondly, many people today want to learn marketing skills.
This might be due to the marketing world being unaffected by the

growth of the internet, unlike other industries.
Finally, many people would like the ability to play a music instrument,
though this is likely due to leisure rather than professional reasons.

An example
Try your own ‘listing’ answer, complete with discourse markers, to this question.
How do you think children can be encouraged to read more?
Personally, I can think of a number of ways that children can be encouraged

to read more. First and foremost, we need to challenge the idea of reading
being boring. We can do this by letting them read the books they want to
read, rather than the ones we want them to. Second, we can reward them
for reading. Kids could be given a little more pocket money, for instance, if
they meet a monthly reading target. Lastly, we can take advantage of the
numerous mediums we have available for reading. Don’t restrict kids to
paper books, but let them use, say, iPads, Kindles and their phones too.

An example
Try your own ‘listing’ answer, complete with discourse markers, to this question.
How do you think children can be encouraged to read more?
Personally, I can think of a number of ways that children can be encouraged

to read more. First and foremost, we need to challenge the idea of reading
being boring. We can do this by letting them read the books they want to
read, rather than the ones we want them to. Second, we can reward them
for reading. Kids could be given a little more pocket money, for instance, if
they meet a monthly reading target. Lastly, we can take advantage of the
numerous mediums we have available for reading. Don’t restrict kids to
paper books, but let them use, say, iPads, Kindles and their phones too.

Lecture 14
The Art of Using

Idioms
Becoming a ‘natural’ in vocabulary -
Lexical Resource

A look at the band descriptors
A few of my students have told me that previous teachers had told them not to
use idioms.
There is a good reason for this, which we look at in a moment.
However, whenever uncertainty arises, it’s best to look at the band descriptors.
In order to score a band 7 for Lexical Resource, a candidate must:
“use some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and show some awareness
of style and collocation”
As we can see, using idioms is an essential part of achieving a 7+ band score.

The dangers of idioms
So why are some teachers so worried about their students using idioms
in the IELTS exam?
Two reasons:
1. Inaccuracy.
2. Shoehorning.

The dangers of idioms
So why are some teachers so worried about their students using idioms
in the IELTS exam?
Two reasons:
1. Inaccuracy. Solution: don’t use long idioms!
2. Shoehorning. Solution: don’t try to anticipate!
With idioms, keep everything as simple and natural as you can.

Don’t use long idioms
What happens when we try to use longer idioms?
Take the following:
Don’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched.
This idiom is used to express the idea that you shouldn’t make plans for something
that hasn’t happened yet. Quite useful. But the longer the idiom, the more
chance there is of an inaccuracy.
“Don’t count your eggs before the chickens have hatched… I mean, don’t count
your chickens before hatching your eggs…, umm, uhhh… chickens.. eggs… uhh…”

Don’t try to anticipate
What we mean here is that you shouldn’t learn idioms with the express purpose of using it in the
exam. You shouldn’t try to anticipate opportunities to use your idioms. They should appear
naturally.
What happens if we anticipate too much? Say I learnt the idiom ‘piece of cake’, which means a
job or activity that is easy to do. If I learn this idiom with the express purpose of using it in the
exam, this is what can happen:
How does technology help you in your daily life?
Oh, technology makes my life a piece of cake // With technology, everything I do is a piece of
cake // Daily life is a piece of cake with technology.
This makes sense, but it is not natural. You need to particularly watch your pronunciation here;
don’t overemphasise.

Using idioms in the exam
So how should we use idioms in the exam?
Sparingly and judiciously.
You really only need to use two or three idioms over the course of the whole
speaking exam. Anything more than that can sound forced.
As for when to use them, listen to other native / near-native speakers.
Watch movies. Watch TV shows. Listen to the radio. Listen to podcasts. Listen
to audiobooks. Do all these things with a notepad, and mark down every idiom
you hear. Notice the pronunciation and repeat the whole sentence.

Some useful idioms
With that in mind, it’s hard to tell you how to use idioms…
There’s not much point in sharing examples, because you shouldn’t force
any idioms in, and examples may encourage you to do so.
However, here are a few idioms which I feel can be used quite easily/
naturally and which express quite common feelings.
Please note that you need to see/hear a number of examples of these

idioms in context, rather than just the examples I show you.
Go out and try to find your own favourites! And remember, keep them short!

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds
- a blessing in disguise
- a far cry from
- open one’s eyes to
- the last straw
- miss the boat
- on the fence

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: the advantages of both situations.
- a blessing in disguise Example: Do you think that reading novels is more

interesting than reading factual books?
- a far cry from
Personally, I love reading both fiction and non-fiction.
When reading novels, I get to immerse myself in
- the last straw another world and it’s nice to have that sort of
escapism, but with non-fiction I feel like I’m
- miss the boat broadening my horizons and the experience is quite
nourishing. Neither is more interesting; reading fiction
- on the fence and non-fiction gives me the best of both worlds.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: an apparent problem that has good results.
- a blessing in disguise Example: Do you agree there is a right age for

children to stop living with their parents?
- a far cry from
Yes, I’d say so. I don’t think children should rely on
their parents to house them forever, and they need to
- the last straw learn to stand on their own two feet. If they don’t,
they could really struggle to form their own
- miss the boat independence. I can remember when I left home; it
was difficult at first, but that difficult time was a
- on the fence blessing in disguise as I became stronger as a result.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: very different to…
- a blessing in disguise Example: Which source of news do you think is best:

TV, newspaper, internet, or something else?
- a far cry from
Well, I’d say the best source of news is probably TV
news, but it’s not my preferred choice. I get most of
- the last straw my news updates from the internet, but that’s only
because it’s the most convenient. I think TV news is
- miss the boat better because it is much more accurate; anyone can
write an article on the internet, which is a far cry from
- on the fence the strict media regulations of TV.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: cause someone to realise something…
- a blessing in disguise Example: Why do you think some people are not
concerned by environmental issues?
- a far cry from
I think this happens for a couple a reasons. Firstly,
many people might feel they are too small to make a
- the last straw difference. They might think their carbon footprint is
not going to make a dent in global warming overall.
- miss the boat Secondly, the environment is too large a subject to
comprehend. Only local change will open some
- on the fence people’s eyes to the dangers of climate change.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: the final problem that ends one’s patience.
- a blessing in disguise Example: What reasons might people have for not
wanting to give their opinions in surveys?
- a far cry from
Speaking from experience, I can think of one
important reason. Sometimes, telephone companies
- the last straw call you up and ask you to take part in a survey, and
that’s okay. But once is enough. I got called four times
- miss the boat by the same company last week, and the fifth was the
final straw. I blacklisted their number after that. Also,
- on the fence some people are just quite private about their views.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: too slow to make use of an opportunity.
- a blessing in disguise Example: What are the advantages and

disadvantages of intensive training for sports people?
- a far cry from
On the one hand, intensive training can help sports
people to achieve their sporting dreams at huge
- the last straw events. If Usain Bolt hadn’t trained intensively week in,
week out, he might have missed the boat on the
- miss the boat Olympics. On the other hand, intensive training forces
athletes to miss out on time with family and friends,
- on the fence and the psychological pressure can be a burden.

Some useful idioms
- the best of both worlds Meaning: to be unable to decide on something.
- a blessing in disguise Example: Some people think national celebrations are

a waste of money. Do you agree? Why?
- a far cry from
I’m on the fence on this one. On the one hand, I feel
like these celebrations are important in that they help
- the last straw to develop a sense of unity and togetherness among
citizens. But on the other hand, this money might be
- miss the boat much better spent on helping the poor and improving
the quality of our education. I guess we should still
- on the fence have these events, but not spend so much on them.

Final points
• Study idioms by the topic. Collocations
• Don’t use idioms which are very long. Collocations are another
important feature of your
• Don’t over-anticipate. vocabulary. To learn about
collocations, you can
• Check idioms in a number of settings. watch the video I created
for this topic in my
• Practice with a native. Mastering IELTS Writing
Task 2 course. It’s free!
• Don’t use too many idioms in the exam.

Lecture 15
Complex
Sentences
Boosting your grammatical range -

Why complex is crucial
To remind ourselves of the band descriptors, here is what we need to do
to achieve a band 7 in Grammatical Range and Accuracy:
“use a range of complex structures with some flexibility.”
Complex sentences are a vital component of achieving a band 7 or above

in IELTS Speaking.
Part 3 is the best part of the test for you to show your ability in this area.
Let’s look at how.

Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are the ‘linking’ words that join up a dependent
clause to an independent clause in a complex sentence.
Independent clause: All children should learn to play an instrument.
Dependent clause: Although they shouldn’t be pressured too much into

doing so.
Subordinating conjunction: Although
Although they shouldn’t be pressured too much into doing so, all children
should learn to play a musical instrument.

Subordinating conjunctions are so important to us because they are key to
consistently offering complex sentences.
Look at the following sentences:
People should care more about the environment. The polar ice caps are
melting and the planet is warming up. This will lead to serious consequences.
Because the polar ice caps are melting and the planet is warming up,
people should care more about the environment. If they don’t start taking the
environment seriously, there will be serious consequences.

The trick here is to start one sentence in your answer with one of these conjunctions. The rest
should follow naturally; don’t overthink it.
Do you think it’s possible to be too competitive in sport? In what way?
Yes, I think it’s possible.
Even though being competitive can give you an edge over your opponents, winning isn’t
everything and you can become too obsessed with victory.
Whereas some athletes do whatever it takes to win and end up taking steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs, the best athletes understand that there is more to life.
As long as athletes remember that sport is just sport and that it’s supposed to be fun, they can
stay competitive in a safe and healthy way and there should be no risk involved.

The trick here is to start one sentence in your answer with one of these conjunctions. The rest
should follow naturally; don’t overthink it.
Do you think it’s possible to be too competitive in sport? In what way?
Yes, I think it’s possible.
Even though being competitive can give you an edge over your opponents, winning isn’t
everything and you can become too obsessed with victory.
Whereas some athletes do whatever it takes to win and end up taking steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs, the best athletes understand that there is more to life.
As long as athletes remember that sport is just sport and that it’s supposed to be fun, they can
stay competitive in a safe and healthy way and there should be no risk involved.

Conditional sentences
A great way to boost your grammatical range while developing your answer at
the same time is to use ‘if/then’ sentences. These are conditionals.
The zero conditional expresses what always/regularly happens when a

particular action or event takes place.
If it is sunny at the weekend, I go biking. (‘present simple’ + ‘present simple’)
The first conditional expresses what is likely to happen as a result of an event.
If we don’t learn from the past, we will suffer in the future. (‘present simple’ +
‘will (not) + inf.’)

Conditional sentences
The second conditional is used to talk about the results of impossible,
imaginary or unlikely events in the present or future.
If the country closed its borders to tourists, the economy would not
survive. (‘past simple’ + ‘would (not) + inf.’)
The third conditional is used to talk about an imaginary result of a

situation in the past which did not happen.
If I had learnt another language as a kid, I would have travelled a lot more
than I have. (‘past perfect’ + ‘would (not) + have + past participle’)

Using conditionals in answers
Some people say that parents should encourage their children to be
competitive at all times. Do you agree with this? Why?
- Personally, I don’t agree with this. Encouraging children to be

competitive all the time may lead them to believe that winning is the only
important thing in life. If, instead, parents teach their children the value of
hard work and learning from one’s mistakes, then their children will still
work just as hard but will not lose self-esteem when facing failure.
FIRST CONDITIONAL


important thing in life. If, instead, parents taught their children the value of
hard work and learning from one’s mistakes, then their children would still
work just as hard but would not lose self-esteem when facing failure.
SECOND CONDITIONAL


important thing in life. If, instead, parents taught their children the value of
hard work and learning from one’s mistakes, then their children would still
work just as hard but would not lose self-esteem when facing failure.
SECOND CONDITIONAL

Do you think it is better to buy or to rent a place to live in? Why?
Without a doubt, it’s better to buy a place to live in because, in the long
run, even with a mortgage, it’s so much cheaper. However, the problem is
that you need to have a lot of money to begin with, which most people
don’t have. In my case, if I had bought a house instead of rented, I would
have been able to save enough money to make home improvements. As
it is, I have to leave a lot of things unfixed.
THIRD CONDITIONAL

Lecture 16
Intonation and
Sentence Stress
How tone can change what we mean -
Pronunciation

How pronunciation changes meaning
Have a look at the following sentences and read them out loud, stressing the bold
and underlined words.
I don’t think there’s anything individuals can do about climate change…

… but I haven’t researched it enough to know.


… but others might disagree.


… but I haven’t researched it enough to know.


… we just have to accept that there’s nothing we can do.


… but organisations can have a huge impact on the environment.


… but that doesn’t mean people should neglect other aspects of the world.

Commonly stressed word classes
Where you place the stress in your sentence is important. The most
heavily stressed word or words will signify the purpose of your sentence.
There is no right or wrong word to stress; it really depends on your

meaning. However, it is rare to hear certain types of word stressed, so
make sure you really need to stress these before doing so:
prepositions / articles / pronouns / conjunctions / modal verbs
Most sentences will stress these types of words instead:
verbs / nouns / adjectives / adverbs

How intonation differs from stress
Many people confusion intonation and stress, but, while similar, they are
not the same thing.
Intonation refers to the pitch of your voice as you pronounce a word or

sentence. Think about the way we ask questions versus the way we
make statements.
Is this the way to the train station?
It’s this way to the train station.

Intonation in IELTS Speaking
Although we are unlikely to be asking any questions in our exam (that’s the examiner’s
job!), it’s still important to intonate in a natural way in order to secure a high
pronunciation score.
There are a number of different tones that can help us to differentiate meaning when we
intonate. Here are the most important for us:
- Down tone
- Across-up tone
- Down-up tone
- Up-down tone

Down tone
We use this rhythm in our voice to indicate we are giving information. This
will likely be the most common tone you use.
The most important thing is that children get a good education.
One of the main reasons why we need more sports facilities is that this
will improve public health.
For example, last week I was asked for my opinion in a questionnaire

about local business.

Across-up tone
We use this rhythm in our voice to indicate we are reeling off items on a list.
This is useful when using multiple adjectives or giving multiple quick
reasons for something.
In my opinion, this was a cruel, thoughtless and irredeemably awful

decision.
Teaching children to play a musical instrument is important because it

improves cognition, increases hand-eye coordination, and develops their
appreciation for the arts.

Down-up tone
We use this rhythm in our voice to indicate we have reservations. This is a
really useful tone when we want to go in a different direction in our answer,
such as when using the words ‘However’ or ‘Nevertheless’, or following a
dependent clause with a contrasting independent clause.
I feel that it’s a good thing for countries to focus on their tourism industries.
Nevertheless, they need to be careful to prioritise their own citizens ahead
of tourists coming from other countries.
Despite the importance of a decent income when it comes to quality of life,

people need to also remember that there are some things money can’t buy.

Up-down tone
We use this rhythm in our voice to express a lot of emotion. This comes in
very useful when we want to emphasise a particular point, suggesting we
feel very strongly about it.
Personally, I’m really against those who argue that art should be removed
from high school curriculums.
It is of critical importance that we learn how to curtail our use of credit

cards. We must destroy our dependence on plastic.
Payday loans are, by some distance, the worst thing to happen to

responsible spending in this country for years.

Model answer
Try to notice the stressed (and unstressed!) words in this answer, as well as the
different types of intonation used. Can you identify all of them?
Some people say that food in an expensive restaurant is always better than food in
a cheap restaurant - would you agree?
Absolutely not, no. In fact, some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has come from
what you might call ‘cheap’ restaurants, usually smallish mom-and-pop eateries
where the food all has that home-cooked feel and there’s nothing fancy about it.
Having said that, I must admit that I’ve rarely had bad food at an expensive
restaurant, but I’ve had a few unpleasant experiences at cheaper ones. But if you’re
careful and use your instinct wisely, you can get delicious, warm, high-quality food
at very low prices and in very large portions.

Model answer
Try to notice the stressed (and unstressed!) words in this answer, as well as the
different types of intonation used. Can you identify all of them?
Some people say that food in an expensive restaurant is always better than food in
a cheap restaurant - would you agree?
Absolutely not, no. In fact, some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has come
from what you might call ‘cheap’ restaurants, usually smallish mom-and-pop
eateries where the food all has that home-cooked feel and there’s nothing
fancy about it. Having said that, I must admit that I’ve rarely had bad food at an
expensive restaurant, but I’ve had a few unpleasant experiences at cheaper
ones. But if you’re careful and use your instinct wisely, you can get delicious,
warm, high-quality food at very low prices and in very large portions.

Section 5: Conclusion
Lecture 17
Handing Anxiety
in IELTS
How to manage the nervous feelings that can
damage your IELTS Speaking score.

A universal problem
Almost everybody experiences nerves. The first thing to recognise is that
you are not alone, no matter how many times you’ve taken the exam.
Anxiety is normal. Thinking otherwise only makes it worse.
Our problem is that anxiety can also have an impact on our speaking
performance. It can slow us down, speed us up, make us stumble over
our words, or make all our words disappear.
This just doesn’t happen to us when we’re relaxed! So how can we get to
this relaxed place?

How to manage nerves
Anxiety is about mindset. It’s about a perceived threat. We need to change
this mindset, making the brain and body see no threat. How?
• Preparation
• Breathing exercises
• Perception - friendly chat
• One thing at a time
• Recognise your anxiety - feet on the ground

Use your anxiety to improve your score
One common result of anxiety is that it causes us to forget our words, and sometimes even
forget the question. In this case, we can actually use idioms to express our anxiety, thus
demonstrating another layer to our English command.
If you feel this kind of anxiety when answering, instead of stalling for time and using umm and
uhh, try these idioms:
(Before starting) “I’m sorry, can you give me a moment? My mind just went blank.”
(Forgetting a word) “One moment, it’s on the tip of my tongue.”
(Forgetting the question) “Could I please have the question again? My mind went offline for a
moment there.”
(In a Part 2 segment) “Sorry, I’ll just start that bit again, I just lost my train of thought.”

Lecture 18
Getting Guidance
in Speaking
How and where to find help with your IELTS
speaking to unlock your full potential

Why you need guidance
Practicing alone is better that not practicing at all, but the benefits of getting guidance are important:
• Error correction
• Fluency practice
• Pronunciation help
• Consistency
• Encouragement
• New vocabulary
• More fun!

Guidance options
There are a number of options for those who wish to get guidance in their
speaking preparation.
• Language exchange sites
• Language exchange apps
• Study buddies
• Native speakers
• Professional IELTS Tutors

Professional IELTS Tutors
For those who wish to have the best preparation possible, it is my firm belief
that a professional tutor is the way to go.
There are a number of IELTS teachers online at sites like www.italki.com,

www.cafetalk.com, www.verbling.com and more.
However, there are not many sites which only offer IELTS lessons. Not
General English, not Business English, not TOEFL. Just IELTS.
www.theieltsteacher.com is one such site. Everything you have learnt about

in this course has come from my experience exclusively teaching IELTS
over the last few years.

Professional IELTS Tutors
The IELTS Teacher now contains a number of hugely experienced, highly
qualified and super-friendly teachers.
All teachers on The IELTS Teacher have been selected based on their deep
understanding of IELTS and their unrivalled knowledge about what it takes to
succeed in the exam. We don’t do big business contracts; we focus exclusively on
personal 1-on-1 lessons with people like you!
These teachers pride themselves on their fun, engaging and interactive speaking
lessons. These lessons will analyse your weaknesses in speaking, targeting these
areas and turning them into strengths.
Get in touch today for a free 20-minute demo lesson at www.theieltsteacher.com!

Lecture 19
Secrets to Success
in Speaking
4 tips and techniques that can boost your score in
IELTS Speaking

Secret #1: Slow down!
People who speak really fast can be very difficult to understand, regardless
of whether the speaker and/or the listener is a native.
In the exam, speaking very quickly is not going to improve your score. It is
more likely to damage it.
Compare the first sentence I read to this sentence I’m reading now. Which
sentence would the examiner be more likely to understand?
Increasing speed doesn’t just happen to those who are taught to do so. It
also happens to those who are anxious. If you notice yourself speaking more
quickly as a result of nerves, take a deep breath and bring the pace down.

Secret #2: Body paragraphs
We’ve already discussed the strategy of ‘listing’ that you can use in Part 3
answers to develop your idea.
‘Listing’ is also a way of developing an initial idea when writing a body paragraph
in a writing task 2 essay. Try to treat your Part 3 answers like body paragraphs.
Think about all the other ways you can develop an idea in a body paragraph in
the essay (e.g. idea->support->example->alternative->result.)
Considering your Part 3 speaking answers in the same way will give you a clear
sense of organisation in your answers, a great opportunity to use discourse
markers, and lots of room for developing the original idea.

Secret #3: Avoid trousers and shoes
If you have to answer a question about one piece of
clothing (e.g. a Part 2 question asking for ‘the last piece of
clothing’ you bought), avoid choosing trousers, shoes,
boots, pants, socks or any garment that will cause
confusion with singular/plural forms.
If you choose the word ‘shoes’, not only will there be

confusing regarding whether to refer to them as ‘shoes’ or
‘a pair of shoes’, but there will be confusion about
whether to use ‘it’ or ‘they/them’.
Keep it simple. Choose a shirt, jacket, dress, coat, hat, or

any other simply singular noun.

Secret #4: Question tags
Part 3 of the Speaking test is referred to as the ‘Discussion’ stage… but
there’s not much of a discussion here!
We can change that a little. Bringing in question tags to emphasise our

points can make it seem as though the examiner is a bit more involved, and
can give us a much stronger sense of command over the language.
Although this is called the discussion stage, there isn’t much of a discussion
here, is there?
It’s not fair for those in developing countries to pay the price for our
environmental mistakes, is it?

Lecture 20
A Model IELTS
Speaking Answer
A band 9 level answer for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
of the IELTS Speaking test

Part 1 - The Interview Stage
Q: Did you go to secondary school near to where you lived? Why/Why not?
A: Yes, I did. Well, sort of near. We lived a couple of kilometres from

school, so it only took about 20 minutes to get there on foot, a few
minutes by car.
Q: What did you like about your secondary school?
A: The thing I liked most about my secondary school was probably my

friends. To be honest, I think the quality of education was quite poor
though, but I enjoyed playing football with my mates at lunchtimes and
they’ve stayed my friends for life.

Q: Can you tell me about anything you didn’t like at your school?
A: Yes, as I mentioned, I didn’t think the quality of education was very good.
The teachers there seemed to lack motivation, they weren’t very good at
connecting with the kids. With science in particular, I remember feeling very
disinterested in the subject.
Q: How do you think your school be improved?
A: Well, as I’ve said, the teaching staff could have been better, though maybe
they’ve hired all new staff by now. Perhaps if the old teachers had been trained
more in classroom management, students would have been more engaged.

Q: Did you continue studying after you finished school?
A: Yes, I did. I continued my studies at Plymouth University, down in the south-west

of England, where I enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree course in English Language. I
went there straight after secondary school, and I was there for three years.
Q: In what ways is higher education different to school?
A: Well, firstly, I found that the experience of independent study was totally different
to secondary school. You’re given much less guidance and have to work out a lot
on your own, and that transition can be pretty difficult. Secondly, another big
difference is the social side. You’re meeting new people all the time, which is
another world to that of secondary school, where you know all your friends.

Part 2 - The Long Turn
Describe something you don’t have now
but would really like to own in the future.
You should say:

what this thing is
how long you have wanted to own it
where you first saw it
and explain why you would like to own it.

PLAN
INTRO: Bike, Surly Disc Trucker, touring bike w/ disc brakes.
*D* *I* *I*

How long Where first saw Why own it
I. A few years I. Bike website I. Great breaking

S. Back at uni S. Top 10 list S. Own non-disc
S. Researching tours S. Mine from eBay E. A few near misses

I’m going to talk about a bike I’d like to have in the future. This is a touring bike, which means it’s made for long
trips, and it’s called the Surly Disc Trucker.
I’ve wanted to own this bike for a few years now, ever since I first became interested in bike touring back when I
was in my third year at university. I remember seeing a particular documentary on bike touring, and although the
bike in question wasn’t being ridden, I ended up doing a lot of research and quickly came across this special bike.
As for where I first saw it, as I just mentioned, I was researching bike touring at the time, checking out a lot of
magazines, websites and forums. My first sight of the bike was in a top 10 list of the best bikes for touring. It was
love at first sight, though I knew I couldn’t afford it! I ended up getting the cheaper version, without disc brakes,
second hand off of eBay. My brother and I drove three hours to pick it up, and it was too big for me but I just had
to get used to it. I ended up calling it ‘The Horse’.
Thinking about why I’d like to own it, there is one main reason. As I already have the non-disc brake version, I can
already enjoy most of the benefits the bike offers, but I can’t benefit from the superior braking power of this bike.
My bike’s brakes are a bit squidgy and if I’d had the Disc Trucker, I would have felt a fair bit safer. For instance, I’ve
had a few near misses already on my second-hand bike, and there’s nothing more important than safety.

Part 3 - The Discussion Stage
Q: Do you think televisions and films can make people want to get new
possessions? Why do they have this effect?
A: Yes, I do. Speaking from experience, there have been a number of times
when I’ve been influenced by television and films in this way, and I’m sure
other people are no different. For example, the new bike I was talking about
earlier, that all came through the result of watching a TV documentary on
bike touring. Although the show wasn’t advertising a particular bike, I still
became hooked on the idea of going bike touring, and of course I needed a
new bike to do that. I guess TV and films do this by tapping into people’s
inner desires, but I’m not sure it’s always intentional. Celebrities are another
important part of it, though I’ve never really been interested in celebrity lives.

Q: Are there any benefits to society of people wanting to get new
possessions? Why do you think this is?
A: Yes, I can think of a few benefits for society. First of all, when people
go shopping and buy new things, this generates profits for businesses.
These profits are then taxed and society, ideally, reaps the spoils from
these taxes, such as through greater healthcare and welfare spending.
Secondly, such consumerist desires may inspire innovation. For example,
many of the products we own today - our laptops, tablets and iPhones -
are the result of our demand for something new and original. If people
didn’t want to buy new things, these products might have never been
invented.

Q: Do you think people will consider that having lots of possessions is a sign of
success in the future? Why?
A: I’m not sure about this one. I certainly think it’s true that many people today
consider this a sign of success, but equally there are more and more people
who are moving towards a more minimal lifestyle. What I hope will happen is
that people will consider values like family, friendship and charity more
important barometers of success than material possessions, but my outlook is
a bit more pessimistic. I think people, even more than today, will probably
consider material possessions a sign of success, and I think this because I
believe advertising will become ever more aggressive and the gap between rich
and poor will grow ever wider. I know the future in my view looks bleak, but I
hope I’m wrong!

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The IELTS Teacher presents…

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 1

Through my years of exclusively IELTS-focused lessons, I’ve learnt the most

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 2

• How the course is structured: 5 sections designed to address each

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 3

• Course structure / aims

• An overview of the IELTS exam

• Focus on the Speaking test

• Band descriptors (Fluency/Coherence; Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation)

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 4

• Getting started (Fluency and Coherence)

• Paraphrasing (Lexical Resource)

• Identifying the question (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)

• Recognising your weaknesses (Pronunciation)

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 5

• Segmenting and the ‘ACE’ strategy (Fluency and Coherence)

• Common vocabulary mistakes (Lexical Resource)

• Common grammar mistakes (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)

• Syllable stress (Pronunciation)

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 6

• Discourse markers and listing (Fluency and Coherence)

• Idioms and collocations (Lexical Resource)

• Complex sentences (Grammatical Range and Accuracy)

• Sentence stress and intonation (Pronunciation)

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 7

• Secrets to success: Tips and techniques in IELTS Speaking

• A model answer: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 8

This course is:

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course

To make the most of this course, you should:

• Listen to at least 2 podcasts or educational YouTube videos in English every day

• Find an IELTS Speaking tutor with whom you can practice

• Try to enjoy the process!

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 10

You can contact me via:

• Udemy. Just use the comment function at the side of the

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Writing: Task 1 11

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 1

• It is the most world’s most popular English language proficiency test.

• Over 2 million tests taken per year.

• Assesses all skills - Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking.

• Accepted by schools, universities, employers, and immigration

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 2

Academic Reading Sections/ Important

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 3

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 4

• 6.0 - 6.5 = Entry to a Bachelor’s degree course

• 6.5 - 7.0 = Entry to a Master’s degree course

• 7.0+ = Typically required to work in English-speaking countries in

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 5

The IELTS Teacher - Mastering IELTS Speaking: Express Course 1

• 11-14 minutes all together

• Part 1: 4-5 minutes / Part 2: 3-4 minutes / Part 3: 4-5 minutes

• You will speak to a real-life examiner, not a machine

• You will be told when the test begins

• The test will be recorded