Preparing for Ielts speaking

If you do not have anyone with whom you can practice spoken English for the IELTS exam, you can still improve your band score. Your computer and microphone are effective tools to use to help you get the score you need to enroll in your English-speaking university of choice.

Choose a set of sample task questions you would like to address from the many that are available online. Select a topic about which you feel comfortable speaking at first. The more times you practice this technique, the better you should feel about tackling more difficult question sets.

Next, record yourself asking the questions and then answering them. Use the sound recorder tool on your computer or on your smartphone. You might also use an old-school tape recorder. The camera feature on your phone or computer would also work. You don’t have to use the camera; just get the audio. Later on, if you are concerned that you appear nervous, use the camera to record video of yourself answering the questions as if you are in a live interview.

Then listen to your recordings. This can be embarrassing and painful for some students. It’s all right. You are doing this to help yourself speak better. So go ahead and hit the play button. Listen through it one time without taking any notes down on paper. After that, write down the specific errors you hear. You might write down that you pronounced a word incorrectly, or that you used the wrong verb tense. Listen for vocabulary, organization, pronunciation, and grammar errors. You might listen through five times: once for a quick listen first, then one for each of these domains.

You can also upload your recording so that other IELTS students can comment on your recording. You can also listen to theirs and help them improve. The IELTS Network is one such online meeting place for students. I sometimes post there, offering some feedback on students’ recordings. You may also find another student with whom to practice on Skype! I am also happy to be your online English tutor to help you improve even more.