IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. It's actually designed to assess the English language abilities of candidates who wish to pursue their studies in colleges or universities in English-speaking countries. It is also used to test the English communication abilities of those who would like to work and migrate there.
IELTS has two test modules available:
Academic Module—test taken by those who would like to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level
General Training Module—test taken by those who would like to continue their studies at a diploma level only; also used for immigration purposes and those who would like to finish their secondary education in an English-speaking country
Under these modules are subtests (which are sometimes also called modules). There are four of these subtests:
Listening
Reading
Writing
Speaking
The Reading and Writing subtests in the General Training Module are less difficult compared to their Academic counterparts. The Listening and Speaking subtests on the other hand, are just the same for both modules.
Monday, March 8, 2010
IELTS LISTENING
Time: approximately 30 minutes; 20 minutes for listening to the tape and 10 minutes to transfer the answers to the answer sheet
Number of Questions: 40 questions
Section 1: This section is all about situations encountered in life and in the society such as travel arragements, planning trips, etc. You will be hearing a conversation between 2 people.
Section 2: Just like section 1, this section is about life and social situations. However, unlike the first task, you will usually hear only one person speaking here like in a news broadcast or a description of something.
Section 3: The topics in this section will be mainly about education and training. The conversation to be heard usually involves 2-4 people. The speakers might talk about some school projects or changes in school. It can also be a conversation between teachers and students regarding homework or career options.
Section 4: This section will also be about education and training, but there will only be one speaker who might give a lecture about certain subjects or topics of general interest.
Types of IELTS Listening question tasks:
*gapfill
*matching type
*true/false questions
*multiple choice
*sentence completion
*labelling diagrams
*table/chart completion
*short-answer questions
Number of Questions: 40 questions
Section 1: This section is all about situations encountered in life and in the society such as travel arragements, planning trips, etc. You will be hearing a conversation between 2 people.
Section 2: Just like section 1, this section is about life and social situations. However, unlike the first task, you will usually hear only one person speaking here like in a news broadcast or a description of something.
Section 3: The topics in this section will be mainly about education and training. The conversation to be heard usually involves 2-4 people. The speakers might talk about some school projects or changes in school. It can also be a conversation between teachers and students regarding homework or career options.
Section 4: This section will also be about education and training, but there will only be one speaker who might give a lecture about certain subjects or topics of general interest.
Types of IELTS Listening question tasks:
*gapfill
*matching type
*true/false questions
*multiple choice
*sentence completion
*labelling diagrams
*table/chart completion
*short-answer questions
IELTS listening tips you'
Below are the IELTS listening tips you'll need in order to get a satisfactory score in the listening section of the IELTS:
Read the instructions carefully. Why? Because even if you would get the right answer, it would be no use if you didn't follow the instructions. For instance, the instructions tell you to write no more than 3 words and you ignoring the instructions, wrote 4 words. Even if the content of your answer is the same, you would still be marked wrong.
Look at the examples given. They will give you a clue as to what kind and form of answers you will need. How are you supposed to write the date? (Should the day or the month come first?) What number do you need? (ordinal or cardinal number)
Learn to predict the answer. Before you get to listen to the tape, you will be given time to look at the questions first. You can use that time to read the questions and know what type of information you will need to get from the conversation or talk. Are you supposed to get a name? An address? A number? A date? A place? With this in mind, you can already predict what the answers are or at least what you are supposed to listen for in the conversation or talk.
Listen carefully. Remember that in the actual exam you only get to listen to the tape once so focus, focus, focus.
Manage your time wisely. You will be advised when to look at the questions, which parts to focus on and when to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Know when you're supposed to move on to the next question or section or else the tape might have already ended and you're still stuck on section 1, waiting for the answer to one of the questions there. You will hear some phrases that would tell you when you already need to move on to the next question. Hearing markers such as 'next, then, we'll now move on to, that's it, and what about', etc. means the topic is already changing.
Your answers should be grammatically correct. Even if you heard the answer in the form of a noun but what's needed in the question is a verb, you have to change the answer's form into what is being asked.
Listen for synonyms and antonyms. The words used in the questions may not be the same as the form of the answer you will hear from the conversation or talk; thus, you have to be alert and expect similar terms will be given as the answer not the exact words to be seen on the paper. Also, different varieties of English would be used so some terms in Britain can be repeated with using American English, etc. so if the answer is ‘apartment’, don’t expect the exact same word to be used. You might hear the word ‘flat’ instead. (apartment is the same as flat)
The answers are often repeated, sometimes by the same speaker and sometimes by another speaker. The answers may be repeated in exactly the same words or maybe just their synonyms will be mentioned. So if you think you missed the answer or didn't hear the answer the first time, don't panic because chances are you will hear the answer again. Just stay focused. Listen to the stressed words too, for answers aside from being repeated are stressed often.
Listen until the part of the talk or conversation that supposedly answers the question is finished before writing your answer because before the conversation ends the speaker might take back what he or she said and change his or her answer.
Your answers must be spelled correctly especially when they are spelled out in the conversation or talk. Correct answers spelled incorrectly will be marked wrong.
Are your answers easy to read? They'd better be or all your efforts might go down the drain.
Read the instructions carefully. Why? Because even if you would get the right answer, it would be no use if you didn't follow the instructions. For instance, the instructions tell you to write no more than 3 words and you ignoring the instructions, wrote 4 words. Even if the content of your answer is the same, you would still be marked wrong.
Look at the examples given. They will give you a clue as to what kind and form of answers you will need. How are you supposed to write the date? (Should the day or the month come first?) What number do you need? (ordinal or cardinal number)
Learn to predict the answer. Before you get to listen to the tape, you will be given time to look at the questions first. You can use that time to read the questions and know what type of information you will need to get from the conversation or talk. Are you supposed to get a name? An address? A number? A date? A place? With this in mind, you can already predict what the answers are or at least what you are supposed to listen for in the conversation or talk.
Listen carefully. Remember that in the actual exam you only get to listen to the tape once so focus, focus, focus.
Manage your time wisely. You will be advised when to look at the questions, which parts to focus on and when to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Know when you're supposed to move on to the next question or section or else the tape might have already ended and you're still stuck on section 1, waiting for the answer to one of the questions there. You will hear some phrases that would tell you when you already need to move on to the next question. Hearing markers such as 'next, then, we'll now move on to, that's it, and what about', etc. means the topic is already changing.
Your answers should be grammatically correct. Even if you heard the answer in the form of a noun but what's needed in the question is a verb, you have to change the answer's form into what is being asked.
Listen for synonyms and antonyms. The words used in the questions may not be the same as the form of the answer you will hear from the conversation or talk; thus, you have to be alert and expect similar terms will be given as the answer not the exact words to be seen on the paper. Also, different varieties of English would be used so some terms in Britain can be repeated with using American English, etc. so if the answer is ‘apartment’, don’t expect the exact same word to be used. You might hear the word ‘flat’ instead. (apartment is the same as flat)
The answers are often repeated, sometimes by the same speaker and sometimes by another speaker. The answers may be repeated in exactly the same words or maybe just their synonyms will be mentioned. So if you think you missed the answer or didn't hear the answer the first time, don't panic because chances are you will hear the answer again. Just stay focused. Listen to the stressed words too, for answers aside from being repeated are stressed often.
Listen until the part of the talk or conversation that supposedly answers the question is finished before writing your answer because before the conversation ends the speaker might take back what he or she said and change his or her answer.
Your answers must be spelled correctly especially when they are spelled out in the conversation or talk. Correct answers spelled incorrectly will be marked wrong.
Are your answers easy to read? They'd better be or all your efforts might go down the drain.
IELTS READING
IELTS Reading
Below are the things you ought to know about IELTS Reading:
Time: 60 minutes
Number of Questions: 40
Passages: 3
Difficulty: next passages more difficult than the one before it
Passage Topics: general interest
IELTS Reading questions types:
*mutiple choice
*sentence completion
*matching type
*true/false
*gapfill
*classification
*short-answer questions
*table/chart/diagram completion
Below are the things you ought to know about IELTS Reading:
Time: 60 minutes
Number of Questions: 40
Passages: 3
Difficulty: next passages more difficult than the one before it
Passage Topics: general interest
IELTS Reading questions types:
*mutiple choice
*sentence completion
*matching type
*true/false
*gapfill
*classification
*short-answer questions
*table/chart/diagram completion
READING TECHNIQUE
Skimming is a reading technique wherein one tries to find the main ideas of a reading material in order to know what it's generally about. It helps save time because there's no need to remember specific details. It's all about the gist of the selection.
In skimming materials, often you will find the main ideas in topic sentences which are usually found in the first or last sentence of each paragraph. I say 'usually' because there are also times when the topic sentence can be located in the middle of the paragraph, and at times there's no topic sentence at all. In this case, the main idea is implied. If it's a very long selection, you can just usually read the first paragraph and/or the last paragraph, for the first paragraph introduces the topic and the last paragraph often summarizes all the ideas presented in the material.
Can you find the topic sentence in the paragraph below?
Jake has a lot of great qualities that make girls fall for him easily. He is hardworking. He's also very intelligent. He is kind and can be considered a true gentleman. Furthermore, he is thoughtful and generous. Above all, he is undeniably good-looking.
Answer: first sentence
How about the paragraph below?
The sky is very dark today. It hasn't stopped raining since early this morning. Very few people are on the street and children cannot play outside. It's a very gloomy day.
Answer: last sentence
Can you guess the main idea of the paragraph below?
Some women are fashionable. Some are very smart. There are also women who are stronger than men. Some women are workaholics while some are just concerned about how to stay pretty.
Answer: There are many types of women. There's no topic sentence in the paragraph though. The main idea is implied.
In skimming materials, often you will find the main ideas in topic sentences which are usually found in the first or last sentence of each paragraph. I say 'usually' because there are also times when the topic sentence can be located in the middle of the paragraph, and at times there's no topic sentence at all. In this case, the main idea is implied. If it's a very long selection, you can just usually read the first paragraph and/or the last paragraph, for the first paragraph introduces the topic and the last paragraph often summarizes all the ideas presented in the material.
Can you find the topic sentence in the paragraph below?
Jake has a lot of great qualities that make girls fall for him easily. He is hardworking. He's also very intelligent. He is kind and can be considered a true gentleman. Furthermore, he is thoughtful and generous. Above all, he is undeniably good-looking.
Answer: first sentence
How about the paragraph below?
The sky is very dark today. It hasn't stopped raining since early this morning. Very few people are on the street and children cannot play outside. It's a very gloomy day.
Answer: last sentence
Can you guess the main idea of the paragraph below?
Some women are fashionable. Some are very smart. There are also women who are stronger than men. Some women are workaholics while some are just concerned about how to stay pretty.
Answer: There are many types of women. There's no topic sentence in the paragraph though. The main idea is implied.
IELTS READING TIPS
Below are IELTS Reading tips that could help you ace the reading section of the IELTS:
Read and follow the instructions. Although some might think this is a waste of time, it'sactually a time saver and it increases your chances of writing accurate answers. For instance, not all multiple choice questions only ask for one answer. Sometimes you are instructed to choose 2 or even 3 answers. If you can't give the right number of answers, you'll get it wrong.
Examine and learn from the examples for they give you a clue on what kind and form of answers you are supposed to give.
Use your time wisely. There are 3 passages and you have only 1 hour to answer all 40questions. Hence, you have approximately 20 minutes to spend per passage. However, if you can spend more time on passages 2 and 3, that would be better since they are more difficult than the 1st passage and thus need more attention.
Unlike the Listening subtest in which you will be given time to transfer your answers on the answer sheet, in the Reading subtest you have to write your answers on the answer sheet right there and then.
If you are not a fast reader, it is not advisable to read the passages right away. It would be better to read with a reason first in mind in order to predict what information you need or might need. So what are the important things to read in this part of the test? Read the title, the headings or subtitles if there are any, the bold and italized words, the instructions and examples, the questions and look at pictures, graphs or diagrams included in the passage. All of these will give you clues on the important information you will need for your answers. Sometimes, even without reading the whole passage, you'd be able to answer the questions correctly just by looking at the things I mentioned above.
Use your scanning skills to find specific information and use your skimming skills to get main ideas.
Read the topic sentence of each paragraph. The topic sentence is the sentence that summarizes the meaning of the whole paragraph. It is usually found at the first sentence. However, it can also be found at times in the last sentence of the paragraph or in the middle of the paragraph. Sometimes, however, it can't be found in just one sentence because it is only implied. If this is the case, you'll need to use your skimming skills.
If the passage is a little technical and there are words used there you can't understand, try to find the glossary of the passage where you can find the difficult words' meanings.
Read around the keywords to find the answers. The keywords can be taken from the questions. Find words similar in meaning in the paragraphs and read around them to find the information you need.
If there's any question regarding a number or date, find the answer for that question first, since numbers are easier to locate in paragraphs than words.
Usually, the answers come in the same order as the questions. Hence, the answer to question number one will most likely be found in the first paragraphs and the last question's answer can be found in the last paragraph.
Read and follow the instructions. Although some might think this is a waste of time, it'sactually a time saver and it increases your chances of writing accurate answers. For instance, not all multiple choice questions only ask for one answer. Sometimes you are instructed to choose 2 or even 3 answers. If you can't give the right number of answers, you'll get it wrong.
Examine and learn from the examples for they give you a clue on what kind and form of answers you are supposed to give.
Use your time wisely. There are 3 passages and you have only 1 hour to answer all 40questions. Hence, you have approximately 20 minutes to spend per passage. However, if you can spend more time on passages 2 and 3, that would be better since they are more difficult than the 1st passage and thus need more attention.
Unlike the Listening subtest in which you will be given time to transfer your answers on the answer sheet, in the Reading subtest you have to write your answers on the answer sheet right there and then.
If you are not a fast reader, it is not advisable to read the passages right away. It would be better to read with a reason first in mind in order to predict what information you need or might need. So what are the important things to read in this part of the test? Read the title, the headings or subtitles if there are any, the bold and italized words, the instructions and examples, the questions and look at pictures, graphs or diagrams included in the passage. All of these will give you clues on the important information you will need for your answers. Sometimes, even without reading the whole passage, you'd be able to answer the questions correctly just by looking at the things I mentioned above.
Use your scanning skills to find specific information and use your skimming skills to get main ideas.
Read the topic sentence of each paragraph. The topic sentence is the sentence that summarizes the meaning of the whole paragraph. It is usually found at the first sentence. However, it can also be found at times in the last sentence of the paragraph or in the middle of the paragraph. Sometimes, however, it can't be found in just one sentence because it is only implied. If this is the case, you'll need to use your skimming skills.
If the passage is a little technical and there are words used there you can't understand, try to find the glossary of the passage where you can find the difficult words' meanings.
Read around the keywords to find the answers. The keywords can be taken from the questions. Find words similar in meaning in the paragraphs and read around them to find the information you need.
If there's any question regarding a number or date, find the answer for that question first, since numbers are easier to locate in paragraphs than words.
Usually, the answers come in the same order as the questions. Hence, the answer to question number one will most likely be found in the first paragraphs and the last question's answer can be found in the last paragraph.
IDIOM -1
Idiomatic Expressions and How they Affect our Understanding of the English Language
Around five years ago, I had a student who wasn’t that fluent in English yet. She was very nice and friendly, but one day we had a misunderstanding, which fortunately, was resolved right away. What was the cause of the misunderstanding? She was telling me a story which seemed unbelievable to me, and so I told her “Get out!” (which of course means I don’t believe her) She thought I wanted her to get out of the room though. She asked me why she had to get out. It was then that I realized that she didn’t understand what I meant and I explained it to her. So, in order to avoid such problems, it would really help if we familiarize ourselves with at least the most common English idiomatic expressions. Here are some of them:
Act your age—means one should behave in a more mature manner
Ex. You’re already thirty years old and you still rely on your parents to pay for your bills? When will you ever act your age?
All ears--to listen attentively
Ex. I was all ears when Diana told me her problem.
Answer back—to answer defiantly
Ex. My mother was very upset when my brother answered her back while she was scolding him.
Bag of bones—emanciated
Ex. He hasn’t eaten for three days in a row, that’s why he’s already a bag of bones.
Bank on-to depend on
Ex. Although my father is the breadwinner in the family, he is banking on my mother for emotional support.
Beat around the bush—to avoid the main topic of discussion
Ex. It’s too tiring to talk to him, because he beats around the bush too much.
Beat it—to go away, to scram
Ex. I won’t love nor like you whatever you do, so beat it!
Bed of roses—the good life, easy and luxurious life
Ex. After three years of marriage, she realized that marriage is not a bed of roses.
Behind you—providing support
Ex. Do not worry so much , because I’m right behind you.
Black sheep-someone who brings disgrace to a family or group
Ex. He always gives his parents problems unlike his siblings. He’s indeed the black sheep in their family.
Big shot—a very important person
Ex. He’s a big shot now, so I don’t think he’d want to become friends with us anymore.
(more idioms in the next blogs…if you know other useful English idioms, kindly share them using the comments feature..thanks!^^)
Around five years ago, I had a student who wasn’t that fluent in English yet. She was very nice and friendly, but one day we had a misunderstanding, which fortunately, was resolved right away. What was the cause of the misunderstanding? She was telling me a story which seemed unbelievable to me, and so I told her “Get out!” (which of course means I don’t believe her) She thought I wanted her to get out of the room though. She asked me why she had to get out. It was then that I realized that she didn’t understand what I meant and I explained it to her. So, in order to avoid such problems, it would really help if we familiarize ourselves with at least the most common English idiomatic expressions. Here are some of them:
Act your age—means one should behave in a more mature manner
Ex. You’re already thirty years old and you still rely on your parents to pay for your bills? When will you ever act your age?
All ears--to listen attentively
Ex. I was all ears when Diana told me her problem.
Answer back—to answer defiantly
Ex. My mother was very upset when my brother answered her back while she was scolding him.
Bag of bones—emanciated
Ex. He hasn’t eaten for three days in a row, that’s why he’s already a bag of bones.
Bank on-to depend on
Ex. Although my father is the breadwinner in the family, he is banking on my mother for emotional support.
Beat around the bush—to avoid the main topic of discussion
Ex. It’s too tiring to talk to him, because he beats around the bush too much.
Beat it—to go away, to scram
Ex. I won’t love nor like you whatever you do, so beat it!
Bed of roses—the good life, easy and luxurious life
Ex. After three years of marriage, she realized that marriage is not a bed of roses.
Behind you—providing support
Ex. Do not worry so much , because I’m right behind you.
Black sheep-someone who brings disgrace to a family or group
Ex. He always gives his parents problems unlike his siblings. He’s indeed the black sheep in their family.
Big shot—a very important person
Ex. He’s a big shot now, so I don’t think he’d want to become friends with us anymore.
(more idioms in the next blogs…if you know other useful English idioms, kindly share them using the comments feature..thanks!^^)
IDIOM -2
Break-a chance to succeed, a great opportunity
Ex. If only I would be given a break in this career, I’m sure to succeed.
Brush up on-to review
Ex. I need to brush up on my Japanese or else I might find it hard to understand the clients.
Chip off the old block- a child who looks so much like his/her parents
Ex. I knew right away that he’s Greg’s son. He’s a chip off the old block.
Come to terms-to have a conclusive agreement
Ex. After ten tiring months of negotiation, we’ve finally come to terms.
Crack a joke-to tell jokes
Ex. Some people think that Jack knows nothing but to crack jokes.
Cut it out-to stop doing or saying something annoying to the other person
Ex. Why do you keep on teasing me? Cut it out!
Doll up-to dress elegantly
Ex. She probably likes him very much, for her to doll up like this.
Get hitched-get married
Ex. Ken is already in his thirties. I wonder why he hasn’t thought of getting hitched yet.
Get it over with-to finish a rather unpleasant task
Ex. This task is rather boring. Let’s do it quickly and get it over with.
Go for-to prefer, to like
Ex. Keith is the kind of guy she goes for.
In deep water-in a serious trouble
Ex. He lost his job and he hasn’t finished paying for his car yet. He’s in deep water now.
Ex. If only I would be given a break in this career, I’m sure to succeed.
Brush up on-to review
Ex. I need to brush up on my Japanese or else I might find it hard to understand the clients.
Chip off the old block- a child who looks so much like his/her parents
Ex. I knew right away that he’s Greg’s son. He’s a chip off the old block.
Come to terms-to have a conclusive agreement
Ex. After ten tiring months of negotiation, we’ve finally come to terms.
Crack a joke-to tell jokes
Ex. Some people think that Jack knows nothing but to crack jokes.
Cut it out-to stop doing or saying something annoying to the other person
Ex. Why do you keep on teasing me? Cut it out!
Doll up-to dress elegantly
Ex. She probably likes him very much, for her to doll up like this.
Get hitched-get married
Ex. Ken is already in his thirties. I wonder why he hasn’t thought of getting hitched yet.
Get it over with-to finish a rather unpleasant task
Ex. This task is rather boring. Let’s do it quickly and get it over with.
Go for-to prefer, to like
Ex. Keith is the kind of guy she goes for.
In deep water-in a serious trouble
Ex. He lost his job and he hasn’t finished paying for his car yet. He’s in deep water now.
IDIOM- 3
It has been a while since I last wrote about idioms because I was busy writing about IELTS. Now, to assure you it's not only IELTS I will be writing about in this blog ^^, here are some more common English idioms:
* in good faith-sincere
ex. It's hard to know if a politician's actions are done in good faith or if they are only ways for him to give an early campaign.
*jittery-uneasy
Eugene became jittery when the guy she liked looked towards her direction.
*make a big splash-great success
Jayden made a big splash in the animation world with his new cartoon.
*on hand-available
We don't have a sewing machine on the set right now but we do have a needle and some thread on hand.
*on the dot-punctually
He always arrives on the dot in meetings so as not to anger his clients.
*sissy-a person who is afraid of or cannot take rough adventures
He's too much of a bookworm; no wonder he's a sissy.
*swell-excellent, great
We had a swell time at the party.
* in good faith-sincere
ex. It's hard to know if a politician's actions are done in good faith or if they are only ways for him to give an early campaign.
*jittery-uneasy
Eugene became jittery when the guy she liked looked towards her direction.
*make a big splash-great success
Jayden made a big splash in the animation world with his new cartoon.
*on hand-available
We don't have a sewing machine on the set right now but we do have a needle and some thread on hand.
*on the dot-punctually
He always arrives on the dot in meetings so as not to anger his clients.
*sissy-a person who is afraid of or cannot take rough adventures
He's too much of a bookworm; no wonder he's a sissy.
*swell-excellent, great
We had a swell time at the party.
IDIOMS
Idiom-Put off-postpone
ex. Charrie can't forgive Archie for putting off their wed
ex. The bomb went off before he could run away.
Idiom-Dispose of-to get ride of
ex. She disposed of her dirty shoes.
Idiom-Break open-to open with the use of force or violence
ex. The thieves broke open the bank safe.
Idiom-Turn away-to dismiss
ex. He turned away all the employees before taking the phone call from his wife.
Idiom-To plead guilty-confess one's guilt
ex. The case will continue because he did not plead guilty.
Idiom-To build castles in the air-to indulge in reveries
ex. The newlyweds are building castles in the air.
Idiom-To take pride in-to be proud of
ex. My grandmother takes pride in her gard
Idiom-Turn away-to dismiss
ex. He turned away all the employees before taking the phone call from his wife.
Idiom-Tear down-destroy
ex. They will tear down the house by noon.
diom-Stick by-to adhere closely to
ex. I love him very much for sticking by me.
IDIOM GO OFF –TO LEAVE / TO EXPLODE
diom-Break open-to open with the use of force or violence
ex. The thieves broke open the bank safe.
Idiom-Iron will-great determination
ex. She may look very fragile, but she has an iron will.
Idiom-Good breeding-polite manner usually formed by a good education
ex. Everybody expects him to have good breeding because he's a Yale graduate.
diom-Crave for-to yearn for
ex. Many pregnant women crave for green mangoes.
Idiom-Keep up with-to keep pace with
ex. Allen speaks so fast that it's very hard to keep up with what he's saying.
diom-Stand up for-to defend
ex. Even if his whole family disagrees, he will stand up for their relationship.
Idiom-To take a fancy to a thing-to admire someone or something as a desire to have it
ex. Megan has taken a fancy to my dress.
To move heaven and earth—to do something by using all means necessary
ex. Ken will move heaven and earth just to make his wife happy.
Save your skin—save your life
ex. Don't worry about me because I know how to defend myself. Just save your skin.
Tread the middle aisle—to get married
ex. My younger sister is both excited and nervous because she will tread the middle aisle this year.
Twenty-four/seven--means every minute, all the time
ex. 'Ministop' convenience stores are open 24/7.
Who wears the pants?--it's the same as asking who is the dominant person in the relationship; who is in control
ex. Why are you so afraid to go home late? Who wears the pants in your house anyway?
hot button--hot issue
ex. Late last year, the elections in the US was a hot button.
go fly a kite--an expression used to tell someone to leave you alone
ex. I'm very busy right now. Why don't you go fly a kite?
duck soup--very easy
ex. She will surely win in the competition because Math is duck soup
dime a dozen--very common, not special at all
ex. A few decades ago, computers are very rare and expensive, but now they're a dime a dozen.
blow off steam--to express frustration or anger
ex. Don't blow off steam in front of your father if you don't want to be grounded for a month.
at the end of one's (my, your, their, his, her) rope- being at the limit of one's patience or endurance
ex. I hope she did it correctly this time for I am already at the end of my rope. I don't want to end up firing her.
all over the map--the act of not sticking to the main topic of discussion
ex. I don't like attending meetings conducted by our new boss because it's often all over the map.
ex. Charrie can't forgive Archie for putting off their wed
ex. The bomb went off before he could run away.
Idiom-Dispose of-to get ride of
ex. She disposed of her dirty shoes.
Idiom-Break open-to open with the use of force or violence
ex. The thieves broke open the bank safe.
Idiom-Turn away-to dismiss
ex. He turned away all the employees before taking the phone call from his wife.
Idiom-To plead guilty-confess one's guilt
ex. The case will continue because he did not plead guilty.
Idiom-To build castles in the air-to indulge in reveries
ex. The newlyweds are building castles in the air.
Idiom-To take pride in-to be proud of
ex. My grandmother takes pride in her gard
Idiom-Turn away-to dismiss
ex. He turned away all the employees before taking the phone call from his wife.
Idiom-Tear down-destroy
ex. They will tear down the house by noon.
diom-Stick by-to adhere closely to
ex. I love him very much for sticking by me.
IDIOM GO OFF –TO LEAVE / TO EXPLODE
diom-Break open-to open with the use of force or violence
ex. The thieves broke open the bank safe.
Idiom-Iron will-great determination
ex. She may look very fragile, but she has an iron will.
Idiom-Good breeding-polite manner usually formed by a good education
ex. Everybody expects him to have good breeding because he's a Yale graduate.
diom-Crave for-to yearn for
ex. Many pregnant women crave for green mangoes.
Idiom-Keep up with-to keep pace with
ex. Allen speaks so fast that it's very hard to keep up with what he's saying.
diom-Stand up for-to defend
ex. Even if his whole family disagrees, he will stand up for their relationship.
Idiom-To take a fancy to a thing-to admire someone or something as a desire to have it
ex. Megan has taken a fancy to my dress.
To move heaven and earth—to do something by using all means necessary
ex. Ken will move heaven and earth just to make his wife happy.
Save your skin—save your life
ex. Don't worry about me because I know how to defend myself. Just save your skin.
Tread the middle aisle—to get married
ex. My younger sister is both excited and nervous because she will tread the middle aisle this year.
Twenty-four/seven--means every minute, all the time
ex. 'Ministop' convenience stores are open 24/7.
Who wears the pants?--it's the same as asking who is the dominant person in the relationship; who is in control
ex. Why are you so afraid to go home late? Who wears the pants in your house anyway?
hot button--hot issue
ex. Late last year, the elections in the US was a hot button.
go fly a kite--an expression used to tell someone to leave you alone
ex. I'm very busy right now. Why don't you go fly a kite?
duck soup--very easy
ex. She will surely win in the competition because Math is duck soup
dime a dozen--very common, not special at all
ex. A few decades ago, computers are very rare and expensive, but now they're a dime a dozen.
blow off steam--to express frustration or anger
ex. Don't blow off steam in front of your father if you don't want to be grounded for a month.
at the end of one's (my, your, their, his, her) rope- being at the limit of one's patience or endurance
ex. I hope she did it correctly this time for I am already at the end of my rope. I don't want to end up firing her.
all over the map--the act of not sticking to the main topic of discussion
ex. I don't like attending meetings conducted by our new boss because it's often all over the map.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Tips:
Written below are the things you must know about the IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic Module):
Time: 20 minutes
Minimum Number of Words: 150
Task Type: Interpreting and presenting information based on a graph, table, chart, diagram, pictures, etc.
l Make sure you thoroughly understand the instructions to begin on the right track.
l Manage your time wisely by planning the number of paragraphs and what you will cover for each paragraph. Make a mental outline of what you want to say.
l You can start your introduction by telling the readers what it is you are supposed to interpret. Is it a graph? A table? (ex. The graph shows.... ) Then, follow it with what information that graph/table shows. You can look at the title, x and y axes (if it's a graph), pie slices, etc.) for clues on what main ideas to convey. Yes, start with the main ideas first. What in general does the graph show?(ex. The graph shows the sales figures of Honda cars in Australia from 1995 to 2005.
l From the general point of view, you can then move on to the supporting details by presenting the specific figures or detailed description of the diagram (whatever the case maybe).
l If you are not sure of the exact number you are to present, you can use words like 'approximately, around, nearly, almost, about, just over' before the figure.
l For expressing changes in the data, you can use verbs such as 'rose, increased, peaked, doubled, jumped, decreased, fell, dropped, fluctuated,' and other such words to describe the kind of changes that took place. If you would rather use nouns instead of verbs to describe the changes, it's also okay. Just use the noun form of the words mentioned.
l To give readers a more vivid picture of the data changes, you can add adverbs to describe the verbs (ex. Suddenly rose, gradually decreased...and so on). If you are using nouns to describe the changes though, you will have to use adjectives to make the description clearer. (ex. A sudden increase, a gradual decrease...and so on)
l There's no need to write a title nor a conclusion for task 1.
l Use left and right margins.
l You can indent the first line of each paragraph or you can use the block style but leave a space between paragraphs.
l Don't split your words. If the last word on the line is too long, just put it on the next line.
l Avoid using contractions (ex. Don't, can't, it's) and acronyms in task 1.
l It is said that it's better to use cursive writing in the writing tasks. However, make sure you write legibly.
l In making mistakes, just cross out the error with one line instead of covering the whole word with ink or putting it inside parentheses.
l Don't use double spacing and don't write with very big letters just so your report would reach the end of the second page. Around 10 words per line would be okay.
l Avoid using question marks and exclamation marks because formal writing doesn't make use of them.
l Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.
Time: 20 minutes
Minimum Number of Words: 150
Task Type: Interpreting and presenting information based on a graph, table, chart, diagram, pictures, etc.
l Make sure you thoroughly understand the instructions to begin on the right track.
l Manage your time wisely by planning the number of paragraphs and what you will cover for each paragraph. Make a mental outline of what you want to say.
l You can start your introduction by telling the readers what it is you are supposed to interpret. Is it a graph? A table? (ex. The graph shows.... ) Then, follow it with what information that graph/table shows. You can look at the title, x and y axes (if it's a graph), pie slices, etc.) for clues on what main ideas to convey. Yes, start with the main ideas first. What in general does the graph show?(ex. The graph shows the sales figures of Honda cars in Australia from 1995 to 2005.
l From the general point of view, you can then move on to the supporting details by presenting the specific figures or detailed description of the diagram (whatever the case maybe).
l If you are not sure of the exact number you are to present, you can use words like 'approximately, around, nearly, almost, about, just over' before the figure.
l For expressing changes in the data, you can use verbs such as 'rose, increased, peaked, doubled, jumped, decreased, fell, dropped, fluctuated,' and other such words to describe the kind of changes that took place. If you would rather use nouns instead of verbs to describe the changes, it's also okay. Just use the noun form of the words mentioned.
l To give readers a more vivid picture of the data changes, you can add adverbs to describe the verbs (ex. Suddenly rose, gradually decreased...and so on). If you are using nouns to describe the changes though, you will have to use adjectives to make the description clearer. (ex. A sudden increase, a gradual decrease...and so on)
l There's no need to write a title nor a conclusion for task 1.
l Use left and right margins.
l You can indent the first line of each paragraph or you can use the block style but leave a space between paragraphs.
l Don't split your words. If the last word on the line is too long, just put it on the next line.
l Avoid using contractions (ex. Don't, can't, it's) and acronyms in task 1.
l It is said that it's better to use cursive writing in the writing tasks. However, make sure you write legibly.
l In making mistakes, just cross out the error with one line instead of covering the whole word with ink or putting it inside parentheses.
l Don't use double spacing and don't write with very big letters just so your report would reach the end of the second page. Around 10 words per line would be okay.
l Avoid using question marks and exclamation marks because formal writing doesn't make use of them.
l Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Tips
Below are tips on how to ace writing task 2 of the IELTS:
Time: 40 minutes
Minimum Number of words: 250
Task Type: Essay
:
l There are 2 types of questions that maybe asked in task 2: argument and account. For the argument type, the question would most likely be a yes/no question where you would be presented with an issue/argument and you are to take sides and support your opinion. For the account type, the question would most likely begin with what and how. You will most likely be given a problem or situation and you're asked to describe, enumerate or present a likely solution.
l First, you ought to identify what the question type is so that you can plan how to address the task.
l Plan the answer by outlining what side you'll take (for arguments) or what things you are asked to describe (for accounts). Then, plan the number of paragraphs by knowing what your topic/opinion would be for each paragraph.
l For argument types of questions, make sure you've chosen a side. It's also possible to have a neutral opinion but that would be more difficult to defend, so I suggest you take a side. Then, balance the argument by explaining both sides but giving more weight on the side you chose. Give at least 3 reasons for your chosen side. Then, explain them and give examples.
l For account types of questions, make sure you answer all questions in the tasks.
l Use left and right margins.
l You can indent the first line of each paragraph or you can use the block style but leave a space between paragraphs.
l Don't split your words. If the last word on the line is too long, just put it on the next line.
l Avoid using contractions (ex. Don't, can't, it's) and acronyms in task 1.
l It is said that it's better to use cursive writing in the writing tasks. However, make sure you write legibly.
l In making mistakes, just cross out the error with one line instead of covering the whole word with ink or putting it inside parentheses.
l Don't use double spacing and don't write with very big letters just so your report would reach the end of the second page. Around 10 words per line would be okay.
l Avoid using question marks and exclamation marks because formal writing doesn't make use of them.
l Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.
l Unlike task 1, you can write a conclusion for task 2.
Time: 40 minutes
Minimum Number of words: 250
Task Type: Essay
:
l There are 2 types of questions that maybe asked in task 2: argument and account. For the argument type, the question would most likely be a yes/no question where you would be presented with an issue/argument and you are to take sides and support your opinion. For the account type, the question would most likely begin with what and how. You will most likely be given a problem or situation and you're asked to describe, enumerate or present a likely solution.
l First, you ought to identify what the question type is so that you can plan how to address the task.
l Plan the answer by outlining what side you'll take (for arguments) or what things you are asked to describe (for accounts). Then, plan the number of paragraphs by knowing what your topic/opinion would be for each paragraph.
l For argument types of questions, make sure you've chosen a side. It's also possible to have a neutral opinion but that would be more difficult to defend, so I suggest you take a side. Then, balance the argument by explaining both sides but giving more weight on the side you chose. Give at least 3 reasons for your chosen side. Then, explain them and give examples.
l For account types of questions, make sure you answer all questions in the tasks.
l Use left and right margins.
l You can indent the first line of each paragraph or you can use the block style but leave a space between paragraphs.
l Don't split your words. If the last word on the line is too long, just put it on the next line.
l Avoid using contractions (ex. Don't, can't, it's) and acronyms in task 1.
l It is said that it's better to use cursive writing in the writing tasks. However, make sure you write legibly.
l In making mistakes, just cross out the error with one line instead of covering the whole word with ink or putting it inside parentheses.
l Don't use double spacing and don't write with very big letters just so your report would reach the end of the second page. Around 10 words per line would be okay.
l Avoid using question marks and exclamation marks because formal writing doesn't make use of them.
l Make sure your grammar and spelling are correct.
l Unlike task 1, you can write a conclusion for task 2.
10 tips for speaking english effectively
How can we speak effectively in public? This post shows you how.
1. We should look our best. Although people aren’t supposed to ‘judge the book by its cover’, some people unconsciously tend to do that. If we don’t look credible enough, they may not even start listening to what we have to say. I’m not saying we ought to wear gowns or tuxedos, but simply wear clothes fit for the occasion. Our clothes should be neat and free of wrinkles (unless it’s the clothes’ style), not too loud that people would rather stare at it than us. We should be pleasant-looking, and I’m not only referring to our clothes but our faces and gestures as well.
2. We should know how to stress our point. A speech, like a song has a variety of notes, tempo and loudness. A singer who just screeches all the way from the beginning to the end will not be listened to, no matter how talentedly-highpitched she is. Same with delivering a speech. We ought to know when to stay silent, when to pause, when to speak loudly, when to whisper, when to speak fast, when to slow down, etc. or else we would sound monotonous and the main points of our speech would not be understood or remembered well.
3. We should be humble. We should admit it when we make mistakes during our speech and to apologize for that mistake. There are times we may forget a certain term. Instead of pausing for a long time or using a word we’re not sure of, it’s better to ask our listeners. Do not be ashamed to do this. Listeners would appreciate your humility and even relate to you more because they know you are just like them, a human capable of making mistakes and forgetting things, a great or famous person, yet, still human, like them, and this makes the listeners love you more.
4. We should develop a clean sense of humor. Relating to the above mentioned tip on humility, it’s not embarrassing to make mistakes or forget things especially when you have a good sense of humor to save the day. Instead of that instant becoming one of your most embarrassing experiences, it might even become one of your speech’s highlights depending on how you carry yourself. Let me point out though, that it’s a clean sense of humor I’m talking about, because I’ve heard some speeches before that relied on toilet humor and/or ‘for adults only jokes’ (you know what I mean)and the listeners, me included were not amused at all. Some might even be offended and walk out. So, be careful with the jokes, okay?
5. We should talk to the listeners not just with our lips but our eyes too. Even if we have a prepared speech (which speakers usually don’t memorize), we should not glue our eyes on it. It’s probably better if we just write outlines of our speech and not the word per word thing, for we might just be tempted to look at it more. If it’s an outline, we wouldn’t rely on that sheet of paper before us. Instead of looking on the prepared speech sheet, we should be looking at our listeners. Don’t just focus on one though (even if there’s a really gorgeous guy or girl in the audience who caught your attention). Look from left to right or right to left slowly; look at nearly everyone. Look them in the eyes, try to see if they understand your point. Let’s not look at trees or the stage’s ceiling or floor. We are talking to the people, so it’s them we ought to look at. Let’s make sure though that the way we look at them is not in any way offending though. And what we’re saying should be in harmony with how we look at them.
6. We should use our gestures well. If you’re a conductor in an orchestra, I’d understand why you have a lot of hand gestures (just kidding!^^), but if not, minimize it. We don’t want the audience to be distracted with our unnecessary movements while we talk. Our gestures should be governed by what we say and what we want to point out. We should avoid having a memorized gesture like children are taught when reciting a poem in grade school. (we’re not kids anymore, so it’s not cute anymore^^)
7. We should use appropriate language. There’s no need to use terribly deep-no one-else-has-heard-of terms or expressions to impress the listeners. Instead of gaining admirers, we might even lose them. Speak with simplicity and sincerity. Speak your audience’s language, meaning, make your language appropriate for their level of understanding and appreciation.
8. We should connect to our listeners. Let’s not speak as if we’re on a stage in an empty hall. We should talk to them. Some speakers even go to the point of going down the stage and talking to individuals, making the audience feel that they are important and that it’s not a one-way communication speech, but a discussion and that their thoughts matter. We don’t always have to do this. It depends on the occasion, the listeners and the time allotted for our speech. I would just like to point out that speakers who make their audience feel that he is not the center of attention but them (the listeners) win their respect more.
9. We should believe in what we are saying. If we don’t sound convinced by what we say, we can’t expect anyone to believe it. In the first place, there’s no need to be shy when asked to speak in public because the fact that you are asked to speak to the audience already means that you have authority in that area you will be talking about, and that those people already believe in you to begin with. So, let’s prove them right and not waste their trust.
10. We should be able to inspire our listeners to take action. This skill is probably not that easy to develop, but it’s the skill that separates good speakers from great ones. Why? Because even if people enjoyed our speech and listened to it, if whatever action we expect from them afterwards was not realized, then, our talk might have been in vain. It might have been good for the moment, but not one that will be remembered or change lives.
I hope you learned a lot from these tips. I will write more tips and articles to share with you soon. If there are topics regarding English you would like me to discuss, kindly let me know. I’ll see what I can do for you.
1. We should look our best. Although people aren’t supposed to ‘judge the book by its cover’, some people unconsciously tend to do that. If we don’t look credible enough, they may not even start listening to what we have to say. I’m not saying we ought to wear gowns or tuxedos, but simply wear clothes fit for the occasion. Our clothes should be neat and free of wrinkles (unless it’s the clothes’ style), not too loud that people would rather stare at it than us. We should be pleasant-looking, and I’m not only referring to our clothes but our faces and gestures as well.
2. We should know how to stress our point. A speech, like a song has a variety of notes, tempo and loudness. A singer who just screeches all the way from the beginning to the end will not be listened to, no matter how talentedly-highpitched she is. Same with delivering a speech. We ought to know when to stay silent, when to pause, when to speak loudly, when to whisper, when to speak fast, when to slow down, etc. or else we would sound monotonous and the main points of our speech would not be understood or remembered well.
3. We should be humble. We should admit it when we make mistakes during our speech and to apologize for that mistake. There are times we may forget a certain term. Instead of pausing for a long time or using a word we’re not sure of, it’s better to ask our listeners. Do not be ashamed to do this. Listeners would appreciate your humility and even relate to you more because they know you are just like them, a human capable of making mistakes and forgetting things, a great or famous person, yet, still human, like them, and this makes the listeners love you more.
4. We should develop a clean sense of humor. Relating to the above mentioned tip on humility, it’s not embarrassing to make mistakes or forget things especially when you have a good sense of humor to save the day. Instead of that instant becoming one of your most embarrassing experiences, it might even become one of your speech’s highlights depending on how you carry yourself. Let me point out though, that it’s a clean sense of humor I’m talking about, because I’ve heard some speeches before that relied on toilet humor and/or ‘for adults only jokes’ (you know what I mean)and the listeners, me included were not amused at all. Some might even be offended and walk out. So, be careful with the jokes, okay?
5. We should talk to the listeners not just with our lips but our eyes too. Even if we have a prepared speech (which speakers usually don’t memorize), we should not glue our eyes on it. It’s probably better if we just write outlines of our speech and not the word per word thing, for we might just be tempted to look at it more. If it’s an outline, we wouldn’t rely on that sheet of paper before us. Instead of looking on the prepared speech sheet, we should be looking at our listeners. Don’t just focus on one though (even if there’s a really gorgeous guy or girl in the audience who caught your attention). Look from left to right or right to left slowly; look at nearly everyone. Look them in the eyes, try to see if they understand your point. Let’s not look at trees or the stage’s ceiling or floor. We are talking to the people, so it’s them we ought to look at. Let’s make sure though that the way we look at them is not in any way offending though. And what we’re saying should be in harmony with how we look at them.
6. We should use our gestures well. If you’re a conductor in an orchestra, I’d understand why you have a lot of hand gestures (just kidding!^^), but if not, minimize it. We don’t want the audience to be distracted with our unnecessary movements while we talk. Our gestures should be governed by what we say and what we want to point out. We should avoid having a memorized gesture like children are taught when reciting a poem in grade school. (we’re not kids anymore, so it’s not cute anymore^^)
7. We should use appropriate language. There’s no need to use terribly deep-no one-else-has-heard-of terms or expressions to impress the listeners. Instead of gaining admirers, we might even lose them. Speak with simplicity and sincerity. Speak your audience’s language, meaning, make your language appropriate for their level of understanding and appreciation.
8. We should connect to our listeners. Let’s not speak as if we’re on a stage in an empty hall. We should talk to them. Some speakers even go to the point of going down the stage and talking to individuals, making the audience feel that they are important and that it’s not a one-way communication speech, but a discussion and that their thoughts matter. We don’t always have to do this. It depends on the occasion, the listeners and the time allotted for our speech. I would just like to point out that speakers who make their audience feel that he is not the center of attention but them (the listeners) win their respect more.
9. We should believe in what we are saying. If we don’t sound convinced by what we say, we can’t expect anyone to believe it. In the first place, there’s no need to be shy when asked to speak in public because the fact that you are asked to speak to the audience already means that you have authority in that area you will be talking about, and that those people already believe in you to begin with. So, let’s prove them right and not waste their trust.
10. We should be able to inspire our listeners to take action. This skill is probably not that easy to develop, but it’s the skill that separates good speakers from great ones. Why? Because even if people enjoyed our speech and listened to it, if whatever action we expect from them afterwards was not realized, then, our talk might have been in vain. It might have been good for the moment, but not one that will be remembered or change lives.
I hope you learned a lot from these tips. I will write more tips and articles to share with you soon. If there are topics regarding English you would like me to discuss, kindly let me know. I’ll see what I can do for you.
Factors affecting English speaking skills
How does one acquire good English speaking skills? A lot of people aim to have an American or British accent in order to impress other people, and for others to say that they are indeed good in English. However, is this really the true measure of being a good English speaker? Actually, there are several factors that affect our English speaking skills. If we can honestly assess ourselves and say we are good in all of the said factors, then we are good English speakers. (Well, that of course depends on our level of honesty to ourselves.^^)
1 Listening comprehension
2. understand English pronunciation
3. grammatical accuracy
4, accent neutralization
5 .vocabulary
6 . APPROPPRIATENES ANSWER
7.. ORGANIZATION IDEA
8..English fluency
9..speak with enthusiasm
10..self-confidence to being a great English speaker
11..The length of answers
These factors will be discussed one by one on my next posts. For those who want to improve their level of English, these are for you. I hope they could be of help. If you have any comments or pieces of information you wish to add, please feel free to do so. Thank you!
1 Listening comprehension
Listening comprehension is a very basic skill one must have in order to be a good English speaker. Why? One of the most common and critical mistakes non-native
speakers of English make is focusing their time and effort in improving their English speaking skills without first assessing and practicing their English listening comprehension skills. A lot of them actually know grammar rules pretty well and can construct even complex sentences. Surprisingly, just when you thought they can communicate well in English, they suddenly come to a halt when asked questions.
Some non-native speakers cannot understand the question/s, because the one asking speaks too fast or because of the speaker’s accent (in case of an Australian or a British speaker for example). They would often ask the speaker to repeat the question several times or request the speaker to speak more slowly, before they finally understand the question. Some, on the other hand, answer the question/s impressively (with not many mistakes in grammar and pronunciation; good explanations and examples; amazing fluency) just to find out in the end that he or she misunderstood the question, and therefore gave an inappropriate answer.
So, how can one’s English listening comprehension skills be improved?
Listen! Listen!! LISTEN!!!
Listen to dialogues in English TV programs and movies. Avoid looking at the subtitles (translation of the dialogues in your mother tongue). Focus on understanding what the speakers are saying without reading the translations.
Parrot
Listen to an English News Program or Disney cartoons or an English conversation/lecture audio and repeat the sentences you hear. It might be hard at the beginning but when you do this often enough, you’ll find yourself being able to repeat longer and longer sentences. Try to parrot not only the words but also the way the words have been spoken. Be careful though in choosing the audio you will try to imitate. Make sure they are clear and easy to understand.
Catch the Main Ideas
It’s not necessary for you to hear every single word for you to understand a dialogue, lecture and the likes. You just need to listen carefully for the words that will give you the main idea of the topic discussed.
Watch Out for Homophones
At times, you might encounter words that sound like other words, such as homophones (words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings). In these cases, you should not rely just on the sound you heard, but the context on which the word was used. For instance, the words “bare” and “bear” have the same pronunciation, so you have to listen for context clues. If the words “zoo” and “furry” were mentioned for example, you could already guess that it was the word “bear” which was mentioned, not “bare”.
2. understand English pronunciation
It is quite common for non-native speakers of English to mispronounce English words. However, it is not something we have to be ashamed of, but something we ought to understand. We have to get to the root/s of the problems, in order for us to improve our pronunciation. Here are some tips I hope could help you understand English pronunciation better.
English is not phonetic
Unlike other languages, English is not phonetic. What does that mean? It means we don’t always say English words the way we spell them. Let’s compare two languages as an example.
Ex. The Japanese word “honto” (really) is pronounced the way it is spelled.
The English word “really” is not pronounced as "re-a-li" or "re-a-lai", nor is the word “really” spelled as “rili”.
Ex. Another example is the word “read”. At times it is pronounced as [red] and at times as [ri:d]. Although the spelling may not change, the way it is pronounced changes depending on the tense you are using.
That’s one of the main reasons non-native speakers of English get confused in pronouncing many English words, especially if their native tongue is phonetic.
The Sounds of -ed
The past simple tense and past participle of all regular English verbs end in “ed”. However, the “ed” added to the verbs may have different sounds which depends if the base verb’s sound is voiceless or voiced.
What is the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?
VOICED -A consonant is voiced when it makes the vocal cords vibrate.
VOICELESS -When a consonant is pronounced without vibrating the vocal cords,
it’s voiceless.
There are three ways of pronouncing the –ed sound. /id/ or /t/ or /d/
3. grammatical accuracy
Some people wonder why there is a need to have grammatical accuracy in English, when even some native English speakers commit grammatical mistakes themselves. I used to ask that myself too, but as I listened more carefully to how both (native English speakers and non-native English speakers) express their thoughts, the reason dawned on me.
Native English speakers can say what they want without much difficulty due to their familiarity of the language. If they have difficulty expressing a certain concept/thought in a certain way, they can just use other ways of saying those things. They may commit some mistakes in grammar, but the mistakes do not distort or change the meaning of the sentences they want to convey, thus, it doesn’t give the listener much of a problem understanding them. On the other hand, the mistakes many non-native speakers of English commit are those that often change the meaning of sentences they want to express, and thus create a misunderstanding. That’s exactly the reason why non-native speakers have to study grammar more than native speakers.
Common Mistakes in Grammar
• Nouns
Ex. My neighbor has ten childrens.
(“Children” is already in the plural form, so there’s no need to add “s”.)
Ex. There are three sheeps in the meadow.
(Some nouns such as sheep, deer, salmon and trout have the same form in the singular as in the plural.)
Ex. My scissors is sharp.
(Certain nouns such as scissors, pliers, tweezers and tongs are always in the plural form and need plural verbs. So, the “is” in the above sentence should have been “are”.)
Ex. Picking the right candidate for the contest involves a lot of criterias.
(“Criteria” is already in the plural form.)
• Pronouns
Ex. Everybody have their work to do.
(The indefinite pronouns each, anyone, anybody, , everybody and everyone are referred to by singular pronouns. The sentence should have read “Everybody has his work to do.)
Ex. I watched a movie with my wife last night. He liked it very much.
(He’s talking about his wife and then he used “he” to refer to her afterwards.)
• Adjectives
Ex. She is the most fairest girl I have ever seen.
(“Fairest” is already in the superlative degree of comparison, so using “most” before it makes the meaning redundant.)
Ex. He is worst than my ex-husband.
(If only two things/people are being compared, “worse” should be used instead of “worst”.)
Ex. I met little people in the conference.
(“Little” is used to refer to noncount nouns. “Few” should have been used in the sentence above, unless of course the writer/speaker was referring to midgets or dwarfs, or if he used the word little “figuratively”.)
• Verbs
Ex. Few is expected to fail the test.
(The indefinite pronouns both, many, several and few take a plural verb.)
Ex. They hanged the old fiddle in the woodshed.
(Some are confused with hanged and hung. “Hanged” means to kill somebody or yourself by fastening a rope around the neck and removing any other support for the body. “Hung”, on the other hand, means to suspend or fasten something so that it is held up from above. In this sentence, it seems as if the old fiddle was killed, which of course doesn’t make any sense.)
Ex. I go to school yesterday.
(The word “yesterday” indicates a past event, so the verb used should have been “went”.)
Ex. She swimmed very fast the last time we were at the beach.
(“Swam” should have been used instead of “swimmed.”)
Ex. He don’t know anything about it.
(“Doesn’t” should be used instead of “don’t” because the subject “he” is singular.)
Keep in mind that it is not the spelling but the sound that is important. For instance, ‘wax” ends in x but the sound is /s/.
There are some exceptions though. The following words used as adjectives are pronounced with /id/
blessed, aged, ragged, wretched, naked, crooked
Two ways of pronouncing “the”
When used before a vowel sound, we say “the” as “thee”. Keep in mind that it is the sound we should listen to, not the letters themselves.
Ex. The apple is pronounced as “thee apple”.
The hour is pronounced as “thee hour”. (hour sounds like our)
When used before a consonant sound, we say “the” as “thuh”.
Ex. The graduates is pronounced as “thuh graduates”.
The university is pronounced as “thuh university”. (university sounds like yuniversity)
4, accent neutralization
What is accent? Who has an accent? What do we do to neutralize our accent? These questions and more will be answered by this post.
Everyone has an accent. So, when I hear some people say, “She’s good in English. She doesn’t have an accent,” I find it a bit amusing. Accent usually reflects the place where a person comes from, that’s why it’s easy to say if someone is Korean, American, Filipino, British, Australian, etc., even if they all speak in English. Accent is also one of the main reasons why people have a hard time understanding each other, and thus many people strive to change their accent. I said “change their accent” not “get rid of their accent”, because I think it’s more appropriate to say the former. People can actually change their accent by studying another accent and imitating it. When people say “neutralize” or “remove one’s accent”, what they often mean is to get the standard American English accent. So, how can we have this kind of accent?
First, we ought to study our native tongue’s vowel and consonant sounds and compare it to the Standard American English vowels and sounds. By doing this, we will know why we’re having difficulty imitating their accent and how we can succeed on doing it.
Ex. Tagalog (Philippine language)for instance have only 5 vowel sounds.
A E I O U
(as in father) (as in bet) (as in indeed) (as in all) (as in ooze)
English, on the other hand, although has the same vowels, each vowel has many different sounds.
A (as in father) A (as in mate) A (as in map)
I (as in ice) I (as in intention)
U (as in umbrella) U (as in university)
Hence, when some Filipinos speak in English, they tend to sound the English vowels a, e, i, o, u the same way they sound in their native tongue. This is what happens most of the time to other people of other languages. They carry over the sounds of their vowels when they speak in English.
Another problem is the aspirating sound of the English consonants, which is not done in one’s native tongue.
Ex. The Tagalog consonant sounds for instance need no air to be pushed out from the mouth when they are pronounced unlike English consonants.
Tunay (true) vs true
Pahina (page) vs page
For other languages, the problem is the lack of some consonant sounds in their native tongue, such as j, z, l, r, f, p.
Ex. In Japanese language, the L sound is nonexistent. Thus, when they say an English word with an L sound, they tend to sound it like an R which is the nearest sound to L in their native language.
In English, stress in words and sentences as well as intonation patterns is also a part of the so-called accent. So when we stress the words/sentences or use intonation patterns that are different from Standard American English (since we often carry over the stress and intonation patterns of our mother tongue to English), our accent would then sound different from Americans.
Ex. Remember that yes/no questions usually have a rising intonation and that wh questions usually have a falling intonation.
Are you okay?
What time is it?
Also, remember that the keywords in a sentence are the ones enunciated well while the articles are glided over, so as not to sound robotic and monotonous.
Accent is the rhythm or music of our speech. Acquiring another accent is like learning songs. When we try to learn a new song, we study both its lyrics and its melody. If we just study the lyrics (in this case, the grammar of the language we’re studying) and we just ignore the melody by using the melody of the song we are most familiar with (using the accent and pronunciation of our mother tongue), we sound different from what is expected. Each language and dialect has its own rhythm which explains why we have different accents even if we all speak in English. The key to acquiring another accent is to understand and study that language (like English) as a totally different language (new song which melody and lyrics we both have to know), thus, following the pronunciation of its sounds, the intonation and stress patterns, etc., instead of linking it to our mother tongue. Do not carry over the rules of our language to the one we try to acquire
5 vocabulary
Okay, let’s say we have already neutralized our accent. So does that mean we can already convey our messages clearly? Hold your horses! We still need to work on our vocabulary. Many people are misunderstood because of using words or expressions inappropriately. Below are some examples of the most commonly misused words in the English language. I hope you’ll find them helpful.
Accept versus Except
Accept is a verb which means “to receive”.
Ex. I accept your proposal.
Except is usually a preposition which means not included.
Ex. I eat all kinds of fruits except that one.
Also, except is a verb meaning to exclude.
Ex. Please except that vegetable from the grocery list.
Affect versus Effect
Usually, “affect” is a verb meaning to influence. Effect, on the other hand, is usually a noun meaning result.
Ex. Frequent drinking of alcohol affected his health.
Ex. One of the effects of illegal logging is flood.
Lend versus Borrow
Lend is a verb which means to let someone use or take something which will be returned later. Borrow, is a verb which means to use or take something from someone after asking for permission and returning the thing used or taken later.
Ex. Jane needed money, so she borrowed money from Ken. Ken lent Jane the money she needed.
Its versus It’s
“Its” is the possessive case of the pronoun “it”. “It’s”, on the other hand, is the contraction of the words, “it is”.
Ex. The airport changed its policy.
It's a very nice day today.
Loose versus Lose
Loose is an adjective. Lose is a verb.
Ex. If your shoelaces are too loose, you might trip and lose your balance.
Quiet versus Quite
Quiet is an adjective that means silence, and quite is an adverb that means to a great extent.
Ex. It’s very quiet in the library. The students are quite busy studying.
Raise versus Rise
They are both verbs. Raise means to cause something to move upward. Rise means to move upward or to get out of bed.
Ex. The student raised his hand to give his answer.
The sun usually rises before 6 am.
6 . APPROPPRIATENES ANSWER
I encountered some people before whom I thought spoke English very well, because they did not commit mistakes in grammar frequently. Also, their pronunciation is clear enough to understand. However, during our conversation, I realized they were not that good in answering questions, for they spoke of things which were not in line with what I was asking.
For instance:
Question: What is today’s date?
Their Answer: It’s Tuesday.
(The question was about the date not the day.)
Question: What company are you working for?
Their Answer: I am a Graphic Artist in the Advertising Department. I make layouts for brochures, print ads and other advertising materials the company needs.
(The question was asking about the name of the company. The person’s answer was about his job and his duties.)
Question: Do you have questions?
Their Answer: Yes. (when actually, what they mean is “no, questions”)
(The examples given were similar to my experiences, but not exactly the same.)
These examples clearly tell us that good pronunciation, accent and grammar are not enough to measure one’s abilities in speaking English. We have to understand the questions really well and answer them accordingly.
7.. ORGANIZATION IDEA
When you read a news article, do you read the first paragraph (also called the “lead”) first or do you read the last paragraph of the article first? I think it is safe to say that almost everyone reads the lead first before the other paragraphs in the news article. If ever there are cases where the person reads the last paragraph first, the question is, “Why?”.
News articles are structured in a way that the readers would be able to grasp the gist of the news right away even if they don’t have enough time to read the whole article. The most important pieces of information are already in the first two paragraphs of the article. So, if the readers are in a hurry, they can still understand the main idea and get the most important information about the article. If we could only air our thoughts the same way, the people we’re talking to would understand us more easily. Also, they would not get bored with our responses.^^
What are the common problems about organizing ideas when responding to questions?
Novelist Speakers
What in the world is a novelist speaker? They are the people who tend to talk so much in response to a very simple question. They have a tendency to digress from the topic and even forget what the original question was.
Repeat Again
Have you ever heard someone tell you ,” Sorry, I don’t understand the question. Can you repeat again please?” If you weren’t able to identify what’s wrong with the latter sentence, you probably have the same problem. The word “again” is the same as “repeat”, so it’s redundant to say “repeat again”. Now, the problem with some speakers is that they repeat not only the words, but also the content of their responses. At times, they have a very long response but the content is just the same as what they’ve already said before.
Story-teller Style
In some stories, you have to read the whole story first before you understand the lesson. It is the same with some speakers. It’s very hard for them to go straight to the point. You have to wait for them to finish speaking (in some cases, very long speeches^^) before you can finally understand what he’s trying to say. Many people don’t have time to listen to everything you will say, so say the most important things first. Say the main idea first before elaborating on reasons and giving examples.
Disoriented
At times, we encounter people who would talk about topic A and go to topic B and then go back to topic A and afterwards move to topic C. They have no focus of what they would like to talk about, so the people they talk to get dizzy talking to them.^^ Try to talk about topic A first and try to finish everything you have to say about it before moving on to another topic.
8..English fluency
English fluency means being able to use the language with ease. How can we assess our English fluency then? Below are questions that we ought to ask ourselves to gauge our English fluency.
Do I pause a lot when I speak?
Do I say “ahh” or “uuhmm” many times because I can’t remember the right words that would
be suitable for my sentences?
Do I often say “you know” to replace the phrases I can’t remember or explain myself?
Do I speak so slowly, because I’m too careful not to make mistakes in my sentences, that my listeners already tend to look drowsy?
Do I make the pronunciation of certain words indistinguishable intentionally, because I am not sure how those words should be pronounced?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you do have a problem in English fluency. In order to be more fluent in the said language, I suggest you practice speaking English as often as possible. However, it’s not enough to practice all the time. You have to make sure you practice speaking English the right way. You can do this by practicing with a buddy who can speak English well, so that he/she can correct your mistakes if you commit any.
Also, surround yourself in an all-English atmosphere. Listen to English songs, read English books, and watch English TV programs and movies. You can also try to record yourself as you speak English, and then listen to the recording afterwards. Listen for the mistakes that you commit repetitively and study the rules behind those mistakes. Be more careful not to commit those mistakes the next time you speak. If you do this regularly, your English language skills will definitely improve a lot!^
9..speak with enthusiasm
This post teaches how one could speak with enthusiasm and how this would help one become a great English speaker.
I’m sure almost everyone has experienced listening to speeches. It may be during our elementary or high school graduation given by the guest speakers or valedictorians, or during election campaign periods when politicians would recite a long list of promises to the voters, or even during special occasions like weddings and birthdays. Whatever the case may be, it all boils down to one thing...do you remember anything about their long, well-prepared for speeches? (Did you even listen?^^) If not, then their speeches were not effective. They might not have caught your attention. Most probably, you didn’t even care about what they were talking about. Most people who are asked to give speeches are those who are intelligent and those who can speak very well. So, what could probably have went wrong?
Speaking well does not only involve the right grammar, pronunciation, accent and proper use of words. A person might be good in all these aspects yet not many people would like to listen to what he has to say. Why? A good English speaker (or speaker for that matter), can catch and hold the attention of his/her listeners. How can he/she do this?
Speak up!
If you speak too softly, how in the world will people be able to hear clearly what you have to say? Do not expect the listeners to be the ones to exert effort in trying to understand you, if you’re the one who wants to convey a message.
Be a singer
Listen to songs. A good song has soft and loud parts, slow and fast parts. The changes in the volume and the rhythm makes the tune catchy, nice to listen to and even easy to remember at times. We should speak the same way. We should not speak in a monotonous tone that would put the listeners to sleep. We should sometimes speak fast, speak slowly, speak softly and speak loudly, depending on the ideas we would like to get across.
Feel it
If you can’t feel what you say, why would you expect the message to have an impact to the ones listening? Whether you’re giving a speech, or taking an English exam, or answering a question, you should not sound as if you’re reading something from a very boring textbook. You should put more feelings into it. It’s not just the content that matters, it’s the delivery!
10..self-confidence to being a great English speaker
What is the relationship of self-confidence to being a great English speaker? Read this post to find out.^^
Did you already know how to ride a bike the moment you were born? Of course not. You had to study it (by yourself or someone teaching you how to do it), practice, fall down at times and learn from your mistakes, until you finally got it right. If you just studied about how to ride a bike and did not even try it, would you learn? No. You would still probably be reading a Dummies Guide to Riding a Bike until now.^^ Learning the English language is the same thing. It’s not enough that you study about it. You should practice it! Do not be afraid to make mistakes. It’s a part of the learning process.
I’ve met a lot of people who are good in English but are not that confident to use the language, thus, they waste their talents. I also know many people who commit many mistakes in grammar, pronunciation and word usage, yet because of their self-confidence they even landed a job which is in line with English. Here’s a friendly advice to the former group of people: If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? You’ve got to believe you can do something well first before other people can start believing in you.
In my experience as an English trainer, I’ve met some people who were supposed to take English language examinations such as TOEFL, TSE, IELTS, etc.. During our mock interviews, many of them would say “I’m not very good in English”, as parts of their responses to certain questions. If I were the real examiner, why would I give you a high score in this exam if you yourself admit you’re not good in English? Why are you taking this exam in the first place if you know you deserve to fail? So like what I said, believe in yourself, and everything will start falling into place.
paralinguistic communication skills
What is paralinguistic communication skills? Does it help one become an effective English speaker? Read this post to find out.^^
“If you really don’t love me anymore, look me in the eyes and say it!”
Sounds familiar?^^ Many romantic movies and TV sitcoms have that kind of line. So, why is the person forced to look into the other’s eyes and say he/she doesn’t love him/her anymore? Why not just say it? What is the need for the eye contact thing? It’s because words don’t say it all.
Interviewing applicants is a part of my job. When I talk to them, I don’t just listen to what they have to say, I observe the manner in which they say it. I look into their eyes, I observe their gestures and mannerisms, their sitting position, everything, because those paralinguistic cues reveal more information about them than what they are saying.
To become an effective speaker, we must be able to use these paralinguistic cues for us, not against us. Whether we are going to have a job interview or deliver a speech or just plainly talk to someone we hardly know, knowledge of paralinguistic cues is an effective way of making them see what we just want them to see.
In job interviews for example, it’s just natural for applicants to be nervous. Some people unconsciously reveal their nervousness either by having too many hand gestures or being to stiff. Knowing this, we can avoid making those unnecessary movements or being dead stiff.
Also, when people talk about their knowledge and abilities, they tend to look down or look in different directions, either to avoid the interviewer’s gaze, out of shyness or to think of answers. Whatever the case may be, it shows lack of confidence and sincerity, so the interviewees ought to meet the interviewer’s gaze. (however, this depends on the culture of both). In some cultures, looking into the interviewer’s eyes is considered impolite.
One’s sitting position should also be taken into consideration. Slouching would of course reveal an overconfident personality. One should sit upright near the edge of the seat to show attentiveness in interviews.
11..The length of answers
How long should one's answers be? The length of one’s answers depends on the situation. If it’s just a conversation between friends, where you are telling someone a story which is very interesting for him/her, going into details and a long answer is okay. However, when one is in a job interview or an English examination, wherein the interviewer does not have much time to speak with you, you ought to give answers that are brief and detailed. Make sure you have already answered what has been asked, before moving on to elaborate on the details of your answer.
1 Listening comprehension
2. understand English pronunciation
3. grammatical accuracy
4, accent neutralization
5 .vocabulary
6 . APPROPPRIATENES ANSWER
7.. ORGANIZATION IDEA
8..English fluency
9..speak with enthusiasm
10..self-confidence to being a great English speaker
11..The length of answers
These factors will be discussed one by one on my next posts. For those who want to improve their level of English, these are for you. I hope they could be of help. If you have any comments or pieces of information you wish to add, please feel free to do so. Thank you!
1 Listening comprehension
Listening comprehension is a very basic skill one must have in order to be a good English speaker. Why? One of the most common and critical mistakes non-native
speakers of English make is focusing their time and effort in improving their English speaking skills without first assessing and practicing their English listening comprehension skills. A lot of them actually know grammar rules pretty well and can construct even complex sentences. Surprisingly, just when you thought they can communicate well in English, they suddenly come to a halt when asked questions.
Some non-native speakers cannot understand the question/s, because the one asking speaks too fast or because of the speaker’s accent (in case of an Australian or a British speaker for example). They would often ask the speaker to repeat the question several times or request the speaker to speak more slowly, before they finally understand the question. Some, on the other hand, answer the question/s impressively (with not many mistakes in grammar and pronunciation; good explanations and examples; amazing fluency) just to find out in the end that he or she misunderstood the question, and therefore gave an inappropriate answer.
So, how can one’s English listening comprehension skills be improved?
Listen! Listen!! LISTEN!!!
Listen to dialogues in English TV programs and movies. Avoid looking at the subtitles (translation of the dialogues in your mother tongue). Focus on understanding what the speakers are saying without reading the translations.
Parrot
Listen to an English News Program or Disney cartoons or an English conversation/lecture audio and repeat the sentences you hear. It might be hard at the beginning but when you do this often enough, you’ll find yourself being able to repeat longer and longer sentences. Try to parrot not only the words but also the way the words have been spoken. Be careful though in choosing the audio you will try to imitate. Make sure they are clear and easy to understand.
Catch the Main Ideas
It’s not necessary for you to hear every single word for you to understand a dialogue, lecture and the likes. You just need to listen carefully for the words that will give you the main idea of the topic discussed.
Watch Out for Homophones
At times, you might encounter words that sound like other words, such as homophones (words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings). In these cases, you should not rely just on the sound you heard, but the context on which the word was used. For instance, the words “bare” and “bear” have the same pronunciation, so you have to listen for context clues. If the words “zoo” and “furry” were mentioned for example, you could already guess that it was the word “bear” which was mentioned, not “bare”.
2. understand English pronunciation
It is quite common for non-native speakers of English to mispronounce English words. However, it is not something we have to be ashamed of, but something we ought to understand. We have to get to the root/s of the problems, in order for us to improve our pronunciation. Here are some tips I hope could help you understand English pronunciation better.
English is not phonetic
Unlike other languages, English is not phonetic. What does that mean? It means we don’t always say English words the way we spell them. Let’s compare two languages as an example.
Ex. The Japanese word “honto” (really) is pronounced the way it is spelled.
The English word “really” is not pronounced as "re-a-li" or "re-a-lai", nor is the word “really” spelled as “rili”.
Ex. Another example is the word “read”. At times it is pronounced as [red] and at times as [ri:d]. Although the spelling may not change, the way it is pronounced changes depending on the tense you are using.
That’s one of the main reasons non-native speakers of English get confused in pronouncing many English words, especially if their native tongue is phonetic.
The Sounds of -ed
The past simple tense and past participle of all regular English verbs end in “ed”. However, the “ed” added to the verbs may have different sounds which depends if the base verb’s sound is voiceless or voiced.
What is the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?
VOICED -A consonant is voiced when it makes the vocal cords vibrate.
VOICELESS -When a consonant is pronounced without vibrating the vocal cords,
it’s voiceless.
There are three ways of pronouncing the –ed sound. /id/ or /t/ or /d/
3. grammatical accuracy
Some people wonder why there is a need to have grammatical accuracy in English, when even some native English speakers commit grammatical mistakes themselves. I used to ask that myself too, but as I listened more carefully to how both (native English speakers and non-native English speakers) express their thoughts, the reason dawned on me.
Native English speakers can say what they want without much difficulty due to their familiarity of the language. If they have difficulty expressing a certain concept/thought in a certain way, they can just use other ways of saying those things. They may commit some mistakes in grammar, but the mistakes do not distort or change the meaning of the sentences they want to convey, thus, it doesn’t give the listener much of a problem understanding them. On the other hand, the mistakes many non-native speakers of English commit are those that often change the meaning of sentences they want to express, and thus create a misunderstanding. That’s exactly the reason why non-native speakers have to study grammar more than native speakers.
Common Mistakes in Grammar
• Nouns
Ex. My neighbor has ten childrens.
(“Children” is already in the plural form, so there’s no need to add “s”.)
Ex. There are three sheeps in the meadow.
(Some nouns such as sheep, deer, salmon and trout have the same form in the singular as in the plural.)
Ex. My scissors is sharp.
(Certain nouns such as scissors, pliers, tweezers and tongs are always in the plural form and need plural verbs. So, the “is” in the above sentence should have been “are”.)
Ex. Picking the right candidate for the contest involves a lot of criterias.
(“Criteria” is already in the plural form.)
• Pronouns
Ex. Everybody have their work to do.
(The indefinite pronouns each, anyone, anybody, , everybody and everyone are referred to by singular pronouns. The sentence should have read “Everybody has his work to do.)
Ex. I watched a movie with my wife last night. He liked it very much.
(He’s talking about his wife and then he used “he” to refer to her afterwards.)
• Adjectives
Ex. She is the most fairest girl I have ever seen.
(“Fairest” is already in the superlative degree of comparison, so using “most” before it makes the meaning redundant.)
Ex. He is worst than my ex-husband.
(If only two things/people are being compared, “worse” should be used instead of “worst”.)
Ex. I met little people in the conference.
(“Little” is used to refer to noncount nouns. “Few” should have been used in the sentence above, unless of course the writer/speaker was referring to midgets or dwarfs, or if he used the word little “figuratively”.)
• Verbs
Ex. Few is expected to fail the test.
(The indefinite pronouns both, many, several and few take a plural verb.)
Ex. They hanged the old fiddle in the woodshed.
(Some are confused with hanged and hung. “Hanged” means to kill somebody or yourself by fastening a rope around the neck and removing any other support for the body. “Hung”, on the other hand, means to suspend or fasten something so that it is held up from above. In this sentence, it seems as if the old fiddle was killed, which of course doesn’t make any sense.)
Ex. I go to school yesterday.
(The word “yesterday” indicates a past event, so the verb used should have been “went”.)
Ex. She swimmed very fast the last time we were at the beach.
(“Swam” should have been used instead of “swimmed.”)
Ex. He don’t know anything about it.
(“Doesn’t” should be used instead of “don’t” because the subject “he” is singular.)
Keep in mind that it is not the spelling but the sound that is important. For instance, ‘wax” ends in x but the sound is /s/.
There are some exceptions though. The following words used as adjectives are pronounced with /id/
blessed, aged, ragged, wretched, naked, crooked
Two ways of pronouncing “the”
When used before a vowel sound, we say “the” as “thee”. Keep in mind that it is the sound we should listen to, not the letters themselves.
Ex. The apple is pronounced as “thee apple”.
The hour is pronounced as “thee hour”. (hour sounds like our)
When used before a consonant sound, we say “the” as “thuh”.
Ex. The graduates is pronounced as “thuh graduates”.
The university is pronounced as “thuh university”. (university sounds like yuniversity)
4, accent neutralization
What is accent? Who has an accent? What do we do to neutralize our accent? These questions and more will be answered by this post.
Everyone has an accent. So, when I hear some people say, “She’s good in English. She doesn’t have an accent,” I find it a bit amusing. Accent usually reflects the place where a person comes from, that’s why it’s easy to say if someone is Korean, American, Filipino, British, Australian, etc., even if they all speak in English. Accent is also one of the main reasons why people have a hard time understanding each other, and thus many people strive to change their accent. I said “change their accent” not “get rid of their accent”, because I think it’s more appropriate to say the former. People can actually change their accent by studying another accent and imitating it. When people say “neutralize” or “remove one’s accent”, what they often mean is to get the standard American English accent. So, how can we have this kind of accent?
First, we ought to study our native tongue’s vowel and consonant sounds and compare it to the Standard American English vowels and sounds. By doing this, we will know why we’re having difficulty imitating their accent and how we can succeed on doing it.
Ex. Tagalog (Philippine language)for instance have only 5 vowel sounds.
A E I O U
(as in father) (as in bet) (as in indeed) (as in all) (as in ooze)
English, on the other hand, although has the same vowels, each vowel has many different sounds.
A (as in father) A (as in mate) A (as in map)
I (as in ice) I (as in intention)
U (as in umbrella) U (as in university)
Hence, when some Filipinos speak in English, they tend to sound the English vowels a, e, i, o, u the same way they sound in their native tongue. This is what happens most of the time to other people of other languages. They carry over the sounds of their vowels when they speak in English.
Another problem is the aspirating sound of the English consonants, which is not done in one’s native tongue.
Ex. The Tagalog consonant sounds for instance need no air to be pushed out from the mouth when they are pronounced unlike English consonants.
Tunay (true) vs true
Pahina (page) vs page
For other languages, the problem is the lack of some consonant sounds in their native tongue, such as j, z, l, r, f, p.
Ex. In Japanese language, the L sound is nonexistent. Thus, when they say an English word with an L sound, they tend to sound it like an R which is the nearest sound to L in their native language.
In English, stress in words and sentences as well as intonation patterns is also a part of the so-called accent. So when we stress the words/sentences or use intonation patterns that are different from Standard American English (since we often carry over the stress and intonation patterns of our mother tongue to English), our accent would then sound different from Americans.
Ex. Remember that yes/no questions usually have a rising intonation and that wh questions usually have a falling intonation.
Are you okay?
What time is it?
Also, remember that the keywords in a sentence are the ones enunciated well while the articles are glided over, so as not to sound robotic and monotonous.
Accent is the rhythm or music of our speech. Acquiring another accent is like learning songs. When we try to learn a new song, we study both its lyrics and its melody. If we just study the lyrics (in this case, the grammar of the language we’re studying) and we just ignore the melody by using the melody of the song we are most familiar with (using the accent and pronunciation of our mother tongue), we sound different from what is expected. Each language and dialect has its own rhythm which explains why we have different accents even if we all speak in English. The key to acquiring another accent is to understand and study that language (like English) as a totally different language (new song which melody and lyrics we both have to know), thus, following the pronunciation of its sounds, the intonation and stress patterns, etc., instead of linking it to our mother tongue. Do not carry over the rules of our language to the one we try to acquire
5 vocabulary
Okay, let’s say we have already neutralized our accent. So does that mean we can already convey our messages clearly? Hold your horses! We still need to work on our vocabulary. Many people are misunderstood because of using words or expressions inappropriately. Below are some examples of the most commonly misused words in the English language. I hope you’ll find them helpful.
Accept versus Except
Accept is a verb which means “to receive”.
Ex. I accept your proposal.
Except is usually a preposition which means not included.
Ex. I eat all kinds of fruits except that one.
Also, except is a verb meaning to exclude.
Ex. Please except that vegetable from the grocery list.
Affect versus Effect
Usually, “affect” is a verb meaning to influence. Effect, on the other hand, is usually a noun meaning result.
Ex. Frequent drinking of alcohol affected his health.
Ex. One of the effects of illegal logging is flood.
Lend versus Borrow
Lend is a verb which means to let someone use or take something which will be returned later. Borrow, is a verb which means to use or take something from someone after asking for permission and returning the thing used or taken later.
Ex. Jane needed money, so she borrowed money from Ken. Ken lent Jane the money she needed.
Its versus It’s
“Its” is the possessive case of the pronoun “it”. “It’s”, on the other hand, is the contraction of the words, “it is”.
Ex. The airport changed its policy.
It's a very nice day today.
Loose versus Lose
Loose is an adjective. Lose is a verb.
Ex. If your shoelaces are too loose, you might trip and lose your balance.
Quiet versus Quite
Quiet is an adjective that means silence, and quite is an adverb that means to a great extent.
Ex. It’s very quiet in the library. The students are quite busy studying.
Raise versus Rise
They are both verbs. Raise means to cause something to move upward. Rise means to move upward or to get out of bed.
Ex. The student raised his hand to give his answer.
The sun usually rises before 6 am.
6 . APPROPPRIATENES ANSWER
I encountered some people before whom I thought spoke English very well, because they did not commit mistakes in grammar frequently. Also, their pronunciation is clear enough to understand. However, during our conversation, I realized they were not that good in answering questions, for they spoke of things which were not in line with what I was asking.
For instance:
Question: What is today’s date?
Their Answer: It’s Tuesday.
(The question was about the date not the day.)
Question: What company are you working for?
Their Answer: I am a Graphic Artist in the Advertising Department. I make layouts for brochures, print ads and other advertising materials the company needs.
(The question was asking about the name of the company. The person’s answer was about his job and his duties.)
Question: Do you have questions?
Their Answer: Yes. (when actually, what they mean is “no, questions”)
(The examples given were similar to my experiences, but not exactly the same.)
These examples clearly tell us that good pronunciation, accent and grammar are not enough to measure one’s abilities in speaking English. We have to understand the questions really well and answer them accordingly.
7.. ORGANIZATION IDEA
When you read a news article, do you read the first paragraph (also called the “lead”) first or do you read the last paragraph of the article first? I think it is safe to say that almost everyone reads the lead first before the other paragraphs in the news article. If ever there are cases where the person reads the last paragraph first, the question is, “Why?”.
News articles are structured in a way that the readers would be able to grasp the gist of the news right away even if they don’t have enough time to read the whole article. The most important pieces of information are already in the first two paragraphs of the article. So, if the readers are in a hurry, they can still understand the main idea and get the most important information about the article. If we could only air our thoughts the same way, the people we’re talking to would understand us more easily. Also, they would not get bored with our responses.^^
What are the common problems about organizing ideas when responding to questions?
Novelist Speakers
What in the world is a novelist speaker? They are the people who tend to talk so much in response to a very simple question. They have a tendency to digress from the topic and even forget what the original question was.
Repeat Again
Have you ever heard someone tell you ,” Sorry, I don’t understand the question. Can you repeat again please?” If you weren’t able to identify what’s wrong with the latter sentence, you probably have the same problem. The word “again” is the same as “repeat”, so it’s redundant to say “repeat again”. Now, the problem with some speakers is that they repeat not only the words, but also the content of their responses. At times, they have a very long response but the content is just the same as what they’ve already said before.
Story-teller Style
In some stories, you have to read the whole story first before you understand the lesson. It is the same with some speakers. It’s very hard for them to go straight to the point. You have to wait for them to finish speaking (in some cases, very long speeches^^) before you can finally understand what he’s trying to say. Many people don’t have time to listen to everything you will say, so say the most important things first. Say the main idea first before elaborating on reasons and giving examples.
Disoriented
At times, we encounter people who would talk about topic A and go to topic B and then go back to topic A and afterwards move to topic C. They have no focus of what they would like to talk about, so the people they talk to get dizzy talking to them.^^ Try to talk about topic A first and try to finish everything you have to say about it before moving on to another topic.
8..English fluency
English fluency means being able to use the language with ease. How can we assess our English fluency then? Below are questions that we ought to ask ourselves to gauge our English fluency.
Do I pause a lot when I speak?
Do I say “ahh” or “uuhmm” many times because I can’t remember the right words that would
be suitable for my sentences?
Do I often say “you know” to replace the phrases I can’t remember or explain myself?
Do I speak so slowly, because I’m too careful not to make mistakes in my sentences, that my listeners already tend to look drowsy?
Do I make the pronunciation of certain words indistinguishable intentionally, because I am not sure how those words should be pronounced?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you do have a problem in English fluency. In order to be more fluent in the said language, I suggest you practice speaking English as often as possible. However, it’s not enough to practice all the time. You have to make sure you practice speaking English the right way. You can do this by practicing with a buddy who can speak English well, so that he/she can correct your mistakes if you commit any.
Also, surround yourself in an all-English atmosphere. Listen to English songs, read English books, and watch English TV programs and movies. You can also try to record yourself as you speak English, and then listen to the recording afterwards. Listen for the mistakes that you commit repetitively and study the rules behind those mistakes. Be more careful not to commit those mistakes the next time you speak. If you do this regularly, your English language skills will definitely improve a lot!^
9..speak with enthusiasm
This post teaches how one could speak with enthusiasm and how this would help one become a great English speaker.
I’m sure almost everyone has experienced listening to speeches. It may be during our elementary or high school graduation given by the guest speakers or valedictorians, or during election campaign periods when politicians would recite a long list of promises to the voters, or even during special occasions like weddings and birthdays. Whatever the case may be, it all boils down to one thing...do you remember anything about their long, well-prepared for speeches? (Did you even listen?^^) If not, then their speeches were not effective. They might not have caught your attention. Most probably, you didn’t even care about what they were talking about. Most people who are asked to give speeches are those who are intelligent and those who can speak very well. So, what could probably have went wrong?
Speaking well does not only involve the right grammar, pronunciation, accent and proper use of words. A person might be good in all these aspects yet not many people would like to listen to what he has to say. Why? A good English speaker (or speaker for that matter), can catch and hold the attention of his/her listeners. How can he/she do this?
Speak up!
If you speak too softly, how in the world will people be able to hear clearly what you have to say? Do not expect the listeners to be the ones to exert effort in trying to understand you, if you’re the one who wants to convey a message.
Be a singer
Listen to songs. A good song has soft and loud parts, slow and fast parts. The changes in the volume and the rhythm makes the tune catchy, nice to listen to and even easy to remember at times. We should speak the same way. We should not speak in a monotonous tone that would put the listeners to sleep. We should sometimes speak fast, speak slowly, speak softly and speak loudly, depending on the ideas we would like to get across.
Feel it
If you can’t feel what you say, why would you expect the message to have an impact to the ones listening? Whether you’re giving a speech, or taking an English exam, or answering a question, you should not sound as if you’re reading something from a very boring textbook. You should put more feelings into it. It’s not just the content that matters, it’s the delivery!
10..self-confidence to being a great English speaker
What is the relationship of self-confidence to being a great English speaker? Read this post to find out.^^
Did you already know how to ride a bike the moment you were born? Of course not. You had to study it (by yourself or someone teaching you how to do it), practice, fall down at times and learn from your mistakes, until you finally got it right. If you just studied about how to ride a bike and did not even try it, would you learn? No. You would still probably be reading a Dummies Guide to Riding a Bike until now.^^ Learning the English language is the same thing. It’s not enough that you study about it. You should practice it! Do not be afraid to make mistakes. It’s a part of the learning process.
I’ve met a lot of people who are good in English but are not that confident to use the language, thus, they waste their talents. I also know many people who commit many mistakes in grammar, pronunciation and word usage, yet because of their self-confidence they even landed a job which is in line with English. Here’s a friendly advice to the former group of people: If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? You’ve got to believe you can do something well first before other people can start believing in you.
In my experience as an English trainer, I’ve met some people who were supposed to take English language examinations such as TOEFL, TSE, IELTS, etc.. During our mock interviews, many of them would say “I’m not very good in English”, as parts of their responses to certain questions. If I were the real examiner, why would I give you a high score in this exam if you yourself admit you’re not good in English? Why are you taking this exam in the first place if you know you deserve to fail? So like what I said, believe in yourself, and everything will start falling into place.
paralinguistic communication skills
What is paralinguistic communication skills? Does it help one become an effective English speaker? Read this post to find out.^^
“If you really don’t love me anymore, look me in the eyes and say it!”
Sounds familiar?^^ Many romantic movies and TV sitcoms have that kind of line. So, why is the person forced to look into the other’s eyes and say he/she doesn’t love him/her anymore? Why not just say it? What is the need for the eye contact thing? It’s because words don’t say it all.
Interviewing applicants is a part of my job. When I talk to them, I don’t just listen to what they have to say, I observe the manner in which they say it. I look into their eyes, I observe their gestures and mannerisms, their sitting position, everything, because those paralinguistic cues reveal more information about them than what they are saying.
To become an effective speaker, we must be able to use these paralinguistic cues for us, not against us. Whether we are going to have a job interview or deliver a speech or just plainly talk to someone we hardly know, knowledge of paralinguistic cues is an effective way of making them see what we just want them to see.
In job interviews for example, it’s just natural for applicants to be nervous. Some people unconsciously reveal their nervousness either by having too many hand gestures or being to stiff. Knowing this, we can avoid making those unnecessary movements or being dead stiff.
Also, when people talk about their knowledge and abilities, they tend to look down or look in different directions, either to avoid the interviewer’s gaze, out of shyness or to think of answers. Whatever the case may be, it shows lack of confidence and sincerity, so the interviewees ought to meet the interviewer’s gaze. (however, this depends on the culture of both). In some cultures, looking into the interviewer’s eyes is considered impolite.
One’s sitting position should also be taken into consideration. Slouching would of course reveal an overconfident personality. One should sit upright near the edge of the seat to show attentiveness in interviews.
11..The length of answers
How long should one's answers be? The length of one’s answers depends on the situation. If it’s just a conversation between friends, where you are telling someone a story which is very interesting for him/her, going into details and a long answer is okay. However, when one is in a job interview or an English examination, wherein the interviewer does not have much time to speak with you, you ought to give answers that are brief and detailed. Make sure you have already answered what has been asked, before moving on to elaborate on the details of your answer.
IELTS SPEAKING TEST TIPS
Spelling commonly used English words incorrectly is embarrassing. Hence, let me show you some commonly used English words and how they are spelled correctly so that you can avoid making mistakes when writing them.
RECEIVE---Yes, this is the right spelling for this word. There is NO such word as recieve. ( [I] before [e] except after [c] )
NO ONE---No one is made up of two words, not just one.
SAVVY---Yup, this word should always have 2 V(s)
TOMORROW---Spelled with one M and 2 R(s) and not the other way around
RECEIVE---Yes, this is the right spelling for this word. There is NO such word as recieve. ( [I] before [e] except after [c] )
NO ONE---No one is made up of two words, not just one.
SAVVY---Yup, this word should always have 2 V(s)
TOMORROW---Spelled with one M and 2 R(s) and not the other way around
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION IN THE IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Like what I mentioned in my previous post, the IELTS speaking test takes only 11-14 minutes. How do you prove to the examiner you have the necessary English speaking skills in such a short amount of time? TALK. Yes, be willing to talk. Don't just answer questions with a 'yes' or 'no' (yeah, and 'maybe' too^^) Don't wait for the examiner to ask you a follow up question on the same topic to give more details. For instance, you are asked what your hometown is. Don't just mention the name of the hometown. Give the examiner more details about your hometown. Say something interesting about it. Mention its location, population or what it's famous for. The more you speak (just make sure what you're talking about is still related to the topic), the more bases the examiner will have in giving you a score.
Be positive. Wear a smile (make sure it's genuine or at least looks genuine^^). Mention good things about yourself, your hometown, etc. This is not the time to release the critical side of yourself. It wouldn't make a good impression. Just imagine talking to someone who is so negative. You have probably experienced that and perhaps you wouldn't want to talk to that kind of person again.
Like in any interview, be respectful of the interviewer. Do not sit down unless you are asked...but of course if you've already been standing there for quite some time, ask the examiner where you can probably sit. Also, greet the examiner. As for shaking hands,I think it would be better to let the examiner initiate it.
Do not slouch when you sit because it would make you look overconfident or disrespectful. Sit straight and look attentive by sitting near the edge of your seat.
Avoid wearing inappropriate clothes. Like what I said before, imagine that it's a job interview. For girls, don't wear very sexy outfits (with the long slits and plunging necklines) because your examiner might feel uncomfortable or distracted. For guys, try to put on something formal or at least a shirt with collar (instead of T-shirt). Try not to wear jeans and rubber shoes (and definitely not slippers). Wearing appropriate clothes gives an impression that you really prepared for the exam and are serious about it.
Do not wear too many pieces of jewelry, especially the big distracting ones. (danglings, big chunky, flashy and colorful bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings) Keep it simple. Personally, I think the only piece of accessory you need is a wristwatch in order to keep yourself from talking too short or too long.
Do not show them how nervous you are. (and please DO NOT TELL THEM you're nervous, or how relieved you are the exam is over, or that you're not good in English) Believe it or not, some people tend to do those and it wouldn't leave a nice impression. Being nervous and telling them you're not good in English is like already admitting you should not have taken the exam in the first place. If you don't believe in yourself, why would they? right?
Avoid looking at the examiner's table especially at what he or she is writing while you are talking. Some might think that you're trying to read their comments. I heard of one incident before that an examinee was asked by the examiner to sit in the middle of the room instead of next to his or her table because the examiner thought the interviewee was looking at what he/she was writing. Also, instead of just spending 11-14 minutes in the speaking test, the examinee had to stay for around 20 minutes because the interviewer was so angry with him/her.
Establish eye contact. This would show your confidence and this can also be a way to get the examiner's attention. Avoid staring at the ceiling or the floor.
Minimize unnecessary gestures and mannerisms that may be distracting to the examiner. Make sure your gestures can help stress your point instead of them showing your nervousness or lack of anything to say. (It's not the time to scratch your head or pick your nose...please.^^)
Sound enthusiastic about what you are talking about. Feel what you are saying. Do not sound monotonous unless you want your examiner to fall asleep.
Don't ask the examiner how well you did because they won't tell you anyway. Also, remember that the exam isn't over yet until you go out of the room so keep your composure until then.^^
Be positive. Wear a smile (make sure it's genuine or at least looks genuine^^). Mention good things about yourself, your hometown, etc. This is not the time to release the critical side of yourself. It wouldn't make a good impression. Just imagine talking to someone who is so negative. You have probably experienced that and perhaps you wouldn't want to talk to that kind of person again.
Like in any interview, be respectful of the interviewer. Do not sit down unless you are asked...but of course if you've already been standing there for quite some time, ask the examiner where you can probably sit. Also, greet the examiner. As for shaking hands,I think it would be better to let the examiner initiate it.
Do not slouch when you sit because it would make you look overconfident or disrespectful. Sit straight and look attentive by sitting near the edge of your seat.
Avoid wearing inappropriate clothes. Like what I said before, imagine that it's a job interview. For girls, don't wear very sexy outfits (with the long slits and plunging necklines) because your examiner might feel uncomfortable or distracted. For guys, try to put on something formal or at least a shirt with collar (instead of T-shirt). Try not to wear jeans and rubber shoes (and definitely not slippers). Wearing appropriate clothes gives an impression that you really prepared for the exam and are serious about it.
Do not wear too many pieces of jewelry, especially the big distracting ones. (danglings, big chunky, flashy and colorful bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings) Keep it simple. Personally, I think the only piece of accessory you need is a wristwatch in order to keep yourself from talking too short or too long.
Do not show them how nervous you are. (and please DO NOT TELL THEM you're nervous, or how relieved you are the exam is over, or that you're not good in English) Believe it or not, some people tend to do those and it wouldn't leave a nice impression. Being nervous and telling them you're not good in English is like already admitting you should not have taken the exam in the first place. If you don't believe in yourself, why would they? right?
Avoid looking at the examiner's table especially at what he or she is writing while you are talking. Some might think that you're trying to read their comments. I heard of one incident before that an examinee was asked by the examiner to sit in the middle of the room instead of next to his or her table because the examiner thought the interviewee was looking at what he/she was writing. Also, instead of just spending 11-14 minutes in the speaking test, the examinee had to stay for around 20 minutes because the interviewer was so angry with him/her.
Establish eye contact. This would show your confidence and this can also be a way to get the examiner's attention. Avoid staring at the ceiling or the floor.
Minimize unnecessary gestures and mannerisms that may be distracting to the examiner. Make sure your gestures can help stress your point instead of them showing your nervousness or lack of anything to say. (It's not the time to scratch your head or pick your nose...please.^^)
Sound enthusiastic about what you are talking about. Feel what you are saying. Do not sound monotonous unless you want your examiner to fall asleep.
Don't ask the examiner how well you did because they won't tell you anyway. Also, remember that the exam isn't over yet until you go out of the room so keep your composure until then.^^
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Some say that fear of some things is caused by lack of knowledge about them. I think this is true for the speaking subtest of the IELTS. If you know what to expect about the said subtest, you'll probably be less afraid, or should I say nervous about it, and with that confidence comes a higher chance of getting a better score. So, what are you to expect about the IELTS Speaking test?
The speaking test may be scheduled differently from your written test date. For instance, you might take your speaking test the day after your written test or 2 days after it. However, in some cases, the test date of the speaking exam is the same. It might be later in the afternoon after the written tests. Make sure you know when your speaking test will be and where it will be held, for at times it's held in a different location.
The speaking test will be in the form of a live/face to face interview with the examiner. Just imagine that you're going to a job interview; it's more or less like that, only that instead of proving yourself worthy of a job, here, you are proving that you are equipped with the English communication skills necessary in that certain job, country or agency you need to get into.
The test will be around 11-14 minutes. Some may be relieved to know that it wouldn't take that long, but let me tell you that it might be to some people's disadvantage. Eleven to fourteen minutes may or may not be enough time for you to prove your English speaking skills. It will be up to you. During the interview, don't think of how much time is left (like when you were studying and you kept on looking at the class clock and hoped that the school bell would already ring.^^) Instead, think of how you could use such little time to give the examiner enough basis on giving you a good score.
The test is recorded.
The examiner may be a foreigner or a person from your country who has exceptional English speaking skills. Some examiners are friendly, some aren't. Some might nod or say 'yes' to let you know they understand what you mean and some might even laugh with you when a joke is mentioned. However, some might wear a blank expressionless face all throughout the interview. When faced with some examiners, keep your spirits up and just do your best. Maybe they just want to know how you'd react and how your English speaking skills would be affected in such a situation. Or maybe, it's really just their personality. Just remember that being interviewed by examiners like that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a low score. For all you know they might even give you a perfect score.^^
The test is divided into 3 parts/steps.
Step 1 is the Introduction and Interview part which will last from 4-5 minutes. Here, you are to introduce yourself and tall about topics which are very familiar to you such as your family, your job, your hobbies, your hometown, etc.
Step 2 is the Individual Long Turn wherein you will be asked to talk in some detail about a topic written on the card that will be given to you. Once the examiner gives you the card, you will have 1 minute to think of what you will say about the said topic. Then, you will have around 2 minutes to give your talk, without any interference from the examiner.
Step 3 is the Two-Way Discussion where you will be asked questions related to the topic you talked about in step 2. The questions here are more difficult than in steps 1 and 2. You might be asked to give your opinions, describe in detail, compare situations, among others.
how to answer ielts speaking test question type -1
If you have already read my previous posts about IELTS Speaking, then you most probably already know what to expect from this subtest of IELTS and what you are to do to create a good impression during the interview. Hence, what's left is how you are to answer questions in each part of this test. These are some tips for you:
Step 1: Introduction and Interview
The examiner usually introduces himself/herself. Introduce yourself too in a relaxed and friendly manner. Say basic things about yourself just like when you introduce yourself to other people. If offered, shake the examiner's hand firmly to show your confidence. The examiner will get your identification (usually your passport) and will ask you to sit down.
This part is the easiest part of the IELTS Speaking Test because all the topics are familiar to you...they are about you. Thus, there's no need to be nervous in answering the questions. Common questions are about your hometown, interests, family, job, studies, and other familiar topics.
Since the questions will be based around those familiar topics, it will be better if you already have an answer for those questions beforehand. Practice answering those types of questions, but DO NOT memorize your answers. I don't advise memorization of answers because instead of helping you out, it might even be a disadvantage especially when you forget a word or two or if you sound as if you memorized the answer. Just have a mental outline of the things you will be mentioning as part of your answer, that'll do.
Don't give very short answers to questions. Give additional information about your answer to have at least 2 or 3 sentences. For instance, you are asked about how many you are in the family. Don't just tell the examiner the number. Say something more about your family members.
Don't be afraid to correct your mistakes in grammar or pronunciation. Self-correction means you know your English. However, don't make it too often.
Step 1: Introduction and Interview
The examiner usually introduces himself/herself. Introduce yourself too in a relaxed and friendly manner. Say basic things about yourself just like when you introduce yourself to other people. If offered, shake the examiner's hand firmly to show your confidence. The examiner will get your identification (usually your passport) and will ask you to sit down.
This part is the easiest part of the IELTS Speaking Test because all the topics are familiar to you...they are about you. Thus, there's no need to be nervous in answering the questions. Common questions are about your hometown, interests, family, job, studies, and other familiar topics.
Since the questions will be based around those familiar topics, it will be better if you already have an answer for those questions beforehand. Practice answering those types of questions, but DO NOT memorize your answers. I don't advise memorization of answers because instead of helping you out, it might even be a disadvantage especially when you forget a word or two or if you sound as if you memorized the answer. Just have a mental outline of the things you will be mentioning as part of your answer, that'll do.
Don't give very short answers to questions. Give additional information about your answer to have at least 2 or 3 sentences. For instance, you are asked about how many you are in the family. Don't just tell the examiner the number. Say something more about your family members.
Don't be afraid to correct your mistakes in grammar or pronunciation. Self-correction means you know your English. However, don't make it too often.
how to answer ielts speaking test questions part -2
How should one answer the part 2 of the IELTS Speaking module (also known as the individual long turn)? Read this post to find out.
Step 2: Individual Long Turn
* You will be given a topic card that usually has four instructions written on it. You will be given a minute to look at the card and think of your answer.
* Most of the time if not always, the examiner will tell you when you can start your talk about the topic. You have at least a minute until 2 minutes to talk about the topic given. As I've mentioned, you will usually encounter 4 instructions in the card. It would be wise to allot around 30 seconds in answering each instruction so that you can answer all four instructions in approximately 2 minutes. This way, you don't leave out any instruction unanswered.
* The examiner will not intervene in any way while you are giving your talk so don't ask him/her questions like "right?" "Don't you agree?" or "What do you think?".
* Make sure you have practiced talking for two minutes before the speaking test so that you already have the 'feel' of when your talk is already around 2 minutes. Even if you're wearing a watch, it's not okay if you keep on glancing at it to check your time.
* If you are not familiar with the topic, try to make a guess by looking at context clues in the instructions. Do not ask the examiner what is meant by the topic because you are supposed to talk without help in this part of the test.
* Be organized in giving your answer. It would be better to follow the order of the instructions in the topic card so as not to forget any instruction. Also, use words to bridge ideas together.
Step 2: Individual Long Turn
* You will be given a topic card that usually has four instructions written on it. You will be given a minute to look at the card and think of your answer.
* Most of the time if not always, the examiner will tell you when you can start your talk about the topic. You have at least a minute until 2 minutes to talk about the topic given. As I've mentioned, you will usually encounter 4 instructions in the card. It would be wise to allot around 30 seconds in answering each instruction so that you can answer all four instructions in approximately 2 minutes. This way, you don't leave out any instruction unanswered.
* The examiner will not intervene in any way while you are giving your talk so don't ask him/her questions like "right?" "Don't you agree?" or "What do you think?".
* Make sure you have practiced talking for two minutes before the speaking test so that you already have the 'feel' of when your talk is already around 2 minutes. Even if you're wearing a watch, it's not okay if you keep on glancing at it to check your time.
* If you are not familiar with the topic, try to make a guess by looking at context clues in the instructions. Do not ask the examiner what is meant by the topic because you are supposed to talk without help in this part of the test.
* Be organized in giving your answer. It would be better to follow the order of the instructions in the topic card so as not to forget any instruction. Also, use words to bridge ideas together.
HOW TO ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS OF IELTS SPEAKING TEST part -3
How should one answer the questions in the part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Module (also known as the two-way discussion)? Read this post to find out.
Two-Way Discussion (4-5 minutes)
*You will be asked questions within a specific topic area that is related to part 2. However, don't repeat what you have already mentioned in the individual long turn because although the topic is related to it, the questions will be different.
*In this part of the test, you will be asked to give your opinions, describe in detail, compare and contrast, discuss past situations and imagine possible future scenarios.
*Avoid impressing the examiner with big words that you may use incorrectly. Instead, use simple words to discuss complex ideas.
*Since opinion questions will be asked, so try to use a variety of phrases used in giving opinions to show your vocabulary range. There are many phrases you can use to give your opinions aside from 'I think'. Some examples of introductory opinion phrases are written below:
ex. In my opinion...
I believe...
If you ask me..
For me...
In my view…
As far as I'm concerned...
*As mentioned, Part 3 may include description questions. Hence, try to know at least the most commonly used adjectives and adverbs.
*Do not panic when you can't understand the question right away. Part 3 is really more difficult than parts 1 and 2. The examiner will want to see the 'ceiling' of your English ability that's why the questions are harder. Instead of getting nervous, try to use contex clues to guess the meaning of the question. Also, try to remember the previous question, it may somehow be related to the current one. If you really don't understand the question, you may ask the examiner to repeat it for you or rephrase it.
*You might be asked to describe past situations, so you have to make sure you're using the right past forms of verbs.
* Use words that show contrast and comparison.
*You might also be asked to imagine and describe possible future situations, so you need to know many ways of speaking about the future so as not to overdo the word 'will'. Some examples of such phrases are written below:
ex. It most probably will/won't...
Definitely, it's going to/not going to...
I hope that...
It might...
There's a reasonable chance that...
It's possible that...
HERE ARE SOME IELTS SPEAKING QUESTIONS
· What is your name?
Things you can include in your answer: your name, meaning of your name, who gave you your name, what your friends call you
· Describe your hometown.
Things you can include in your answer: name of your hometown, what your hometown is famous for, population of your hometown, things/places to be seen in your hometown
· What about your hometown would you like to change?
Things you can include in your answer: problem/s encountered in your hometown, possible solutions to those problem/s, who can possibly solve those problem/s
· What do you like about your hometown?
Things you can include in your answer: accessibility, cost of living, traffic situation, sceneries
· Describe your neighborhood.
Things you can include in your answer: kind of neighbors you have, description of surroundings, kinds of houses there
· What do you like and dislike about your neighborhood?
Things you may include in your answer: traffic situation, garbage collection, water problem, noise
· Tell me about your family.
Things you may include in your answer: number of family members, their names, their ages, their jobs
· What do your family members do for a living?
Things you may want to include in your answer: your family members' jobs (job title and what they do in those jobs)
· Tell me about your hobbies.
Things you may want to include in your answer: hobbies, why you enjoy doing those, when you started to have those hobbies, with whom you do them with
· Have you ever had a part time job? Full time job?
Things you may include in your answer: job title, simple job description or main responsibilities in the said job, when you started or resigned from the job, what you liked about the job
· What organizations/clubs are you into?
Things you may include in your answer: name of the club, when you joined it, why you joined it, the purpose of the club
· Where are you working right now?
Things you may include in your answer: your work, what you like about your work, your main responsibilities, when you started working in that job
· What do you do when you go out with your family/friends?
Things you may include in your answer: activities, why you like doing them with your family/friends
· Do you like sports?
Things you may include in your answer: yes or no,why you like sports, sports you like, what you like about that sport
· What kinds of books do you like reading?
Things you may include in your answer: type of book (science, art, etc.), why you like reading that/those type/s of books
Things you can include in your answer: your name, meaning of your name, who gave you your name, what your friends call you
· Describe your hometown.
Things you can include in your answer: name of your hometown, what your hometown is famous for, population of your hometown, things/places to be seen in your hometown
· What about your hometown would you like to change?
Things you can include in your answer: problem/s encountered in your hometown, possible solutions to those problem/s, who can possibly solve those problem/s
· What do you like about your hometown?
Things you can include in your answer: accessibility, cost of living, traffic situation, sceneries
· Describe your neighborhood.
Things you can include in your answer: kind of neighbors you have, description of surroundings, kinds of houses there
· What do you like and dislike about your neighborhood?
Things you may include in your answer: traffic situation, garbage collection, water problem, noise
· Tell me about your family.
Things you may include in your answer: number of family members, their names, their ages, their jobs
· What do your family members do for a living?
Things you may want to include in your answer: your family members' jobs (job title and what they do in those jobs)
· Tell me about your hobbies.
Things you may want to include in your answer: hobbies, why you enjoy doing those, when you started to have those hobbies, with whom you do them with
· Have you ever had a part time job? Full time job?
Things you may include in your answer: job title, simple job description or main responsibilities in the said job, when you started or resigned from the job, what you liked about the job
· What organizations/clubs are you into?
Things you may include in your answer: name of the club, when you joined it, why you joined it, the purpose of the club
· Where are you working right now?
Things you may include in your answer: your work, what you like about your work, your main responsibilities, when you started working in that job
· What do you do when you go out with your family/friends?
Things you may include in your answer: activities, why you like doing them with your family/friends
· Do you like sports?
Things you may include in your answer: yes or no,why you like sports, sports you like, what you like about that sport
· What kinds of books do you like reading?
Things you may include in your answer: type of book (science, art, etc.), why you like reading that/those type/s of books
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SELF
The following are questions in an everyday conversation or IELTS interview about yourself that people might usually ask. Practice answering them to enhance your English speaking skills.
What is your name?
How do your friends and family call you?
Where was your name taken from?
What is the meaning of your name?
What is the most memorable thing that happened to you?
What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
Who or what makes you happy?
What was the funniest joke you’ve ever heard?
Tell me about the happiest day or moment in your life.
Tell me about the saddest moment in your life.
What pisses you off?
How will you describe yourself?
How do other people usually see you?
What do most people don’t know about you?
What do you want other people to understand about you?
What is your name?
How do your friends and family call you?
Where was your name taken from?
What is the meaning of your name?
What is the most memorable thing that happened to you?
What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
Who or what makes you happy?
What was the funniest joke you’ve ever heard?
Tell me about the happiest day or moment in your life.
Tell me about the saddest moment in your life.
What pisses you off?
How will you describe yourself?
How do other people usually see you?
What do most people don’t know about you?
What do you want other people to understand about you?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY MATTERS
Below are the questions about family matters that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
How many members are there in your family?
Do you live with your family?
What do your family members do?
Who is the breadwinner in your family?
Who cooks in your family?
Do you get along well with your family?
Have you ever had a fight with any of your family members?
Describe your family’s relationship using one word.
Who do you take after, your mother or father?
If you had a choice, which do you prefer, having a small family or a large family?
How would your family members describe you?
What do you like about your family?
What does your family usually do together?
How many members are there in your family?
Do you live with your family?
What do your family members do?
Who is the breadwinner in your family?
Who cooks in your family?
Do you get along well with your family?
Have you ever had a fight with any of your family members?
Describe your family’s relationship using one word.
Who do you take after, your mother or father?
If you had a choice, which do you prefer, having a small family or a large family?
How would your family members describe you?
What do you like about your family?
What does your family usually do together?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOMETOWN
The following questions are the usual questions an IELTS interviewer or an ordinary person might ask about one's hometown. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Describe your hometown.
What do you like about your hometown?
What do you dislike about your hometown?
What changes do you want to make in your hometown?
Do you still live in your hometown?
What memories do you have of your hometown?
If someone would visit your hometown, what is the first thing he would notice?
If someone would visit your hometown, what is the first thing you would like him to see?
Describe your hometown.
What do you like about your hometown?
What do you dislike about your hometown?
What changes do you want to make in your hometown?
Do you still live in your hometown?
What memories do you have of your hometown?
If someone would visit your hometown, what is the first thing he would notice?
If someone would visit your hometown, what is the first thing you would like him to see?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOBBIES
Below are conversation questions usually asked about the topic 'hobbies' whether by an IELTS interviewer or an ordinary person in a usual conversation. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What do you do in your free time?
How much time do you usually spend on your hobbies?
What do your hobbies say about you?
Have your hobbies changed throughout the years? Why?
Are your hobbies expensive?
What hobbies would you like to try soon?
What are the strangest hobbies you have heard of?
What hobbies would you like to try but have no courage trying out yet?
What do you do in your free time?
How much time do you usually spend on your hobbies?
What do your hobbies say about you?
Have your hobbies changed throughout the years? Why?
Are your hobbies expensive?
What hobbies would you like to try soon?
What are the strangest hobbies you have heard of?
What hobbies would you like to try but have no courage trying out yet?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT SPORTS
Below are questions usually asked about sports. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What is your favorite sport?
What sports do you watch?
What sports are you good at?
What sports would you like to try?
What sports have you tried but gave up on?
What sports do you think are dangerous?
Have you ever thought of engaging in extreme sports?
What does your sport say about your personality?
What positive traits were you able to develop because of the sports you engage/d in?
What is your favorite sport?
What sports do you watch?
What sports are you good at?
What sports would you like to try?
What sports have you tried but gave up on?
What sports do you think are dangerous?
Have you ever thought of engaging in extreme sports?
What does your sport say about your personality?
What positive traits were you able to develop because of the sports you engage/d in?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT MUSIC
Below are the questions about music that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What type of music do you like?
What is your favorite song?
Why do you like it?
Who are your favorite singers? Bands?
Do you play any musical instrument? If yes, what?
What type of music do you like?
What is your favorite song?
Why do you like it?
Who are your favorite singers? Bands?
Do you play any musical instrument? If yes, what?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT ART
Below are questions usually asked about the topic 'art'. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Do you like art?
What forms of art are you interested in?
Do you have a favorite painting?
Do you go to art museums?
Do you think that graffiti can be considered art?
Are you a creative person?In what ways do you express your creativity?
Do you like art?
What forms of art are you interested in?
Do you have a favorite painting?
Do you go to art museums?
Do you think that graffiti can be considered art?
Are you a creative person?In what ways do you express your creativity?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVIES
Below are the questions about movies that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What’s your favorite movie?
What kind of movies do you like?
What was the most recent movie you’ve watched?
What movie made you cry?
What was the scariest movie you saw?
What movie reminded you of your life?
What’s your favorite movie?
What kind of movies do you like?
What was the most recent movie you’ve watched?
What movie made you cry?
What was the scariest movie you saw?
What movie reminded you of your life?
IELTS questions about TV programs
Below are the questions about TV programs that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What is your favorite TV program?
What do you learn from that program?
What kind of TV programs do you usually watch?
How many hours a day do you usually watch TV?
Are you a couch potato?
Do you think that watching TV is educational?
What TV program do you dislike and why?
What is your favorite TV program?
What do you learn from that program?
What kind of TV programs do you usually watch?
How many hours a day do you usually watch TV?
Are you a couch potato?
Do you think that watching TV is educational?
What TV program do you dislike and why?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAVEL
Below are the questions about 'travel' that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What countries have you been to?
What was your purpose in visiting those countries?
Do you like traveling? Why?
Do you like traveling alone or with other people?
What factors do you consider in going to other countries?
What countries would you like to visit soon? Why?
What things do you take with you when you travel?
What countries have you been to?
What was your purpose in visiting those countries?
Do you like traveling? Why?
Do you like traveling alone or with other people?
What factors do you consider in going to other countries?
What countries would you like to visit soon? Why?
What things do you take with you when you travel?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFESTYLE
Below are the questions about lifestyle that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What do you like doing in your free time?
Do you like going out with friends?
Where do you usually go out with friends?
Do you enjoy having a night life?
Do you consider yourself a sociable person?
Are you a member of any social/community groups?
What do you like doing in your free time?
Do you like going out with friends?
Where do you usually go out with friends?
Do you enjoy having a night life?
Do you consider yourself a sociable person?
Are you a member of any social/community groups?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT BOOKS
Below are the questions about books that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
1. What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. What book have you read recently?
4. Do you have a favorite author? Who is he/she?
5. Why do you like him/her?
6. Do you like going to the library? Bookstore?
7. Was there a book you’ve read that you didn’t like? Why?
1. What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. What book have you read recently?
4. Do you have a favorite author? Who is he/she?
5. Why do you like him/her?
6. Do you like going to the library? Bookstore?
7. Was there a book you’ve read that you didn’t like? Why?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT AGE
Below are the questions about 'age' that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What do you think is the best age to be? Why?
What do people your age usually do in your country?
What age should one get married in your country?
What age do people in your country usually graduate from the university?
Explain the meaning of midlife crisis.
Explain the meaning of May-December affair.
Should people be forced to retire when they reach the retiring age?
What do you think is the best age to be? Why?
What do people your age usually do in your country?
What age should one get married in your country?
What age do people in your country usually graduate from the university?
Explain the meaning of midlife crisis.
Explain the meaning of May-December affair.
Should people be forced to retire when they reach the retiring age?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT 'vacation'
Below are the questions about 'vacation' that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Tell me about your most memorable vacation.
Where was it? When was it? What did you do?
Where do you plan to have your next vacation?
How much money do you think should be spent on a vacation?
What kinds of souvenirs do you often buy when on vacation?
Do you like trying out unfamiliar foods when you’re in a different place?
Tell me about your worst vacation ever.
What do you want to do on your next vacation?
Tell me about your most memorable vacation.
Where was it? When was it? What did you do?
Where do you plan to have your next vacation?
How much money do you think should be spent on a vacation?
What kinds of souvenirs do you often buy when on vacation?
Do you like trying out unfamiliar foods when you’re in a different place?
Tell me about your worst vacation ever.
What do you want to do on your next vacation?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOLIDAYS
Below are the questions about holidays that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What holiday do you like the most?
What does that holiday stand for?
How is it celebrated?
Is there a special food you prepare on that holiday?
How do you spend Christmas in your country? Valentine’s Day? New Year?
What holidays are celebrated in your country?
If you were to make a new holiday, what holiday would it be and what would it be for?
Is there any holiday you dislike? Why?
What holiday do you like the most?
What does that holiday stand for?
How is it celebrated?
Is there a special food you prepare on that holiday?
How do you spend Christmas in your country? Valentine’s Day? New Year?
What holidays are celebrated in your country?
If you were to make a new holiday, what holiday would it be and what would it be for?
Is there any holiday you dislike? Why?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION
Below are the questions about transportation that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What is your preferred mode of transportation? Why?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using public transportation?
Compare the pros and cons of riding a bike and riding a car.
What do you usually do when you ride a train or a bus?
What is the most famous brand of car in your country?
What is your preferred mode of transportation? Why?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using public transportation?
Compare the pros and cons of riding a bike and riding a car.
What do you usually do when you ride a train or a bus?
What is the most famous brand of car in your country?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT LOVE LIFE
Below are the questions about 'love' that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
When and where did you meet your first love?
Do you believe that first love never dies?
How did you meet your current sweetheart?
What do you like about your current sweetheart?
Describe your ideal mate.
At what age do people in your country get married?
When do you plan to get married?
Describe your ideal wedding.
What qualities do you look for in a girlfriend/boyfriend?
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Do you think it’s okay to marry someone from a different race? Religion?
How long do you think couples should know each other before getting married?
When and where did you meet your first love?
Do you believe that first love never dies?
How did you meet your current sweetheart?
What do you like about your current sweetheart?
Describe your ideal mate.
At what age do people in your country get married?
When do you plan to get married?
Describe your ideal wedding.
What qualities do you look for in a girlfriend/boyfriend?
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Do you think it’s okay to marry someone from a different race? Religion?
How long do you think couples should know each other before getting married?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT PARENTING
Below are the questions about parenthood that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Do you have children? If not, how many children would you like to have?
Do you prefer to have daughters or sons? Why?
Do you think you are a good parent? Why?
What things did your parents do before that you would never do to your children?
What do you think are the most difficult problems faced by parents today?
How do you discipline your children when they make a mistake?
In what cases do you think abortion may be acceptable?
Do you have children? If not, how many children would you like to have?
Do you prefer to have daughters or sons? Why?
Do you think you are a good parent? Why?
What things did your parents do before that you would never do to your children?
What do you think are the most difficult problems faced by parents today?
How do you discipline your children when they make a mistake?
In what cases do you think abortion may be acceptable?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT BEAUTY
Below are the questions about beauty that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Who do you think is the most beautiful person in your country? In the world today?
Do you think physical appearance affects one’s success in life?
How much time and money do you spend to further improve your looks?
How popular is plastic surgery in your country?
Do you believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
In your own words, how do you define beauty?
What is your opinion about beauty pageants?
Are there any disadvantages to being beautiful?
Who do you think is the most beautiful person in your country? In the world today?
Do you think physical appearance affects one’s success in life?
How much time and money do you spend to further improve your looks?
How popular is plastic surgery in your country?
Do you believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
In your own words, how do you define beauty?
What is your opinion about beauty pageants?
Are there any disadvantages to being beautiful?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT FRIENDS
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT FRIENDS
Below are the questions about friendship that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
How many friends do you have?
Do you consider yourself friendly?
How similar are you to your friends?
What characteristics do you look for in a friend?
Describe one of your closest friends.
How do you maintain a good friendship?
When and where do you often hang out with your friends?
What do you usually do when you’re with your friends?
Where do you think is a good place to meet new friends?
Below are the questions about friendship that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
How many friends do you have?
Do you consider yourself friendly?
How similar are you to your friends?
What characteristics do you look for in a friend?
Describe one of your closest friends.
How do you maintain a good friendship?
When and where do you often hang out with your friends?
What do you usually do when you’re with your friends?
Where do you think is a good place to meet new friends?
IELTS QUESTIONS ABOUT FOODS
Below are the questions about food that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
What is your favorite food? Why?
Do you skip breakfast?
Is there any kind of food you don’t eat? Why?
Do you eat junk food?
Is there any food you dislike eating?
What food is your country famous for/
What food would you like to try out soon?
What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
What is the best restaurant you’ve ever been to? Why?
What is your favorite food? Why?
Do you skip breakfast?
Is there any kind of food you don’t eat? Why?
Do you eat junk food?
Is there any food you dislike eating?
What food is your country famous for/
What food would you like to try out soon?
What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
What is the best restaurant you’ve ever been to? Why?
IELTS JOB CONVERSATION QUESTION
Below are the questions about jobs that IELTS interviewers or other people might usually ask. Practice answering the questions to hone your English speaking skills.
Tell me about your current job.
What do you like about your current job?
What do you dislike about it?
What is your dream job?
What is the strangest job you’ve ever heard of?
What motivates you in your job?
What are the problems you usually encounter in your job?
How do you solve it?
Describe a typical day in your current job.
What other jobs are you interested in?
What do you think are the qualities of a good boss?
Tell me about your current job.
What do you like about your current job?
What do you dislike about it?
What is your dream job?
What is the strangest job you’ve ever heard of?
What motivates you in your job?
What are the problems you usually encounter in your job?
How do you solve it?
Describe a typical day in your current job.
What other jobs are you interested in?
What do you think are the qualities of a good boss?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments