IELTS Speaking Masterclass

TYPICAL MISTAKES
IELTS candidates often tend to make the same kinds of vocabulary mistakes in their
speaking. Here are some typical mistakes that you should try to avoid.

Using very formal vocabulary

The IELTS Speaking test assesses your ability to use spoken English. And many words
are too formal for speaking. Here are some examples.

*The weather in my country is very cold. Moreover, it snows a lot.*

Words like moreover and furthermore are a little too formal for speaking. Instead, say
something like this:

The weather in my country is very cold. What's more, it snows a lot.

The table below shows some more examples:

Too formal for speaking Better for speaking

and so forth and so on

beverages drinks

consequently, hence, thus so

I possess … I have …

I wish to … I want to …

I purchased … I bought …

I beg your pardon? Sorry?

my residence my home, my place

How does one say …? How do you say …?

It is necessary for me to … I need to …

I shall … I will …

I have the intention of talking about I’m going to talk about …

…

whilst while

I am engaged in different hobbies. I’m into different hobbies.

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Longer is better
IELTS candidates often think that they always need to use long, complex sentences to
get a high band. This is not true. Very often, native speakers prefer to communicate
what they want to say with short idiomatic expressions. For the speaking test, these
expressions often count as less common vocabulary, which can help you get a high
band.

Study this example:

At the moment, I’m studying in Poland. I’m going to stay here for three more years.
At the moment, I’m studying in Poland. I’m here for another three years.

Although the phrase ‘I’m here for another three years’ in the second version is shorter
and simpler, it is also less common and sounds very natural.
Think about phrasal verbs. Very often, native speakers can replace half a sentence
with a simple phrasal verb. For native speakers, it sounds more natural to say “He got
away with cheating” than to say “He cheated and nobody punished him for doing that.”
If your exam is very soon, I advise you not to learn lots of phrasal verbs because you
might use them incorrectly. However, if your exam is not very soon, then you can try to
study some phrasal verbs in context, observe native speakers using them and try to
make them part of your speaking.

Using the wrong connectors

Another mistake that candidates make is using connectors incorrectly. They know that
it helps to use connectors to get a high band but they try to use them without
understanding how and when to use them, for example:

Examiner: What kinds of dishes do you enjoy cooking?

Candidate: *As for cooking, I enjoy making pasta. *

In this response, the connector as for was used incorrectly. As for is like if we’re
talking. We use it when we want to start talking about one aspect or subtopic of a
wider topic.

Examiner: What’s the transport system like in your hometown?

Candidate: Hmm…well I think public transport is quite efficient. As for private

transport, there are many problems, especially heavy traffic.

In this example, the connector was used correctly. The topic was transport. The
candidate first started talking about public transport. Then she started talking about
private transport and she introduced this aspect or subtopic of transport by saying ‘as
for private transport’.

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Repeating every word in the examiner’s question

In the chapter on Buying time, I mentioned that it can be a good idea to repeat the
examiner’s question if you need time to think about what to say, for example:

Examiner: How popular is watching television in your country?

Candidate: Hmm….how popular is TV in my country?

However, you should not do not this:

Examiner: How have shopping habits changed in your country in recent years?

Candidate: How shopping habits have changed in my country in recent years

is…they have changed a lot.

Firstly, this is not 100% grammatically correct. Secondly, it sounds very unnatural to
answer a question in this way. It is better to begin your answer in a simple, natural way.
For example:

Candidate: I think shopping habits have changed a lot in my country.

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