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Hi Everyone,
In my column today, I will explain the scores in the IELTS Speaking exam. Many students ask me how they can achieve scores of 6 or 7 in the IELTS exam. In the Speaking section of the IELTS test, examiners award scores for four areas. These are:
Fluency and Cohesion
Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Pronunciation
Your final score is an average of these four scores. For example:
Fluency and Cohesion 7
Lexical Resource (Vocabulary) 7
Grammatical Range and Accuracy 6
Pronunciation 6
Overall score 6.5
In today's column, I want to look in more detail at Fluency and Cohesion. Quite simply, fluency and cohesion is:
- your ability to continue talking.
- speaking at a natural speed, without too much hesitation.
- your ability to use a variety of linking words, which are also known as discourse markers. These words include: and, but, so, because, however, therefore, in addition.
In the IELTS speaking exam, to achieve a good score for fluency and cohesion, it is important to avoid giving short answers. Look at the following example:
Examiner: Do you enjoy playing sports?
Candidate: Yes, I do. I really like sport.
In this example:
- the candidate doesn't show that they are able to continue talking and give a longer answer.
- they don't use any linking words.
- the answer is short, and therefore the candidate doesn't demonstrate their ability to talk at a natural speed, without hesitating.
A much better answer would be:
Examiner: Do you enjoy playing sports?
Candidate: Yes, I do. I really like sport, and in fact I go running every day. I absolutely love running marathons and ultramarathons, and next month I will run the Mount Fuji marathon. I'm not very fast, so I am never going to come first, but I just enjoy the competition and the feeling of satisfaction when I cross the finishing line.
This is a better answer because:
- the candidate clearly shows that they can continue talking.
- a variety of linking words are used (in fact, and, so, but).
- the candidate doesn't hesitate.
- keep a diary and practice writing some short answers to IELTS speaking questions. When you write, remember to use a variety of linking words, vocabulary and grammar.
- use your smartphone and record yourself answering some IELTS speaking questions. After you have recorded yourself, listen back to your recording. When you listen, focus on one point that you want to check. For example, listen and make a note of how many linking words you used. If you are not satisfied with your answer, try again. By recording yourself, you can study and improve your speaking by yourself.
- watch your favourite English movies or TV shows and try to copy the pronunciation of the speakers. This is called shadowing, and can help you to speak English more naturally.
- a single IELTS Speaking Lesson.
- a three lesson IELTS Speaking Pack. (In the speaking pack lessons we can practice all 3 parts of the speaking interview.)
