Common problems during the IELTS Speaking exam

By this time, we hope that you have been practicing well for your exam and are following all the strategies discussed in the previous lectures for getting a good band score. However, we have witnessed that in spite of diligently following these practices, a lot of students face some common problems during their Speaking exam. In this particular lecture, we’ll discuss those problems as well as provide you effective solutions to cope with them. 

# 1 Problem - When we try to speak too quickly 

When we speak too quickly, we lose the coherence because our brain cannot keep up with the mouth and we also lose on the ideas. Normally it is confusing that speaking fast makes you sound more like a native but that is not true. You can notice how you speak in your native language as well as how the native speakers maintain their fluency.

The solution to this problem is that you should listen to good English speakers through movies, podcasts, interviews and understand their speed. Speaking at a normal speed will also help you buy time to gather ideas and use the right grammar as well as vocabulary. 

#2 Problem - Lack of ideas  

A lot of students complain that one of the biggest challenges they face during the Speaking exam is that they cannot think of ideas and gather information too quickly in their minds while speaking to the interviewer. Here, the biggest misunderstanding is that you think that you’re assessed for your knowledge. There is no right or wrong in this exam like Maths but what matters is your English speaking skills. 

So you  should not worry too much about giving unique ideas and talking about the moon and stars. Talk what you feel and in case you don’t understand the question, don't be afraid to tell the interviewer, as we have already discussed in our earlier lectures. In part 1, since the questions are related to your personal life, you shouldn’t face any problem. 

For part 2, you need a good practice of structuring the answers to do well during your preparation. 

And for part 3, again, practice as many kinds of questions as possible and eventually you will find yourself talking fluently in front of the interviewer even if you have not done that particular topic earlier. 

#3 Problem - An ill structured answer 

Many times students fail to answer the question in an organised and structured manner, mainly during the Part 2 exam. The main reason is that students think that they just have to talk about the 3 points given in the cue card but that is not the case. 

You should know that the points given in the cue card are for your reference only but you can always talk about other things related to the topic. You can:

• Introduce the topic
• Give the history of the topic, if possible 
• Talk about its past, present or future
• Give your opinion about the topic 
• Give a general description of the topic 
• Tell a personal story related to the topic

So along with points given in the cue card, you have ample options of framing the answer. You just need to make the best use of the 1 minute given to you in jotting down points before you answer the question. 

#4 Problem - Lack of practice 

As we say, practice makes you perfect in what you aim for, it holds true here as well! No matter how good your vocabulary or grammar is, you need to have a good practice of speaking before you head for your exam. Most of the time, the problem faced by the students is that they don't find a good partner to practice with. 

Ideally you should practice with a good English speaker but in case you don’t find one, try some website that gives you a practice of conversations. But our suggestion would be that you seek expert guidance and practice with them. This will help you improve tremendously. 

#5 Problem - Taking pauses and making sounds like ‘mmmm’  

You might have been told that making sounds like ‘ahhh’, ‘mmm’ or taking breaks while you talk is a problem. But that is not completely true. If you listen to the native speakers, you’ll notice that they also take pauses. So until and unless you’re not doing it too frequently and for longer periods, it is totally fine. However, too many uuu, ahhh, mmm can adversely affect your fluency score.

The solution to this problem is that you should record yourself while practicing and evaluate for yourself how many breaks you are taking and what kind of sounds you are making while thinking. If it sounds natural, then it should not be a problem but yet again, avoid it as much as you can and the key to that is practice. 

Lastly, we have noticed that a lot of students fumble due to stress and the main reason for that is again lack of practice. So we highly recommend that you should practice well by following all our tested tips and techniques, while also handling these concerns with confidence.