In the IELTS speaking test, you will usually be asked questions about your family, friends, studies, background, country, interests and beliefs. You don't require any special practice to do well in the IELTS speaking test. A lot of questions asked in the speaking test are often repeated. All that you need to do is to practice answering those questions. Don't give monosyllabic answers like 'yes' or 'no.' When you give your answers try to sound as natural as possible. You are not supposed to blurt them out in parrot fashion.Practice speaking out loud in front of a mirror. You will be able to see if you are making any weird gestures while giving your answers. Watch the pace with which you speak; don't speak too fast or too slow.If you can support your answers with examples, do so. If you can't answer a particular question, politely ask for a different topic. After all, IELTS is a test to assess your proficiency in English, and not your general knowledge. Manners count, so smile at the interviewer and thank him or her at the end of the speaking test.In the listening test, the questions are in order. Listen carefully when the recorded tape is being played. Keep in mind that you won't get a second chance to listen to the tape.Familiarize yourself with the kind of questions that could be asked. There are gap fill exercises and multiple choice questions. You may also be asked to complete a map or a form.The best preparation tip for the IELTS listening test is to listen to as much English as possible. Watch English films and TV programs. Watch them without the subtitles. By doing this for a long time, you will familiarize yourself with the different accents with which English is spoken. You will also improve your pronunciation skills.Before the listening test begins, invigilators usually conduct a sound test. If you have difficulty hearing the tape properly, say so.The questions in the listening test are usually divided into small sets of 5-10. After each section you will be given some time to read about the questions that could be asked during the next section. Stay attentive throughout the listening test because the listening tape is played only once.Don't waste time on any question if you find it difficult to answer. Leave it and move on to the next question. Make intelligent guesses. For some questions you may not be able to find the right answers straight away. In that case, try to see if there are any answer choices that are clearly wrong. Strike them out. In most cases you should be able to arrive at the right answer using this technique. Pay careful attention to the instructions. Yes, you heard it right. You won't get any mark if you wrote the right answer in the wrong way.
VERSION HISTORY
- Version 1.0 posted on 2013-06-02
Several fixes and updates - Version 1.0 posted on 2013-06-02