Part 2 of the speaking is different because the examiner gives you 1 minute to prepare before you start speaking. What should you do in that time? This is an important question to ask as very often that 1 minute gets wasted and you lose the opportunity to improve your talk.
What do I suggest?
There is no one right answer here. There are different possibilities all of which can work.What is best for you depends on you as a person: how you like to speak and how your brain works. Here are some suggestions for you try. Experiment and see what works best for you. It may well be that you will try a combination of ideas. You will find some practice questions at the end. Use them. Experiment and see.
Write a sentence
The idea
You use your time to try and write 1 or maybe 2 sentences so that your ideas are clear and you have some words in your head before you start speaking.
Does it work?
For some people, yes. It makes you focus on the question and it gets you thinking. It also helps that you have something positive to do. A danger in the 1 minute is that you sit and look at the piece of paper and you get no words or ideas. Your mind is less likely to go blank if you need to write a sentence.
Any problems?
Writing and speaking are 2 different skills. You don’t need writtten language, you need spoken language. (Some of the worst advice I have seen says that you should try and use “one” instead of “you”.) It just seems wrong to spend time writing a sentence, when you are planning to speak.
Write down words to use
The idea
Vocabulary is obviously important in IELTS and so one thing to do is write down some words you want to use.
Does it work?
It can do. If you get the right sort of topic, you can sometimes brainstorm some good vocabulary. So if you get “Describe a musician” you could write “play an instrument” ” go to a concert” “concert hall” “be a virtuoso” “piece of music” “orchestra” etc. If you are going to do this, it’s probably best for a familiar topic for which you know you have lots of words/phrases.
Any problems?
Sadly, yes. How many words can you think of in a minute? When I do this with students in class, they often only get 2 or 3 words. Time wasted. Another very practical problem is that I find students often don’t use the words they have written down – they start talking and then forget those words/phrases. Again, time wasted.
”Close your eyes and see a picture
The idea
This one sounds unusual but can work beautifully. The idea is you don’t write down many notes but you close your eyes, think of the question and try and see a picture. You look at the picture in your head carefully, seeing the details (eg the musician playing in the background) and then note down words and ideas for when you speak.
Does it work?
If you are a “visual” thinker, it can be superb. If you look at a picture, you see far more details and these details will give you interesting language to use. More words, perhaps, than if you just look at a blank piece of paper.
Any problems?
Not everyone likes it. It seems wrong to close your eyes in an exam. It also works best for experience type questions where you can see a memory. Some questions have no obvious picture that goes with them.
Example
See my lesson on Describing a house where you can listen to a sample part 2 based on a picture
Write down ideas
The idea
This time you don’t write down words you want to use but ideas you want to talk about. These are notes so that you don’t forget what to say.
Does it work?
Undoubtedly. All you need to do is practise what types of notes you need and what types of notes are practical when you are speaking. This will depend from person to person. For some people, it is enough to write down a name “James”, others need to write more “James and the bicycle on his birthday”
Any problems?
Really the only problem is finding out what notes work for you in practice. In my experience, some of the most useful notes are to do with examples and not the main points.
Structure or story
The idea
Depending slightly on the cue card you get, you have 2 basic options for organising your talk. You can use a very structured approach (First I am going to talk about.. etc) or you can try a story telling approach. Both can work equally well.
Does it work?
Very much so. It really does help to decide how you are going to speak and how much you have to say about each point. It isn’t always enough just to think about what you are going to say (words and ideas).
Any problems?
Yup. In my (considerable!) experience, some people are simply uncomfortable trying to tell a story and some are very uncomfortable giving a structured talk. This means that they have fewer possible options.
Practice questions
Take a look at these part 2 questions. Practise different ways of using your minute.
Don’t just use 1 minute now – you are training yourself first, remember. I suggest you start with 2/3 minutes and then try and do it more quickly each time until you can do it in 1 minute.
A childhood friend
Describe a friend you had when you were a child
You should say:
- how you first met
- how long you were friends
- what you used to do together
and explain why you liked this person.
A garden
Describe a garden you remember visiting.
You should say:
- where it is
- what it looks like
- what people do there
and explain why you remember it.
Clothes
Describe your favourite item of clothing.
You should say:
- what it is
- when you bought it
- why you bought it
and say why you like it so much.
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The scripts are informing hence, are very helpful thank you.