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Notes: 

• This episode introduces the series available on Youtube, Spotify, Facebook and Apple Podcasts.
• First, we’ll start by reviewing what we know about the speaking exam.
• Part 2 is timed and the candidate is asked to stop by the examiner.
• Part 3 has a time limit of 5 minutes, but the examiner will ask questions until the time limit has been reached. Therefore, if candidate responses are 1-2 minutes long 4 questions may be asked. However, if candidate responses are 2-3 minutes long only 2 questions would fit in the allowed time.
• With that in mind, coherence is a result of well-organized, structured arguments. But, formulaic answers can detract from fluency. Therefore, a response that has a clear beginning, middle and end without some of the typical, memorized phrases is best. A clear end is also nice because it alerts the listener that you have finished your response, and it is a sign that you have thought about the question well-enough to have made a point.
• How do we achieve this? We must be aware of current events and trends in lifestyle that will provide us with information to give in our response. This must come from knowledge of topics that don’t deal with us personally, but rather with the society as a whole.
• We can do this by broadening our vocabulary and doing extensive reading and listening in English. After all, spoken and written fluency are the product of our practice and exposure.
• I always say that I became a good writer when I began reading a lot. This happened when I was in college and I had to do a lot of reading for every class I took.
• And, now that we are preparing for the IELTS, we can practice writing fluency, which we can do by doing the timed writing. And, we can practice speaking fluency by doing the type of practice I am giving my examples of in the Podcast: Seb’s IELTS Answers.
• The process of recording and re-recording is very important because when we speak without reading from a script we are practicing in test conditions.
• When we listen to ourselves, we analyze what we have said that was good and how we can improve.
• When we re-record we can make those improvements. And then, we must listen again to see how successful we have been.
• My aim is to provide you with as good an example answer as I can without overthinking. I do hesitate and make slips in grammar. These are natural even among native speakers. If you don’t know me personally or haven’t lived in a native-English speaking country—trust me—native speakers stutter and make slips all the time.
• Most important I have tried to use relevant high-level, low-frequency, academic vocabulary and linking phrases in natural ways. This I hope will be your greatest benefit to practicing with this podcast. You can try yourself to incorporate these phrases and collocations.
• If you don’t understand something I have said in a recording because it’s unclear, please comment on Facebook.
• Thank you for watching and listening! Please join the Facebook page, follow me on Youtube and please give me a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts!