In IELTS Speaking Part 2, the examiner will give you a cue card. You have one minute to make some notes to help you speak on that topic/question for between one and two minutes. Preferably two.
Notes and Actually Reading Them
The vast majority of students like this and use a variety of ways to make notes that will help them with their talk. The biggest problem, though, is that a huge number of them don’t even look at their notes when they speak. This makes the whole note-taking exercise almost useless. Some write letters that stand for words, others use the time to remember without actually writing, others again have writer’s block and write very little.
The main issue here, is that this is not at home, in your dormitory, in an online class or in a classroom. It’s the test itself. The scariest part (Part 2) in the scariest section (the speaking test) of the IELTS test, which will probably be the most important English test the student ever takes. It could change their life.
With this in mind, it would make sense to make notes that actually help you when you are speaking. It’s ok not to keep eye contact with the examiner all the time (none would be a little weird), but it’s also ok to check what you have prepared.
What You are Given
Let’s start with what you get. What is actually on a cue/topic card? Let’s start with a simple question, one I use with every new IELTS student.
| Describe a member of your family you get on well with. You should say: who it is what relationship you have to that person what that person is like what you do together and explain why you get on so well. |
What you have to do
You have one minute to make some notes that will make talking for about 2 minutes about the topic easier and in turn, make you more fluent.
It is essential that you speak about the topic!
Other Teachers are Often Optimistic
Many teachers suggest that you make notes of wonderful words, idioms, phrasal verbs or collocations that you can use in your answer.
Do you think you’ll be able to remember them all in the when you are under all that pressure? Even if you can, using them naturally under stress is difficult to say the least.
For most test takers, writing one great idiom is the most they can manage. What I suggest is something completely different.
What to talk about
In my experience, the biggest problem candidates have is to keep talking for two minutes on the topic. If they could do that and not try to fill the time by repeating what they said 30 seconds ago, they would be much more comfortable and make a better job of completing IELTS Speaking Part 2.
How you can keep talking for longer by using your notes.
The points you are given are there to help you. It’s up to you if you use them or not, but they’re free, you don’t have much time, so it’s better to use them as a foundation to build on.
You have a topic and you have four or five points to help you talk about it. While you do this, you should try and sound natural, fluent and keep on topic.
Some cue cards don’t give you a lot of ideas
If you look at the cue card above, there are five points.
- who it is
- what relationship you have to that person
- what that person is like
- what you do together
- and explain why you get on so well.
That’s great, it means you will have more to say. But look at them. Is that true? Not really.
It is really common for IELTS candidates to speak about their mum, dad or grandmother.
So let’s fit your mum into the points:
- who it is – my mum
- what relationship you have to that person – she’s my mum
- what that person is like – she’s kind and patient
- what you do together – we do the housework together
- and explain why you get on so well. – we have the same sense of humour
As I said above. This is the cue card I use for new IELTS students. I use it for this reason, it seems easy, but it’s not as easy as it looks.
Th answers to the first two points are just about the same, so suddenly you only have four points.
Many students think the answer to the third point ‘What that person is like’ is also ‘my mum’.
Adding your own points changes the way you think!
Add your own points
That doesn’t mean you only need to add new points at the end, they can also be at the start, or in between the given points
For example
- I come from a big complicated family. My parents both divorced and remarried, so there are extended families on both sides
- who it is – my mum
- what is her name?
- what does she look like – defining features only, in other words, give the examiner someone to imagine
- What does she do? Is she working, retired ……..
- What does she do in her free time + example
- what relationship you have to that person – she’s my mum
- what that person is like – she’s strict but kind
- what you do together – we do the housework together
- and explain why you get on so well. – we have the same sense of humour + for example
- Every time I ……… reminds me of my mum
- Whenever I’m in doubt about something, I can hear my mum’s voice telling what to do
Some of them could also be sub-points of the given points
- I come from a big complicate family. My parents both divorced and remarried, so there are extended families on both sides
- who it is – my mum
- what is her name?
- what does she look like – defining features only, in other words, give the examiner someone to imagine
- What does she do? Is she working, retired ……..
- What does she do in her free time + example
- what relationship you have to that person – she’s my mum
- We are really close + example of how you are close
- but we are alike in many ways, so sometimes we argue =+example of what you have argued about
- what that person is like – she’s strict but kind
- example of how / why she is strict
- example of how she is kind
- what you do together – we do the housework together
- what do you do when you do the housework together? Chat about ….. gossip about ….. dance to a song on the radio…..
- and explain why you get on so well. – we have the same sense of humour + for example
- Every time I ……… reminds me of my mum
- Whenever I’m in doubt about something, I can hear my mum’s voice telling what to do
Doing it this way you always have something to talk about
Write down your notes and go through them as you are talking. Make the plan in your notes, not when you are speaking.
If you think it is hard to think of ideas for extra points, think of Who, what, when, Where, Why, How much, How long, How often and so on. Examples are great, but the important thing is to answer the question.
If you get stuck for a word or a phrase, or if you find that you can’t finish what you want to say due to the way you have structured your answer, you can just stop and move on to the next point
In that way, you make one error and move on maintaining your fluency and coherence, but sacrificing a few words of vocabulary.
Remember, if you don’t get on well with ANYONE in your family, you could also talk about someone in your friend’s family or something like that, but explain that first, saying something like –
I don’t really get on with anyone in my family because of various reasons, but I’d like to talk about my friend’s uncle, who has been great to me over the years.
If your relative doesn’t do anything except play with their phone or watch TV, then you can always use your imagination and make them more interesting than they are in real life.
This is an English test, not a family test or a truth test!
Two extra points which can be used in most part 2 answers are zooming in (the first point above) and talking about what reminds you of the topic (the second last point), but they are the subjects of other forthcoming posts.
This method is tried and tested, but like everything about IELTS speaking Part 2, it needs practice.
Try this method of note taking so you can keep talking
after all, you can’t get a good score for your speaking if you don’t speak.