Are you nervous about talking for two minutes in speaking section 2 of the IELTS?
Today, get some note-taking strategies you can use to ace the IELTS speaking section!
In the IELTS speaking part 1, the examiner asks you about three topics. But in part 2 you are given a single topic card. No matter what this topic is, you cannot change it. You have one minute to prepare to speak for two full minutes. How you spend that minute is important.
Because you will have such a specific topic, and such a short amount of time, it’s probably best to write everything you can think of about the topic. You could do this in a bullet list, or as a mind map. But you need to have enough to say for those two minutes.
If you do not have practice brainstorming like this, you may want to practice. Use a topic from a newspaper as an example.
Give yourself a minute (or more) to make a list of notes on the topic.
Then, see if you can use them to speak for two minutes.
Other tips:
Practice brainstorming/note-taking every day if possible. You’re training your brain for thinking, speaking, and writing in English.
Take all of these notes in English, not your native language!
Ideally, your notes will provide you with enough to tell a story. Telling a story will enable you to speak for the full two minutes, and help you remain coherent.
IELTS Speaking: How to perform at your best in part 2 long turn
Even the best-prepared test taker can suffer from nerves in part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test. In part 2 of the Speaking test, you will be given a card with a topic and asked to talk about it for 2 minutes. The examiner will use a timer to time your long turn and before you start you will have one minute to prepare for your topic.
When you are asked to start speaking, you might feel self-conscious and nervous, as you have to speak on your own without any encouragement or prompting. This feeling is normal, so learning how to deal with nerves is the first step to performing better.
Read on to see what strategies our IELTS experts have come up with to help you prepare better for the long turn in the IELTS Speaking test.
Strategy 1-Use the 1 minute preparation time
You are given 1 minute to think about what you are going to say in the long turn. Use this time to take notes on the topic you have been given. Keep writing until the examiner asks you to start your long turn.
Strategy 2 - Speak with a normal speech rate, not too fast, not too slow
Some test takers start speaking very quickly at the beginning of their long turn because they are nervous. Then they stop suddenly, with nothing else to say. Only a minute or so has been reached, so the examiner, who is looking at the timer, will wait for the test taker to keep going, and if they don't, they will be asked if they have anything more to say. This is a clear signal to keep speaking about the topic. The examiner will listen quietly to what you have to say, as this is your time to show that you can speak at length on a topic.
Strategy 3- Organise your long turn
When you start talking, it's good to start at the beginning of what you want to say, and then move logically to the end of your long turn. Show the examiner that you can organize what you want to say, by using linking devices (and, so, but, or) and discourse markers (unfortunately, actually, however, for example, consequently, at that time). These devices will make your long turn easy to listen to, as it is logical and makes sense.
Use your task card as a guide. Remember there are always four things to talk about, exploring the topic in different ways. You will always be asked question words to describe what you are going to say. So, start at the beginning by commenting on the topic and then move on to each bullet point.
Now that you have some ideas on how to take notes for the long turn speaking task, you'll want to make sure you're up for the challenge of speaking and the IELTS test as a whole.