OK, let's jump in to this lesson on connectors and regionalism. Of course, you've heard the term 1
"fluency," and you may or may not know that this is actually 25 percent of your IELTS speaking mark, which 2
falls under Fluency and Coherence, a marking criteria used in the IELTS Speaking Exam rubric. 3
I highly recommend that you find the IELTS rubric online, just so you know how your speaking's going to 4
be assessed. 5
Let's take a look at Band 6 on the IELTS Speaking rubric. 6
Now you might be asking, "Why a band 6?" 7
Well, this band indicates where a speaker is competent and is the borderline, where anything under 8
this band suggests we need a LOT more improvement for our speaking ability. 9
So if we look at Band 6 on the rubric, you'll notice that it states "the test-taker is willing to 10
speak at length, though may lose coherence at times due to occasional repetition, self correction 11
or hesitation." 12
Repetition is the habit of relying on the same words over and over, 13
such as 14
"like, "so," or "actually." Repetition could also be peddling on the same word until you can find the thoughts 15
you want to express. 16
And finally, we have "self correction." 17
"What I mean is ...what I meant to say." 18
Now, one of the requirements you have for the exam, is to provide your opinion on questions 19
you are going to be asked by the examiner. 20
You might be asked if you like particular places or activities. 21
One tip for you guys is not just what you say, but HOW you say it. 22
Examiner: "Do you like video games?" 23
Candidate: "Actually, I'm not really a fan of gaming and I feel it's a little bit of a time waster." 24
This is opposed to "actually I'm a bit of a game junkie and once I start, it's pretty hard to stop." 25
Can you hear the difference between these two responses, using the same word? 26
Intonation is HUGE in English and can communicate just as much as the actual words. 27
Oh, and you may have also heard in both responses "a bit of." In the first example, we hear that gaming 28
is "a bit of a time waster," while in the second example, the speaker is "a bit of a game junkie." 29
We use this expression to indicate a small amount, but we actually are doing is understating something. 30
Here's another example. Candidate: 31
"I'm a bit nervous about my speaking test, as it's only a week away." 32
This speaker is actually understating the anxiety concerning the upcoming exam. 33
Another way you can share your opinion is by using "honestly" or "to be honest." You may choose to share 34
your opinion with these two, 35
but the problem I personally see is that many candidates overuse "honestly" and "to be honest." Be really 36
careful of using them sparingly. 37
The same thing applies to using "actually," 38
and "so." Something really interesting about the English language, is that it can be fairly regional. 39
What I mean is - certain people end up using a few keywords that are common to the UK or Canada, Australia 40
or the States. For example, 41
it's quite common for Brits to use the word "right" at the end of a sentence. 42
Canadians and Americans, depending on their location, may use 43
"you know what I mean." 44
As a Canadian, I notice that we tend to start a lot of our sentences using 45
"so." And I'm pretty sure you may have heard that we Canucks - Canadians - have a tendency to use "eh" at the end 46
of our sentences. 47
If you're emphatic and you want to show how much you're in favor of an activity you may use 48
"absolutely!" 49
"I absolutely love gaming." 50
Maybe you're not nuts about games, but do play from time to time. 51
"I kind of like playing video games." 52
This is actually fairly informal. To be a bit more formal... 53
"I somewhat enjoy playing video games." And at the opposite end of the spectrum, "no, I'm not really into 54
gaming." 55
"I'm not a big gamer" or "I'm not a fan of gaming." 56
Did you notice that? 57
I'm not repeating the phrase video games... 58
It's already assumed we are discussing this topic, 59
so to repeat the phrase over and over, sounds wooden and repetitive. 60
Let's move on to another type of question you may have. 61
For instance, "do you think financial education is important?" 62
If your answer is yes, you could say, "this is pretty much essential." 63
You may have heard European teachers state, 64
"Yes, I reckon it's essential," and this is absolutely fine. 65
Are you catching that regionalism again? In North America, 66
most people would 67
tend to say, "it's pretty much essential" or "it's pretty much a no brainer." But in the UK, "reckon" 68
is much more common than in North America, unless perhaps someone's from the Deep South. 69
So remember, connections are going to keep your speaking smooth... 70
and this is assessed under Fluency and Coherence on the Speaking Test rubric. 71
Also, remember that certain expressions are popular depending on the region, as well as specific accents.