Tips and phrases for ielts speaking part2

TIPS AND
PHRASES

FOR IELTS SPEAKING PART 2
KEITH O'HARE


IELTS Speaking Part 2 is a piece of cake, if you know what you are doing!
In this article, you will find out how you can succeed in IELTS Speaking
Part 2 with 6 powerful tips and lots of useful phrases

About the Author
Keith runs The Keith Speaking Academy. He has
been working in international education for
over 20 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, and
education manager.
He has helped over 40,000 students prepare
for their IELTS Speaking test with his online
courses.

COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


It’s important to have a clear structure in Part 2 of your IELTS test, so
the examiner can follow your answers.
Here, you will be given a task card, a piece of paper, and a pencil.
The examiner will give you 1 minute to prepare.
In that one minute of preparation, you should:

Get an idea quickly
Structure your talk – think about what you are going to say and
make some notes.
Remember, when speaking, you should keep hold of the task card and
refer to your notes as you speak.
These are effective ways to stay focused and use your one-minute
preparation time well.

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


Get to the point!
You only have 1 to 2 minutes to talk so remember, avoid any preamble
that will just confuse the examiner.
Make sure you say clearly what you are going to talk about in the first
sentence. For example,
The person I am going to describe is none other than my father


I’m going to tell you about my favourite place.
If you spend more time on the introduction, you may have less time to
talk about the most important topic.

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY

Most students ask ‘Which tenses can I use?’
Actually, you can use any tenses you want in IELTS Speaking Part 2.
It depends on what meaning you want to convey. There may be chances
to use past, present and future tenses.
What is important, is that you try and show off your use and control of
several different tenses.
Let me show you some ideas below with a special storytelling technique
as old as the hills – but take note, only use it if you are confident with it.
In the first example below, we’ll use past tenses only.
Describing an event:
It happened about 2 months ago. [TIME]


I was waiting for a friend inside a coffee bar. [SET SCENE]


This woman came in and started talking really loudly on her phone.
Then she sat next to me. It was so noisy so I asked her to be quiet.
[ACTIONS]



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Now see what happens when we introduce some present tenses.
It happened about 2 months ago. [TIME]

I was waiting for a friend inside a coffee bar. [SET SCENE]


Then, this woman comes in and starts talking really loudly on her
phone. Then she sits next to me. [LIVELY ACTIONS]


It was so noisy so I asked her to be quiet. [CONCLUDING ACTIONS]
We can use the simple past tense to say when something happened.
Then, the past continuous tense to set the scene.
After that, we can introduce present tenses to make the action vivid
and make it feel like it is happening now in front of us.
It’s a powerful technique because it triggers stronger emotional
responses.
Finally, when concluding, we often go back to the simple past tenses.



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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


It means not memorizing whole sentences, but using templates to help
you explain your ideas and build your confidence.
A template is basically a short phrase where we can change some of the
words to make new but similar sentences.
Here are some examples:

1. When starting a talk or story
I’d like to kick off by telling you ________


I’d like to kick off by telling you what happened


2. When saying when it happened
This took place ______________


This took place quite a while back


3. When describing a place
It’s one of the _____________ places I have visited


It’s one of the most amazing places I have visited

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


What are Cohesive Devices?
These are the words or phrases that act like glue and stick your
sentences and ideas together, making them logical and easy to follow.

They are often called discourse markers, linkers, or connectors.
For example:
First of all, to kick off
After that, next,
Anyway,
Finally, In the end
These make it easier for the examiner to follow you, to understand your
ideas and so give you a higher score.
Other examples:
1. When changing topic
Anyway, what happened next…
2. When describing or summarising your feelings
When it comes to my feelings, I’d say I felt very happy


As far as my feelings are concerned, I’d say I was over the moon
Use Cohesive Devices in your everyday English conversation until you
become comfortable with them.

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


All of the above tips are good, but another thing to consider in IELTS
Speaking Part 2 is ‘don’t think too much’.
The most important thing is to use natural English and just start talking
to get into the flow.
This is not easy for everyone and depends on your personality, level and

dedication. However, it is great if you can do it.
It also helps you be creative and improve your speaking skills.
In order to be a high-level English speaker, you need to not only repeat
phrases and imitate others, but also be creative.
Make every sentence yours and unique.
Just imagine, when you move to a new country, that country and
community need more than a robot, it needs your creativity. It requires
you to express yourself creatively in English.
The same is true when you go to study abroad, that university doesn’t
need a robot, it needs you. It needs your creativity. It requires you to
express yourself creatively in English.
This is where you can bring great value to those around you.

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Now if you are going for a band 7 or 8 in IELTS Speaking, don’t be too
straight, just imitating lots of phrases.
Open up, be creative, go with the flow, and let yourself shine!
Follow the above tips, start using these phrases and you have a great
chance to succeed in IELTS Speaking Part 2.
Remember, practice as much as you can!

Find out more about my work at
WWW.KEITHSPEAKINGACADEMY.COM

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