Ace IELTS Speaking With Engoo's IELTS Course

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If you're preparing for the IELTS speaking test, we have the course for you – IELTS Speaking Test Preparation.

This course was made by an expert IELTS examiner with over 15 years of experience teaching IELTS. Today, we'll introduce the course and show you how to best use it so you ace your next IELTS speaking test.

An Overview of the Engoo IELTS Course

Our course has IELTS lessons at three levels:

level 4 (lower-intermediate)
level 6 (upper-intermediate)
level 8 (advanced)

Each level covers common topics of the speaking test and comes with five practice tests. You can find these at the bottom of the course page.

Before Starting the IELTS Course

Before you start the course, make sure you know how the IELTS speaking test is scored. Here are the four criteria:

Fluency and coherence (e.g. How often do you pause? Do you talk too slowly or quickly? Are you able to talk about topics at length?)
Lexical resource (e.g. Do you have enough vocabulary to speak about a topic? And when you can't think of the right word, are you able to paraphrase?)
Grammatical range and accuracy (e.g. Are you able to use a range of grammar structures? How often do you make mistakes when using them?)
Pronunciation (e.g. Everyone has an accent, but does yours interfere with clarity?)

During the IELTS Course

Now we'll cover the main exercises in our IELTS course and share relevant study tips.

Pronunciation Practice

Each lesson starts with a minimal pair exercise. This type of exercise trains learners to tell the difference between a pair of sounds. For example, the first lesson in this series focuses on the consonant sounds in "fan" and "van."

If you struggle with a pair of sounds, return to the exercise at the end of the lesson. If you need more help, you can always find Youtube tutorials on that pair of sounds.

Helpful Vocabulary

The "Helpful Vocabulary" exercise introduces expressions related to the topic of the lesson.

We've included expressions that suit a variety of needs. Focus on the ones that are most useful to you. For example, if the phrase "to work part time" applies to you:

Repeat it a few times and ask your tutor to correct your pronunciation.
Make a sentence with it that relates to your life (e.g. "I work part time at a pharmacy") and ask your tutor if you're using it correctly.
Write the phrase down in your notes – along with the sentence you made – so you can review it later.

Sample Responses

Now, you'll get to see the expressions from the vocabulary exercise used in a sample response. In this exercise, you are the examiner and your tutor is the test-taker.

While your tutor reads aloud the sample response, pay attention to the following.

How are the expressions from the previous exercise used?
How are the expressions pronounced in full sentences?
Are there any other expressions the test-taker uses that you could use too?

Fill-in-the-Blanks

Next, there is usually a fill-in-the-blanks exercise. This tests how well you remember the expressions.

If you get a lot of blanks wrong, repeat the exercise. For more practice, copy the sentences you got wrong into your notes and quiz yourself after class.

(Note that fill-in-the-blanks exercises will not appear on the actual speaking test.)

Useful Language

This exercise introduces expressions you can use in all kinds of English discussions.

If you can't remember all of these expressions, just pick two or three to focus on.

For example, if you want to focus on "Perhaps" or "It might be that," write them down along with example sentences from the lesson. Then, practice using them in real life conversations or in English discussion lessons.

Test Practice

The "Test Practice" exercise gives you a chance to answer questions based on real IELTS exams.

In this exercise, many learners make the mistake of focusing too much on vocabulary. This causes them to pause to search for the right word or correct themselves in the middle of a sentence.

Unfortunately, things like this hurt your fluency and your IELTS score!

So for this exercise, we recommend focusing on your message. Say what you want to say first, then go back and improve your responses. You'll get a lot more out of this exercise.

Test Strategies

Some lessons will also introduce helpful test strategies. These will help you handle unexpected situations during the test.

One Final IELTS Prep Tip

Last but not least, make sure to take this IELTS course with a professional English tutor. Many Engoo tutors have experience teaching or taking the IELTS themselves. You can find them by typing "IELTS" in the search bar. Good luck!