Connected speech In spoken English, words are not pronounced separately or in isolation. Instead, we connect sounds between words to sound more natural. This is known as connected speech.

This is one feature in which Ming Wei did not perform well in her first attempts. There are instances where she could have connected the sounds between words:

…they have a lot of things in it. She could have connected the words have_a_lot_of and things_in_it.
and also contracted sounds:

I do not cook much. Saying “I don’t cook much” would sound more natural.
I would like to cook. She could have said “I’d like to cook”.
However, her use of connected speech significantly improved in her second attempt when she used the following:

Connecting consonants with vowels: Connect the sound of the final consonant of a word to the sound of the vowel of the following word. The connected sound will seem like a new syllable in the second word. For example:

Let’s talk_about → Let’s takabout Audio

I had_an_assignment to finish → I hadanassignment to finish Audio

But_I think → BudI think Audio

They use_it for_entertainment → Theyusit forentertainment Audio

Connecting similar sounds: Connect two words when the first one ends in the same letter as the following word. For example:

• We need_data → We needata Audio

• Social_learning → Socialearning Audio

• Fish_shop → Fishop Audio

• First_stop → Firstop Audio

Making new sounds: When you connect the /t/ sound with the /j/ sound, it creates the new sound /tj/. When you connect the /d/ sound with the /j/ sound, it creates the new sound /dj/. For example:

• Last year → Lastjear Audio

• Nice to meet you → Nice to meetja Audio

• Did you call? → Didja call? Audio

• Would you mind? → Woudja mind? Audio

Dropping a sound: When the last consonant of a word has the sound of a /t/ or a /d/ and the following word starts with another consonant, drop the /t/ or /d/ sounds. For example:

• My next class → My nexclass Audio

• The most common mistake → The moscommon mistake Audio

• I used to work → I useto work Audio

Using contractions: When possible, contract auxiliary and modal verbs. For example:

• I would like → I’d like Audio

• It is not cold → It isn’t cold Audio

• We should have gone → We should’ve gone Audio

• It will not be easy → It won’t be easy Audio @LanguageStuff

Organising ideas logically Camilo’s first response was effective in that he spoke fluently and used all of the prompts on the topic card to develop his ideas. However, the following problems were identified in terms of organisation:

Poor organisation: He did not really follow the same order of the prompts given on the topic card . He provided extra information about two of the prompts after he had already covered them.
Irrelevant ideas: Camilo talked about his sister, but this did not relate to any of the prompts on the topic card and he did not logically connect this to any of his other ideas.
Failure to meet time requirement: He did not develop his ideas enough and failed to speak for two minutes (he speaks for 1 minute and 35 seconds).
Coherence is determined by how ideas are organised and connected. You should aim to provide logically organised answers across the three parts of the test in order to achieve a high mark for Fluency and coherence.

Sequencing ideas logically is particularly important in Part 2 as you are required to speak on your own for up to two minutes. You can achieve this by:

• Using all the prompts on the topic card: Using only 1 or 2 is not enough to develop an entire, coherent answer.

• Following the same order of the prompts: These are presented in a logical and sequential order.

• Adding your own prompts: As you plan your answers, include 2-3 new prompts (i.e. points) with information that is relevant to the general topic of the question.

• Developing each prompt: Include 2-3 ideas per prompt. This will guarantee that you have enough content to speak for two minutes.

• Planning properly: Use the 1-minute planning time to write down the ideas you want to include in your answer. You are allowed to read from your planning sheet as you give your answer. @LanguageStuff

This is an effective plan because it:

• is well organised (using a grid divided into four),

• is easy to follow (following the prompts clockwise),

• uses all the prompts on the topic card,

• avoids full sentences and only includes key words,

• uses abbreviations to save time (e.g. convt for convenient, W-ing assign for writing assignments)

• uses bullet points (which you can tick as you cover that point when you speak). @LanguageStuff

@LanguageStuff speaking part2 advice

@LanguageStuff Speaking part3 Meet Ari

@LanguageStuff part3

What are signposts? A key part of the criteria for Fluency and coherence is using signposts accurately.

Signposts are words which help organise ideas. They are critical in helping listeners understand ideas and avoid confusion. Without signposts, speech, especially long stretches of speech, can be difficult to follow and understand. Common signposts are words such as:

firstly and secondly, which show sequence of ideas;
however, which shows contrast;
because, which shows reason.
In Ari’s responses, he spoke quite fluently, but often failed to use sufficient signposts. This meant that it was difficult to understand the links between his ideas. There were a number of issues that Ari had due to his lack of signposting.

Confusing links between his ideas: Ari’s failure to properly use signposts means that sometimes his ideas seemed separate and unlinked. This was quite problematic when he tried to list reasons why students drop out of university. The links between these reasons were not clear. In his second attempt, he added signposts and this helped make the different reasons clearer.

Signposts
Signposts have different functions and can help you to clearly show that you are going to:

sequence your ideas
give an example
add another idea
introduce an idea that is different
summarise ideas
give a cause
give an effect
emphasise a point
generalise
clarify a point.
Below is a signpost handout with a list of signposts appropriate for each function.

The IELTS Public Band Descriptors considers the use of signposts as part of coherence in all bands. At a Band 6, a range of signposts (connectives and discourse markers) are used but this is not always appropriate. At a Band 7, they are used appropriately and at a Band 8 speech is coherent and appropriate.

Discussion
Choose a signpost from the list above and write a sentence using it. @LanguageStuff

Complex structures One of the main aspects you are assessed under Grammatical range and accuracy is the use of complex structures.

This is an area in which Ari did not perform well in his first set of responses. Most of the sentences that he used were simple sentences. These are sentences which only contain one clause (i.e. one subject + one verb). For example:

Many universities do this now.

In his second attempt, Ari added a range of more complex structures, which would help him achieve a higher score. For example:

It is true that many universities do this now but in the future, I think that the online content will become more integrated.

Let’s learn more about complex structures and see how you can integrate them into your responses in all parts of the speaking test.

Complex sentences
As we saw in the example above, a simple sentence contains one clause; that is, one subject paired with one verb. Complex sentences, on the other hand, contain two or more subject + verb combinations. Look at Ari’s sentence taken from his improved response. How many subject + verb combinations (or clauses) can you identify?

If you said three, you are correct. The clauses used are: It is…, I think… and the online content will become…, and they were connected using subordinators and coordinators (e.g. that, but).

Complex sentences are key to achieving a high score for Grammatical range and accuracy. If you only speak in simple sentences with a limited range of complex structures, you cannot get more than a Band 5. For a Band 6, you need to use a mix of simple and complex structures. A Band 7 requires a range of complex structures, while for a Band 8 you need to use a wide range.

There are three types of complex sentences:

Adverb clauses: These work as adverbs and they can show a number of different relationships between the clauses in the sentence (e.g. contrast, time, reason).
Noun clauses: They function as nouns, and as such, they can be subjects or objects in sentences.
Adjective clauses: These function as adjectives and provide extra information about a noun.
The table below shows the different types of complex sentences and some examples. For more detailed information, download and keep the complex sentences document below.

Type of complex sentence Example sentence
Adverb clauses Doctors save lives while the sportspeople only entertain.
Noun clauses I am not sure how university education will change in the future.
Adjective clause I would study medicine and then become a doctor who helps children around the world.
There are other ways in which you can show complexity in your ideas:

Comparative structures
It is common to be asked questions that prompt you to use comparative and superlative forms. If the examiner asks you to compare and/or contrast something, it is important to use these forms in your answer as they give you chance to show grammatical range. Let’s have a look at some of these.

(not) as + adjective + as: This structure can be used to compare and contrast:

My sister is as tall as me.

Many people prefer not to walk as far as they used to.

Comparative adjectives: These can be used to compare one noun to another noun. In these instances, only two items are being compared.

I think being a doctor is a better job for me than teaching.

Superlative adjectives: These are used to describe the noun that is at the highest or lowest limit of the group of nouns.

I think that being a doctor is the best job for me.

Passive voice
Passive voice allows you to show grammatical range. It is formed using the verb to be and the past participle of the verb. It focuses on the results of the action rather than who performed the action. Here are some example passive voice sentences that Ari could have used:

Sports equipment shouldn’t be paid for by the government.

More online content will be integrated into courses by universities.

It isn’t fair that sportspeople are paid more than doctors and nurses.

Modal verbs
Modal verbs (i.e. can, could, should, must) can show a range of information and they can help you produce complex structures. Here are some examples:

Because of this, they can’t keep up with the assignments.
I don’t think that they should pay for this. @LanguageStuff