Discourse management? Cohesive devices? What!? Don’t worry! Here’s a simplified explanation of how to get top marks.

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Grammar and Vocabulary

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Grammar

 

You need to use different structures and use them correctly. Here are some examples: variety of tenses (not just simple present and past simple!), verb patterns decided to go/insisted on going, relative clauses (sentences that contain words like who, which, where, etc), dependent prepositions, depend ON, interested IN, etc.

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Generally speaking you should use some complex structures, which basically means longer sentences! If you use short sentences, then you’re probably using simple structures!

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Vocabulary

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The trick here is trying to use “less common vocabulary”. Avoid basic words such as nice, good or hot and instead, use  synonyms such as amazing, brilliant and boiling hot. Another classic “epic fail” is just using I think all the time. Another one examiners hear all  the time is I totally agree during Part 3. 

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It also helps if you use common collocations (absolutely fantastic/break a promise/do a favour/catch a cold and so on) and phrasal verbs.

 

 

Discourse Management

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This covers 3 main aspects:

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Fluency

 

You need to show that your speaking “flows” naturally, trying to avoid pausing or stopping too often.

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TIP: When thinking of a word or organizing your ideas, a magic trick to sound more natural is to use fillers such as ah(mmmm) or eh(mmmm). Try it! It does make a difference and it’ll also have a positive effect on your pronunciation!

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Relevance

 

Make sure what you say is  related to the topic area you’re discussing. Don’t go off topic!

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Organisation

 

If you want to get top marks, show you can present your ideas in an organised way. How? By using a variety of connectors such as on the other hand/having said that/because of that/on top of that/as a result and sequencers like firstly/secondly/then/next/finally. It’s also helpful to use words or phrases we normally use in natural conversations, e.g. you know, well, I mean, like and actually. 

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Pronunciation

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Relax! You don’t need to sound British or American to get top marks in this area. Here’s what you should try to do:

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Speak clearly! The main thing is that the examiners can understand you easily when you speak.

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Show emotions and sound interested. For example if you say I couldn’t agree more! to your partner, you need to use the right intonation/tone to show emphasis and sound natural. So the key aspect here is intonation, which basically means the “music” you use when you speak. For example, if you ask a yes/no question, the music goes up at the end.

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Use the right stress in words COMfortable, NOT comFORTable and in sentences, which means giving emphasis to the parts you think are important. For example, WHY do you think friends are important? (focus on why) but Why do you think FRIENDS are important? (here the focus is friends rather than family or colleagues).

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Finally, the pronunciation of individual sounds in words is also important. Focus on words that are very common or frequently used and that people tend to pronounce incorrectly. Here are a few examples: although (=oolDOU)/other (the “o” sounds like an “a”, i.e. Ader, NOT Oder)/aren’t (=AAAnt) as if you were saying “aunt” and temperature (=TEMpricha).

 

Following these tips will not only help you in the exam but also in life as you’ll sound more natural when you speak in English!

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Interactive Communication

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When we have a natural conversation with someone, we exchange info, listen to them, give our opinions, agree/disagree, ask and answer questions, make suggestions, ask for advice and interrupt them. This is what this area is all about.

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You need to do these things in Parts 3 and 4 where you will discuss topics with your partner,

For example, sometimes you can start the discussion and then invite your partner for their opinion and sometimes let your partner introduce an idea, which they can then agree/disagree with. 

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Think of it as having a friendly chat with a friend.

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