IELTS Speaking Practice

IELTSSpeakingPracticeAutumn2009ChinesePerformanceandtheReasons0%10%20%30%40%50%60%5567candidatesChinesePerformanceandtheReasons1.Donotfullyunderstandhowthespeakingtestismarked.Forexample:Q:Howoftendoyougotocinema?”A:Onceamonth.Q:Whatisyourfavoritecolor?A:Well,tobequitehonest,Idon’treallyhaveanactualfavoritecolorbutIguessthatifIwerebuyingclothes,thenI’dusuallygoforsomethinglikeblueorgrey---youknow,kindofdullcolors,nothingtoobright.2.Firstlanguageinterference.ChinesePerformanceandtheReasonsTwodifferentspeakingsystems.1.TheEconomicsofLanguage.Forexample,whatfooddoyoulikeeating?2.TheLocationofKeyinformation.Forexample,whatdoyouusuallylistentomusic?ChinesePerformanceandtheReasonsChineseanswerbeginswithkeyinformation.Englishanswerbeginswithdetails.3.Redundantlanguage.Forexample,talkaboutyourhometown.Lookatthefollowingexample:WellyouknowmyhometownLondoniskindoflikehugeyouknow.Imeanit’sactuallyenormousmaybeeventhebiggestcityinEurope.Soreallyifyoulivethere,it’ssortofamazingreally.Youcandoalmostanythingyouwant.Likeyouknowthere’smanythingstodo,andIguessthat’swhyIlovelivingthere.ChinesePerformanceandtheReasonsWellyouknowmyhometownLondoniskindoflikehugeyouknow.Imeanit’sactuallyenormousmaybeeventhebiggestcityinEurope.Soreallyifyoulivethere,it’ssortofamazingreally.Youcandoalmostanythingyouwant.Likeyouknowthere’remanythingstodo,andIguessthat’swhyIlovelivingthere.ChinesePerformanceandtheReasons4.VocabularyRecyclingForinstance,Isthefooddelicious?Orwhat’sthefoodlike?Englishconversationscontainfewerclosedquestionsandmanymoreopenquestions.DOyoulikeanimals?Chinesestyle:YesIlikeanimals…especially…Neverrelyonthelanguageinthequestiontoformtheanswer.ChinesePerformanceandtheReasons5.Gradedlanguage.Spokenenglishisheavilygraded.Inotherwords,nativespeakersofEnglishusuallyspeakindegrees.Incontrast,spokenChineseisusually“blackorwhite”.DoyoulikewatchingTV?ChinesePerformanceandtheReasonsYesIreallylikewatchingTV…IguessI’mquitefondofwatchingTV…Forthemostpart,IwouldprobablysaythatIquitelikewatchingTV…TosomeextentIwouldsayIlikewatchingTV…Well,Iwouldn’tsayIactuallylikewatchingTV…Well,IsupposeyoucouldprobablysaythatI’mfondofwatchingTV.DoIlikewatchingTV..Wellit’shardtosay…SummaryoftheDifferencesbetweenSpokenEnglishandSpokenChinese•Givelongerresponses•Avoidbeingtoodirect.•Usefillersandredundantlanguage.•Don’trecyclevocabulary.•Trytospeakindegrees.TheMarkingSystem•FluencyandCoherence•LexicalResource•GrammaticalRangeandAccuracy•PronunciationFluencyandCoherence•Themostimportantaspectof“FluencyandCoherence”scoreisthelengthofyourreposesandyouruseofcohesivefeaturessuchaslinkingwords,discoursemarkers,connectivesandredundantphrases.•ProblemswithFluencyandCoherenceFocustooheavilyonansweringthequestion.Theiranswerscontain“informationcontent”butlackthelanguagetolinktheseideastogether.FluencyandCoherence•Q:Whatdoyoulikeaboutyourhometown?•A:MyhometownisWuhan.WuhanisverymodernsoIlikethebuildings.Alloverthecitytherearelotsofnewinterestingbuildingsbeingbuilt,WhenIwasyoungermostofthebuildingslookedthesamesoitwasn’tasattractiveasitisnowadays.FluencyandCoherence•Wellyouknow,myhometownisWuhanandyoumightnotknowthisbutWuhanisverymodern,soIsupposeIwouldhavetosayIlikethebuildings.Actually,alloverthecitytherearelotsofnewinterestingbuildingsbeingbuilt.Infact,it’squiteinterestingtoconsiderthatwhenIwasyoungermostofthebuildingslookedthesame,soyouknowitwasn’tasattractiveasitisnowadays.LexicalResources•Abilitytouselesscommonwords.•Useofidiomaticlanguage.•Paraphrasing•Abilitytotalkaboutunfamiliartopics•AbilitytoconveyprecisemeaningSeniorCitizensItisrelatedtotopicslikeafilm,outdooractivity,favoritetomeoftheseason,awalk,animportantletter,advertisement,books,newsreport,publicevents,life-changingmoments,advice,beinglate,atimewhenyouhelpsomeone,busydays,practicalskills,alargesumofmoney,agoalyouwanttoachieve,ameal,sportingevents,abuilding,aleisurecentre,ahotel,alibrary(somebody,place,favorites,experience,assumptions)LatestTopics•SportsandExercise•Interestsandhobbies•MassMedia•Nature(flowers\birds\weather\seasons)•SocialIssues•Relationships•ScienceandTechnology(mobilePhone,E-mail)•Workinglife•DailyRoutineandleisuretime•EducationandlearningSports•Lowerstress•Characterbuilding•Lowerbloodpressure•Healthbenefits保健作用•Score得分•Athelete•Amateur业余爱好者•Referee裁判•Cheerleader•Court场地Holidaysandtraveling•Backpack•Gosightseeing•Hitchhike远足•Awesome•Campsite/guesthouse/self-cateringholiday自助游•Allyearround常年•Hangout打发时光•Getawayfromitall摆脱所有烦恼•Spa矿泉疗养地Housingandaccommodation•Apartmentbuilding•Neighborhood小区•Courtyard院子•Attic阁楼•Interiordesign•Spacious/cramped•Airy/cozy•Furnished装修过的•Ingoodcondition/cleanandtidyMassMedia•Ratings收视率•Qualitynewspaper严肃报纸•Weatherforecast/domesticnews/in-depthcoverage深度报道/featurearticle专题文章/humanintereststory富有人情味的故事/bookreview/circulation发行量/broadsheet大报/tabloid小报/classifiedads分栏广告•Sportsnews/livebroadcast现场直播/sitcom情景喜剧/currentaffairs时事/soapoperas/documentary纪录片/varietyshow综艺节目/talkshow谈话类节目/quizshow知识问答节目•Publicserviceads公益广告/commercials商业广告•Periodic期刊/comicstrip连环漫画Massme