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If the ONLY time you speak out loud in English is when you practise TOEFL or IELTS speaking questions, then you need to rethink your practice strategy. Both the TOEFL and IELTS speaking tests require exam candidates to demonstrate automaticity in speaking.
Automaticity, in this case, means that you can quickly find the words that you want to use without thinking too hard.
It means for example you:
🌟 can use different grammar constructions without having to think about which ending to add
🌟 or that you can easily switch between verb tenses
🌟 or that you can form a negative using a modal auxiliary verb without having to think about the order of the words
🌟 or that you know whether to add an article in front of a noun or not
🌟 … there are lots more examples
Automaticity doesn’t just mean that you can respond to the content of the question, but that you can do so in a natural, fluent manner. The only way you can achieve this is to have a big supply of grammar and vocabulary structures to use AND to be able to select them quickly. Automatically, if you like.
This requires a lot of practice not just of responding to speaking questions for your exam but of using the English language generally.Â
You need to create neural connections between your brain and your mouth, and to practise over and over again to strengthen these connections.Â
And the only way to do that, and to develop automaticity, is to speak English consistently and frequently in lots of different situations.Â
It’s not enough just to practise answers to exam questions. That won’t help you to respond to the different scenarios you might encounter in your exam. You need to live, breathe and think English. In other words, you need to fully immerse yourself in English.
This means speaking out loud in English as much as you can. Reading articles, listening to podcasts and watching videos are great activities to build proficiency but you’ve got to actually speak English to get better at speaking. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Aim to speak out loud in English for at least an hour a day. If you don’t have English speakers to practise with, then try some of the following exercises to practise by yourself.Â
🌟 Read out loud from a written text
🟢 This is a nice exercise because you don’t have to create your own content. Instead, you can concentrate on practising pronunciation, pauses, intonation and stress.
🌟 Listen to other English speakers (for example, from a video) and copy them
🟢 Repeat what they say and how they say it.
🌟 Explain things
🟢 This is an essential skill for both exams. Start with a simple process like telling someone how to boil a kettle, then as you get used to explaining, add in more complex explanations.
🌟 Describe things
🟢 This is probably more relevant to IELTS but it’s still good English practice and it will help you to build vocabulary.
🌟 Tell a story
🟢 Explain the point of your story clearly and concisely.
Look for situations to speak English in your everyday life, and practise at any opportunity, and this will help you develop automaticity.
Header photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash