Three ways to develop your ideas in IELTS Speaking Part 2
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Are you worried about not being able to talk for 2 minutes in IELTS Speaking Part 2?
Have you read my post on how to use the preparation time in IELTS Speaking Part 2 but still find it difficult to talk for long enough?
If so, here are three ways to develop your ideas in Part 2 of the Speaking test so that you can talk for longer and get a higher band score.
1. Add extra information by saying what, when, where, who, why or how
Your IELTS Speaking Part 2 task card will tell you what to talk about but this doesn’t mean this is all you can talk about.
For the task card below, for example, you could also say:
- how you know the people who live in the house/apartment
- when you go (or went) there and who you go (or went) with
- why you go (or went) there
- what the house/apartment looks like outside
(Click image to enlarge)
Watch this video and you’ll see I used these techniques in my answer, e.g. I said that I walk past this house when I walk my dog in the evenings.https://www.youtube.com/embed/GeTVncy2DnU?autoplay=0&start=0&rel=0
2. Make a connection to the present or future
If the topic is about the present (like the one above), end your talk by imagining the future, e.g. I hope to live in a house/apartment like this when …
If the topic is about the past (like the one below), end your talk by talking about the present and/or future, e.g. I haven’t bought anything from this website since but I would again in the future if …
(Click image to enlarge)
3. Look at your notes, talk about another example or end your talk
If you do run out of things to say and the examiner indicates you still have more time,
- look at your notes and add something you forgot to say or that comes to mind, e.g. I forgot to mention …
- talk about another example of the topic, e.g. Another website that I bought something from is …
- end your talk, e.g. So that’s all I’ve got to say …
Although the last two of these are not ideal, they are better than not saying anything and leaving the examiner unsure if you’re going to continue or not.
If you end your talk before the two minutes are up, the examiner may well ask you the question(s) that they were going to ask you at the end of the two minutes, and this will give you another chance to speak.
So, now’s the time for you to practice:
- Choose one of the two task cards above.
- Give yourself one-minute preparation time and follow this step-by-step approach.
- Talk for two minutes on the topic by using one or more of the three strategies above if you need to.
To make the most of your practice, record yourself speaking and, if you didn’t talk for two minutes, listen back and identify what strategies would have helped you talk for longer.
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