Planning your Independent Study

Identify Your Target

• take a test using the IELTS materials to test your speaking skills
• do your practice in 'real time'… it only matters what you can do without 'preparation time' during the live interview

Identify Useful Resources

Since IELTS Speaking is an oral test where you participate in an interview with an examiner, most of the IELTS books do not have a very good coverage. However, they do provide some good practice questions.

• Use up-to-date books to get practice questions and tips that are relevant for the most current version of the IELTS test.
• Do not use books published before 2002-3 for the speaking test of IELTS.
• library resouces are available for your own learning (click here for list of Library Resources)
• other elearning resources (CDRoms and other downloaded materials) are available here
• ask for help from the ILC consultants

Identify Study Time and Make a Plan

• regular practice time is essential
• get practice in actually speaking aloud: planning your answers is only part of your overall performance.
• reflect on your process and consult ILC staff for suggestions if necessary

Practice Tips and Strategies

1. Work with a partner to practice your IELTS speaking: your partner can use some of the standard questions out of practice books (see overleaf) to give you practice at interacting, and composing and delivering answers to the examiner's questions in real time.
2. Alternatively (or additionally) you can record yourself and play back afterwards to check how it sounds. You need to do it in real time: in IELTS you do not have preparation time except in part 2.
3. Use the notes above to make a judgement of how you come across to the examiner. Try again but use the assessment guidelines to improve one or two aspects of your answer.
4. Attend a consultation with an ILC counsellor and get some feedback on your speaking skills.
5. Use the Online IELTS resources:

- The Official IELTS website

- The Official CEPAS Site for university students in Hong Kong

Good Luck with Your Independent Study

return to top