The aim of this lesson is to give you different practice activities for the speaking test. While most of the activities are based on IELTS speaking questions, the idea is to improve your skills and not just practise answering questions. The reason for this is that practice tests are not enough by themselves; if you want to get better, you need to improve how you speak and that means thinking about speaking as a skill.
這課的目標是給你的口語提供多樣的練習方法。大多數方法都是基於雅思口語練習，這些方法會提高你的口語技巧，而不僅僅是練習回答問題。原因是僅僅為考試練習是遠遠不夠的。要是你還想更高更強的話，你還得注意你怎麼說，這意味著將說話當做一門技巧。
1. Record yourself and then write down your answer 自己錄音再寫下答案This is something everyone should try. It is almost certainly a bad idea to write your answer first and then speak it. This is because we speak and write in very different ways and it is a mistake to try and train yourself to speak in the way you write. But you can learn a lot from recording what you say and then writing that down word for word.
這個方法每個人都要試一下！先寫答案再說出來絕對不是個好方法！因為說話和寫作是不一樣的，用寫作的方式來訓練口語是行不通滴~但是你可以通過錄下自己的答案，再一字一句地聽著寫下來，這樣會進步很多~
Things you can learn are:
這樣你可以瞭解到：
Do you say enough? Do you give very short answers? In parts 1 and 3, you should say at least a couple of sentences in answer to every question.
你說的足夠多了嗎？答案會不會太短？在Part1和Part3，回答每個問題至少要說幾個句子。
Is what you say organised? Can you see a structure to your answer? Is it possible to put in sentences and paragraph breaks? Do you have some organisation language like “The first point is..”
你是如何組織的？答案中看得出結構嗎？能把句子和段落放到這個結構中嗎？有沒有結構性的語言？
Do you speak too slowly or too quickly? Try counting the words in your part 2 answer. Most of my answers as a native speaker are about 240 words long. You should probably aim for around 200 or so. Less than that and you are speaking too slowly, but if you have more than that, it may be that you are speaking too quickly.
有沒有說得過快或過慢？試著數一下Part2 你的答案的字數，一般native speaker能說到240字左右，烤鴨們一般要寫到200字左右。如果字數少於這個值，那說明你講話太慢，如果超過了，說明你講話太快~~
How long are your pauses? You can pause, but your pauses should generally come between sentences/paragraphs and they shouldn’t be more than 2/3 of seconds
你停頓多久？一般應該在句子和段落間停頓，而且不超過2-3秒。
Did you answer the question?
你回答清楚問題了嗎？
Is your pronunciation okay? If you can’t immediately understand what you say, the examiner won’t either!
你的語音可以嗎？如果你不能聽懂自己在說什麼，那考官也不會聽懂。
Are there some words you repeat a lot? You probably shouldn’t worry too much about content words such as “television” – native speakers will repeat those a lot when speaking. Rather you should look at more functional words/phrases such as “I think”. It’s very easy to repeat these a lot and it is also quite simple to train yourself to use more variety.
有沒有重複很多詞？不要擔心重複實義詞，即使是native speaker也會一直重複，因為你講的就是這個東西~不過，你應該重點檢查功能詞彙，比如“I think” ，烤鴨們很容易老重複這些詞，不過讓自己練習用不同的詞也不是難事。
2. Do it first in your own language 先用母語說This is perhaps an unusual piece of advice. In the speaking, you should aim to be thinking and speaking in English as much as possible and not translating from your language to English. It can, however, sometimes help to practise the long turn part 2 in your own language first:
一般來說，最好是能用英語思維思考，並用英語回答。但是像Part2這種比較長的題目， 先用母語說可能會好一點。
some people struggle to speak in their own language for 2 minutes: they prefer short/concise answers and not longer more discussion type answers. So before you try it in English, make sure you can do it in your first language.
有的人就算用自己的語言說，也會很困難，他們會說一些短句子，而不是討論型的長句子，所以，在你用英語表達之前，先讓你自己用母語能夠說清楚。
It helps you understand how long 2 minutes is and how much you need to say to fill that time.
這會幫你瞭解2分鐘有多長，能說多少東西
if you record and listen to yourself in your first language, you will probably find yourself using quite a lot of “structure” language such as “As I mentioned before”. This is a lot of the language you need for part 2.
如果用母語錄音然後聽，你可能會發現自己用了很多結構性語句，比如“像我之前說到的`”，這就是在第二部分你需要用到的！
3. Don’t practise the whole part 2, do it bit by bit 不要一口吃成胖子，練習第二部分，慢慢來Some people find part 2 frightening because they are worried they can’t speak for 2 minutes. Relax. You don’t have to. It’s much easier than that, you need to speak for不要擔心2分鐘很長，其實你要說的不過是：20秒+20秒+20秒+1分鐘！
20 seconds
20 seconds
20 seconds
I minute
This is because there are always 4 points for you to talk about on the cue card. You want to try practising talking about the first 3 points on the cue card for about 20 seconds each (the who, where, what type questions). Make sure you don’t say “last year”, but you extend that a little . Then all you need to do is talk for 1 minute on the longer question at the end that is almost always about explaining something.
這是因為在題目卡上總是會有4個要點，你可以先練習前三點分別說20秒，不要太簡略，稍微擴充套件一點。然後用最後一分鐘來解釋。
4. Practise by describing photographs 通過描述照片來練習In the exam of course you don’t get any photograph to help you. It would probably be easier if you did because when you have a photograph, you can see what you need to talk about. The idea is here that if you learn to see pictures as you are speaking, you find more things to say. I suggest:
考試時，並沒有照片給你提示，如果有的話可能會容易一點，因為你就知道要說什麼了~所以平時可以拿照片來練習，讓自己找到更多可說的！以下是幾個建議：
find a picture about an IELTS topic e.g. a picture of a wedding – describe what you see 找一些跟考試題目相關的照片
then try talking about the same topic without the picture 然後不用照片試著將同樣的事情
in the exam itself, all you need to do is imagine a picture in your head 在考試中，自己想象一張圖片
What I strongly suggest is that you look at your own photographs, as what you will need to speak about are your own memories. 而且強烈建議看你自己的照片，因為你需要說的是你自己的memories
5. Read then speak 先讀再說！It helps to practise reading and speaking together because reading gives you words and sometimes ideas. This idea is a very simple one. When you read a passage in English, you should then try and summarise what it says speaking. The ways this works is:
先讀英語，然後試著用自己的話把它複述出來。這可以訓練你：
To summarise a reading text, you are going to need to use some of the words used in it
總結閱讀文字，抓住關鍵詞
If you say the word aloud, you have learnt that word better and are more likely to us fit for yourself in the future
當你大聲說出來，能能學好這個詞，並且以後自己用著更順口
If the text is longer, you should find yourself having to list the different points it contains. This should help the coherence of your speaking as you will need to use language like “Firstly…then… next …”etc
如果文章太長，那麼應該自己找到幾個要點，如果用一些邏輯聯絡詞會讓你說起來更連貫
Two extremely good sources for this type of reading is 6 minute English and my favourite Words in the News. It sometimes helps to choose 5 words from the text you are reading that you want to use when you speak.
6分鐘英語和世界新聞都是不錯的聽力資源。可以從中選5個詞用在你的口語中。
6. Improve your memory – write your life history 提高記憶力，寫自己的故事Parts 1 and 2 of the speaking test are personal questions about who you are (part 1) and what you have done (part 2). One reason why some candidates have problems is not the language, but that they can’t think of things to say. The solution is simple – refresh your memory about important events in your life before the test.
Part1 和Part2 主要是關於你自己的一些問題，有些烤鴨的問題不在於用什麼語言說，而是他們根本想不到要說什麼。。那麼就在考試前重溫一下、回憶一下你生活中的重要事情吧！
The idea is not so much to practise exam questions (it’s hard to predict those), but to practise speaking about your memories of people, events, places and things. Do that and the exam should be simpler as you have memories you can use. Write down some personal memories and then try speaking about them. Some ideas here are:
這不是要練習考試題目，只是練習說出自己記得的人、事、物、地方。如果你能這樣做，考試會容易很多。
Think of important/interesting people in your life: Ask yourself: When did you meet them? How long have you known them? Why are they important/interesting? Can you remember something you did together? What about a conversation you had with them?
想想在你生命中重要或者有趣的人：問問自己：你是什麼時候遇到他們的？你認識他們多久啦？為什麼他們重要或者有趣？你還記得你們一起做的事情嗎？你們之間的談話呢？
Think of important events in your life: Ask yourself: What it was? Where did it happen? Who were you with at the time? What else was happening in your life then? What one thing stands out in your memory about it? How well do you remember it?
想想你生命中的重大事件：問問自己：是什麼？在哪裡發生的？那時候你跟誰在一起？後來又發生了什麼？哪一件事在記憶中最鮮明？你還記得多少？
Think of places you have been to: Ask yourself: Where it was? How did you get there? In what detail can you describe the place? Can you describe the general area it is in? Would you want to go back there?
想想你去過的地方：問問自己：是哪裡？你怎麼去的？你還能描述多少細節？你能說出大概方位嗎？你還想再次到訪嗎？
Think of your possessions: Ask yourself: How long have you owned it? Where did you get it? Is it special or something normal? How often do you use it? Do you associate with someone else?
想想你的所有物：問問自己：你擁有它多久了？你在哪得到它的？這是個特別的東西還是很一般的東西？你用了多久了？你還跟誰有聯絡？
7. Practise saying “I don’t know” 練習說“I don’t know”Another reason why some candidates go wrong in the exam is that they feel they have to give a complete answer to very question and they think of IELTS as some academic test. It isn’t. It’s simply a test of your language. In parts 1 and 3, you may well be asked questions that you have very little to say about. That’s not a problem, there’s always another question coming. The big mistake is to try and give a full answer when you have nothing to say. What happens is that your language becomes confused and so do you, with the result that things get and worse and worse.
很多考生誤以為雅思是學術測試。恰恰相反，這只是語言測試而已，第一和第三部分你可能被問到說不了什麼的問題，有什麼關係？之後還有問題。千萬別在你沒話可說的情況下試圖整出和完整答案，弄糊塗了考官會讓你萬劫不復。
All you need to do is say you don’t know and explain why and then wait for the next question. This may take a little practice. You want to build a set of phrases such as:
其實你也沒必要說你不知道然後解釋理由，你可以模仿下面的例子：
Q. What colour is your favourite room and why did you choose that colour?
A. I’m not sure what to say about that. It’s not a question I’ve ever thought about before. I suppose yellow is just my favourite colour and so I painted my room yellow?
8. Talk to a mirror拿個鏡子This is another strange sounding piece of advice, but it can be very practical – especially if you don’t have a speaking partner. The idea is that when you practise speaking, you should sit in front of a mirror and speak to yourself. It can work because:
這個建議聽起來有點奇怪，不過真心實用，特別是在缺少陪練的時候。你可以站在鏡子面前自言自語，這個方法超有效，原因如下：
Eye contact is extremely important in all parts of the test. As a former speaking examiner for other exams, I can promise you that examiners are influenced by candidates who make eye contact - even though they may not be aware of this. Typically, the candidate who makes good eye contact gets a more generous mark because they seem to be communicating better as body language is around 70% of all communication.
考試中眼神交流很重要，作為一個前任考官，我負責任地告訴你，就算他們沒注意到，但是考生的眼神交流絕對會影響考官評分。懂得眼神交流的考生絕對能得到慷慨的分數大放送，理由就是他們佔據整個交流70%的身體語言讓他們的交流更流暢。
the other point is that, for most people, sitting and looking at themselves in a mirror is an uncomfortable experience. After that, the exam will seem easy!
還有一點，對大部分人來說，坐在鏡子面前看著自己實在窘迫不安，過了這關，考試還不是小菜一碟？
9. Write your own questions寫下你自己的問題This is another activity that I suggest everyone should try at least once. You should of course practise with “real” exam questions too, but there is a lot to be learnt from writing the questions first and then trying to answer them. The way it works is that if you write the question yourself:
這個我建議每個考生至少嘗試一次。當然你也是要做真題練習的嘍。但是一開始寫下自己的問題，然後再嘗試回答，也會學到很多。
you are more likely to try and answer it properly and give a full answer because you understand what the question is asking – good practice
你會更願意去給出完備的答案，因為你非常清楚，這個問題是想要問什麼。
you learn to add details to your answers by thinking of more question words. So when you answer the question “Are you a student or do you have a job?”, you are more likely to say “I’m a student at Wuhan University and I have been studying there for the last 3 years” – adding information by thinking of the question “How long” even though you weren’t asked it.
你會打破腦袋想出更多的詞彙來增加答案細節。所以呢，比如你要回答，”你是學生還是工作啦？“，你會說，哦，我是武漢大學三年級的學生。雖然問題中沒問，但是你加上了唸了多久這個資訊。
10. Improve your coherence and fluency – easy as 1-2-3 0r 3-2-1 提高你的連貫性和流利度This is another of my favourite classroom speaking activities. Ideally, you need one or two more people to practise this with, but you can do it by yourself. The idea is that you don’t just practise speaking for 2 minutes. Rather, you start off by speaking for 3 minutes about that topic, then you do the same thing for 2 minutes, then for 1 minute. In the perfect world, you would also speak to a different person each time.
這是也我最愛的練習方法之一。理想狀態下，你需要和一到兩個或者更多人一起練習，不過你自己一個人也做得到。你不僅僅說2分鐘，而是3分鐘，以後你再把同樣的話說2分鐘，然後1分鐘。理想狀況下，你可以每次對不同的人練習。
How does it work? The first time your answer is probably slightly incoherent and lacks fluency. The next time you speak though, you know what you want to say and, if you have listened to someone else speak, you now have more ideas. The result is that when you speak, you answer becomes more fluent and coherent. Then when you do it for 1 minute, your answer needs to become even more coherent because you now have lots of things to say but not very much time to say it.
這個方法為何有效呢？第一次你的答案可以不那麼連貫，也不怎麼流利。後一次，你知道你要說什麼，如果你聽過其他人的，你就有更多的想法啦。結果就是你的答案更加流利連貫。等到你花一分鐘來說的時候，你的答案就更連貫啦，因為此刻你有好多好多話要說，而時間卻不那麼充沛了。
I should add that this activity works best if you have different people to speak to. It works because each time you speak to someone different, it becomes a different conversation – even if you are talking about the same thing.
如果有不同的練習物件，這項練習就會效果更好。每次你都跟不同的人練習，就等於練習了不同的對話，哪怕你只是談論同一件事情。
