Day 9: Tips for the big day: some final advice for a successful exam

That's it … we've come to the end of our 9-Day course. We hope you've found it useful and we've encouraged you to practise your speaking skills as often and as efficiently as possible.

Please get in touch if you have questions about anything we've covered … or anything we haven't. And let us know how you do in your exam - we love to hear from our visitors. To finish, here are some final tips for the exam day:

In general
1) Listen carefully to instructions and questions.
2) Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you don't understand something.
3) Smile and make frequent eye-contact with the examiner and your partner if you have one.
4) Avoid nervous habits like playing with your hair or biting your lip.
5) Don't apologise for feeling nervous! Be positive!

Conversations, discussions and role plays
1) Give full answers to questions when appropriate and avoid unhelpful 'yes' and 'no' responses.
2) When giving an opinion back it up with an example or justification.
3) If you're working with a partner, remember to listen as well as speak and show interest in what your partner has to say.
4) Be prepared to get or keep the conversation going by asking your partner questions.
5) During role plays work cooperatively with your partner by acknowledging points they make and avoid trying to be the one who comes up with the 'best' ideas.

Long turns
1) Keep to the topic.
2) Structure your talk with a clear introduction main body and conclusion and use signposting words and expressions to guide the listener through your talk.
3) Deliver the talk with passion and conviction, using examples or a (short) personal anecdote to make a point.
4) We often speak quickly when we're feeling nervous so try to focus on speaking clearly and take time to pause for breath!
5) If you're being examined in pairs listen carefully to your partner's long turn as you may be asked to comment on what they've said.

Need to develop these skills?
If you need help in developing these speaking skills, why not have a look at our Splendid Speaking Course, which will teach you the skills, language and highly-practical techniques to take your speaking skills to the next level.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/exams.html

 

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