…as recommended by my Instagram group! On Valentine’s Day last week I asked my group to share a love song that had helped them learn English. Thank you to everyone who posted an idea! We ended up with about 300 songs, so I’ve whittled them down to an essential list, but if yours isn’t there,…
IELTS Speaking
5 simple ways to improve your pronunciation
How does the examiner decide on your pronunciation grade? Good question! It’s actually quite difficult for the examiner to decide on whether your Pronunciation score is, for example, a Band 6 or a Band 7. If you look at the Band Descriptors, they are not very clear at all. But a higher score for the Pronunciation section could be…
How to answer short questions in Speaking Part 1
The 1-minute Speaking Challenge Speaking Part 1 is designed to be ‘easy’ so that everyone has a good chance of answering the questions. The examiner starts by asking you familiar questions such as where you live or your job or studies (Do you work, or are you a student?). Then the questions move on to everyday topics like…
Can I improve my speaking by myself?
Could 2 minutes of speaking every day improve your IELTS score? Last year I decided to set myself a challenge for November – could I run every single day? Even if it was just a couple of miles? How difficult could it be?! Well it wasn’t really difficult and I learnt a lot – I realised that although…