These 3 tips for Speaking will help you maximize your score on Toefl, Ielts, Fce and Duolingo tests!
Make your own Topic Vocabulary list.
Despite the fact that you understand well most English texts, you still might struggle with vocabulary variety in speaking. This happens because English learners have active and passive vocabulary. Active vocabulary are specific and precise words you can use to speak about a topic you are given to. One way to strengthen your speaking for TOEFL, IELTS or FCE is to build a topic vocabulary list. If you make it by yourself, there is a high chance to actually make most words into your active vocabulary asset and actually use them in your speaking. The topics the students are supposed to talk freely about on the level of Upper-Intermediate and Advanced English are:
Describing relationships and Personality, Politics, Computing and Technology, Describing and talking about food, News and Media, Environment and Global Warming, Sports and Describing Behavior.
Learn most common phrasal verbs.
Appropriate use of the phrasal verbs is what adds to your score in the speaking section of TOEFL, IELTS or FCE. Depending what international exam you are preparing for, it is recommended to create your own list to be sure you use them adequately. For TOEFL stick to more formal and academic expressions, IELTS speaking mostly requires common vocabulary, appropriate for daily topics and neutral style conversations. For FCE speaking section it is adequate to demonstrate how you can manage both formal and informal expressions, depending on the question you are being asked.
You can download the list of most common phrasal verbs from here: Most common phrasal verbs for TOEFL, IELTS and FCE Speaking.
Useful expressions to buy the time.
It is absolutely necessary to learn how to appropriately use transitions, opinion expressions and to provide explanation or examples for your statement in a way to give yourself a second to think what comes next. In this way you will be able to give a concise, structured and, most importantly, fluent answer without pausing. Crossroads English teachers use these tips and always say their students make a significant progress. If you are looking into preparing your TOEFL, FCE, IELTS exam by yourself, make sure to stick to a few transition expressions of your choice, that you feel confident using in your speaking. You can choose them from this list: Useful Expressions for Speaking (TOEFL, FCE, IELTS).