5 Common Mistakes Candidates Make in IELTS Speaking (And How You can Avoid Them)

This post will cover a very important topic which would be highly helpful for you.

The IELTS Speaking part is considered to be a very tricky one for many candidates. Most people do not have the habit to converse naturally in English. That is the reason why they fall into some traps and make some mistakes. I have seen many students of mine, who make the same mistakes in their initial time of practice.

You can learn from these and avoid them for better results.

📚 Navigation – IELTS Speaking Mistakes & Tips

1. 🔴 Memorizing the Answers

2. 🟠 Giving Shorter or One-Word Answers

3. 🟡 Overusing Impressive Vocabulary

4. 🔵 Speaking Too Fast or Too Slow

5. 🟢 Not Practicing Aloud

🔴 1. Memorizing the Answers

This is one of the basic errors which are committed by the students. In order to speak without effort and hesitation, they try to solve this problem by memorizing the answers. As a result, they become blank if they forget the memorized lines.
🧠 Also, the examiner sees whether you speak fluently or have the scripted answers. There are higher chances that you will make more mistakes and give irrelevant answers if you have memorized the answers and sought the help of rote learning.

✅ TIP: You can practice speaking naturally on general and everyday topics, but not remembering word-for-word details.

🟠 2. Giving Shorter or One-Word Answers

Well, it’s not really a problem, except that IELTS wants to test how well you can speak. If you give short or one word-answers, how will they assess your speaking skills?
💬 Think about it. You are supposed to show that you can speak fluently and communicate well in the English language. You will show this to them only by articulating more words.

✅TIP: Learn how to expand your answers in detail.

🟡 3. Overusing Impressive Vocabulary

Again, it might not have been a huge issue; however, the problem is, you use a fancy word in the wrong context, it can affect your score.
✨ Using fancy words is okay only if you know its accurate meaning and have knowledge of using it in the right context.

The key to do well in lexical resource is to not overuse any word. If you use topic specific vocabulary and do not repeat yourself too much, you will do great in lexical resource and other speaking marking criteria.

✅ TIP: If you are afraid of lavish vocabulary and struggle with it, there is no harm in using the words you are comfortable with. IELTS wants to see how well you communicate, not test your memory of fancy vocabulary. It is way better to speak naturally and gain a good score than to lose a score over trying to be impressive.

🔵 4. Speaking Too Fast or Too Slow

Although it is great to be fluent, it is not nice to speak too fast.
⚠️ Here is why: Talking too fast can create ambiguity and sound unclear to the interviewer. The reason for IELTS Speaking is to see how good you are at communication and if you blow this up by speaking too fast, then it is a real problem.

🐢 Talking slowly might also affect your timing of the test.
⏱️ Here is why: in PART 2 of the test, you have to speak on a topic for 2 minutes. If you talk too slowly, you might not be able to give a detailed answer which is required from you. It can also affect your score.

✅ TIP: Take a balanced pace, neither too fast nor too slow. You can take usual pauses in between which seems more natural.

🟢 5. Not Practicing Aloud

This is a big mistake that candidates make. They never understand that speaking in the head is not the same as actual speaking.
🗣️ So, if you guys don’t practice aloud, there is more likely for you to stumble, forget in between, and become blank for some time.
Practicing the pronunciation of words aloud is also essential, as it is one of the four key assessment criteria in the IELTS Speaking test.

We don’t want that to happen, right?

✅ TIP: You should practice speaking aloud every day. You can even talk to yourself if no one is available. (That’s what I used to do too and it facilitated a lot.) You can also record yourself and analyze your mistakes. TRUST ME, IT HELPS.

🌟 Final Tip: Just Be Yourself!

The IELTS Speaking isn’t really about how perfect you are, it is about how well you are communicating in English language. Just be yourself, speak naturally and convey your ideas with confidence and clarity. 💖