IELTS Speaking Using Contractions: wanna, gonna

by 95 Comments

Should you use contractions in your IELTS speaking test? Will you get a lower mark if you use contractions like “gonna”?

What are contractions?

A contraction is when you combine two (or more) words to make them shorter and make them flow together when speaking. “It is” = “it’s” or “want to” = “wanna”. Most contractions are used in informal speaking. Is the IELTS speaking test formal or informal? The IELTS speaking is 100% informal.

  • Part 1 is informal short answer questions
  • Part 2 is an informal talk
  • Part 3 is an informal discussion on broader current issues
    • This means informal language is fine to use in all parts of the test.

They are an accepted part of SPOKEN English. One student pointed out that they even heard contractions used by the BBC and the British Royal Family – this is true.

Using Wanna / Gonna

Yes, it’s fine to use contractions (words joined in pronunciation) in the IELTS speaking test. In fact, it will boost your score for pronunciation.

  • want to = wanna
    • I really wanna go to the cinema tonight.
    • The majority of students wanna travel before starting university.
  • going to = gonna
    • He’s gonna visit his grandmother this evening.
    • The local council are gonna improve the roads in this area.

Wanna and gonna are only used in spoken English and NOT in formal writing. The reason is that “wanna” and “gonna” are pronunciation features – it is how we pronounce “want to” but it is not how we write it in formal written English. It is fine to use these words in your IELTS speaking test and in fact will help with your pronunciation band score. Are these contractions in the Cambridge dictionary? Yes, they are. Follow the links: wanna and gonna.

IELTS Speaking Pronunciation

Pronunciation is 25% of your marks for IELTS speaking. This means the way you pronounce sounds, words and sentences is marked in your speaking test. Part of that does include linking sounds and linking words, such as gonna, wanna, it’s and doesn’t. So, try to learn these contractions and use them naturally in your test.

Common  List of Contractions

To Be

  • I am = I’m
  • you are = you’re
  • he is = he’s
  • she is = she’s
  • it is = it’s
  • we are = we’re
  • they are = they’re

To Have

  • I have = I’ve
  • you have = you’ve
  • he has = he’s
  • etc

Will

  • I will = I’ll
  • you will = you’ll
  • he will = he’ll
  • etc

Negatives

  • is not = isn’t
  • are not = aren’t
  • does not = doesn’t
  • did not = didn’t
  • has not = hasn’t
  • have not = haven’t
  • should not = shouldn’t
  • would not = wouldn’t
  • could not = couldn’t
  • don’t know = dunno

Remember, these contractions are NOT used:

  1. in formal writing, such as in IELTS writing task 2
  2. report writing, such as writing task 1 (academic test)
  3. formal letters or business letters

But contractions are good to use in the IELTS Speaking Test.

Advanced Contractions

The contractions below are only used in speaking and NOT in writing. It is good to use these types of contractions in IELTS speaking.

  • I should have = I should’ve
  • should not have = shouldn’t’ve
  • I could have = I could’ve
  • I could not have = I couldn’t’ve
  • I would have = I would’ve
  • I would not have = I wouldn’t’ve

Contractions: Listen, Pause and Repeat Practice

Listen to the recording and read the sentences below. Pay attention to the contractions. Listen again and repeat aloud.

  1. If I’d know it was going to be expensive, I would have saved up more money.
    1. going to = gonna  /  I would have = I’d’ve
  2. He would not have gone by bus if he would have known how bad the journey was going to be.
    1. he would not have = he wouldn’t’ve / he would have = he would’ve / going to = gonna
  3. The government should have developed better public transportation a long time ago. If they want to limit global warming, they have got to limit the use of cars.
    1. should have = should’ve  / want to = wanna    /   got to = gotta
  4. If you’re going to learn a language, then you have really got to focus on your pronunciation.
    1. going to = gonna    / you have = you’ve  /   got to = gotta
  5. I don’t know what my favourite time of day is. I suppose it’s the evening because then I can really chill out.
    1. don’t know  = dunno    /   because = coz

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Speaking Tagged With: ,

Fake Facebook Page for IELTS Liz: WARNING!

by 227 Comments

Hi guys,

Another facebook page has appeared selling a school using my name. Here is the link of the fake school: https://www.facebook.com/ieltseliz. It looks like me but it isn’t.  They are using my pictures, my name, my videos and also listing my professional details. Please report them and help me stop online fraud.

My Real Facebook

I have only one Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/ieltsliz. Look carefully at the url address: it clearly says facebook.com/ieltsliz. Any other page is fake. I have over 50,000 followers at present and you can see a link to my real and only facebook page in the right hand column on this site.

All the best and thank you

Liz

Filed Under: Uncategorized

IDP or British Council: Which is best for IELTS?

by 210 Comments

Which is best for IELTS, British Council or IDP? Where should you take your IELTS test?

  • There is no difference between the IELTS test at the BC and in IDP.
  • There is also no difference between examiners and marking in the BC and IDP.

Who owns IELTS?

Both IDP and the British Council are part owners of IELTS along with Cambridge English Language Assessment. This means they are all one company. Learn more information about the IELTS Test.

IELTS Test Difficulty Level

IDP and British Council conduct IELTS tests but they do not write them. All tests used at the BC and IDP are compiled by Cambridge English Language Assessment who is one of the joint owners of IELTS.

This means you will get the same tests if you are at BC or IDP.

IELTS Examiners & Marking at IDP & BC

All examiners for IELTS, both IDP and BC examiners, are trained in the same way, following the same guidelines.

Listening and Reading answers are marked clerically. They are based on right or wrong answers. Each right answer gives one point and your score is calculated based on the number of right answers. So, this never differs between test centers.

Writing and Speaking are marked by an examiner. All IELTS examiners, for both IDP and BC, complete the same training course, follow the same marking criteria and also the same band score descriptors. Examiners are also checked regularly to ensure they are not marking too high or too low.

Accents

IDP is Australian and BC is British but they both use a range of accents. In the listening test, you will get a range of accents (even American sometimes). In the speaking test, the examiner could come from any country and have any accent. You can use any accent you want in your speaking test: Australian, British or American.

IELTS Band Scores:

How to Choose: British Council or IDP?

  1. Choose a test center close to your home.
    1. The listening, reading and writing test is 2 hours and 40 mins. You will need to arrive at your test center feeling fresh and ready to concentrate. Choosing a test center near your home will help you do this.
  2. Check if the listening test uses speakers or head phones.
    1. Most students prefer to use head phones because they can concentrate better. You might want to check with your test center which they use.
  3. Test Dates in IDP or BC
    1. Decide which center offers you the test date you want. You should always take the test when your IELTS skills and English language is strongest. Also make sure you frequently hit the score you want in practice tests before booking your real test.

Share your Experience

Post a comment with your experience of BC or IDP for an IELTS test. Give some tips to other students.

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

IELTS Writing Task 1 Future Prediction Model Answer

by 136 Comments

Below is an IELTS table with dates in the future and past for writing task 1. This means you will need to use a combination of tenses to write this table task. IELTS Tables in writing task 1 can be complicated because of of all the data given to you. The model answer below shows you how to organise information and write an answer with different grammar tenses.

IELTS Table: Past & Future  Dates

IELTS Table Model Answer

Note: I’ve highlighted examples of future forms to show the options you have for presenting future predictions.

The table gives information about the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over in 3 countries (Canada, Germany and the UK) in 1988, 2000 and an estimated percentage for 2030.

Overall, the population of elderly people is predicted to rise in all three countries over the period given. The highest percentage of older people was in Germany, which is forecast to continue to remain the highest for the entire period, while the lowest proportion can be seen in the UK.

Between 1988 and 2000, the aging population of Canada and Germany went up by around 5% to 20.67% and 25.32% respectively. The UK, on the other hand, showed relatively little change in the proportion of its population who were 65 years old and above remaining at just under 15% in both years.

By 2030, it is expected that the population of people aged 65 and above will increase by approximately 5.5% in all three countries. The percentage is predicted to reach 30.42% in Germany, 26.35% in Canada and 20.35% in the UK.

(176 words)

Recommended FOR YOU:

FREE SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe to get new lessons & tips by email.

.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 1 Tagged With:

IELTS Writing Task 1 Table with Future Predictions

by 26 Comments

The IELTS table below shows information with both past and future predictions. This IELTS writing task 1 table appeared in the exam recently and has been reproduced as accurately as possible with data provided by a student called Oyon (April 16th). This table is the IELTS academic writing test.

I will post a model answer for the table below next week.

If you want to try this task 1 table with future predictions, please post your writing in the comments box below. However, I am not currently available to comment on your writing. This will solely be for the purpose of practice and to compare with my model when it is published.

IELTS Table with Future Predictions

ielts table future predictions

Useful Links for Writing Task 1

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 1

IELTS: Using a Pen or Pencil?

by 74 Comments

Should you use a pen or a pencil in your IELTS test? Learn the IELTS rules for using pens and pencils and get tips.

Pen or Pencil in IELTS?

In IELTS listening and reading, you MUST use a pencil for filling in the answer sheet. This means you should also take an eraser into the test with you so you can erase mistakes.

In the IELTS writing test, you can choose if you want to use either a pencil or a pen.

Tips on Using Pens and Pencils

Pens:

  • Your answers can look messy if you need to delete mistakes.
  • Don’t just put a thin line through mistakes, put many lines through mistakes to delete the word completely. This will make it easier for the examiner to see which words are mistakes and which are not.
  • Make sure your pen doesn’t run out. Don’t use a very old pen.A

Pencils

  • Make sure your pencil is sharp and not too light in colour. It must be easy to read.
  • Don’t use a pencil that is easy to break as you can miss answers in your listening test, while you sort it out.
  • When you erase a word, make sure it is completely erased so that the new word is clear.

Good Handwriting Tips

You can use any style of hand writing you want  in IELTS and you can delete mistakes without losing marks. However, if your handwriting or words are difficult to read, it will reduce your score. If the examiner can’t read it, it’s wrong.

If you wish to put another word into a sentence in your IELTS writing test, you can use the ^ sign. However, make sure the word is easy to read.

You should practice writing your answers on the official answer sheets for listening and reading before your test. You should also practice writing your essays on the official writing paper. See this page for tips on using the official writing paper and to download it for free: Using the Official Writing Paper. Follow these links to get the listening and reading answer sheets: Listening Answer Sheet and IELTS Reading Answer Sheet

Know more about IELTS

  • Capital letters?
  • Wearing a watch?
  • Writing on the question paper?
  • Writing T instead of True?
  • Indenting your paragraphs ?

Check the pen and pencil rules on the BC website: IELTS Listening Test Rules. You will find links on that page to the reading, writing and speaking test rules.

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

IELTS Listening Practice: Selecting Names from a List

by 23 Comments

This IELTS listening practice is based on multiple choice when you must choose names from a list. Be prepared to hear many names – try to listen out for the names which answer the question.

Health Care Conference

Multiple Choice Questions 1-3

Who will be lecturing at the conference today?

Choose three letters, A-G.

  • A = Dr Christopher Lord
  • B = Dr David Bishop
  • C = Dr George Ripley
  • D = Dr William Benson
  • E = Dr Roger Dean
  • F = Dr Daisy Mandalay
  • G = Dr Ralph Morris

 

 

Answers

Answers

E  A  B (any order). This question counts for answers 1, 2 and 3. This means three points – one point for each correct answer.

  • E = ‘Dr Roger Dean who will be presenting his speech…’
  • A = ‘Dr Christopher Lord will address everyone…’
  • B = ‘Dr David Bishop, as I mentioned earlier, will take the floor to tell you about…’

Comments: The answer is not C (Dr George Ripley) because he is talking tomorrow not today. The answer is not D (Dr William Benson) because he is running a debate. He is not giving a lecture. The answer is not F (Dr Daisy Mandalay) because she is showing a video not talking. The answer is not G (Dr Ralph Morris) because he is collecting feedback and not speaking.

The key to success in this listening practice is to identify the word “lecture” as the key word in the question. Many names are mentioned but only three people are actually lecturing today.

Transcript

Transcript

Today’s topic under discussion is the health care system both past and present. We have a number of guests for today’s lectures, videos and debates, one of them the notable Dr David Bishop.

The morning will be kicked off by Dr Roger Dean who will be presenting his speech summarising the major changes and challenges of the health care system from the year 2000 to around 2012. Following him, will be Dr William Benson who will oversee the debate on today’s problems for hospitals. After lunch, Dr Daisy Mandalay will be showing a revealing video relating to the current trends in health problems faced by today’s society. Dr Christopher Lord will then address everyone on the problems faced by family doctors and the vital role they play in the health care system. Last, but not least, Dr David Bishop, as I mentioned earlier, will take the floor to tell you about his current research. Dr Ralph Morris will be responsible for collecting your feedback on the various parts of the conference at the end of the day. That will conclude our seminars for the day. Tomorrow’s conference details will be put up on the notice board later this afternoon but you will be all please to know that Dr George Ripley has agreed to lecture you all.

 Vocabulary

Vocabulary

give a lecture / to  lecture Synonyms:

  • give a talk about / on
  • to address people on
  • give a seminar on
  • hold a seminar on
  • to take the floor (to talk)
  • to instruct people on
  • to give a speech about / on
  • to present a speech / talk on about

 

Recommended for IELTS Listening:

Listening for Names Practice & Tips

List of Common English Names – Pronunciation

Multiple Choice Practice for Listening & Reading

All IELTS Listening Lessons, Tips & Free Videos

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

Filed Under: IELTS Listening Tagged With:

IELTS Reading Practice: Marie Curie

by 18 Comments

IELTS reading practice for matching sentence endings questions. This topic is a biography of Marie Curie, a famous scientist. Skim read the passage before attempting the questions. Please note this is not a practice test but just IELTS reading practice to develop skills and understanding of this type of question.

Download the PDF file for the passage and questions: IELTS Reading Practice Marie Curie

Marie Curie

During the 19th century scientists knew little about what went on inside an atom. However, by the end of the century there were startling new ideas about the structure of the atom resulting from the discoveries of X-rays, radioactivity and the electron.

Marie Sklodowska was born in Warsaw in 1867. She was a brilliant student and dreamed of studying at the Sorbonne in Paris but it took eight years of scrimping and saving before she could afford to go. Despite very poor living conditions and a lack of French she graduated in physics in 1893 and mathematics in 1894.

While looking for a laboratory in Paris to continue with her experiments she was introduced to Pierre Curie, a highly regarded professor at the School of Physics. At 35 years old, Pierre was already an internationally recognised physicist. With his brother Paul-Jacques, he discovered piezo-electricity: the fact that crystals under pressure produce electric currents. He also studied crystal symmetries and the magnetic properties of bodies at different temperatures. His papers had been well received by distinguished colleagues but he was still an outsider in the French academic community. Like Marie he did not care for outward distinctions or a career. They married in July 1895.

During her studies Marie had heard about Henri Becquerel’s discovery of some sort of radiation emitting from uranium salts and decided to investigate these mysterious ‘uranium rays’ for her doctoral thesis. She soon discovered that the intensity of the rays was in direct proportion to the amount of uranium in her sample. Nothing she did to the uranium affected the rays. This, she said, ‘shows that radioactivity is an atomic property’. She also found that two minerals, pitchblende and chalcite, were much more radioactive than uranium itself, and realised that they must contain a new radioactive element.

After the exciting results of Marie’s early experiments, Pierre abandoned his study of crystals to join her in her search for new substances. The couple laboured over their work, Marie carrying out the chemical separations and Pierre taking the measurements. They continued with the painstaking refining and by December 1898 the couple announced the discovery of an even more radioactive substance in pitchblende which they called radium. This discovery had far-reaching effects; opening up the fields of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine.

Matching Sentence Endings

Complete the sentences by selecting the correct ending, A-L (not all letters will be used).

  1. In the early 20th century, scientists….
  2. It took Marie 8 years…
  3. Marie tolerated sub-standard accommodation but still…
  4. The research of Pierre Curie was received well …
  5. Both Marie and Pierre shared the same belief that…
  6. The research by Henri Becquerel …
  7. On discovering that there must be a hitherto unknown substance …
  8. The revelation of radium had a momentous  impact on …

Endings

  • A) by the college where he worked.
  • B) lacked French.
  • C) had already made novel discoveries about the atom.
  • D) by notable fellows in his field.
  • E) recognition or vocation was not the main goal.
  • F) graduated in two subjects.
  • G) had rediscovered the x-ray.
  • H) nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.
  • I) prompted her to investigate his discovery further.
  • J) pitchblende.
  • K) her husband relinquished his work for hers.
  • L) of economising prior to  realise her goal of studying in Paris.
Answers
  1. C
    • novel = new / by the end of the 19 century means that this was already happening at the start of the 20th century
  2. L
    • Second paragraph. economising = being careful with money and not overspending = saving
  3. F
    • The answer can be found here: “Despite very poor living conditions and a lack of French she graduated in physics in 1893 and mathematics in 1894.”
  4. D
    • notable = distinguished / colleagues = fellows in his field. Please note that colleague and college do not have the same meaning.
  5. E
    • The answer can be found at the end of the third paragraph: “Like Marie he did not care for outward distinctions or a career.” Please note that “he” refers to her husband, Pierre. outward distinctions = recognition / career = vocation
  6. I
    • The answer can be found in the fourth paragraph: “During her studies Marie had heard about Henri Becquerel’s discovery ………and decided to investigate these mysterious ‘uranium rays’ for her doctoral thesis.”. Prompted means that she was persuaded or it caused her to.
  7. K
    1. The answer can be found in the last paragraph: “Pierre abandoned his study of crystals to join her in her search for new substances.”.  “he reliquished his work” means that he abandoned (gave up) his work.
  8. H
    1. The answer is in the last sentence of the passage: “This discovery had far-reaching effects; opening up the fields of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine. “. The word far-reaching is paraphrased as momentous.

Article from sciencemuseum.org.uk

More Practice with Matching Sentence Endings:

IELTS Reading Passage: Crime & Punishment 

All IELTS Reading Practice & Tips

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, model answers, lessons, free videos and more.

Get my free lessons by email

Subscribe for free to get my new IELTS lessons sent to your email inbox.

 

Filed Under: IELTS Reading
error: Content is protected !!