Ugh… For some of us, remembering our oral exams from university can bring really bad memories. Because let’s face it, talking about anything when there’s a pair of judging eyes intensively gazing at us is no fun at all. And even when we feel well prepared, sometimes our mind just draws a blank. It’s even worse when the exam takes place in a language that is not our lingua materna! How can I gain some confidence, you ask? Here we provide 5 tips on how to make your Speaking test as easy as possible.
Note: We're not talking here about the specifics of any particular test, whether it's the IELTS, TOEFL, CAE or anything else. They all function a bit differently, but these general tips apply to all of them.
1. Remember: Examiners are just people
Well, that is, unless the examiner is a computer - but even then, imagine speaking directly to the person who eventually will review the recording.
One word for perfectionists: speaking tests should never involve quoting the entire contents of a dictionary, or having clear British accent. No one expects this from you! Examiners are usually also experienced in teaching and they really do know that oral exams come with a whole lot of stress. Try not to think about what you want to say over and over again or anticipate what type of questions you may get. Just treat it like a conversation. Imagine you're talking to a friend. Because real friends don’t necessarily listen to you with a dictionary in their hands trying to pick out every mistake you make, right? Examiners don’t do that either!
2. Whatever you do – keep going
If you stumble, the worst thing you can do is to give up. Even if you need a moment to collect your thoughts, just say it! Take a few deep breaths and start over. The most important thing is not to say "I’m sorry, I can’t”. Also: if you're having a moment of frustration, don’t switch to your native language! Often people who get nervous when talking in foreign language tend to give up and speak to themselves in their native language for a moment. Even if you feel like getting up and leaving, pause for a moment, take a deep breath and start over. Pro tip: if you need to mutter something to yourself, do it in English!
3. Don’t try to memorise your answers
Again, these exams are about conversational English, as you might hear it in everyday life. When preparing for an oral exam, you probably do tons of exercises and go over 100 types of questions that are asked most frequently. Let’s say you get a question that you've already developed the ultimate answer to. What will happen if you forget one word from your carefully prepared answer or change the sentence order? You're going to lose your flow, and with it, your confidence. Try to go through general topics, but don’t focus on specific questions and answers.
4. Practice, practice, practice
The most important thing for you to do is to break the language barrier. In order to do that, you need to achieve some sort of rhythm and freedom in speaking. Try thinking in English, and speaking it in everday life (even if it's only to yourself or your dog). If you have friends or housemates who speak English, even if it's not great English, try to have certain hours of the day when only English is allowed.
5. What?
During the exam you may mishear the questions or not understand some parts of them, which can make answering a bit difficult. Don’t panic! You have every right to ask for the examiner to repeat the question. When you do that, examiners will often try to paraphrase it to give you another chance. Be careful, though — when you are having difficulties understanding the question, don’t say "What?”. You may laugh, but it happens very often! Saying "What?” is very rude and makes a really bad impression – it’s hard to recover from it. Instead, simply say: "Could you repeat the question please?”.
As you may see, with a little bit of effort put into both practice and calming your nerves, even a speaking exam in a foreign language seems doable!
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