Speaking
Knowing what to do if you do not understand the examiner is worth learning properly, because the instinct most candidates have is the worst available option: freeze, then guess. Saying Err… what? and answering a question you did not hear is a reliable route to a lower band. Handled in English, the same moment costs you nothing and can actively help you.
Your listening is assessed in the listening test, not here. Needing something repeated is normal conversational behaviour in any language, and dealing with it calmly and accurately is itself a demonstration of language ability. What does lose marks is silence, and answering a question other than the one you were asked, which damages coherence.
One limit worth knowing. The examiner can repeat a question, but they cannot explain what a word means, and in Part 2 they cannot explain or change anything on the cue card. So for vocabulary you do not know, the strategies below are not a convenience. They are the only option you have.
The examiner says: Whatdyouthinkaboutthe…
Say: I am sorry, could you say that again?
Why it works: It is short, correct and unremarkable. The examiner repeats the question and the test carries on. You may ask more than once.
The examiner says: Can you suggest ways we could be more… of the environment?
Say: Sorry, I am not too sure what you mean by that word.
Why it works: The examiner cannot define it for you, but they can repeat the question, and hearing it a second time in context often supplies the meaning. Asking clearly is scored as competent communication.
The examiner says: Do you think environmental groups should be subsidised by government?
Say: If by subsidised you mean given public money, then…
Why it works: You state your interpretation and answer it. Even if the interpretation is slightly off, the examiner can follow your logic, and coherence is preserved. This is much stronger than guessing silently.
The examiner says: Are there ways the older generation can educate people about environmental issues?
Say: That is not something I have ever really thought about, but I suppose…
Why it works: It buys you three or four seconds of thinking time in English rather than in silence, and it gives you permission to approach the question sideways — through education generally, or what older people are in a position to pass on.
You said: My family has four people.
Say: Sorry, I mean there are four people in my family.
Why it works: Successful self-correction is recorded as evidence of control. Stop, repair, move on. Do not apologise twice and do not dwell on it.
These do two jobs at once: they avoid the flat I do not know, and they give you a few seconds to find an angle. Learn four or five so they arrive without effort.
Imagine the examiner asks something genuinely unusual: What impact do you think power steering has had on reducing traffic accidents?
Well, it is difficult to say — I have never really thought about the engineering side of it. In my view the most effective factor in reducing accidents has been much stiffer punishment for dangerous driving. Speeding is still a serious problem, but offences like drink driving have fallen considerably, largely because of heavy fines and the real possibility of imprisonment, reinforced by advertising campaigns that were deliberately hard to watch.
The candidate never answers the question about power steering, and loses nothing, because the answer is fluent, coherent and clearly related to the topic that was raised.
If nothing comes after a few seconds, move sideways to a part of the question you do know something about. It is not ideal, but it is far better than silence, and the examiner can only assess what you say.
None of these would be asked in a real IELTS test. That is the point. Give yourself sixty seconds on each, starting with one of the phrases above, and see how far a hedge and a sideways move will carry you.
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Insects that live in woodland
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