INTRODUCTION

IELTS, as has been correctly noted by many on different forums, is meant primarily for those who wish to clear that particular English proficiency test with the required bands in order to facilitate their Study Abroad or Permanent Residency (PR) plans. Therefore, preparation for the exam is not solely about developing one’s speaking ability. The candidate will have to master the other modules as well, and IELTS coaching classes will train their students on those skills as well.

WHAT DO YOU GAIN?

Regular IELTS Speaking practice in the class surely helps. So many of my students become quite proficient speakers by the time they are done with the one-month course. While preparing for IELTS Speaking, you will learn how to answer questions about your own personal life and preferences. What may be broadly described as your opinions about yourself. Later you will become fluent at expressing your opinion about others. You will soon realize that answering these two types of questions require you to employ different sentence structures. Consequently, you will sometimes answer in the first person, while at other times you will respond in the third person. It goes without saying that your sense of sentence structure will increase. Later, you will be asked to speak on a general topic for 2-minutes or as close to that time limit as possible. This will develop your capacity for extended speech. It is a small step from here to the podium, public speaking, addressing the management, or facing the interview panel.

IELTS is not just for those who are desperate to travel, study, and work abroad. It is of great help to those who wish to develop their English communication skills for better job prospects or even to conduct daily social interactions with confidence. I have tried to bring out this hidden significance of IELTS in a couple of my previous blogs. To read more, go there.

A FINAL WORD

In the past the institute has had candidates who were not very comfortable speaking in English. Yet they not only became far more fluent in that language, but in the process also aced these job interviews. You see, it has nothing really to do with school grammar. On the contrary, think “Functional Grammar”. I assume, of course, that you are able to speak in English and suffer from ‘hesitation’ only now and then. Especially when you try to explain a matter that is slightly more complex than routine and familiar problems. For, if it is any more serious than that, then obviously, IELTS is not the correct platform for you to hone your elementary Speaking skills. In that case you got to go back to the drawing board, as it were, and enroll in a Spoken English class for at least 3 months.

But then, I am sure, that is not the case with you.