When you do your speaking test, it is important that you get the speaking tone correct.
In this lesson we'll look at how linking phrases can affect the tone.
You are basically having a conversation with someone, so you want to sound natural. Some candidates think they have to sound very formal and academic.
You obviously do need some good vocabulary to get a higher score on the test, such as that from the academic word list (used correctly of course!), but language that you would hear naturally if you had a conversation with your friends is also as important and will get noticed by the examiner.
Take a look at this question and then the answer by a candidate:
What do you think is the problem with the speaking tone? Click to see below.
Show/Hide Answer
The problem with this response is the words linking the ideas, or the transitions. It is not that they are 'wrong' as such. In theory they can be used as the meaning is clear, but they are very formal.
They are suitable for an academic essay, but you will not often hear someone use these words when they are speaking with you.
So if you use these it will make what you say sound very forced and unnatural.
Here is the same answer but the speaking tone is more natural:
As you can see, this sounds more natural and will sound more fluent. It will also seem less 'mechanical'.
So get into the habit of improving your speaking tone by forming linking phrases that are not too mechanical or formal.
In this lesson we'll look at how linking phrases can affect the tone.
You obviously do need some good vocabulary to get a higher score on the test, such as that from the academic word list (used correctly of course!), but language that you would hear naturally if you had a conversation with your friends is also as important and will get noticed by the examiner.
Take a look at this question and then the answer by a candidate:
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Show/Hide Answer
The problem with this response is the words linking the ideas, or the transitions. It is not that they are 'wrong' as such. In theory they can be used as the meaning is clear, but they are very formal.
They are suitable for an academic essay, but you will not often hear someone use these words when they are speaking with you.
So if you use these it will make what you say sound very forced and unnatural.
Here is the same answer but the speaking tone is more natural:
|
So get into the habit of improving your speaking tone by forming linking phrases that are not too mechanical or formal.