تدريب Shadowing: IELTS Speaking Part 1: Don’t Make These Mistakes When Talking About Your Home - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية عبر الفيديو

If you've got the IELTS speaking exam coming up soon, then this video is for you and let me describe a moment you might recognise.

So you sit down, the examiner smiles at you, presses record and asks you something gentle to ease you in.

Do you live in a house or a flat?

Lovely.

Nice, easy question.

And there are two ways people tend to get this wrong.

Option one, you go too short.

A flat.

Yes.

Silence.

The examiner waits.

You wait.

The birds outside stop chirping and they wait.

option two You panic and overcorrect and now you're going on far too long.

So I live in a flat.

It's a two bed on the third floor built in the 90s, I think.

And to be fair, we did look at houses first, but the prices around here are ridiculous.

So we went with a flat in the end, although my cousins actually got this lovely little house and a garden and...

All the examiner asked was house or flat.

And you've handed them a full life story. And that...

is the part one problem.

It's a balancing act.

Too short and you haven't given them enough to go off.

Too long

and you might even be marked negatively for coherence as they

could see it as you misread the simple question as a social issue to discuss in detail.

Or.. more likely because they're not necessarily going to mark you down for that for going long

it's possible though but more likely they'll interrupt you mid -flow they'll say okay and they'll move on to the next question.

or they'll just say start saying the next question and i don't know about you but if i'm interrupted mid flow

It does something to me and it will...

likely make me second guess mean make me think twice about

what I'm doing it will make me second guess what I'm doing going forward

so if somebody interrupts me then I'm oh okay maybe I shouldn't talk like

that going forward so it could negatively affect your following answers

answering somewhere comfortably in the middle not too long not too short and also We've got to be honest,

part one is where they are forming, the examiner, they are forming their first impressions of you.

You know, they are a human, of course, and they will, whether the test is more focused on part two and three than part one,

they will start to get a feeling for how good your English is in part one.

So even though it's the simplest part of the test, it quietly sets the tone for everything that follows.

So today I'm going to show you how to answer four of these part one questions in a way that sounds relaxed,

natural and fluent.

And we're going to do a band five.

band seven and band nine side by side

so today's topic is going to be around home and accommodation so let's get into it

A quick recap though for anyone new to the test.

Part one is the opening few minutes.

The examiner asks you simple friendly questions about your everyday life,

where you live, your work or studies, your hobbies.

That sort of thing.

There's no cue card, no big discussion.

It's basically...

a quick chat and

because it's a chat there are two actually maybe three classic

ways people get it wrong the first is is answering too short.

Do you like your home?

Yes, I do.

It's nice.

Done.

And then nothing.

The conversation just falls flat.

On to the next question.

The second way of doing it wrong is to over answer like it's a part three question by saying,

well, homes play a crucial role in modern society because they provide a foundation for Blah, blah, blah.

Thank you.

It's a question about your flat.

Calm down.

Don't get all philosophical on them.

And the third way you could do it wrong is to sound memorized, right?

Oh, my accommodation is located in a convenient residential area.

right?

If it's overly rehearsed, it sounds a bit robotic, unless you're a very good actor.

But the other risk of rehearsing it too much and,

you know, making a memorised answer is that you might fall into the trap of using stiff,

unnatural structures and clinging onto them.

And we don't want them to know we've rehearsed it.

The problem with that, if you might be wondering actually getting to know your true level of English.

And they know that they can sniff it a mile away.

If they are aware that you are memorizing a script, they will think, right, this isn't the actual level.

I can't judge them on that rehearsed script because

if they ask you a question

that you haven't rehearsed then you might have no English for it

that you are able to just come up with on the spot.

And that's the whole point of the art to test.

It is to test your spontaneous ability to communicate in English.

So keep one idea in your head for this whole episode.

Part one is a conversation presentation.

Your job isn't to impress, it's to sound like a normal,

relaxed human being who happens to be speaking very good English.

Right, question one.

Do you live in a house or flat?

Right, so the band five answer might be...

I live in a flat.

It is nice.

I like it.

Or maybe a more natural version would be, I live in a flat.

It is nice.

I like it.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that exactly.

It answers the question, but it's over before it started.

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And now the examiner is going to move swiftly on to the next question without having been given any evidence

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that you can actually speak fluently.

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Band 7 might be: "Oh, I live in a flat just outside the city centre.

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It's not huge, but it's comfortable and pretty convenient for work." Okay.

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That's pretty good.

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We've got a location, a little detail and a reason.

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It actually feels like an answer now.

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But then if we go up to a band 9, it might sound like this.

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Oh, I live in a flat just outside the city centre, actually.

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And to be honest, it suits me really well.

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It's not massive, but there's enough space.

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And I like that I can get into the town without too much hassle. So, what changed there?

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Not the vocabulary really, there's nothing fancy in that band 9 answer, no long words, the difference is a little formula

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and it's the most useful thing I think I can give you in part 1.

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So, pay full attention, which is, answer the question, give a reason, add a small personal detail, that's it.

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Answer.

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reason, detail.

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The band five gave us the answer and stopped.

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The band nine gave us the answer

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a flat right they said i live in a flat a reason it works it suits me well

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and a tiny detail i can get into town easily three little beats and suddenly

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Your examiner has reason to believe you are a confident speaker of English, which you are.

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Right.

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And notice the length.

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We're not talking a long length speech here.

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A strong part one answer is usually Two to four sentences.

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Any shorter and it dies.

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Any longer and you're back to being a philosopher again.

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A quick side note before we carry on, though, I've put together a free lesson pack to go with this episode.

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Inside it, you'll get a handful more part one question sets on everyday topics, each with band five, band seven and band nine model answers,

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instead of just listening along.

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You can grab it by scanning the QR code on screen right now, or by clicking the link in the show notes description box or comments.

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And that link will open up this page that video podcast viewers can see right now.

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Just pop in your name and email and I'll be able to send it straight to your email inbox.

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Right back to question two, which is, what do you like about your home?

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What do you like about your home?

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Right?

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Band five might say, oh, I like my home because it is comfortable and quiet.

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Fine, correct.

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A bit flat though.

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No pun intended.

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No pun intended.

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Band seven might sound like this.

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I'd say the thing I like most is how quiet it is.

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I work from home quite a bit, so having a calm space really helps me.

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Okay, and then band nine, honestly...

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The thing I appreciate most is probably the choir.

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I work from home a fair amount so a calm space makes a real difference for me.

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Oh and there's loads of natural light which sounds like a tiny thing but it it genuinely lifts my mood.

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So let's have a little bit of a breakdown of those, especially the band seven and nine.

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Did you notice how I started those answers?

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I think I said I'd say dot dot dot or honestly dot dot dot.

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These are what we could call discourse markers, and they are your best friends in part one.

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Little phrases like, to be honest, I'd say, I suppose, not really though,

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or it depends, or to be honest right all of those do two jobs.

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They make you sound natural and relaxed and they buy you half a second to think without going silent.

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The unnatural robotic non -native might jump straight into the answer like it's a quiz show.

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The natural speaker eases in like, honestly, the things I like are these things, right?

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So it's a little tiny run -up that makes a big difference

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And then I want you to notice that little extra detail at the end of the band 9 answer

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I brought up the natural light and how I liked it, right? And it's...

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It's when you've almost You finished your answer, but then another thought pops into your head and you want to say it.

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That's really natural, right?

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We don't want to overdo this, especially in part two and three,

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but bringing this up in that way is very natural and it shows that you're not rehearsed.

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You're just answering from...

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you know, what comes up in your mind.

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All right, question three: is there anything you'd like to change about it?

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about your home right band five might sound like this yes i want a bigger kitchen Band 7 might say: Yeah,

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probably the kitchen.

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It's a bit small, so cooking can be a bit of a squeeze when there's more than one person in there.

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Band 9 Thank you.

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Yeah, if I could change one thing, it'd be the kitchen.

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It's pretty small.

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So the second there's more than one person in there, you end up getting on top of each other.

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Other than that, though, I'm honestly not too fussed.

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It does the job.

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Okay, let's break that down.

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So this question is where I want to make a point that matters a lot for you.

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Because a lot of learners believe that IELTS means formal.

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So they reach for the stiffest, most official sounding English they can find.

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But look at that band nine answer I just gave you.

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Not too fast.

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It does the job.

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Getting on top of each other.

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That's casual, everyday, slightly playful English.

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And it scores because it sounds like real spoken English.

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If you were to compare it to a very formal answer that a non -native might spend a long time memorising,

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that might be, there are certain aspects of my dwelling that I would endeavour to modify.

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I mean, not even the king talks like that.

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I'd say that a more natural, laid -back version wins, especially in the speaking test.

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There's also a sneaky bit of grammar hiding in that band nine answer.

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I said, if I could change one thing, it'd be the kitchen.

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That's a conditional and it sounds effortless, which brings us nicely to the next question.

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Would you like to move in the future? As in move house.

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Would you like to move house in the future?

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A band five?

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Yes.

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I would like to move.

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I want a bigger house, right?

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Band seven, Possibly, yeah.

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I'd like somewhere with a bit more space at some point, maybe with a garden.

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But I'm in no rush.

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Okay.

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Band 9.

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Yeah, I think so, eventually.

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I'd love a place with a garden one day, mostly so I'd have somewhere to sit out in the summer.

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But I'm pretty settled where I am for now, so it's more of a someday thing than a plan that I've got.

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Okay, now this question is secretly testing your grammar and most people might not notice.

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So look at the words flying around in that band nine answer.

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I said I'd love, or one day, or I'd have, or even for now at the end.

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And that's future conditional and present all woven in together.

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And I'm clearly not making a point of using it.

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You know, I'm not deliberately setting the whole answer up to show that I can use that future conditional

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just coming together easily, just like we're talking.

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And that's what examiners mean when they talk about grammatical range.

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It's not about reciting tenses, it's about a brain that naturally reaches for the right one at the right time.

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And the band five speaker sticks to one safe gear the whole time.

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The band nine speaker glides between them without ever sounding like they're actually trying to use them.

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And I will say, studying tense charts will only get you so far.

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They teach you the rules, which is kind of...

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I mean, it's tricky, but it's the easier part of it.

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The harder, more useful skill is weaving those tenses in and around each other so it sounds natural.

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And that comes from being deliberately active with your practice.

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So I would take one tense on its own, build your own sentences with it about your own life,

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then layer in another tense and notice how they sit together.

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Then ideally get feedback on whether it actually sounds natural and start to grow from there.

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And the right tenses stop being something you stop and choose and start being something that just,

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you know, start to show up on their own when you're speaking about your life.

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So before we finish this episode, let's summarize this one quickly.

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Part one is a conversation, not a presentation.

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Keep your answers to two to four sentences and use the formula answer,

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reason, small detail and sprinkle in natural discourse markers or fillers, whatever you like to call them,

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like to be honest or I'd say blah, blah, blah.

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really well in part one and if you do

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that you'll walk into part two

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and three having already convinced the examiner you can actually converse

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which is a very nice position to be in now if Charlie,

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this is great, but how do I practice this on my own?

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Well, that's exactly what my free lesson pack is for.

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You'll get more part one question sets on different everyday topics, each with full band five, seven and nine answers.

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Getting good at that hand gesture.

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My breakdowns of what's making the difference and short exercises so you can build your own answers out loud.

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The reason this works so well is that hearing the difference between the bands

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is the fastest way for you to score higher

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because it's it's quietly retraining your ear to what an examiner is looking for

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so just scan that qr code on screen

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or head to the link in the description show notes

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or comments open up this page drop in your email

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and name and it'll be with you in a matter of seconds for free

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if not check your spam or junk mail folder as well All right, that's it for today.

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Next time you practice part one, don't try to sound clever.

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Focus on sounding relaxed.

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Answer the question, give a reason, add one little detail and then stop.

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That's the whole skill.

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See you in that one.

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ما هي تقنية التظليل الصوتي؟

التظليل الصوتي (Shadowing) تقنية تعلم لغة مدعومة علمياً، طُورت أصلاً لتدريب المترجمين الفوريين المحترفين. الطريقة بسيطة لكنها قوية: تستمع لصوت إنجليزي أصلي وتكرره فوراً بصوت عالٍ — كظل يتبع المتحدث بتأخير 1-2 ثانية. تُظهر الأبحاث تحسناً كبيراً في دقة النطق والتنغيم والإيقاع وربط الأصوات والاستماع والطلاقة.

تقنية الشادوينغ: اقرأ الدليل الكامل خطوة بخطوة →

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