Do your best to show off your skills.
Our first strategy lesson is about interview tests in general. We'll talk about what they are for. This will help you avoid the biggest mistake that people make in interview tests.
First, let's establish a few points:
- Which speaking test are you planning on taking?
- If you've taken it before, how was your performance?
- How do you think you can improve?
First, check if this is their first time looking at this lesson (the student may have done it in the free trial). Here is information about each question:
- Get a feel for the student's attitude towards the test. How many times have they taken it? If they have not, when do they plan to? When is their next test scheduled?
- Just listen to the student's concerns and note them. Make sure their profile is up-to-date about their needs.
Comparing the tests
G.B.C.:
-
Speaking test with 4 parts; takes about 25 minutes.
- Personal questions, often about your hometown, hobbies, background or likes/dislikes.
- Business questions (generally about your current job).
- General challenging questions about global politics, the economy, technology, etc.
- Abstract topics, like "What do you think about investments in space travel?" and "How do you measure success?".
IELTS:
- 3 modules, each about 3–5 minutes long.
- Talk about yourself, including who you are and what you do.
- Get a card with a topic; you have one minute to prepare and then about two minutes to respond.
- Participate in a discussion with your examiner. It may be more abstract than the previous topic.
TOEFL:
- 2 short, open-answer speaking questions related to the student's personal experience.
- Students get 15 seconds to prepare and then 45 seconds to respond.
- They are not expected to finish strongly; it is expected that they may be cut off mid-thought.
- TOEFL also has speaking sections related to listening or reading, which are basically comprehension.
- Please look for TOEFL tips in these lessons, as the demands of this test are much less than the G.B.C. Strategies such as memorizing phrases and practicing set idioms will serve test-takers well.
TOEIC:
Below is an overview of the TOEIC speaking exam. The STS course will help with questions 5–11*.
- Part 1 (questions 1–2): Read a text aloud. 45 seconds to practice; 45 seconds to read aloud.
- Part 2 (questions 3–4): Describe a picture. 45 seconds prep; 30 seconds to describe.
- *Part 3 (questions 5–7): Respond to questions. 15-second response for questions 5 and 6; 30 seconds for question 7.
- *Part 4 (questions 8–10): Respond to questions using info provided. 45 seconds to read information; 15-second response for questions 8 and 9; 30-second response for question 10.
- *Part 5 (question 11): Express opinion on a topic. 30 seconds preparation; 60-second response.
For more details, see: About the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests
EIKEN:
- Grade 1 (the highest level) has abstract and challenging questions similar to the G.B.C.
GCAS
The STS course will help with part 1*. For parts 2 and 3, see the GCAS Strategies course.
- *Part 1: Questions: introductions; your job; business. Time: 3:00
- Part 2: Two graphs: summarising, and then using the data and trends to make recommendations. Time: 2:00 (plus 1:30 preparation time)
- Part 3: Discussion based on a business-related theme (training, for instance) and using a prompt with three possible ideas to present suggestions. 3:00 (plus 1:30 preparation time).
Goal of this lesson
This lesson is about expanding on answers in a natural, organized, conversational way. This will generate interest and demonstrate the strengths of their language skills. Everybody can do better with this, so it is a good place to start.
Your teacher has a few questions for you. Answer them as you would in your test.
Ask the student one of these questions:
- What do you do?
- Where are you from?
- Have you ever been overseas?
You will typically get short answers with simple vocabulary words and simple grammar. This is not the type of answer we want.
Go straight onto the next point. You can correct grammar mistakes, but don't teach too much new language. Also, don't give feedback yet—that's the next part of the lesson.
Let's talk about your answers from the Warm Up. Your teacher will help you develop your answers. That way, you can maximize your chances of a higher test score.
Depending on your student's answer, you may need to explain a lot. The shorter your student's answer was, the more you will need to explain.
Discuss this question: What is the point of an interview test?
The point, of course, is to test your English! That means:
- using advanced vocabulary and complex grammar; and
- speaking smoothly with as few mistakes as possible.
Key point
The goal of a speaking test is not informational. It is not a job interview. The goal is to showcase the best of your English.
This is the biggest mistake people make in interview tests. Questions are designed merely to give the student something to talk about.
At all times during the test, you should be showing off your English skills.
Basically put, it doesn't matter what you say. It only matters how you say it. This means your answer doesn't have to be "right" or brilliant. Choose a topic you can talk about, even if it isn't what you really think.
Crux
If you (the student) do not talk more, then the interviewer has less to go on when they score the test. Use interesting phrases and words you know. Don't focus too much on the information or opinion you have, but rather on the language.
Now take what you have learned and practice with a few more questions.