Speaking Test Strategies 6 How to fake fluency

standing rock offshore in calm sea with driftwood

Maintain a smooth flow.

Image Credit
melfoody via flickr

This is the beginning of the section of the course about fluency. You will understand what fluency is and learn practical ways to improve it. This lesson is an overview, and it offers quick wins and simple strategies you can use right away.

Introduction

What is fluency? How important is it to your speaking test?

Fluency is the ability to speak smoothly. It is not about being quick; it is not about being accurate. If your student seems surprised that fluency ≠ speed, tell them (at a laid-back speaking pace): 

I'm not speaking too quickly. What do you think of my speech? It's fluent. But it's not quick. In fact, I'm speaking quite slowly. 

NOTE: It can help to point out the connection to "fluid" and "flow".

How important is fluency to your speaking test?

Fluency is important in all speaking tests!

  • Note that the G.B.C. has a specific Fluency section in the score, as well as points relating to fluency in other sections. For example, in Vocabulary, "struggled to find the right word", or in Communication of Information, "did not produce a timely response".
Warm Up

Try some speaking test questions. Focus on speaking fluently—don't worry too much about speaking accurately. 

After each question, ask: "How do you think your fluency was?"

NOTE: Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their fluency, not their answer. 

Questions

G.B.C.:

  1. What is the importance of diversity?
  2. What are the pros and cons of start-up companies?

  3. What is the biggest benefit of streaming media?

​IELTS: 

  • Let’s talk about your hometown. What’s the most interesting part of your town? 

TOEFL: 

  • Describe something that you do to reduce stress. Explain why it is helpful. Include details and examples to support your answer.

[OTHER TESTS?]

    Language

    Here are five basic strategies to improve fluency. Discuss them with your teacher, and practice each one: 

    1. Respond immediately.
    2. Confirm by repeating a key word or phrase.
    3. Use fillers.
    4. Slow down.
    5. Say what you can.

    There are a lot of ideas here—spend as much time as needed on each one. It might take more than one lesson.

    1. Respond immediately. 

    You should say something right away to show you've understood the question. This was covered a little in STS 2. The response can be:

    • Simple: Right.../Okay.../Sure.
    • More in-depth: Interesting.../That's a good question./Hmm, let me think about that.

    2. Confirm the question.

    ► NOTE: This is only required on the G.B.C., but it can help on any interview test for the reasons outlined below.

    Repeat a word or phrase with rising or descending tone. This is good for three reasons: 

    1. it buys time;
    2. it shows you understand; and
    3. it shows you are careful about what is asked.

    Practice:

    Say: "I'll ask a question, and I want you to just use a reacting word (like: Okay/Well/Sure/Hmm/Wow/Really), and then repeat a key word or phrase." 

    1. What's the biggest technological breakthrough of the last 20 years?
      • E.g.: "Hmm, technological breakthrough, let's see..."
    2. How do you define human nature?
      • E.g.: "Wow, human nature? That's a tough question."
    3. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
      • E.g.:"Really, anywhere? Let's see, if I could travel anywhere..."

    3. Use fillers.

    There are a lot of these. Tell your student to avoid long silences by using thinking phrases, e.g.: 

    phrase  Meaning 
    Let me see/think...  I need a little time to think about this. 
    How should I put it...? I have the language; I'm just thinking about how best to phrase it
    Hmm, good question. That's a tough question and I need to think about it.*
    Off the top of my head, I'd say... I haven't thought about this very much, but here is a quick answer. 

     

    *NOTE: In English there is a culture of asking difficult questions, so this phrase is a compliment and suitable for anyone. This phrase does not translate well into Asian languages. 

    4. Slow down.

    Powerful speakers tend to speak slowly, and nervous people tend to speak too quickly. Slow. Down.

    5. Say what you can.

    This has a few implications: 

    •  Choose answers that suit your English. Try to talk about things you are good at talking about. There are some topics or ideas you can discuss in your native language that you can't discuss well in English, and that's okay (for now).
    • Think about sophisticated language you know, and work towards that (remember STS 1). 
    • You can tell a white lie. Don't worry about giving an opinion that's not honest or telling a story that's not true. 
    • You can leave out some detail that you'd add in your native language. It may not translate well, so leave it out.

     

    5. Say what you can.

    For instance:

    If the test administrator asks you about the city where you live, then you should carefully choose what you talk about. In your native language, you may want to talk about the efficient transportation or traditional cuisine. But how much experience do you have talking about those topics in English? Probably not much. Choose an answer that suits your language ability. If you have experience talking in English about business, then why not talk about your city’s economy? That’s an easy way to “say what you can".

    Practice

    Now, let's go through some more questions. Practice answering fluently.