Achieving a higher Speaking band score in your IELTS test is achievable, and comes down to what one does on a daily basis. Here are six daily habits to help you achieve your goal:
1. Speaking English daily
This is the most crucial and effective habit to adopt.
Many educational institutions and local libraries offer language chat groups, where groups of people can get together and enjoy some time together as they only converse in English.
There are many online groups available as well, and if the test taker lives in an English-speaking country, there will be even more opportunities to speak English everyday.
2. Listen
Listening is also an important speaking skill, as it relates to staying on-topic and saying things within context, which is crucial in achieving a higher IELTS Speaking band score.
Podcasts, radio talk shows and live TV shows whose participants are educated, native English-speakers are ideal practice. It exposes the mind to a wider vocabulary, colloquial language, rhythm, intonation and grammatical structures.
Even if you don’t always understand all parts, some may stand out to you, which would be the phrases or words worth looking up and memorising/practising.
3. Read
It is just as effective to indulge in lifestyle articles (not too overly formal or casual) – usually found in magazines and newspapers, written by educated, native speakers.
Some national newspapers have special weekly inserts – usually over weekends – that contain book reviews, music reviews and travel articles. It may also emphasise those phrases, expressions and grammatical structures you may have picked up during your listening sessions.