Fluency Facts Sheet
Fluency, the most important marking criteria in IELTS speaking module, means being able to speak smoothly and continuously at a normal speed. This explanation of the word seems very easy to accomplish but really difficult to reach. In fact, at the live test, only few of the candidates can pass and achieve a high mark in this part. So, what does fluency in oral English really mean? The following facts may give you some ideas about it and understand it more deeply.
About Translation: When students talk word by word it means they are thinking and translating everything they are trying to say from Chinese to English. Sometimes, they pause or totally stop speaking if they can’t interpret a word. In fact, they don’t know that most of the Chinese words do not have an exact meaning in English. And it also demands the speaker to use a huge amount of time to think about it. There is no doubt that translating is the most inefficient and ineffective way of communicating. Therefore, candidates should stop thinking of what they want to say in Chinese and instead just create the sentences in English. When they get used to doing that, they’ll find it easier to talk at length and their fluency will be better at the same time.
About Repeating: There are many interesting facts why students restate words while they are talking. Firstly, when they are afraid of making grammatical mistakes or pronouncing incorrectly, they will start to repeat themselves in order to buy them some time to think about the rules. Secondly, if they do not have enough examples or ideas to support the topic assigned to them, they might express the same idea in a different way again and again. Last but no least, lack of oral English practice and shyness defiantly will make most Chinese students barely open their mouths. Therefore, all these reasons could eventually give the candidates a less competent fluency. In order to solve the problem we suggest students try not to expect to speak without making any errors. Also, think too much before talking can make them become very nervous. Thus, without competent fluency, students might not be able to have a good conversation.
About connecting ideas--- Speaking fluently does not mean speaking fast. It also means quick reaction and response. Sometimes it takes the candidates a long stop before they can say any word or can not converse at all while in the test because they can not understand the questions asked by the examiner. When students are communicating, they seldom exchange their ideas thoroughly. They always let the interviewee wait for their answers because they tend to analyze the questions first before they start to deliver their answer. Therefore, causes the conversation to stop that affects the flow of the conversation. So apart from improving students’ oral English skills, be sure that their listening skills are good enough too.
Most of the students focus too much on how to speak faster. But in contrast they do not care about the quality of their communication. So, always remember that Oral English is a way of communicating with others. Therefore, even if the candidates talk in a fast speed it won’t help them to score a high band scale if the examiner can not understand a word of what they say. In order to attain a good oral English fluency, students should avoid translating, start to organize their ideas and deliver them in a smooth and appropriate speed!