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WHEN SHOULD I USE ADVANCED WORDS? | IELTS Speaking Band Descriptor - LEXICAL RESOURCE
Aug 24, 2023
Understanding the IELTS Speaking Band Descriptors is important before taking the IELTS Speaking test. Learn how the examiner uses the criterion, Lexical Resource to evaluate your English communication skills. #ieltsspeakingbanddescriptors #ieltsspeaking #ieltsdragon
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Understanding lexical resource is one of the criteria in the IELTS Speaking test
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This is the second video installment of a four-part series about understanding the IELTS Speaking band descriptors
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Today, let us focus on learning about lexical resource. Now here, there's a myth that's going on among students that you need to use many advanced words or idioms or expressions to get a higher band
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don't believe that that's not true at all hear me out lexical resource is only 25 percent of your
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overall score there are other criteria that your examiner uses to evaluate your english communication
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skills now when i took the ielts speaking test i did not use many advanced words or idioms or
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expressions to express myself because I knew that that would be so unnatural. And guess what
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I was still able to get a band 9. Well, yes, you have to make sure that you make your examiner know
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that your vocabulary knowledge is not limited. But it doesn't mean that you stuff your answers
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or your sentences with many advanced words or idioms or expressions. That's not how it works
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If you do that, you will only appear so unnatural. So, the most important thing that you need to do
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is use advanced words or idioms or expressions when they are appropriate and when you feel like
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you can really use them in a more natural way. Don't force yourself using those advanced words
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Use them when they are appropriate. Now, what do I mean by that
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For you to understand my point, I want you to look at this example
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This is the answer made by one of the students who asked for my help
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The question is, do you like eating fish? And this is her answer
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Frankly speaking fish is not my cup of tea Although fish is loaded with wonderful nutrient protein vitamin which is essential for our brain and eye development I still have extremely antipathy with fish
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As I was a little girl, when having eating fish, I choked in a fish bony, and then fish became a
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terrible obsession for me. So, what do you notice with that answer? Well, she used some advanced
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words, however, they just didn't sound right or natural. This is an example of an answer that is
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stuffed with many advanced words, but it simply sounds natural. Native English speakers don't do
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that in a conversation. If you do that in your IELTS speaking test, you will only make your
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examiner believe that you do not know how to use advanced words appropriately. Now here
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I want you to look at how I transformed this answer into a natural sounding and conversational
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answer. Take a look. Frankly speaking, eating fish is not my cup of tea. Although fish is loaded
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with essential nutrients that are good for the body, I still can't eat fish because it reminds
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me of my traumatizing experience. When I was a little girl, a fish bone stuck in my throat
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while eating and it took me a while to get rid of that fish bone out of my throat. Since then
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I stopped eating fish. See that? That sounds more natural and conversational. That's how we use
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advanced words in a sentence. We have to know when they are appropriate to use and whether or not we
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we can use them very naturally in our answer. The criterion lexical resource checks your ability
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to use a variety of words to convey your message more effectively
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The words that you use should be understandable, appropriate, and relevant. Your ability to paraphrase is also checked by your examiner
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Not only that, the examiner will check if you know how to use the right form of words
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For example instead of saying I feel boring you must say I feel bored You must know the difference between adjectives with ing ending and ed ending
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Also, your examiner will check if you know how to use collocations in your answers
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So, collocations mean a group of two or more words that go together
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For example, strong coffee, fast food, winding road, pay attention, fast fashion, and many more
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So, from time to time, use collocations. But again, only use collocations when you really know how to use them correctly
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Do not force yourself using collocations if you're not sure how to use them correctly
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I want you to remember this. The way to impress your examiner that your vocabulary skills are great is not limited to using advanced words or expressions in your answers. Nope
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Paraphrasing and using topic words are two great ways to impress your examiner that your vocabulary knowledge is not limited
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Paraphrase from time to time. For example, when your examiner asks you what is your favorite food
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instead of repeating the word favorite, change it, paraphrase it. For example, we can use love or I'm a big fan of
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For example, I love Asian cuisine or I love Asian dishes or I'm a big fan of eating Asian food, something like that
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So, paraphrase from time to time. And when it comes to topic words, use relevant words
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For example, when the topic has something to do with pollution, use topic words like environmental conservation, greenhouse gases
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global warming, climate change, and things like that. Take a look at this example
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Observe how I use topic words in my answer The question is what can world leaders do to reduce the impact of climate change Honestly I skeptical about world leaders in terms of taking action in reducing the impact
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of climate change because every one of them is only paying lip service to that idea
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If they had done something really serious about environmental conservation and preservation
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I don't think the global sea levels would have risen continuously. Not only that, I wouldn't also think that some parts of the world would experience heat waves
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extremely unpredictable weather, floods, strong typhoons, and many more. So I'm really pessimistic about world leaders because they wouldn't take climate change very seriously
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Using topic words from time to time is a great way to show your vocabulary skills to your examiner
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So these two ways can also help you show your vocabulary skills to your examiner
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Again, it's not only about using advanced words or expressions in your answers
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To recap, use advanced words or expressions when they're appropriate in your sentence
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and when you know how to use them naturally in your answer
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Do not force yourself to use advanced words or expressions just to impress your examiner
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because that's not the right thing to do. You will only sound unnatural
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Paraphrase from time to time and use topic words when necessary. Your aim here is to make your examiner know that you can deliver your message
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or communicate effectively because you have a wide range of vocabulary to express your ideas
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Not only that, you know how to use them naturally. That's the way to get a higher band in this
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criterion lexical resource. The next video will be grammatical range and accuracy. Let us spend
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time learning that criterion in order for us to strategize our answers. Don't miss watching that
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video because you will learn so much from it. Till next time, have a lovely day. Bye
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