Impact of Prolonged Pauses on IELTS Speaking Score and Alternative Strategies

Taking a long pause during the IELTS Speaking test can negatively impact your score. The Speaking test is assessed based on several criteria including:

Fluency and Coherence

Long pauses can disrupt the flow of your speech, making it seem less fluent. This could lead to a lower score in this category.

Lexical Resource

If you pause for too long, it may indicate that you are struggling to find the right words or phrases, which can affect your vocabulary score. However, the approach of simply avoiding any pauses is not always the best. In fact, being able to communicate effectively is more important than perfect fluency.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Extended pauses might interrupt your sentence structure, potentially leading to incomplete or grammatically incorrect responses. Effective speaking requires a balance between fluency and accuracy.

What You Can Do

To perform well in the IELTS Speaking test, aim for a natural flow of conversation. If you need a moment to think, shorter pauses are generally acceptable. Practicing speaking on various topics can help you become more comfortable and reduce the likelihood of long pauses during the test.

Common Misbelief: Not Knowing a Word

Imagine this scenario: It's part two of the speaking test. You have been given a cue card that asks you to describe a memorable journey and you are talking about a road trip you took with some friends across Europe. It's a good story, and you have lots to say. But then you realize you don't know the word for traffic cone in English...

Handling Pauses Gracefully

What do you do when you get stuck in Part 2? Well, based on my experience, 80% of you would panic, stop speaking, turn your head to one side while you frantically try to remember, and then say something like, I don't know the word but anyway... and continue your story feeling flustered and upset.

I always feel so sad when this happens in a test. One of the most common misbeliefs about the IELTS Speaking test is that you have to know every English word to get a high Lexical Resource score – YOU DON'T!!!!

Paraphrasing: A Concise and Effective Approach

Being able to communicate at a high level means that you are able to keep going when you don't know a word by using paraphrasing. In fact, to achieve a high Lexical Resource score, you should show the examiner that you are able to paraphrase. Look at the band descriptors for an 8.0:

uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully with occasional inaccuracies uses paraphrase effectively as required

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To further improve yourself, check out this YouTube video:

How to Handle Prolonged Pauses and Paraphrasing in IELTS Speaking

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