3.1 Speaking at Lexical R - COLLOCATIONS & VOCAB BUILDING

IELTS
The International English Language Testing System

Speaking Test Overview
Speaking Descriptors
Examiners use detailed performance descriptors to award a
band score for each of 4 assessment criteria:
Criterion Weighting
Fluency and coherence 25%
Lexical resource 25%
Grammatical range and accuracy 25%
Pronunciation 25%
IELTS Speaking assessment criteria
Lexical Resources 2. Lexical resources

add useful vocabulary To increase score for LR:-
 use a wide range of • Use a wide range of vocabulary that

vocabulary you use for conveying your meanings
 discuss different with precision…
topics freely, using
appropriate words
 Use Collocations to boost your score
 speak formally or
semi-formally
 choose words • Use idiomatic language naturally and
accurately accurately
 use idiomatic
language • Use some less common vocabulary
What will also help boost your score for
Lexical Resource? COLLOCATIONS
 A collocation occurs when An example of a collocation:

two or more words are used  I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot
together in a way that to make my bed.

sounds correct/right  In this case, the verb ‘make’ is used with the
It will help you to sound more noun ‘bed’. So the collocation here is: make
someone’s bed
natural and accurate in
English.
 To make the bed / money / a noise
 make a cup of coffee
 To catch a cold / a bus / a fish
 do homework
 To come late / on time / to a decision
 heavy rain
 To do homework / the shopping / nothing
 agree with someone
 agree on something  You can’t say ‘do the bed‘ as these words do
 depend on not collocate together.
How can You learn them?
They are not something you can really sit  have lunch
down and say, “Ok, I’m going to learn have a bath
collocations today”. have a rest
have a meeting
 The important thing is that when have a haircut
you learn a new word, you learn what have a drink
words are commonly used in have a good time
combination with it. This is a have a relationship
common approach in English language have a holiday
course books. have sympathy
have a problem
 To take a simple example, let’s say you
are fairly new to English and you are  So you are not just learning the word
learning the word ‘to have‘. You may ‘have‘, you are learning chunks of
be presented with these phrases in your language. You are also learning words that
coursebook to help you learn the word: are usually used with the word ‘have‘.
Complex examples using the word ‘interest‘ to
show you the types of collocation you may find
for a word:
adjective + interest
considerable interest
deep interest
great interest
historical interest
long-term interest
musical interest
vested interest
financial interest
business interest
 He has a vested interest in the future of the business.

 I have varied musical interests – I like jazz, pop, classical and reggae.
adverb + interest & noun + interest
greatly interested
deeply interested
particularly interested
really interested
very interested
quite interested
 He is deeply interested in religion.
 I’m very interested in studying abroad.
noun + interest
interest rate
interest payment
interest charge
interest group
 There are political interest groups in my country that want to change the
constitution.
preposition + interest & interest + preposition
 out of interest
for interest
of interest
 I had never heard of the film before but I went to see
it out of interest.
interest + preposition
interest among
interest from
interest in
His speech generated interest from many people.
interest + preposition
verb + interest
take an interest
have an interest
show an interest
lose interest
attract interest
generate interest
spark interest
be of interest
maintain interest
share an interest
pay interest
 I started learning to play the guitar but I lost interest very quickly.
 My friends and I share many interests so we get along very well.
Quick Collocation Quiz - DO, HAVE, MAKE
1. I hope to ______ my own business one day.

2. I don't ______ many hobbies.
3. My wife usually ______ the bed, rather than me.
4. Many countries ______ problems with obesity.
5. I ______ a mistake in my IELTS reading last time I took the
test.
6. I ______ my break at work at 3.15.
7. Reading a lot ______ a real difference to your IELTS score.
8. I’m planning to ______ a holiday in June or July.
9. I ______ my shopping at the weekends.
10. I don’t ______ much sympathy with students who fail because
they did not study.
What will help boost your score for Lexical
Resource?
 More complex collocations
 prefer (verb)
influence (verb)
 I prefer traditional food over fast food
 My grandfather influenced me
because it is much more delicious.
greatly when I was a  Collocation: prefer something
youngster.  preference (noun)
 Collocation: influence  I have a preference for traditional food
over fast food because it is much more
someone greatly
delicious.
influence (noun)  Collocation: have a preference for
 My grandfather had a great something
 preferable (adjective)
influence on me when I was a
 I find traditional food more
youngster.
preferable than fast food because it is
 Collocation: have a great
much more delicious.
influence on someone  Collocation: find something more
preferable
Read the following text. Highlight or underline
the collocations connected with study and
motivation.
 I’m studying accounting at the moment and I find it really

hard to keep motivated sometimes. There are so many facts
and figures to learn and the exams are really gruelling so
you’ve got to study hard all the time. I find the only way to
do it is to set myself a goal to give me something to aim for.
For me, that’s the only thing that helps with the learning
process. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, it might just be
rewarding myself with a night out if I’m successful in a test.
I know I’ll reap the rewards one day, when I’m qualified.
My aim is to be qualified by the time I’m 25
Collocations connected with study and motivation
 I’m studying accounting at the moment and I find it really

hard to keep motivated sometimes. There are so many
facts and figures to learn and the exams are really
gruelling so you’ve got to study hard all the time. I find
the only way to do it is to set myself a goal to give me
something to aim for. For me, that’s the only thing that
helps with the learning process. It doesn’t have to be a big
thing, it might just be rewarding myself with a night out if
I’m successful in a test. I know I’ll reap the rewards one
day, when I’m qualified. My aim is to be qualified by the
time I’m 25.
A broad range of topic wised vocabulary
will help you…
Use Vocabulary effectively
Build your vocabulary words

Topic-wise
 To achieve a band score of 7 or higher,
 Home Town
candidates should have a wide range of  Friends
complex vocabulary as that will help them  Family
to discuss various topics.  Advertisement
 Business
 Culture
 strengthening your vocab base is the first  Environment
step. In doing well in your Speaking &  Fashion
 Personality
Writing sections  Covid-19
 Education
 Travel
 Food
 Social Media
What will help boost your score for Lexical
Resource? Synonyms
 Words or expressions which have a similar meaning – these are often important in
all modules of the IELTS test – a thesaurus can help develop more awareness of
this
 The accuracy of a synonym is often dependent on context.
 I would like to work for a large company / giant firm when I gain
experience. He is an actor who is famous worldwide / globally /
internationally / universally.
 Our goal / target / objective is to reduce debts to a minimum. The results /

findings / outcomes of many investigations make the same conclusion.
The interpretations / explanations / analysis of experts in this area differ.
What will help boost your score for Lexical Resource? Less
Common Vocabulary or Expressions
 - food for thought

 - a man / woman of many talents
 - a force to reckon with
 - I can’t stand the smell of hamburger

3.1 Speaking at Lexical R - COLLOCATIONS & VOCAB BUILDING

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3.1 Speaking at Lexical R - COLLOCATIONS & VOCAB BUILDING

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

3.1 Speaking at Lexical R - COLLOCATIONS & VOCAB BUILDING

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

IELTS

The International English Language Testing System

Fluency and coherence 25%

Lexical resource 25%

Grammatical range and accuracy 25%

Lexical Resources 2. Lexical resources

 use a wide range of • Use a wide range of vocabulary that

 A collocation occurs when An example of a collocation:

together in a way that to make my bed.

 He has a vested interest in the future of the business.

1. I hope to ______ my own business one day.

 I’m studying accounting at the moment and I find it really

 I’m studying accounting at the moment and I find it really

Build your vocabulary words

 The accuracy of a synonym is often dependent on context.

 Our goal / target / objective is to reduce debts to a minimum. The results /

 - food for thought

You might also like