16SPEAK FOUNDATIONS TRAINING

HOW TO TEACH
IELTS SPEAKING F

BAND SCORE DESCRIPTORS

PART 2
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IELTS Speaking Rubrics
1. Fluency and Coherence
2. Lexical Resource
3. Grammatical Range
4. Accuracy, and Pronunciation
The band descriptors are used by IELTS examiners to evaluate the
candidates speaking skills, and, ultimately, to assign a band score. The
IELTS examiner will look carefully at the descriptors and assign a band
score for each one. These descriptors are used for all parts of the speaking exam
for both versions of the exam (Academic and General
Training). The descriptors each have band scores ranging
from 0 (the lowest band score) – 9 (the highest band score).

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1. Fluency and Coherence
- considers how much the student speaks
- the flow of words and thoughts
- repetition of sentences or words
- hesitations
- self-correction
- how natural the speaking sounds.
Tips:
● At the higher levels (Band 7 and higher) it will be important to speak at length,
with limited effort and hesitation, as well as with limited repetition and self-
correction. One way to sound natural when speaking is to use connectives and
discourse markers. These elements of language help connect ideas, move on to
another point, and organize your thoughts.
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 What are connectives?
● A connective is a word that joins one part of a text to another.
● Connectives can be conjunctions, prepositions or adverbs.
● Co-ordinating connectives (but, and so) link words, phrases or clauses which are
equally important.
● Subordinating connectives (if, when, however, because, while) link a main clause
with a subordinating (or dependent) clause.

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Examples Of Connectives
Without Connectives:
There is a blue bird in the garden. The bird is eating seeds. It is singing to another bird.
Teachers will encourage to use the connective 'and' to join simple sentences
together, for example:
With Connectives:
There is a blue bird in the garden and it is eating seeds.
Teachers will then encourage to use connectives such as 'but' and 'so' to add layers
of meaning to their simple sentences, for example:
Without Connectives: I would love to have a dog.
Could be improved by adding either of these connectives and another clause, for
example:
With Connectives:
I would love to have a dog, but my mum won't let me.
I would love to have a dog, so I am going to keep asking my mum. 7
What are disclose markers?
- Discourse markers (words like 'however', 'although' and 'Nevertheless’)
are referred to more commonly as 'linking words' and 'linking phrases', or 'sentence
connectors'. They may be described as the 'glue' that binds together a piece of
writing or speaking, making the different parts of the text 'stick together'. They are
used less frequently in speech, unless the speech is very formal.

Without sufficient discourse markers, speaking would not seem logically

constructed and the connections between the different sentences and paragraphs
would not be obvious.

Care must also be taken, however, to avoid over-use of discourse markers. Using too
many of them, or using them unnecessarily, can make a piece of writing sound too
heavy and 'artificial'. They are important, but must only be used when necessary.

Examples Of Disclose Markers - https://app.quesbook.com/act/study/list-of-discourse-markers 8

Examples Of Disclose Markers
● Interpersonal markers are used to indicate the relationship between the
speaker and the listener.
○ Perception: "look", "believe me"
○ Agreement: "exactly", or disagreement: "I'm not sure"
○ Amazement: "wow“

● Referential markers, usually conjunctions, are used to indicate the

sequence, causality, and coordination between statements.
○ Sequence: "now", "then"
○ Causality: "because"
○ Coordination: "and", or non-coordination: "but"

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 Examples Of Disclose Markers
● Structural markers indicate the hierarchy of conversational actions at the
time in which they are spoken. These markers indicate which statements
the speaker believes to be most or least important.
○ Organization: "first of all"
○ Introduction: "so"
○ Summarization: "in the end“

● Cognitive markers reveal the speaker's thought process

○ Processing information: "uhh"
○ Realization: "oh!"
○ Rephrasing: "I mean"
It’s a good idea to take some time to understand how to use these words and
phrases and to practice using them so that it will sound natural when speaking.
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2. Lexical Resource
This descriptor considers the variety and use of vocabulary
during the speaking exam. The IELTS examiner will consider whether the
words used help to make ideas clear and whether the vocabulary is
understandable, appropriate and relevant to the topic.

Tips:
At higher levels (Band 7 and higher), the IELTS examiner will consider whether
the student used paraphrasing effectively when speaking, as well as whether
the student used less common or idiomatic words and phrases. Keep in mind
that accuracy is important. Also important is how natural these words and
phrases sound. Again, this is something that the student will want to study,
review and practice before their IELTS exam.
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3. Grammatical Range & Accuracy
The IELTS examiner will look at the range of structures the
student used when speaking, such as the use and frequency of simple and
complex structures, and the accuracy of the sentences. The examiner will
also consider the frequency of grammatical errors.
Tips:
For Band 7 and higher, the IELTS examiner will be looking for a high number
of error-free sentences throughout your speaking.

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4. Pronunciation
The examiner will carefully listen to determine how easy it is to
understand the student, and whether the pronunciation is clear. While the
student don’t have to worry about altering the accent for the IELTS exam,
it's important to ensure that they pronounce the words clearly and
correctly, as the examiner will consider the frequency of mispronounced
and hard-to-understand words.
Tips:
The IELTS examiner will consider many things when assigning band scores
for the speaking exam. It is suggested that the student should take some
time before the IELTS exam to become familiar with the online public
version of the band descriptors, as well as practicing the various aspects of
grammar, use of language, and pronunciation mentioned above.

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Credits:
● https://ieltscanadatest.com/2018/12/getting-to-know-the-ielts-
speaking-descriptors/
● Lyla Hage
● https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/discourse-markers
● https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-connectives
● https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/how-ielts-is-scored

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