IELTS Speaking – Too Informal

Too informal for IELTS Speaking

Note for teachers: If you want students to work out what the problem is with all of the phrases (as in the first task below), you need to give them the next page without them seeing the title of the worksheet on this page above.

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What is wrong with all the phrases below? (Don’t correct them yet, just look for their common problem)

“Yo!”/ “Wassup?”

“That makes no sense to me./ “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Eh?/ What?”

“Please speak up.”

“Again, please.”/ “Say again.”/ “I want you to repeat the question.”

“Please speak more slowly”

“Please explain this word.”

“I still don’t get it”

“Please say that another way.”

“Discuss the what??”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I understand (now).”/ “Okay, I get it.”

“There's no way I can answer that question.”/ “I can’t possibly talk about this because…”

“That's an impossible question.”

“That's a stupid question.”/ “That’s a strange question.”

“Ask me the next question.”

“Do I have to talk about this topic?”

“I want to/ I decided to speak about… instead.”

“How (on earth) would I know?”/ “Dunno.”

“My hometown is crap”

“(That’s) rubbish/ nonsense/ complete BS”

“Are you nuts/ crazy/ out of your mind?”/ “You must be kidding!”

“No kidding.”/ “Damn right!”

“… is bloody brilliant”

“I’m ready, so I’ll start.”

“Wait!”

“Give up”

“The end”/ “I’m done. Now what?”

Check as a class or with the page below, then follow the instructions on the page below.

Although formality is not generally a problem in IELTS, all the language above is too informal. Work together to write at least slightly more polite/ more formal versions each time.

What is the function of each section below?

Brainstorm other suitable phrases for each section/ each function.

Compare your corrections and other phrases as a class and/ or with the suggested answers.

Generally, what kind of language is too informal for the exam? What kinds of informal language are okay?

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Suggested answers

Many more answers are possible, so please check if you wrote anything different.

Greetings

“Yo!”/ “Wassup?” – “Hi/ Hello/ Good morning/ Good afternoon”

Comprehension problems/ Checking/ Clarifying

“That makes no sense to me./ “I have no idea what you are talking about.” – “I’m sorry, I don’t understand (the question).”/ “I’m afraid I can’t work out what the question means.”

“Eh?/ What?” – “Pardon?”/ “Sorry?”

“Please speak up.” – “Could you speak a little louder?”

“Again, please.”/ “Say again.”/ “I want you to repeat the question.” – “Could you repeat the question?”/ “Could you say that again?”

“Please speak more slowly” – “Could you say that again a little more slowly?”

“Please explain this word.” – “Can you explain this word?” “Could you tell me what this word means?”

“I still don’t get it” – “I’m afraid I still don’t understand.”

“Please say that another way.” – “Could you explain that another way?”

“Discuss the what??” – “I’m afraid I didn’t catch the last word/ the last few words.”/ “You want me to discuss the?”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I understand (now).”/ “Okay, I get it.” – “Ah, now I understand.”/ “Oh, okay. Now I see (what you mean).”

Dealing with difficult questions

“There's no way I can answer that question.”/ “I can’t possibly talk about this because…” – “I’m afraid I can’t really answer that question because…”

“That's an impossible question.” – “That’s a difficult question.”/ “That’s a tricky one.”

“That's a stupid question.”/ “That’s a strange question.” – “I’ve never really thought about that before.”/ “That’s an interesting question.”

“Ask me the next question.” – “Can we move onto the next question?” (or just wait for the examiner to do so)

“Do I have to talk about this topic?” – “Would it be possible to change topics?” (though they might say no!)

“I want to/ I decided to speak about… instead.” – “I couldn’t think of anything that exactly matches the question, so…”
“How (on earth) would I know?”/ “Dunno.” – “I’m afraid I don’t know/ I have no idea.”

“I’m afraid I can’t think of anything to say on that topic.”

Giving opinions

“My hometown is crap” – “I’m not very fond of my hometown.”/ “I can’t think of anything good to say about my hometown.”

“(That’s) rubbish/ nonsense/ complete BS” – “That doesn’t make much sense to me.”

“Are you nuts/ crazy/ out of your mind?”/ “You must be kidding!” – “I strongly disagree.”

“No kidding.”/ “Damn right!” – “Exactly!”/ “That’s exactly what I think.”

“… is bloody brilliant” – “… is fabulous.”

“I really think…”

“That’s a good point.”

Starting and ending

“I’m ready, so I’ll start.” – “Can I start?”

“Wait!” – “Just a moment.”

“Give up” – “That’s all I can think of to say.”

“The end”/ “I’m done. Now what?” – “I think I’ve covered everything.”

“Does that answer the question?”