Ielts speaking strategies

It’s as easy as pie = it’s a piece of cake: to be very easy, (not complicated).


I don't think it's as easy as pie to get band 8.5 in the IELTS speaking test. It's a piece of cake to drive this car.
Cost an arm and a leg: to be very expensive.


The movie is interesting, but the tickets cost an arm and a leg . The car cost him an arm and a leg .
Pay through the nose: to pay too much for something.


I usually have to pay through the nose for parking a car if I bring it into the city.
He paid through the nose to get the car fixed.
Make someone blue = bump someone out : to make someone sad or sick.


It made him blue to have to stay home with his wife all day. He made his girlfriend blue yesterday.
Freak out : to become very angry or lose control of your mind because of
somebody or something.


I freaked out when I saw her with another man. Snakes really freaked me out .
In the nick of time : just before it's too late/ at the last possible moment.


We got to the airport just in the nick of time .
I arrived at the train station in the nick of time .
She finished her English essay just in the nick of time .
It’s raining cats and dogs: it’s raining a lot/ it is raining heavily.


It's windy and is raining cats and dogs .
It was raining cats and dogs , so all flights were delayed.
(Like) two peas in a pod : very similar, especially in appearance.


Peter and his brother are like two peas in a pod . The twins are like two peas in a pod .
(As) sly as a fox : someone who is clever, cunning, wily, and tricky.


Many people don't like him because he is sly as a fox . My boss is as sly as a fox .
Poke around : look around a place, typically in search of something (you can
poke around on the internet, you can poke around on the streets, etc. to look for/search for something).
Just poke around the Internet, you'll find a lot of dating websites. He poked around in his desk to see if the wallet was there.
Mean business: to be very, very serious.


I thought he was joking at first, but then I saw that he really meant business
.
Just looking at him, I knew he meant business .
Hit the hay = hit the sack : to go to bed.


I'm pretty tired. I think it's time for me to hit the hay .
I'm going to hit the sack early since I’ve got to get up early tomorrow.
Sleep like a baby: to sleep very well; to sleep deeply.


After a long, hard day at work, I slept like a baby last night. He was very tired, so he went to bed, and slept like a baby .
Once in a blue moon: very rarely/very seldom/almost never.
My son lives in Canada and he only comes to see us once in a blue moon .
My family used to live in Tokyo, but now we only go there once in a blue moon .
Ace a test: to do very well in a test/ to get a very high score on a test.


You need to study hard to ace a test .
She had actually aced a test in Math, a subject that had never come easily for her.
Ring a bell: to sound familiar.


The name Lucy doesn't ring a bell .
I've never met Sarah, but her name rings a bell .
Green with envy: to be jealous/ to be envious.


Tom was green with envy when he saw that I got a new car for my birthday. My expensive house makes him green with envy .
Drive someone crazy: to make him or her upset or annoyed.


Tom quit his job because his boss drove him crazy every time he went to work.
The constant noise drove me crazy .
The cat that ate the canary: to look very happy/ very pleased.


He was smiling like the cat that ate the canary . You look like the cat that ate the canary .

3. GRAMMAR:

Pay attention to a grammatical range of accuracy.

• 
  Are you making mistakes?
  
• 
  How many mistakes are you making?
  
• 
  Are those mistakes reducing the examiner’s ability to be able to understand you?
  

That’s the key .
Forget about being perfect, you’re not going to be perfect. Don’t chase perfection, you never get it. So, what can you do? Well, I would say that you should focus on the big mistakes that you are making usually. Those are verb tenses , article and adjectives like “I felt so bored (not boring ). Something like that.
Another thing you need to pay your attention to is that subject-verb agreement .
My father has (not have ) a motorbike.

4. PRONUNCIATION

Pronunciation is probably the thing you use the most. The fact about pronunciation is that a lot of you need to know how badly it destroys your band score even though your grammar and vocabulary are good. It really does. It kills. So you need to spend time practicing your pronunciation. Pronunciation is by far the easiest thing for you to fix in your English.
Note that pronunciation is 100% physical .

What is a word ?

A word is a collection of sounds. For example, the word “MIXED” is a collection of the sounds “M.I.K.S.T”
The problem is that you don’t know where the sounds are, you don’t know how to make the sounds and you don’t do it enough. So try to practice your pronunciation enough.

How to be good at pronunciation?

One of the reasons my pronunciation is so clear is that I have focused years for years on finishing my sounds (like , because ). My pronunciation is not accidentally clear, my pronunciation is clear by being designed because I am extremely precise with every sound that I have made. You can learn the same thing. It’s not magic, it’s not intelligent, it’s just focused , focused and focused . You have to be precise, and you have to practice pronunciation often.
Work at it every day. Don’t try to pronounce the words too fast.