1. 口语篇的讲解重点

 

　　作为雅思官方的考试指南，这本书的意义重大在于它全面系统的解释了受雅思官方体系培养训练出来的考官们会如何给考生打分；对于这个体系理解的越深刻，我们在日常教学当中的针对性就会越强，学生们单位时间内提分的可能性就会越大——一切的教学活动和知识灌输都要以口语的四项评分标准展开。因此，a hundred percent的理解本书所给的建议和评分解释就是我们成功的关键，也是这篇文章创作的目的。

 

　　首先是这本书的特点在于以下两个方面：

 

　　1) 官方总结的口语考试三个部分的问题类型总结

　　2) 针对性地给出了面向中国考生的建议和应试贴士——Advices for Chinese candidates & tips

 

　　具体来说，该书从官方的角度对口语考试题目类型进行了总结。

 

　　Part 1:

 

　　 Have you ever…? (ridden a bike, baked a cake, been to a sport match…)

　　 Did you … (learn to play sport, watch TV, live in the country…) when you were a child?

　　 Which do you prefer? (tea or coffee, night-time or daytime, wet or dry weather…)

　　 Do you like…? (playing sport, sleeping, listening to music, shopping for clothes…)

　　When did you …? (start learning English, do to your first movie…)

 

　　Part 2:

 

　　 …a book, movie, TV program… you like/have watched

　　 a time when you…(got some help from someone, worked very hard to achieve a goal, gave someone some advice…)

　　 …(a place, building) you have visited/would like to visit

　　 a sport event, family occasion, happy day…

　　 a person who…(you like, admire, would like to meet, is important to you…)

　　 an object/a thing…(you really like, you bought recently, you would like to own…)

 

　　Part 3:

 

　　 List items – this is often the opening question

　　 Compare – older VS younger people, men VS women, the past VS the present…

　　 Speculate about future changes – in technology, in communication…

　　 Give your opinion – some people think that…, do you agree with this?

　　 Give reasons for your opinion…

 

　　此外，这本书最有价值的部分就是给中国考生的建议和考试贴士总结：

 

　　1. Despite what some people have suggested, your appearance, body language or handshake makes no difference to your score. You are only judged on your communicative ability, so don't worry about those irrelevant factors and focus on the key-communicative ability. If you know someone that did well in their test, they did well because they showed their ability, not because they wore the right clothes.

　　给口语教学的启示：让学生正确地树立从语言运用即评分标准出发来做口语考试的准备，而不是错误地认为形象，肢体语言甚至握手会对考试产生任何的影响。

 

　　2. The list of possible topics IELTS might cover is potentially endless; so do not worry about covering everything. These are all everyday topics, and you are not expected to demonstrate expert knowledge in any of these topics. If you practise naturally talking – not memorizing answers – about a broad range of topics, developing your skills in fluency and coherence, you will have the confidence and flexibility to adapt to other topics.

　　给口语教学的启示：考试的重点在于提高流利度和连贯性的技能，而不是背诵成篇的答案;需要在准备是多总结思考题目的类型和练习自然的回答方式。

 

　　3. There is a lot of focus on an examiner’s facial expression and gestures to tell whether he/she likes what you are saying and will award a positive score. Do not be concerned with this. An examiner’s apparent friendliness or detachment means nothing about the score you will be given. They are trained not to give feedback, encouragement or signals of this nature. Just focus on performing your best.

　　给口语教学的启示：考官都是经过培训不会给予反馈鼓励或者类似的示意，考生需要做的就是集中精力做到。

 

　　4. The best way to expand your answer in Part 2 is to give more details or extra stories about each part of the topic. Remember that you do not have to cover all of the points on the topic card. Remember coherence is important – this is the logical flow and structure of what you are saying. Introduce each new bullet point before you address it, in different ways, so you listener knows what you are talking about. Linking words and expressions are important here. Use the preparation time effectively. Practise noting down ideas, key vocabulary, likely tenses and possible linking expressions – this might seem a lot but practise making notes, not complete sentences, and make sure these are easy to read. Mind maps help to make notes easy to follow.

　　给口语教学的提示：Part 2中尽可能地提供更多的细节和额外的叙述;不一定涵盖话题所有的信息点;连贯性和关联词语非常重要;有效利用准备时间，写下想法，关键词，可能用到的时态和关联词，制作自己的思维导图。

 

　　5. It is natural to forget a specific word during a speech. Do not give up if this happens, try to explain what you mean or paraphrasing by using the phrases like this:

　　It is like a …

　　It is something you use to…

　　It is a way of…

　　It is a place that…

　　It is a kind of…

　　给口语教学的提示：平时训练中多设计让学生用英文去解释某个特定词汇的环节，尽可能做到同义替换。

 

　　6. Demonstrating a range of grammar is one of the key factors in hoping for a high score, including past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present simple.

　　给口语教学的启示：尽量使用不同时态表达不同的句子环境和语法的多样性。

 

　　7. If you are aiming for a higher-level score above Band 6, you need to focus much of your preparation time on managing the challenges in Part 3 of the test.

　　给口语教学的启示：结合新航道教学三种能力的要求，针对6分班的学生要做到正确(Accuracy)，6.5分班做到变换(Variation)和7分班做到逻辑连接(Coherence);可以在高端班型中更多的体现Part3的题目类型和相应的练习。

 

　　8. Candidates are sometimes worried about expressing an opinion in the IELTS writing or speaking that the examiner might not agree with, and as a result give them a lower score. Do not worry about this; examiners are only interested in your language and your ability to communicate. That is all they are assessing and judging. Express your opinions, talk about your interests and give examples from your experience.

　　给口语教学的启示：不要担心考官不赞同自己观点的问题，因为考官关心的语言和沟通的能力，因此在教学中要改变以内容记忆或者创新观点为主要目的的方式，而是尽量给学生教授关联词，复杂句型，替换词，多样的时态表达等语言技能。

 

　　9. Keeping up to date with current affairs can help you with ideas for things to say. Follow news channels like the BBC or Voice of America, which can help you keep up to date and also help broaden your vocabulary. The examiner will listen to your responses, and will guide the discussion according to what you say. He or she may say something like you have talked about … Can you give another example? Or Why do you think this?

　　给口语教学的启示：紧跟时事新闻可以提供谈论的内容，关注BBC等可以及时了解新闻和扩大词汇量，并且为自己的观点提供支持。

 

　　10. In Part 3, it is especially important to try to extend your answers:

　　Answer the question directly

　　Ask yourself why or how and explain in detail

　　Share some evidence or give an example

　　Perhaps mention an alternative or opposite answer

　　If it is relevant, share some of your experience too

　　给口语教学的启示：在Part3中从多角度去回答问题，让答案更加有层次和丰富。

 

　　11. If the examiner asks you to discuss a topic you are not familiar with, do not be afraid to say this is a topic you have not thought about before. Do this and then try to think through the topic from different perspectives – what are the causes, the effects, the possible solutions, etc. IETLS is not a test of your knowledge. It is test of your communicative ability. The test isn’t necessarily assessing what you say (though it must be a relevant to the question), but how you say it.

　　给口语教学的启示：在面对并不熟悉的话题的时候，尽可能从不同角度思考这一话题——原因，影响和可能的解决方案等。口语不考知识面而是沟通能力，不是说什么而是怎么去说。

 

　　2. 例题具体分析

 

　　Part 1

 

　　Part 1当中除了必考的study/work/hometown/housing/hobby/lifestyle之外，本书练习题当中给出了几道不常见的题目，例如

 

　　Money

 

　　 Is money important?

　　 Do people in your country save their money?

　　 What sorts of things do young people spend their money?

　　 How do you feel when you don't have enough money to buy something you want?

 

　　Hotel

 

　　 Do you often stay in hotel?

　　 Does your country have a lot of big hotels?

　　 What sorts of hotels are the most popular for business people?

　　 Which would you prefer, small local hotels or big international hotels?

 

　　Good manners

 

　　 Is it important to be polite in your country?

　　 How do children learn good manners?

　　 Who do you think is usually more polite, older or the younger people?

　　 Do you think that more people are more polite at home with family, or with people they don't know?

 

　　Children

 

　　 Do you enjoy spending time with children?

　　 What sort of activities do children enjoy doing?

　　 Do you think children often enjoy stories with animals?

　　 Do you think cities are a good place to bring up children?

 

　　由于书后给出了详细的参考答案，我们仅作以下的总结——Part 1基本分为两种问题，即

 

　　1) Personal narration 个人陈述

 

　　 Do you often stay in hotels?

　　 Does your country have a lot of hotels?

　　 How do children learn manners?

　　 Do you enjoy spending time with children?

 

　　答题重点：记叙文类的回答只要在WH(what/where/who/when/why/how)的范围内答题即可。

　　以Do you often stay in hotels?为例，

 

　　回答：Yes I do, I would stay in hotels from time to time

 

　　How often: especially given that I am a big fan of travelling, staying in hotels inevitable and frequent

 

　　Where: but normally I would prefer staying in some budget hotels or even backpackers

 

　　Why: simply because I am just a poor student without source of income, saving every penny in my pocket is something I have to do all the time.

 

　　2) Incentives & Preferences 动机和偏好

 

　　 How do you feel when you don't have enough money to buy something you want?

　　 Which would you prefer, small local hotels or big international hotels?

　　 Do you think that more people are more polite at home with family, or with people they don't know?

　　 Do you think cities are a good place to bring up children?

 

　　答题重点：此类型题目重在给出观点+扩展答案/给出支持

 

　　给出的支持可以从以下几个角度考虑：

 

　　Reasons

　　Examples

　　Personal experiences

　　Opposite perspectives

　　Assumptions

　　Compare and contrast

　　Emphasis

　　Effect

　　以Do you think cities are a good place to bring up children?为例，

 

　　回答：Personally speaking, I do consider that cities are quite perfect for children’s upbringing, even if there are potential flaws in some certain aspects.

 

　　Reasons: The main supportive evidence that cities can provide everything that is needed by children

 

　　Examples: including education resources, sports facilities, shopping and entertainment selections as well as convenient public transportations.

 

　　Opposite assumption: conversely, for children who are used to live rural areas that are limited in public resources, probably their horizon and life opportunities would be restricted

 

　　Effect: in that respect, living in cities are quite rewarding for their education and growth.

 

　　Part 2

 

　　 A wedding you have been to

　　 Talk about someone who are good at taking photos

　　 A decision you made that was difficult

　　 Someone you met was interesting

 

　　问题分析：

 

　　根据本书总结的Part 2答题重点，考生可以不按照给出四道题目的顺序或者回答道每一道题目，考生所需要做的是在1-2分钟之内给出一个符合题目要求的个人陈述，这里四道题分别涵盖了事件题(wedding/decision)和人物类话题(photographer/interesting person)，尽管这不能对目前口语考试的趋势进行推测，但是也反映了口语考试中人物类题目和事件类题目在整个话题库当中的比重，由于书后也给出了详细的参考答案，这里就不做赘述，以此文上篇所分析的Part 2官方解释为主。

 

　　Part 3

 

　　根据本官方指南给出的Part 3题目类型，我们对本书出现的问题进行了分类，鉴于在此书中官方已经给出了参考的答案，这里我们仅对分类后的题型进行思路分析。

 

　　List item

 

　　 What kinds of things will people prepare before they get married?

　　 The roles of men and women are changing. How has this impacted on how people view marriage in your culture?

　　 What kinds of photo will people enjoy taking or sending to others?

　　 What are some decisions that most people need to make these days?

　　 What are the important things that a teenager has to make decisions about?

　　题型分析：以上类型的题目可以使用there be句型，然后加上a range of/a series of/a collection of/a varieties of types/kinds/sorts of…, including…

 

　　Comparison

 

　　 Do you think that people now take more photos than they used to?

　　 What are some of the differences between a written news story and a news story with photos?

　　 How are the kinds of decisions people make today different to life 50 years ago?

　　 How has the Internet changed the way that people have relationships with each other?

　　 Do older people enjoy meeting new people as much as the younger generation?

　　 When do young adults and teenagers usually meet their friends?

 

　　题型分析：以上题型可以根据men vs. women/old vs. young/present vs. past的方式进行对比，推荐使用句型和结构：

 

　　basically, there are heaps of distinctions between two of them

　　 Compared with…, …tends to be…

　　…is…, while/whereas … is…

　   unlike…, …is more likely to be…

　　for…, the …is …, while for …, …is rather…

 

　　如果是以前和现在的对比，可以使用以下句型

　　 in the past, people used to do…in traditional ways

　　 but now, increasing number of people tend to do… in revolutionary ways like doing…

 

　　Speculation

 

　　 Changes in attitude to marriage and family responsibilities have resulted in increasing number of single parent families. How will this impact on society in future?

　　 Is it a positive development that news stations ask people to send in their own photos of news events they are happening?

　　 Who do people think usually gives the best advice in your culture?

　　 How can your age make a difference to the way you approach decision making?

 

　　题型分析：这类题目重点是对于未来推测或者不确定语气的使用，推荐以下句型：

 

　　 Frankly speaking/to be honest, the question is rather challenging for me, but I guess

　　 I am certain that a series of possible answers would be existing behind this phenomenon, among them, the most likely incentive would be…; besides…

　　 I am not sure about it, but I suppose the most frequent/common sentiment people might hold is that..

　　 I’d hazard a guess that…

　　 It is very likely that/people nowadays tend to…

　　 There is an increasingly obvious tendency that…

 

　　Give your opinion& reasons

 

　　 What is the best age for marriage?

　　 Do you think that people should get married again if their first marriage is not successful?

　　 The media often highlight celebrity marriages and contracts that are agreed on before marriage. Is this practical attitude towards marriage?

　　 Do you think people should take lessons to learn how to take professional photos?

　　 Has journalism changed since photos can be sent immediately from one side of the world to the other within minutes?

　　 It is often said that we live in a global village. How true is this really?

 

　　题目分析：这种类型的重点是从八个角度对问题进行分析

 

　    Emotion

　　 Health

　     Personal relationship

　　 Career achievement

　　 Cost

　　 Efficiency

　　 Quality

　　 Safety

　　以几岁结婚最合适为例，what is the best age for marriage?

　　In that case, I guess the perfect age would be around 30 years old in my city.

 

　　附之以下的句型，就可以跟考官进行关键+理由的回答：

 

　　In my opinion/from my perspective/as I see it, benefits of doing are multiple/manifold

　　 As far as I am concerned/It seems to me that people’s incentives of doing…depend on different needs

　　 Above all, I consider the most difficult part/most intriguing aspect/the biggest reason/the best way of doing … is…

　　 I strongly/do believe that …

 

　　Reasons for your opinion

 

　　 What disadvantages are there when other people give your advice, when you have to make a decision?

 

　　 Increasing numbers of people today are forming relationships on social network sites. Why might this happen?

 

　　 Some people fear that globalisation will result in societies becoming increasingly similar. Is this advantage or a disadvantage?

 

　　题型分析：对于好坏处的题目，属于考试必考题型，建议使用以下的回答结构：

 

　　Regarding to the issue of globalisation, surely it can be a good thing, since firstly through globalisation, the communication among people from different backgrounds can be boosted; in addition to that, regional conflict of even the possibilities of having wars could be greatly reduced as well due to the increasingly mutual understanding and cultural assimilation

　　Conversely, every coin has two sides; its potential downsides should not be neglected at the same time; to be more specific,the globalisation does render some less used language disappear due to its inferiority, which is a pity for diverse civilization； after all, it is the curiosity and diversity that impulse humanity to advance in all respects；

　　Therefore, the conclusion I am trying to make here is that globalisation should be encouraged in positive ways rather than the bottom lines.

 

　　3. 小结：

 

　　根据本书口语部分对语言学习技能、准备策略、应试技巧和模拟真题的讲解我们可以得出以下结论：

 

　　1) 口语评分标准得出学生分数的参考标准，一定要让学生吃透自己目标分数的相应具体分析

 

　　2) 语言应用的考察要大于内容的重要性，对于没有准备过或者陌生的题目，只要能够给出相应的结构和理由，附之流利度和连接词表达自己的看法，同样也是好的答案

 

　　3) 考生练习的重要性要大于老师讲解，老师的作用应该是多总结表达型的连接词，常用词替换，复杂句型替换，口语常用语法讲解和对题目类型的总结来服务好学生练习的需求，然后在鼓励学生输出的过程当中给出口语表达的优势和不足，包括语法和发音的问题，让学生从思想上得到认识，同时注意培养语言使用的自信，每个学生都可以在他们的口语考试当中获得成功。

 

　　本书是近年来难得一见的针对中国考生的官方指导性出版物，其总结性的advices和tips将会让学生收到极大启发，因此这本书值得反复揣摩和演练，祝各位奋斗在教学的老师能够厚积薄发，带出更多更高分的中国雅思考生，我们一起加油！