This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1592.
Are you too shy for IELTS speaking?
Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer.
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Does being shy have to hold you back from your target score and your dream life?
Of course not.
Today get three strategies to take control of your mindset on IELTS for seven or higher.
Have you ever wondered if you're actually ready for the IELTS exam or if you still need more preparation?
Guessing is risky when the test is expensive and your future depends on your score.
I'll see you next time.
That's allearsenglish.com slash M Y S C O R E. Hey there, Aubrey.
How are you doing today?
I'm great, Lindsay.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty well.
What are we talking about on the show today?
Well, I have a question for you because we're talking about being shy.
A lot of you out there preparing for IELTS might feel like you're too shy to get a good score on IELTS speaking.
So we have some amazing advice for you.
But I'm curious, Lindsay, has being shy ever held you back?
Yeah, it's kind of interesting in language learning context, not so much like I just kind of speak and I'm okay with it.
But in academic, more academic, context.
Like high level academics, graduate school, I was shy at times.
I don't know if shy is the right word maybe hesitant or not trusting myself when we would talk about our readings right, the things that we were reading.
So, yeah, I guess that probably held me back a little bit in graduate school at times.
It's interesting you make a good point that often it feels like shyness or timidity and really it's a lack of confidence.
You might be shy socially, but not in an academic scenario or vice versa.
It depends on where you're confident, how shy you are.
It's interesting.
It's interesting.
Really interesting stuff.
So I bet a lot of students do worry about being shy and whether that will actually hold them back further from achieving their target score and moving on with their lives.
Yes, absolutely.
I've done a lot of mock speaking tests for students.
And when they're sort of using a monotone and not using a good variety of intonation, and I'll give that feedback.
Often they'll say, like I really struggle with that because I'm shy.
Or if I'm not confident.
It is harder to speak confidently and use this interesting intonation if you don't feel confident.
Interesting.
So sometimes our lack of confidence or our shyness can actually come through in our voice.
It creates a monotone because we're afraid to get that fluctuation in the voice.
Absolutely.
And that can be devastating for your scores.
So we have three tips today that are going to help even the shyest person overcome that, so that, even if you are shy, that that won't hold you back on speaking.
And these are good questions, but I mean, these are good tips, but they can't be just deployed on the day of the test.
I hope you're not listening to this on the day of your test, right?
Good point.
Yeah.
You got to practice all of this.
Exactly.
So let's dive in with our first one, which is to create a character, a persona, right?
I was a little shy.
I would get really nervous to speak in public.
And I remember sort of creating this persona that was confident and outgoing.
And I would just imagine I was that person.
And it was so much easier to speak publicly without being super nervous.
Interesting.
And it totally worked.
And you were able to kind of embody that persona and just bring it out in the moment when you had to.
They don't care if you answer about your own life or make up details.
Yes, I love that.
So you can imagine yourself as someone who is outgoing and confident.
You could model it after an actual person.
You could do that.
That's one option.
Or you could just create a person, like a character that is an unknown character.
No one else knows this character.
Exactly.
And you want to really create this persona.
Give yourself an English name, if you haven't already, or give that character a different English name and then practice the speaking test in character as that person.
Forget about your personality.
You can be shy.
You can speak quietly.
But on the IELTS exam, you're going to embody this other persona.
Yeah.
And if you think about it, this is just a more dramatic measure of what we do every day.
We are slightly different versions of ourselves when we go to work, right?
You and I are probably slightly different versions of ourselves when we're on the microphone versus who we are If our best friend comes over and we're chatting on the couch right.
I mean pretty much, we're not completely different people, but there's a slight tweak to the character.
Yes.
Everyone does this all day long.
The way you speak around your parents is different from the way you speak around your best friend or your children.
We're adjusting all day long depending on the scenario.
And that's what you want to do on IELTS.
You want to adjust. to be this person who can get the highest score possible.
Right.
So this is not some exotic thing we're asking you to do, guys.
It's just kind of taking it to a different context and taking it to a slightly larger extreme maybe.
Exactly.
And this can give you confidence.
If you feel like you're answering practice questions and you're still sort of having a difficult time being confident and using interesting intonation, try this.
Try embodying this persona first.
Practice speaking as that person and make sure this person, this character you're creating, is a very confident person, that's not shy, is not hesitant to talk about themselves in front of a stranger.
The examiner will be a stranger.
All right, good stuff.
So that's the first tip, create a character.
Second tip is simulate exam conditions.
What do we mean by this?
What does simulate mean, Aubrey?
Right, it means to create an environment very similar to what you'll deal with on test day.
So if, for example, you are only speaking in a room by yourself or even just kind of answering out questions in your mind, not even speaking out loud, that's not really preparing you for the test day.
You need to make your practice as similar as possible to what you'll deal with on test day.
Yeah.
It's okay if you roll out your preparation in stages.
We've talked about doing this before.
Maybe the first few weeks as you learn the strategies, you are doing this in your head, but very quickly we need to turn around and simulate those conditions right.
Exactly.
You want to start speaking out loud, and then you want to start practicing with a real person.
Have them act as the examiner.
So a friend, a family member, a speaking partner can simulate the pressure of an audience and they can play the role of an examiner, because examiners aren't going to react.
They're not going to smile.
It's not going to be a back and forth conversation.
So you'll want to prep this person. to not react to your answers so that you can practice that.
I was going to say that's really important.
They need to know a little bit about how it works on the exam, what the examiner says and doesn't say.
Mostly the examiner doesn't say anything.
And so make sure they know that, because if you're going to bother to do this and have someone spend their time, might as well do it right.
Yeah, prep them.
Say examiners aren't allowed to react at all.
So tell them try not to smile or give me any kind of visual cues.
And yeah, it's going to be tricky for them because that's very unnatural.
You know you're wanting a back and forth conversation, but that's not what helps you simulate exam conditions.
Yeah.
The other thing.
If you can't find someone, or if you can't find someone every time, you could practice in the mirror.
I mean, this is not the best thing, but it's better than nothing.
You could also print out a photo of a person without an expression, just like a plain face kind of, to put it on the wall or the mirror.
And that person, imagine that person's asking you the questions.
Yes, this works really well, right?
Instead of if you're going to practice.
In the mirror, you're still seeing your face.
That has good expression.
So if you print out a face that has no expression at all, at least practice answering to that face.
This will give you good practice answering looking at a face that's not responding at all.
That's interesting.
I like that idea.
And go ahead and record yourself to analyze your performance.
Record all of your practice sessions.
By the time you walk into test day, you should have done this dozens and dozens of times.
Right, Aubrey?
Absolutely.
There's so much benefit to recording your speech.
There are specific things you want to listen for.
Of course, pronunciation, right?
Compare it to native speech.
Are there sounds that you are making that aren't correct?
But also your intonation.
Are you speaking in a monotone?
Can you hear the emotion that should accompany what you're saying?
If you are answering a question about what you like to do with friends, you should not sound bored.
It should not sound flat.
That's something that is fun.
You should sound excited to talk about that.
Love that.
Good stuff.
I'll see you next time.
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RE.
All right, Aubrey, our third tip here is embrace mistakes.
All right.
Well, I know a lot of our listeners might be challenged by this, right?
Because they hear the mistake and that tips off a bit of anxiety, a bit of stress.
So what is this approach suggesting?
Yeah, this is really interesting.
You've got to accept that mistakes are normal and do not let them derail you your confidence, right.
Because you could do all of this practice and you're practicing as this persona, and then you hear yourself make a mistake.
And a lot of students allow that to really kick up their nerves.
It throws them off.
So you need to prepare, plan for mistakes.
You are going to make mistakes.
We're human.
It's going to happen.
And you can actually make quite a few mistakes on IELTS and still score band seven.
Love that.
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
Don't let these anxiety that you have, you know, bring your score down.
Don't kill that confidence, guys.
Because it's also it's not about just, you know, how you feel after making a mistake.
It's also that anxiety that you might make a mistake.
Right.
This is often what is making us feel shy is that lack of confidence, that nervousness that we're going to make mistakes.
This can really kill your confidence and kill your scores.
So you want to have more of a mindset of like, I'm going to make a few mistakes and that's okay.
I'm not going to beat myself up over it.
Over on All Ears English and Business English.
We apply our trademark.
Our key value here at our show is connection, not perfection.
So that means we place the attention somewhere else.
When we do make the mistake, we place it on connection in everyday speech.
Now, in IELTS, Aubrey, Where do we place that attention?
Yeah, this is really interesting because you're not really going to be able to connect with the examiner, but instead you can focus on the message.
Your attention is on the details you're sharing, the vocabulary you want to be using, right?
There's a lot to think about on IELTS.
While your attention is on, you know, am I using a monotone?
Am I using interesting intonation?
What are the good vocabulary words I want to be using, right?
That's where the focus should be and not on concern about making mistakes.
Exactly.
I mean, I think the moral of the story here is the reality here is that your attention from a neuroscientific perspective can really only be fully on one thing at a time.
Multitasking, they say, is a big myth.
It's not a thing.
We can't do it.
So what is it going to be on?
You can make that choice.
And if you're so focused on the worry about making mistakes, you won't have the brain space to focus on the vocabulary you need to use and the intonation you're using, because so much of your thoughts will be taken over by this nervousness.
Exactly.
And then get yourself some filler phrases to fill those moments of silence.
I mean, don't be afraid of them.
A lot of American English speakers are afraid in conversation of silence, right?
And so they fill up the silence.
But you can do this on IELTS too.
We've done tons of episodes to show you how to do this.
Yes, this is so important.
You may be worried about the pauses, the hesitation that you know pull down your fluency score.
And if you have anxiety about that, then this will make you more shy.
This could affect your confidence as well.
So like Lindsay said, if you prepare for that.
If you have filler phrases, you have something to say.
If ever you feel that you're not able to come up with the vocabulary, or you need just a minute to think about what your answer is going to be, you'll be ready with those filler phrases that you've practiced.
And this will give you so much confidence because you'll know you don't have these pauses and hesitations that might come up, because you'll have something to say.
Love it.
Love it.
Guys, another great episode to check out is IE 1590, just a few episodes back.
That is don't let tiny words ruin your IELTS score.
So go find out what we mean by that.
Make sure you don't miss that episode.
Right, Aubrey?
Yes.
Go check it out.
Scroll up.
There are a lot of tiny words that cause big errors in English.
So in order to avoid those mistakes, scroll up and check out 1590.
Awesome.
And so the final takeaway here today is these three strategies are things we can do to take IELTS into our own hands.
I think part of the problem is when we enter a test situation we feel we are kind of victims of the test and the test is in control.
But this is flipping the script and putting it into our control.
A lot of it is about preparation.
Absolutely.
Such a good point.
All three of these you can do in advance so that you go in confidently on test day.
Being shy does not have to hold you back.
It does not have to affect your scores.
100%.
All right.
Very inspiring episode.
Thanks, Aubrey.
And I'll see you in the next one.
All right.
Awesome.
See you guys next time.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.
Hit subscribe now, and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglishcom.
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