IELTS Speaking
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:19 pm
Hello, and thank you for sharing your recording!
Your speaking speed was good in this recording, and your fluency was good in most areas. I apologize that I can't offer more than the feedback below because the recording was difficult to hear at times.
These are the areas I noticed could use some work:
1.) I like that you tried to use some complex grammatical structures. However, be careful with them. You struggled at the end with the "if, then" sentence. You said, "um" several times, and I think it caused you to make a mistake in the grammar of the second clause: "bad position I have taken." I believe your sentence would be clearer if it went something like this: "If I had not taken the opportunity, I don't think that I would have learned as much English or had as much confidence in my abilities."
2.) Your vocabulary was good overall as well. For example, you used "coordination" and "interacting." You also tried to use some idiomatic expressions. I heard "shaken off" when you were discussing being afraid to take the job in Thailand. The expression you wanted is "shaken up." This means to be afraid. "Shaken off" would mean that you had rid yourself of some pest, as in "I had to shake off my little brother so I could go to the theatre without him." In addition, I thought I heard you say that your mother "quenches" your needs. I think a more appropriate and less formal word would be "fulfills." Finally, you said "tune my behavior," when "change my behavior" would be a better choice.
3.) I wasn't sure what the topic was because you didn't post it, and I could not hear what you said about it at the very beginning of your recording. I thought I heard something about your mother having a good complexion, but this seems really unrelated to the rest of your speech about how she motivated you.
Best wishes as you practice!