IELTS Speaking Anxiety – How to Cope

IELTS Speaking Anxiety is a hidden evil. If you’ve sat an IELTS examination before, you’ve probably experienced it. It’s the feeling that your world is collapsing around you and no matter how hard you try, words just can’t save you. Anxiety is probably the number one factor that reduces band score. Because the candidate is tense and anxious, anxiety takes over and as a result, any confidence that he or she did had is out the window and long gone. Glossophobia or (IELTS) speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or of speaking in general. It causes acute hearing, dry mouth, uncontrollable shaking, increased heart rate, and stiffening of upper back muscles. Can you imagine experiencing that and then having to speak to a complete stranger in a second language? That’s a lot to confront and cope with but with these 5 helpful tips, you just might beat the IELTS Speaking Anxiety bug.

Tip 1

Don’t Expect Perfection from Yourself

None of us are perfect.  We all know that.  Yet when it comes to the IELTS speaking exam, we want to excel and score high and some of us tend to kick ourselves over every little perceived mistake we make.  We amplify our imperfections, second guess each answer we make, and review our answers over and over again while preparing for the rest of the exam.  The truth is, even the best, most experienced speakers make many mistakes.  When they do, they recover, keep going gracefully, and all is well.  This is one of the keys to IELTS speaking anxiety success: to keep going graciously.  The examiner will know most of your mistakes, but if you don’t let these mistakes control you, you’ll win. Carry on with composure.  Give yourself permission not to be perfect.

Tip 2

Avoid Being Nervous About Your Nervousness

Speakers who lack confidence often feel nervous, and then on top of that feel anxious about the fact that they’re nervous, which compounds the anxiety.  That’s a lot of stress to bear.

Nervousness is our adrenaline flowing, that’s all.  It’s a form of energy.  Successful IELTS speaking candidates know how to make this energy work for them, and turn nervousness into enthusiasm, engagement, and charisma.  They have fun with it. Walking into an exam and “turning the tables” over to your side so that you control the interview is a win-win situation. It’s okay to be nervous.  Make the energy work for you.

Tip 3

Don’t Memorize Answers

There’s nothing worse than stepping into an examination packed with prepared answers. Not only will you end up making crucial errors, the examiner will know. Some candidates have actually done this and they end up rehearsing the answers while in the examination but the questions rarely come. The goal in getting good speaking scores is being as natural as you can. It’s fine to prepare information for an answer such as “where you come from?” or “tell me about your family.” but if you use prepared answers for some of these questions you’ll end up answering out of content or just answering wrong. Being natural, waiting for the question before answering, and then answering accordingly helps to avoid IELTS speaking anxiety.

Tip 4

Get Comfortable with the Examiner

The examiner is human, usually older than you and more than likely tired. Breaking the ice is a good way to start off the interview. If you start off with general “get to know you” questions aimed at the examiner, he or she will more than likely be quite impressed with your enthusiasm and the interview will have been started off on the right foot. Not only will that show your confidence with speaking a second language, it allows you to relax and get focused on the task at hand, the exam. The examiner will not let the ice-breaking session last too long as there is a time restriction, but it’s a great way to get relaxed and comfortable with a stranger that you need to speak with. This is an effective way to beat the IELTS speaking anxiety bug.

Tip 5

Get Prepared Before the Examination

The final and most important tip to beat the IELTS speaking anxiety is get prepared. There is nothing worse than going into an exam not knowing what’s going to happen. If you are aware of the examination procedures, what questions could be asked, and understand how to handle answers, half of the battle is won. Take time to prepare. Study the IELTS Speaking Band Score descriptors and get to know what the examiner is looking for. Practice answering typical IELTS speaking questions with a friend or English teacher. If none are available, there are plenty of options online, especially with social networks. You may even make a new life-time friend. Understanding what the exam details and what is going to happen will help reduce those IELTS speaking anxiety moments.

Conclusion

Speaking to someone new is tough regardless of language and speaking anxiety only escalates the difficulties that are experienced with IELTS speaking exams. Overcoming the anxiety is key to success and doing so early on in the examination is important. Maintaining a positive attitude and building confidence will go a long way. The examination is only 14-15 minutes and it can be an eternity if you let it be so. Take control of your IELTS speaking anxiety and use that energy to demonstrate not only your ability to speak well in English, but your ability to handle stressful situations. It’s definitely the positive approach to success.

For further reading, please visit http://myieltssolutions.com