IELTS Speaking Part 2: Bí kíp nắm của bài thi nói

Trong IELTS Speaking Part 2, bạn sẽ được cấp một cue card – tấm thẻ có đề tên một chủ đề (topic) xác định cùng 60 giây để chuẩn bị. Sau đó, bạn cần thuyết trình – diễn đạt về chủ đề đó trong thời gian từ một đến hai phút. Do vậy, thời gian chuẩn bị 60 giây này là hết sức quan trọng và phần nào quyết định việc bạn có đạt đủ “band score” – điểm số như mong muốn ở phần thi này hay không. Bài viết dưới đây sẽ giúp bạn tìm hiểu cách sử dụng 60 giây đó thật hiệu quả. Let’s see!

1. Topic bạn có thể “gắp trúng” trong IELTS Speaking Part 2 là gì?

Như đã từng giới thiệu, chủ đề trong tấm thẻ của IELTS Speaking Part 2 sẽ là một vấn đề hay một câu chuyện mà ai cũng có thể thảo luận về nó – không chứa đựng những kiến thức quá chuyên môn hay hàn lâm. Nó có thể vẫn xoay quanh chính bản thân bạn như ở Phần 1 hoặc về một vấn đề hoàn toàn khác. Do đó, bạn cần chuẩn bị cho mình một số các chủ đề có thể sẽ được hỏi để luyện tập trước, tập trung vào 6 nhóm chủ đề lớn:

• Describe a person (một người bạn ngưỡng mộ, một người nổi tiếng,…)
• Describe a place/building (đất nước bạn muốn ghé thăm, một tòa nhà nổi tiếng, công trình thế kỷ,…)
• Describe an object (nội thất gia đình, một vật kỷ niệm hay một loại đồ chơi,…)
• Describe an event/activity (một lễ hội, một hoạt động thể thao,…)
• Describe a situation (một khoảnh khắc cụ thể,…)
• Describe your favourite (Sách, phim, truyện,…)

Mỗi nhóm chủ đề đều có thể có nhiều dạng câu hỏi được đặt ra. Dưới đây là một ví dụ về chủ đề bạn có thể nhận được:

Describe a close friend. You should say: How long you have known this person How you met What kind of person he/she is and explain why you like him/her. You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

 

Chà, có khá nhiều điều để nói đấy nhỉ! Vậy tôi nên bắt đầu như thế nào đây?

2. Gạch chân & lập dàn ý

Đầu tiên, bạn cần tập trung vào chủ đề, từ khóa chính của các câu hỏi phụ để gạch chân. Trong trường hợp này, câu chủ đề là “a close friend”, từ khóa How long…known; How…met; What kind…person. Tất cả các câu trả lời trong bài nói của bạn phải xoay quanh người bạn thân này.

Bây giờ bạn cần xác định chính xác những thứ mà bạn sẽ nói, và mường tượng (có thể gạch ra nếu bạn viết nhanh) dàn ý sơ lược – điều quan trọng hỗ trợ tính mạch lạc của bài nói & giúp bạn nhớ về những điều cần nói tốt hơn.

Bản chất thẻ câu hỏi bên trên đã hỗ trợ rất nhiều cho bạn trong việc mường tượng ra dàn ý của bài nói. Bạn có thể đi theo lần lượt những điểm trên để mô tả về người bạn thân của mình, và thêm thắt những chi tiết để thêm phần sinh động và tạo sự lôi cuốn cho bài nói.

Theo gợi ý của tôi, bạn có thể đi theo hai phần chính như sau:

• How long you have known this person
• How you met

… mô tả về thời điểm lần đầu tiên hai bạn gặp nhau & đã quen nhau bao lâu. Có mất liên lạc ở thời điểm nào không, hay đã trải qua điều gì đáng nhớ?

• What kind of person he/she is

and explain why you like him/her.

 … mô tả về tính cách người bạn ấy, và đó cũng chính là lý do bạn thích anh ấy/cô ấy. Nên dành nhiều thời lượng hơn để nói về phần này 

Việc lập dàn ý trong IELTS Speaking Part 2 không chỉ là việc phân tách các câu hỏi phụ, mà còn có tác dụng định hướng tư duy, giúp bạn có cách nhìn dễ dàng hơn về chủ đề được chọn. Nên nhớ rằng, 60 giây rất ngắn và không đủ để bạn vẽ ra quá nhiều ý tưởng. 

3. Chuẩn bị kỹ lưỡng về mặt ngôn ngữ mà bạn có thể sử dụng trong IELTS Speaking Part 2

Chuẩn bị những cụm từ hữu ích

Có những cụm từ rất hữu ích (expression) mà bạn có thể chuẩn bị trước và sử dụng được cho bất kỳ chủ đề nào. Dưới đây là các ví dụ:

• Firstly, I’m going to tell you about… – câu mở đầu dẫn dắt vào câu chuyện
• As I mentioned before… – Dẫn ý, nối ý cho các câu hỏi phụ
• As a result… – kết quả của tình huống, sự việc đã nêu.

Chuẩn bị những từ vựng ăn điểm

Và bên cạnh việc tận dụng các expression linh hoạt thì ghi chú những từ vựng đắt giá trong IELTS Speaking Part 2 cũng sẽ giúp làm nổi bật bài nói của bạn. Ví dụ: Nếu chủ đề được đưa ra là về con người, có thể sử dụng các từ ngữ:

• Về ngoại hình:
  • Fat or Large – Overweight, Stout, Big-boned, Chubby…
  • Thin or Small – Slender, Slim, Lanky, Skinny, Slight, Petite…
  • Muscular – Beefy, Buff, Well-built…
  • Attractive – Handsome, Pretty, Stunning, Gorgeous, Good-looking, Cute, Hot… 

• Về tính cách: Ambitious, Open-minded, Outgoing, Introverted, Hard-working, Trustworthy, Driven, Judgemental…

Ngoài ra, hãy chú ý không chỉ để có được từ đúng, mà còn sử dụng đúng thời thì.

Ví dụ:

• We grow up together → We grew up together
• I know him since we are children →  I’ve known him since we were children.
• We are close when we are schoolmates, but now we grow apart → We were close when we were schoolmates, but now we’ve grown apart.

Chuẩn bị những từ, cụm từ này trong IELTS Speaking Part 2 giúp bạn hai lợi thế: Thứ nhất, nó sẽ gây ấn tượng với giám khảo – vì bạn có vốn từ vựng tốt. Thứ hai, ngôn ngữ được chuẩn bị trước giúp bạn có thêm thời gian để tập trung vào chủ đề.

Dưới đây là một bài mẫu cho câu hỏi Describe a close friend phía trên, bạn tham khảo nhé:

“My best friend is a guy called Rich. We met in 2003 on our first day of university, during Freshers’ Week. I can hardly believe that it was fifteen years ago! We were both seventeen at the time and we met in the halls of residence, which is where we stayed during that first year. He was an art student and I was studying literature. We got along well from the very first moment. I remember him wearing a Guns n Roses t-shirt, and they were my favourite band at the time.

We lived together for two years and have stayed best friends ever since. Rich is a very generous and creative person. He plays in a band and paints. A few years ago he got married and now he has a child. He’s changed a lot since we were students, but in many ways he has stayed the same. I liked him back then because he was such a nice guy, and the same is true now. Everyone who knows him thinks he is patient and open-minded, so he’s very easy to get along with.” 

(nguồn: Ted IELTS)

4. Các bài mẫu cụ thể

Cue Card 1

Describe a present you have given someone. You should say: Who you gave it to What kind of present it was How it compared to other presents you have given Explain why you decided to give this particular gift.

↳

“I’m going to talk about a present that I gave to someone.

The person that I gave it to was a very good friend of mine at the time. His name was Kaaliya and he came from India. I knew him because we studied together at a language school in Cambridge. Although we were from different backgrounds and cultures, we got on really well and we had the same sense of humour so we became very good friends.

The present was a picture that had been painted of the River Cam in Cambridge. It was not so big –  maybe around 10 inches by 14 inches, but it was very beautiful. It came in a gold plated frame and the picture had been drawn by a particularly well-known Cambridge artist. It had been signed by this person as well.

It’s the first time I have given this person a present, and I guess it’s quite different from presents that I have given to other people before – I don’t recall ever giving someone a picture actually. If I’m buying for family then I’ll usually buy clothes or maybe some jewelry if it is a special occasion. Normally when I’ve bought something for friends it’s something more jokey so we can have a laugh about it, nothing that serious.

The reason why I decided to give this particular gift is because we had spent a lot of time together in Cambridge and we had had some really fun times punting on the River Cam – that’s obviously why I thought this was an appropriate present.  We used to go punting at least once a week, sometimes a couple of times. On one occasion there was a group of about ten of us that went down there, and we spent the whole day sitting by the river in the sun and as usual we went on a boat trip together.  We all have a lot of photos to remind us of this great day.

So my friend, Kaaliya, is the person that I gave a present to and this was because I felt it would always remind him of the fun times that we had and also of Cambridge.”

Cue Card 2

Describe an old person that you know. You should say: What your relationship is to this person How often you see them What people think about this person Explain why you like them

↳ 

“Ok, I’d like to tell you about an old person that I know.

His name is John, and he is the owner of a small convenience store at the end of my street.

I would say that my relationship with him is as a friend. I know him because I regularly go to the shop in order to buy things when I don’t have time to go to a supermarket. He’s quite friendly and I always have a chat with him. I’ve known him now for about five years – since I’ve lived in the area in fact. That’s why I’d now call him a friend.

I’d say that I see him fairly regularly. Like I said, I go to the big supermarket out of town sometimes to stock up, but you always need odd things during the week such as milk, or some snack or other. So when this happens I just have a walk down to his shop. So I’d say I see him every one or two days.

I think John is pretty popular as he’s been there for years as far as I’m aware, so most of the locals around the area know him. There will always be someone in the shop having a chat with him. They like him because he’s not just the shopkeeper but he’s also very involved in activities in the community. For example, I know he helps out at the old people’s home some nights, and he runs the quizzes at the local pub. He also helps to organize the fete that is held each year in the town.

The reason that I like him is that he’s great to have a chat with. For instance, a while back I was having problems with my work, and I was really feeling stressed. I didn’t really have anyone to talk to at the time as my family is abroad and a couple of my good friends were not around. I mentioned it to John and he was great. He listened and also gave me some really good advice. He didn’t need to do that so it was great that he made the time to anyway. Generally, though, he’s really welcoming when you go to his shop. He’ll always have a smile on his face.”

Cue Card 3

Describe an environmental problem that has occurred in your country. You should say: The cause of the problem What effect it has had on your country The steps, if any, that have been taken to solve this  Explain why you think this problem is so important to solve.

↳

“Ok, I’m going to talk about a problem with the environment in my country.

One of the most serious problems at the moment is flooding. This is starting to happen every year and each year it seems to get worse. I think it may be caused by a number of factors. Firstly there has been a lot of deforestation in the north of the country, a lot of it from illegal logging. Because of this, when it rains the water has nothing to soak it up so it just runs down the mountains and into the villages and towns. Another factor may be global warming. Scientists believe that this is causing more severe weather so this may account for the increasing amount of rain that we seem to be seeing. It also means the soil is more dry so again the rain water runs off it rather than being soaked up.

Unfortunately, there have been really serious effects on my country. As I said, the excess water runs into the villages and the towns through the rivers and the rivers then overflow causing massive flooding. This effects thousands of people who then become homeless. Several hundred usually die each year as well. It travels through the country as it starts in the north and goes down to the sea, so it can affect many towns and the capital city too. This also has repercussions for the government as they have to spend so much money managing the disaster each year.

The government is trying to tackle the problem, but it is not easy. They are trying to stop so much deforestation but a lot of the damage has already been done so what can they do? They are also starting to build defences such as walls along some of the major rivers that run through the town to try to stop them overflowing. Another thing they are doing is trying to improve their response systems. In most towns there is now a government organization responsible for coordinating relief operations and making sure they are prepared in advance.

I think this problem is a top priority to solve because it has such devastating impacts. As I mentioned before, it causes suffering for so many people and it is also a huge expense for the government and as we are not a rich country we cannot afford this. It means that other services suffer because of a lack of money. There are other problems that my country has but I think that is by far the worst.

So, that is the serious problem in my country, and I only hope that it does not continue to get worse.”

(nguồn: IELTS Buddy)

5. Luyện tập IELTS Speaking Part 2

Dưới đây là một số chủ đề mẫu thường gặp trong IELTS Speaking Part 2. Luyện tập theo các bước sau:

• Chọn một cue card theo mẫu dưới đây
• Mở chức năng hẹn giờ 1 phút trong điện thoại, và chức năng ghi âm trên thiết bị khác
• Bắt đầu take note nhanh về chủ đề đã chọn để chuẩn bị trong 60 giây đó
• Hẹn thêm thời gian 2 phút nữa và bắt đầu thực hiện bài nói
• Cuối cùng, đánh giá kết quả của bạn: 
  • Bài nói của bạn có cấu trúc rõ ràng không? 
  • Bạn có sử dụng các cấu trúc câu hay không? 
  • Có các từ vựng nổi bật không?…

Đừng quên luyện tập cách phát âm giúp bài nói của bạn lôi cuốn & hấp dẫn nhé!

Một số chủ đề để bạn tự luyện IELTS Speaking Part 2:

HEALTH AND SPORT

Describe an exciting competition or sporting event you have witnessed.

You should say:

• What the competition or sporting event was
• When and where it took place
• Who won

and explain why it was exciting.

STUDIES AND WORK

Describe your dream job.

You should say:

• What qualifications or experience you would need
• What the job would involve
• What you think the most difficult thing about the job would be

and explain why it is your dream job.

ENVIRONMENT

Describe your favourite season.

You should say:

• What the season is and when it occurs
• What the weather is like during this season
• What your typical activities are during this season

and explain why it is your favourite season.

COMMUNICATION

Describe a language other than English that you would like to learn.

You should say:

• What the language is
• Where it is spoken
• What you think would be difficult and what would be easy about learning the language.

and explain why you would like to learn it.

TECHNOLOGY

Describe a piece of electronic equipment that you find useful.

You should say:

• What the piece of equipment is
• When and where you got it
• What you use it for

And explain why you find it useful

HOBBIES

Describe a hobby you enjoy.

You should say:

• How long you have been doing it
• How often you do it
• What benefits you get from it

And explain why you enjoy it.

CHILDHOOD

Describe a happy childhood memory.

You should say:

• When and where the incident you remember happened
• Who you were with
• What happened exactly

And explain why it is a happy memory.

HOME

Describe a place that you enjoy visiting.

You should say:

• Where that place is
• What you can see and do there
• How it has changed since you first visited it

and explain why you enjoy visiting this place.

CULTURE

Describe a festival that you enjoy.

You should say:

• When the festival occurs
• Where it occurs
• What happens during it

and explain why you enjoy the festival.

TRAVEL

Describe a memorable holiday.

You should say:

• When you went on this holiday
• Where you went
• What you did

And explain why it is memorable.

Chúc bạn luyện tập IELTS Speaking Part 2 thành công!