加拿大留學(xué)語言考試雅思口語如何杜絕“口吃結(jié)巴”

加拿大留學(xué)眾所周知，雅思口語考試有四項評分標準：fluency&coherence（流利度和連貫性）、pronunciation（發(fā)音）、lexical resource（詞匯資源）、grammatical range&accuracy（語法多樣性和精確性），Eric一直強調(diào)fluency&coherence是最最重要的評分標準，原因很簡單：如果你不能一直持續(xù)的說下去，你根本沒有機會來表現(xiàn)其它三條評分標準。

當然，fluency&coherence遠遠不止”一直持續(xù)的說下去“這么簡單，它還涉及到很多其他方面的因素，從本期開始，Eric選用（不限于）考官的文章，來和大家探討fluency&coherence的本質(zhì)、以及如何提升fluency&coherence。

本篇文章選自英國考官Dan Berns的著作IELTS Killer；本期文章，我們繼續(xù)分享Dan Berns關(guān)于提升流利度和連貫性的第三點建議——問自己以下問題：

Did I speak clearly and smoothly?

我的表述是否清晰流暢?

One thing that examiners do constantly is count.They are mostly counting the time,but another important thing to realise is that they are counting your words too.This is what examiners call Length of Turns(LOT).Students who have long LOT will score high,but students with short LOT will score low.Take a look at the examples below:加拿大雅思

雅思聽力考官經(jīng)常做的一件事就是計數(shù)。大多數(shù)時候他們會對考生的表述進行計時,同時他們還會留心考生每個斷句的詞數(shù),這又叫作“Length of Turns(LOT)"?？忌腖OT越長,越有可能得高分。相反,考生的LOT越短,得分越低。我們來看看下面這個例子：

Low：A city that..I really like...is Suzhou in..the South of China..it has lots...of canals.

Medium：A city that I really like.is Suzhou in the South of China...It has lots canals.

High：A city that I really like is Suzhou in the South of China.It has lots of canals.

You can see that all three examples are exactly the same in terms of their content,but when it comes to their LOT,they are wildly different.The low score example has LOT 3/4.This means that the candidate is speaking in chunks of 3/4 words each time.The longest turn is"the South of China".This LOT is too low to score even an IELTS 5.

大家可以看到這三個例子的內(nèi)容是一模一樣的,但是LOT卻完全不同。其中低分答案的LOT是3/4,這表明考生每次斷句時說出的詞數(shù)為3個或4個,其中最長的詞群是“the South of China”。這個答案的LOT太低,想拿到雅思口語5分都很難。

The medium score example is a little stronger,and it has LOT 5/6,which means that the candidate is speaking in chunks of 5/6 words each time,where the longest turn is".is Suzhou in the South of China".This length of turn would probably carry you to an IELTS 6 at most.

中等分數(shù)的答案略強一點兒,它的LOT為5/6,也就是說該考生每次斷句時說出的詞數(shù)為5個或6個。其中最長的詞群為"is Suzhou in the South of China"。這個LOT值可能讓考生的雅思口語分數(shù)最高達到6分。

To really breakthrough to the high scores though,you need to be able to push your LOT much higher like in the last example where the length of turn is LOT.18.In order to be able to achieve this,you just have to take a breath and spit out the words without pausing between chunks.

要在雅思口語中拿高分,我們要讓自己的LOT盡可能高,就像最后個例子一樣,LOT達到了18要達到這個目標,你需要深吸一口氣,然后沒有停頓地說完一個句群。

Another thing that examiners are listening for is whether you will be able to sustain the length of your turn or whether your turns are going to dry up.Lots of students are really strong in Part 1,but then completely dry up in Part 2.Students always say to me:"I can't talk for two minutes!"To be brutally honest,if you cannot talk for two minutes,don’t bother showing up for the speaking exam.

考生能否將很高的LOT值一直保持下去,這也是考官非常看重的方面。很多考生在Part1表現(xiàn)得非常好,在Part2就一落千丈了?？偸怯袑W(xué)生對我說:“我說不了2分鐘！”對于這樣的學(xué)生,我會很直白地說如果你無法連續(xù)地說2分鐘,就不用去嘗試雅思口語了。

Lots of students start strong in Part 2,but then for whatever reason,maybe they get nervous,or maybe they just run out of things to say,they stop after one minute.Every examiner hates it when this happens.If you only talk for one minute,it doesn't matter if what you say is pure gold,your score is going to fall off a cliff-your IELTS scored just killed itself.Just by talking for two minutes,even if what you are saying isn't great,just by getting to the end you are supporting your score.

很多學(xué)生在剛開始Part2時狀態(tài)不錯,但接下來不知什么原因突然變得緊張,又或者實在想不到可說的內(nèi)容了,導(dǎo)致余下一分鐘的空白期。這是每個考官都極其厭惡的現(xiàn)象。如果考生只說了一分鐘,那么無論這一分鐘里他/她說得如何天花亂墜,得分也只會因為后來的長時間停頓而一落千丈。如果你能持續(xù)平穩(wěn)地說滿兩分鐘,即使內(nèi)容語言不太出色,只要你說到了最后,得分就不會太低。

One of the most common ways that candidates end their speaking turns is with the phrase"That's it!"or"That's all!"If this phrase is at the end of a particularly short turn,it is like burying your IELTS score,and then sticking a tomb stone in the ground.Your IELTS score is going to be worm food if you answer like this.It doesn't matter if you think the question if stupid,or if you don't have an opinion,each and every answer you give should be fully extended and never stop talking until the examiner moves on.

許多考生喜歡在說完后用“That's it!”或者“That's all”來做結(jié)語。如果你本身就沒說幾句話,還用“That's it!”或者“That's all”來結(jié)尾,你就等同于葬送了你的雅思口語,而且還沒忘立上雅思口語之墓的墓碑?？脊俾牭侥愕拇鸢敢矔X得如鯁在喉。不論你是覺得這個問題愚蠢,亦或你對這個問題沒有什么特別的觀點,都應(yīng)該盡可能地去延伸你的答案,保持一直在說的狀態(tài),直到考官喊停。

This is what is called"willingness to talk".If the student is unwillingly to talk,this seriously reduces their chance to get a high score on fluency,and probably all the other scores,too.Take this example of a candidate from Afghanistan,who was actually very bright,but not very talkative：

加拿大留學(xué)語言考試雅思口語如何杜絕“口吃結(jié)巴”

這就叫作雅思口語的“意愿性”。如果考生表現(xiàn)出不情愿,那他/她的FC得高分的可能性就不大了,也許其他維度的得分也不會太高了。下面我們來看看一名阿富汗考生的答案,這個考生事實上很陽光,但他卻對回答考官提問很抵觸：

“Do you come from a town or a city?”

“Why?”

“Do you come from a town or a city?”

“I no answer this question.”

This example is a British policewoman who wanted to go to Australia and had to take the test.（Yes,British people have to take the test sometimes!）

下面這個例子是一名想移民去澳大利亞的英國女警在口語考試中的回答。(是的,即使是英國人有些時候也必須要考雅思！)

“Who do you think watches TV more,young people or old people?”學(xué)在加拿大

“What kind of stupid question is that?”

You see,it is even possible for a native speaker to score low in the test.This policewoman scored a 6,and I bet the examiner was smiling ear to ear to give her a six.The point is,you have to be willing to just pour all of the language that you have in your head.Even if the grammar and vocabulary isn’t great,you will still be able to score well on fluency.

你們看,即使是英語母語者同樣可能在雅思口語中得低分。這名英國女警的得分是6分。我估計考官在給她6分時肯定心里暗暗笑爆了。所以關(guān)鍵在于你要有把自己腦袋里所有的話都一股腦講給考官聽的意識。即使你的語法和用詞不一定精確，但你的FC得分會很高。

Getting back to ending our turns,the first thing to remember is that you must never have silence in the examination.If you are quiet and the examiner is staring at you,or motioning you to continue,then you will certainly score a low score.Just keep talking non-stop.One of the areas that candidates have difficulty with here is how to end their turns Basically,if you end a turn with the phrase"that's it!"it's like dropping off the edge of a cliff.Never end with silence.

回到結(jié)束答題話語這個話題上來,你們首先要記住的是考試過程中不能冷場。如果你停下來了,一片寂靜,考官跟你大眼瞪小眼,或者示意你繼續(xù),那你就很難得高分了,所以要保持不停地說的狀態(tài)。許多考生不知道該如何結(jié)束自己的答題話語,要注意的是千萬不要以"that's it!”作結(jié),它會讓你的得分直線下滑。同樣,也不要以一片寂靜作結(jié)。

A good strategy for this is to have a summary at the end of whatever you say.You can do this by giving an opinion at the end of your turn.Lets take a look at a part one answer：

最好的結(jié)語就是在答完后進行個總結(jié)。在答完之后,你可以將你的回答升華一下,發(fā)表一個總結(jié)性意見。下面我們來看一個Part1的答案:

What do you usually do at the weekend?

Generally speaking,at the weekend I don't have a lot of free time.This is because work Monday to Friday,so I have to do all my chores and errands at the weekend.That means that I am always cleaning my apartment,doing my paperwork for the week,and also running to the bank to make sure all the bills are paid.If I am lucky,maybe I have time to play with my son for a few hours.

This is already a strong answer to the question,especially in terms of grammar,but right now it is a little bit boring.What it needs is an opinion,and the best place for your opinion is at the end in the form a summary.Check out how the summary makes the answer much stronger:

這個答案已經(jīng)非常給力了,尤其在語法方面,但給人ー種戛然而止的感覺。這個答案需要一個總結(jié)性評論,而這個評論最合適的位置就是在答案的末尾。下面看看在末尾加上ー個評論是如何使整個答案瞬間提升一個檔次的：

Generally speaking,at the weekend I don't have a lot of free time.This is because l work Monday to Friday,so I have to do all my chores and errands at the weekend,that means that I am always cleaning my apartment,doing my paperwork for the week,and also running to the bank to make sure all the bills are paid.If l am lucky,maybe I have time to play with my son for a few hours.I guess that a lot of families live like this.It doesn't mean that they like living like this,but society is competitive these days you just have to work all the time to survive.

By adding this simple summary containing an opinion at the end of the turn,the examiner will probably push the answer from a high six to a high seven.That is because in the IELTS exam,the ability to give information is not as important as having an opinion.If you do not have any feelings or opinions about the questions,then you will never score high in the test.Opinions are EVERYTHING.

在結(jié)尾處加上一個包含觀點的簡潔的評論,很可能會讓考官把你的分數(shù)從6分升到7分。因為在雅思口語考試中,發(fā)表評論的能力比給出信息的能力更加重要。如果你對這個問題發(fā)表不出任何看法或沒有任何情緒,那么是不可能得高分的。個人觀點就是一切。

Just as you should never finish your turn with the killer words"That's it",there are also some other phrases which show a complete lack of imagination.Let's take a look at some of the most common ones:

正如“That's it!”這個高分終結(jié)者一樣,還有一些其他短語也會顯得你缺乏想象力。我們一起來看看這些常見的“失分短語”吧:

Do you often visit museums?

No,museums are boring

Would you like to work in a museum?

No,working in a museum is a boring job.

Would you like to be a teacher?

No,be a teacher is a boring job

There is only one boring thing about these answers and that is the candidate.Unfortunately,ninety percent of candidates who come through the door answer the questions in this way.Check out these answers that make the examiner just want to shoot you:

如果考生總回答無聊,那么真正無聊的可能就是這位考生了。不幸的是,90%的考生都給出過類似的回答。看看下面這些讓考官忍不住要向你咆哮的答案吧：

Do you like writing letters?

No,writing letters is a waste of time.

Would you prefer to receive a telephone call or a letter？

I prefer phone call,because it is more convenient.

These answers could easily come from the boring museum candidate.The point is that giving short unimaginative answers like these is the kiss of death for your FC score.Even if you have to lie or stretch the truth,it is important to unpack the ideas in the questions as much as you can.Take these great answers for example：

這些答案可能從那些張口閉口就是無聊的考生中脫口而出吧。這種又短又缺乏想象力的答案就是死亡之吻。即使為了讓自己有話可說而不得不瞎編,你也得盡可能地把問題展開來回答。看看下面這些高分答案吧：

Do you often visit museums?

I don't really like visiting real museums because in China most of the exhibits are behind glass,and looking at pieces of old jade and ancient vases is not exactly my idea of a good time.I am a big fan of online museums though.You can go to The British Museum online and see all their exhibits in detail.You can zoom in,rotate and examine the objects.It's an amazing virtual experience.

Would you like to work in a museum?

I wouldn't want to work in a museum in China,but I would love to work in The Louvre in Paris.that is where visitors can see The Mona Lisa by Da Vinci.The Louvre is huge and they say that even if you went there every day for a year,you still couldn't see everything.If I was a curator there,I could possibly see some of their secret exhibits and treasures that rarely see the light of day.

Would you like to be a teacher?

Being a teacher is a very popular choice of profession in China.Mostly it is because the work is considered relatively stable,the pay is not bad,but most importantly there are very long summer vacations.It is not a particularly challenging job,which is why I think it might be dull for me,besides,my father has a low opinion of teachers.He always says:those who can do,those who can't teach.

This candidate has stretches his score to around an 8 just by forgetting about China and what is traditionally meant by a museum and what working in a museum would involve.This kind of imagination keeps the answer flowing and improves both fluency and coherence.

這名考生通過不讓“中國”以及傳統(tǒng)的“博物館”的概念來束縛自己,盡情發(fā)揮自己的想象力,從而使得分拔高到了8分。想象力會讓你的答案流暢自然、信息量豐富,從而提高流暢度與連貫性。

Vocabulary and Phrases

Exhibits are behind glass The Mona Lisa by Da Vinci

Old jade and ancient vases Curator

Not my idea of a good time Rarely see the light of day

See the exhibits in detail Popular choice of profession

Zoom in Relatively stable

Rotate Have a low opinion of teachers

Virtual experience Those who can do.those who can't teach.

The Louvre

Something that is severely lacking in the answers from Chinese candidates is imagination and creativity.These are two elements that examiners love and will reward you for.Take this question for example：

中國考生的答案中最缺乏的兩個元素就是想象力和創(chuàng)造力。如果恰好你擁有這兩項考官最愛的能力,那么你會獲得回報的。以下面這個問題為例：

Can you think of any times when it's necessary to wait for others?

A time that people have to wait is before the exam.Everyone is nervous and we want to finish the exam quickly.

When it comes to run-of-the-mill answers.that's about as dull as it gets.If you see the examiner stifle a yawn,you know you're boring.It doesn't have to be that way though.With a little imagination you can really add life to your answers.Try this response：

這個答案簡直平淡的不能再平淡了。如果考官打哈欠了,你就該反思自己有多無趣了。實際上情況不該這么糟糕,稍微運用一點兒想象力,就可以給你的答案帶來無限生機了。

試試這個回答：

A time when people have to wait is when they are getting married.The bridegroom for the bride to arrive.Everyone is waiting has to stand in the church waiting wondering if she has cold feet,but then when she walks up the aisle with her father in her beautiful white wedding dress,everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

This is an extremely imaginative and descriptive answer.It doesn't only answer the question.It goes one step further and creates a situation in the examiner's mind.This is a skill that will earn you very high marks.It also has some cracking vocabulary：

這是一個特別富有想象力的、栩栩如生的答案。這個答案不僅限于回答考官的問題,還在此基礎(chǔ)上進行了拔高,在考官的頭腦中形成了一幅生動的畫面。這是一個會讓你獲得高分的技巧。同時這個答案中還出現(xiàn)了一些極好的詞匯：

Bridegroom Bride Church

Get cold feet Aisle Wedding dress

Breathe a sigh of relief

Here's another example of how candidates can kill an examiner with sheer boredom：

下面是另一個考生如何用自己的無趣作答將考官打敗的例子：

What kind of good habits do you think children need to learn?

I think that children need to learn good study habits and to do their homework every night.They should also learn to listen to their parents.

This is a very limited and extremely boring answer.What it needs is some solid examples that will build images in the examiner's head.Take this super example:

這是一個非常局限且極其無趣的答案?？脊倌X海中形成不了任何動人的畫面,這個答案需要一些實例。看看下面這個極好的答案：

Young children are naturally quite dirty,so they need to learn habits about how to stay clean like washing their face and brushing their teeth every day.They should also avoid picking their nose,cover their mouth when they sneeze,and learn to chew with their mouth closed.These are just good manners really.

This answer is not at all vague.It gives solid examples which will surprise the examiner.Chinese candidates often give very vague answers which infuriate examiners.Be specific and imaginative to push your grade higher.

這個答案一點兒也不空洞,它所給出的實例會讓考官印象深刻。考官經(jīng)常因為中國考生的答案無趣和空洞而被激怒。所以要想提分,就盡可能地給出具體而富有想象力的答案吧。