Which subject of the iBT is the most difficult? Judging from the scores posted by the test takers, I would pick Speaking section as the toughest among the four. Why is that?
An obvious reason, or the easiest excuse for a low score, has to do with the fact that once the words come out of our mouths, they won’t go back even if we want to bite our tongues. This ticket-of-no-return subject makes a test taker intimidated and defenseless. On top of that, English is not our native language. We know that we are prone to make all kinds of mistakes with our speech, from accent to intonation, from grammar to word choice, and from delivery to composure. The best analogy for a test taker is a neophyte in theatre performance who is flabbergasted when the curtain is fully raised: A typical “stage fright” attack.
It is well known that “stage fright” afflicts every performer, from famous stars to street panhandlers. For those of us who are still less than comfortable to speak English either in a formal setting (seminars or interviews) or at a test center (iBT), the throat-chocking fear that the words coming out of our mouth are going to embarrass ourselves can be so strong that it utterly freezes us up. If our purpose of taking iBT and GMAT is to work in a US or European company after obtaining our MBA, we’d better prepare ourselves for a lot of talks in English!
Is there any medicine for this kind of “stage fright?” Unfortunately, NO. But we can help ourselves by being relaxed, self-assured, and resourceful.
When speaking English is concerned, there are things that we can control and things that we can’t. For one thing, accent is not easy to improve or hide. For another, intonation would take years of practice for us to resemble that of a native speaker. Nonetheless, we should not worry about these things that are not quite under our control and we should relax when speaking English with an accent or imperfect intonation. Look at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -a fine example of a foreigner who is relaxed when giving public speech using not-so-perfect English. Does he look worried when he speaks? Hell no! He even jokes about his own accent! Calm down. The audience or the iBT evaluators know that we are foreigners. They won’t laugh at our accents.
Being self-assured is the necessary step for speaking clearly and concisely. We already heard the questions and the background info from the iBT prompt. We might even have read from JJ courtesy of www.chasedream.com for a similar test question. We have prepared a not-so-bad answer. Just let our well thought out answer come out of our mouths one word at a time at the right speed with confidence. Just image that we are telling a story to a friend at a coffee shop instead of iBT evaluators sitting behind the screen. When we talk in this way, we are more likely to be accepted as a partner in a conversation. Use the language we are most comfortable with and we will have a better chance to express ourselves clearly and confidently. If we are lucky, our projected confidence might even help cover a few flaws in our speech.
While a relaxed speaker might be self-assured to tell a story, a resourceful speaker would be creative in order to express oneself or to shed light at the same story from a different angle. Remember, it is a story we are telling to a friend and the story is better to catch the attention of our friend. Since we only have 45 or 90 seconds to impress our friend, we’d better be prepared. Remember a few comments, phrases, ideas, which enhance the thoughtfulness of our speech when used appropriately.That’s where reading JJ comes into play. That’s where watching English movies might help turn on a light bulb in our head. That’s where a smart mind or mouth shows off.
If you are looking for easy ways to practice oral English, use a tape recorder or video camera to record a short conversation/presentation made by you on subjects related to those of interest to ETS.Then play back and listen to yourself with or without your friends. Note the wrong word used and the wrong grammar exposed. Think about better ways to deliver the same speech.Watch the time. Then do it again and again until you are satisfied with your performance. If this practice won't help improve your confidence when speaking English, try to find other methods that might relax your mind. Pinpoint your weakness and turn it on its head.
The speaking test of iBT, like a conversation we have with a friend, will end on a high note if we speak in a relaxed tone, with self-assurance and resourcefulness. The real test lies ahead for us to speak to a larger, real audience who might challenge us with reasons and solid evidence. But if we master the strategies we just learned to prepare for the speaking test of iBT, we know how to deal with the “stage fright” and take the opportunity to shine. That is the moment we are waiting for!