IELTS Speaking TipsThese *IELTS Speaking* tips will make you aware of what is required of you during the oral interview and what you can do to get the highest possible score. Before the interview The oral interview will take place at a different time, and probably on a different day, than the rest of the exam. Make sure you understand when and where the interview will take place. Very often the location of the oral interview is different from that of the main exam. As with the main exam, try to keep your stress levels low by ensuring you have everything you need well before you leave for the interview. You must bring your ID with you and it must be the same one used in the application form. Leave early enough in case your trip is delayed. Arriving late could mean you miss the interview. The Interview If we could only give one piece of advice for the oral interview it would be to relax and be natural. Try to control your nerves and answer questions to the best of your ability without worrying if you have difficulty or need to ask your interviewer to repeat a question. After all, even native speakers sometimes stop and hesitate or need to ask for a question to be repeated. We will not go into detail about the interview process itself as this information is provided on the interview form page. (If you haven't already read that page, we suggest you do so now.) What you need to think about is what is required of you. The interviewer is there to evaluate your spoken English in a short period of time. He or she will evaluate you on four criteria: fluency and coherence, lexical resources, grammatical breadth and accuracy, and pronunciation. It's up to you to produce enough language for them to do so. Part of what the interviewer evaluates is your range of language and whether it is accurate and appropriate. Try to use a variety of vocabulary and grammar, but be careful to use them appropriately and accurately. The best way to do this is to be relaxed and speak naturally. Don't answer questions with just "Yes" or "No." Where possible, expand on your answers, for example, using “Yes, because...".