IELTS Speaking for Success

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Watching Sports 🤾‍♀️ Rory absolutely hates watching games, but his answers are still Band 9! Discover how to ace topics you find boring, learn idioms like 'bored to tears', and find out why Maria is talking about cheese rolling. Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe your favourite childhood friend Part 3: Friendship and social relationships

We noticed that some speaking mocks were failing at the grading step (incredibly frustrating and demotivating, we know. Sorry about that). We’ve fixed the root cause. And if it ever happens again, it won’t use your monthly mock limit, your answers are saved, and you can tap "Try grading again" without having to suffer through all the questions again. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the website, please let us know! 🙏🏻 P.S. Had a mock fail recently? We're regrading them manually — your report should show up in the Progress tab.

Watches ⌚️ Maria and Rory discuss why a simple accessory can be an investment, a status symbol, or just a tool for teachers. Find out why your phone just "won't cut it" in certain situations. Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe a boring place Part 3: Boredom

Parks and public gardens 🏞 Ever been asked about the outdoors? Listen as Maria prompts Rory to describe his ideal tranquil spot, revealing how to use phrases like 'peace and quiet' and 'off the top of my head' for a Band 9 answer. Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe a tall building you like or dislike Part 3: Buildings and architecture

Hello lovely people 😎 The platform we previously used for our New Year sales and lifetime archive access has unexpectedly removed our podcast. It caught us off guard, but we already have a fix for this. We’ve moved everything to our own website so that we don't have to depend on a third-party service. To get your lifetime access restored: 1. Sign up for an account at https://successwithielts.com 2. Message Ivan at @vaaaaanish with your new account email and a receipt from your original purchase. Ivan will manually upgrade your account, and your private RSS feed will immediately become available for you directly on the website, which you'll be able to import into the podcast app of your choice. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. P.S. Our website is way cooler anyway.

Shopping 🛒 Rory claims he isn't a shopaholic, but he just bought three pairs of trousers in one go! Listen as he explains how to use Band 9 idioms and phrasal verbs to describe your own shopping habits for the IELTS exam. Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe an interesting video Part 3: Video content and media habits

Childhood activities ⚽️ Remember playing hide and seek? Rory struggles to recall his childhood pastimes but shares brilliant language for talking about then vs. now. Discover advanced vocab for your hobbies, from loathing exercise to home brewing! Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe a famous person you would like to meet Part 3: Celebrities and fame

Typing ⌨️ Do you bang down the keys or prefer to write by hand? Rory reveals how he learned to type without any conscious effort and discusses the pros and cons of keyboards versus good old-fashioned pen and paper. Transcript, vocabulary + free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe a person who solved a problem in a smart way Part 3: Problems and Problem-Solving

✍️ How to Get IELTS Band 9 for Writing Taught by a teacher who scored 9 in both Writing and Speaking — here to show you exactly how to hit 8–9 on graphs and essays. 🎯 What you'll walk away with: - The most common reasons test-takers lose points (and how to fix them) - High-scoring vocabulary that actually fits Band 8–9 - The secret of invisible cohesion — what examiners notice but can't easily explain - Real Band 9 example essays to study and learn from 📊 Task 1 — Graphs - Stop listing figures. Start identifying what matters - How to summarise, select, highlight, and compare data like a Band 9 writer - The "Notice → Identify → Organise" technique - How to show a wide grammatical range in just 150+ words 📝 Task 2 — Essays - What to do when your mind goes blank - Curing OCD (yes, it's a thing) - How to build a clear, fully developed answer the examiner actually wants to read 📅 15 May | 11:00 AM Moscow Time 💵 $24 👉 DM @Maria_Molashenko to grab your spot

Thank you everyone who joined our little chit chat today and for you questions about IELTS ❤️ If you have any more, then feel free to add them in your replies to this message here!

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What idioms to use in speaking? Start with phrasal verbs! They sound incredibly natural and are usually much easier to master than traditional idioms. 🙌🏻 Band 8-9 Phrasal Verbs To boil down to something – To be the main or most important result or feature of something. "You need to boil it down to the main features." "You should boil the report down to one page." To cave in (to something) – To finally agree to demands that you originally opposed because you are tired or frightened. "I finally caved in to your demands to take the IELTS." To nod off – To fall asleep, especially unintentionally. "I nodded off during the opera." To get hooked on something – To become addicted to or captivated by something. "I got hooked on squash." "I got hooked on doing yoga." To come across – To behave in a way that gives people a certain impression of you. "She comes across as incredibly smart." "He comes across as a highly responsible person." To faff about/around (UK) – To spend your time doing unimportant things instead of what you should be doing. "I was faffing about all day." "I wish you'd stop faffing around and do something useful." 🔥 Speaking Workshops with Maria 📅 Dates: April 23rd & 29th This is your chance to find out exactly how to improve your speaking skills and boost your score! 🙌🏻 To register, write to: @Maria_Molashenko

Speaking Training with Maria: Secrets to a High Score 🗣 Join two practical workshops designed to help you improve your IELTS Speaking score. What the workshops cover: - Strategies for Parts 1, 2, and 3 to achieve Band 7-9. - Key idioms, phrasal verbs, and grammar structures for top scores. - Techniques to improve fluency and navigate difficult questions. - What to do if you don't know what to say. - Effective preparation methods. What is included: - Live Q&A to answer your specific questions. - A cheat sheets packed with natural Band 9 vocabulary and grammar. - Full video recordings of both sessions. Dates: April 23 at 11:30 (Moscow time) April 29 at 12:00 (Moscow time) Format: - Zoom (90 minutes per session) - Price: $57 To sign up, write to @Maria_Molashenko 🙌🏻

Days off How does Rory spend his time off? Find out if Maria thinks his hobbies are boring and discover new ways to talk about your own downtime, from hitting the gym to catching up on the latest gossip. Transcript and vocabulary Take a free mock test Most recent premium episodes 👍: Part 2: Describe a person who makes plans a lot and is good at planning Part 3: Planning It's very simple. We get 50 ✍🏻, and you get the next episode.

The funny thing is, everything that Maria and Rory have been talking about over the past few years — question tags, binomials, intonation, idioms, phrasal verbs, lying to the examiner, making up stories, adding details, etc. — actually does give you a higher score 😆 And now you have a way to practice all that whenever you feel like it 🤓 Go try it for yourself!

You know what... all free users get 2 mock tests! 🤓 Sign up (or log in) here: https://successwithielts.com/ update Fixed the link

We're not giving too much away just yet — but we're looking for people with accounts on our platform who are willing to take a short IELTS Speaking Part 1 mock test (any topic) in exchange for a free detailed report on their performance. Here's what you'll get: 📊 A predicted band score across all 4 criteria — Fluency, Lexical Resource, Grammar & Pronunciation 🔍 Question-by-question breakdown — see exactly what you did well and where you lost marks 📈 Fluency metrics — speaking rate, hesitation sounds, discourse markers, linking words and more 💡 Vocabulary upgrades — 3 alternative expressions per answer to boost your lexical range ✍️ Grammar refinements — optional complex structures to add sophistication to your answers ⬆️ A fully upgraded model response for every single question All we need is a few minutes of your time + the report itself so that we can fine tune it. https://successwithielts.com/ DM us your email (or comment it below) to participate 😏