Vocabulary plays a crucial role in your performance in IELTS Speaking Part 1, especially when aiming for Band 5 to 6. It directly affects your score in the Lexical Resource criterion—one of the four key assessment areas in the IELTS Speaking band descriptors.
A good vocabulary helps you:
Communicate clearly and naturally
Respond appropriately to a wide variety of familiar topics
Express your thoughts in more precise and varied ways
If your vocabulary is limited, repetitive, or inaccurate, your score in Lexical Resource will likely fall below Band 6. Let’s explore what examiners expect and how you can meet those expectations.
Lexical Resource refers to your ability to use a range of vocabulary appropriately and accurately. In IELTS Speaking Part 1, the examiner is checking for:
Examiners look for how many different words you can use when talking about familiar, everyday topics. Repeating the same words, especially basic ones, shows a limited vocabulary range.
Example:
Poor: “I like my city because it’s good. The people are good. The food is good.”
Better: “I enjoy living in my city because it’s vibrant. The people are friendly, and the food scene is excellent.”
You must choose words that are appropriate for the topic and context. Using words that don’t fit, or are too vague, lowers your score.
Example:
Incorrect: “My city is very delicious.”
Correct: “The food in my city is delicious.”
Natural speech in English often uses common word combinations, such as collocations and phrasal verbs. These improve your fluency and make your answers sound more native-like.
Examples:
“Spend time with family”
“Catch up on work”
“Get along with neighbors”
Being able to express the same idea in different ways shows flexibility and helps if you forget a specific word. Examiners notice if you can describe, explain, or rephrase ideas smoothly.
Example:
“I’m really into football.” → “I enjoy playing and watching football in my free time.”
Many candidates aiming for Band 5 to 6 make common vocabulary errors that lower their scores. Here are the most frequent mistakes and how to fix them.
Words like “good,” “bad,” “nice,” and “thing” are too general and should be avoided when possible. These basic terms do not show range or precision.
Example:
Poor: “My job is good and I do a lot of things.”
Better: “I find my job rewarding, and I handle various tasks like customer support and product testing.”
Tip: Learn synonyms and context-specific alternatives. For example:
Good → enjoyable, relaxing, interesting, useful
Thing → item, task, object, aspect
Using incorrect word forms (noun instead of adjective, verb instead of noun, etc.) is a grammatical and vocabulary mistake.
Example:
Incorrect: “I am very interest in music.”
Correct: “I am very interested in music.”
Tip: Practice forming adjectives from nouns and vice versa:
Interest → interested, interesting
Excite → excited, exciting
Bore → bored, boring
Misusing common word combinations sounds unnatural and shows a lack of familiarity with English.
Example:
Incorrect: “I do a shower every morning.”
Correct: “I take a shower every morning.”
Tip: Learn everyday collocations related to topics like:
Daily routine: “make the bed,” “brush my teeth”
Work: “meet deadlines,” “attend meetings”
Study: “take notes,” “revise for exams”
Examiners can easily detect memorized responses. These often sound unnatural and may not answer the specific question asked.
Example:
Question: “Do you enjoy cooking?”
Memorized response: “Cooking is the art of preparing food, and it is important for daily life.”
Tip: Use your own words. Give a personal response like:
“Yes, I enjoy cooking simple meals. It’s relaxing and lets me be creative.”
Candidates often stick to general words even when the question is about a specific topic, which limits their score.
Example:
Poor: “I like music. It is fun.”
Better: “I enjoy listening to pop music, especially upbeat songs with catchy melodies.”
Tip: Build vocabulary banks for common IELTS topics like:
Food: spicy, savory, sweet, cuisine, dish
Technology: apps, gadgets, screen time, notifications
Weather: humid, breezy, chilly, downpour
Improving your vocabulary doesn’t mean memorizing word lists. Instead, focus on active usage in context. Here’s how to do it effectively:
IELTS Speaking Part 1 covers predictable topics. Organize vocabulary by categories such as:
Home and Hometown
Work and Study
Daily Routine
Free Time and Hobbies
Food and Cooking
Travel and Holidays
Create flashcards or mind maps with words, example sentences, and collocations for each topic.
Practice answering real IELTS questions and record yourself. Listen for:
Repeated words
Incorrect usage
Missing topic-specific terms
Ask a teacher or fluent speaker for feedback on your vocabulary range and accuracy.
Keep a daily or weekly journal where you:
Write down new words
Use them in personal sentences
Note synonyms and related phrases
Example Entry:
Word: “productive”
Sentence: “I try to be productive on weekends by finishing chores early.”
Synonyms: efficient, effective
Functional language makes your speech sound more natural and helps you handle questions smoothly.
Examples:
“I suppose…” / “To be honest…” / “Well, it depends…”
“What I mean is…” / “Let me think…”
These can help you stay fluent even when you’re thinking of the right word.
Sometimes, direct translations result in incorrect or awkward expressions. Always check whether a word or phrase sounds natural in English.
Example:
Direct translation: “I take rest every day.”
Correct English: “I take a break every day.”
Use reliable English sources to confirm how words are used in context.
Q1: Do I need to use difficult or uncommon words to get Band 6?
A: No. For Band 6, use common, topic-specific vocabulary accurately and flexibly. Unnatural or forced vocabulary can reduce your score.
Q2: What happens if I repeat the same words too often?
A: Repetition shows limited range, which can keep your score at Band 5 or below. Try to paraphrase or use synonyms.
Q3: Will I lose marks for using fillers like “uh” or “um”?
A: Occasional fillers are natural, but too many can affect your fluency. Try using natural phrases instead to gain time (e.g., “Let me see…”).
Q4: Should I learn idioms?
A: For Band 5–6, simple expressions and collocations are more important than idioms. Avoid forced idioms like “raining cats and dogs,” which may sound unnatural.
To succeed in IELTS Speaking Part 1 at Band 5 to 6, focus on using a vocabulary that is:
Relevant to the topic
Accurate in meaning and form
Varied enough to avoid repetition
Natural and fluent
Avoid memorized answers, overly basic words, and incorrect expressions. Instead, practice with common topics, use feedback to refine your vocabulary, and always aim to sound clear and confident.
Mastering vocabulary range and accuracy will not only boost your Lexical Resource score but also make your speaking more engaging and natural—just like a real conversation.