Don't prioritise grammar over fluency - In the exam, you get separate marks for grammatical accuracy and fluency. Most students I've taught in Asia worry more about their grammar than their fluency, and the latter skill suffers as a result. When I have taught European students, it is generally the opposite way round. Ask a teacher or native speaker to give you advice about your grammar or fluency needs. You can then focus on improving one or the other.
Don't get too nervous -Getting nervous is a natural reaction to a test, but nerves can often bring someone’s score down in a few different ways. Some people have a tendency to speak at a very low volume when they are nervous and this will reduce the examiner’s ability to understand you. Others mumble when they are nervous and this is obviously a bad idea in a speaking test. The key is to prepare properly and then you will feel more confident.
Don't be late -Make sure you give yourself lots of time to get to the examination centre and find out where your speaking test will be. By getting there early you will be able to get comfortable in your surroundings and concentrate solely on the exam. Don’t be afraid to ask the staff any questions you might have; they are there to help.
GRAMMAR FOR SPEAKING
Passive voice In grammar, voice is the form the verb takes to show the relationship between the action (or state, in some cases) and the participants (subject, object) in an event. The voice can be active or passive. In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action (e.g. She wrote the letter.) On the other hand, in a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action (e.g. The letter was written.)
There was a moment in my life when _____(I really liked scifi)
When do we use the passive voice and how do we form it? Now that you know what we mean by ‘passive voice’, let’s look at when and how to use it. In a nutshell, we use the passive voice when we want to focus the reader’s attention on the person or thing affected by the action. In the above example “The letter was written.”, our attention goes to the letter. As you may have already noticed, we form the passive using be (in a suitable tense) and the past participle (written, invited, stolen, etc.) In what situations, then, should we use the passive voice instead of the active voice? The passive voice is commonly used in the following cases:
