Linking Words for IELTS Speaking

ladies and gentlemen first and foremost furthermore i must say that again thank you and good night now those are nice linking words for formal speeches and written academic english but when it comes to ielts speaking you need natural spoken linking words so let's learn some and start practicing [Music] so did you know that linking words are an important part of fluency right they also help you sound more natural when speaking why is that important it's important because sounding natural is the key to ielts speaking oh whoops i think i just let the cat out of the bag that's the big secret sounding natural is the key to ielts speaking don't tell anybody else just between you and me okay also sounding natural is important right because i don't want you to just be an english student right i want you to become an english speaker there's a big difference right an english student will study lots of words and vocabulary an english speaker practices lots to build up fluency and sound more natural over time that's what i want for you if that's what you want to then stay with me so in this video i'm going to explain what linking words are and i will show you lots of spoken linking words that you can use in your ielts speaking let's get this show on the road so what are linking words basically they are like the glue that stick your sentences together as simple as that okay they help you connect your sentences and ideas effectively so that other people can understand you clearly of course those other people include the ielts examiner so they're really important to help him or her follow you right they are also known as connectors or cohesive devices you may notice in the band descriptors they talk about cohesive devices but for this video we will just call them linking words now the reason i mentioned written linking words at the start of this video is that one of the biggest mistakes students make is that in ielts speaking they use written linking words that just don't sound right at all you know words like nevertheless furthermore um it can be concluded that which just don't sound like spoken connectors at all right in ielts speaking you need to use spoken linking words now don't worry too much okay because the majority of linking words can be used in both writing and speaking but there are some which are just written linking words and some are just spoken linking words so today we're going to look at those that are just spoken linking words before we get into those linking words today i'm very happy to let you know that today's video is sponsored by woodpecker learning woodpecker learning is a fantastic free video player mobile app built for english learners who want to become english speakers just like you i love it because it makes learning fun and you can learn easily whilst watching things that you enjoy it has over 300 000 videos in english all together in one place and all with subtitles and you can look up words in the subtitles within the app brilliant i'm going to tell you more about that soon but you can download it for free from the links below right now let's get into those linking words now then for all of the linking words today i'm going to take a topic i've chosen a random topic it's actually one of my favorite topics it's food and healthy eating okay i'm going to take some questions that i've just made up these are not ielts questions there are just typical questions you would find in a conversation about healthy eating but the important thing is the linking words you will learn can be used for any topic and to answer any question okay first of all linking words meaning firstly we're going to look at firstly to kick off first off and from the outset or at the outset let's take a question a look at different possible answers you could give using these linking words is it a good idea to always eat healthy food yes it is firstly it helps us feel better but it can also help us live longer right that's quite simple or we can say yes i'd say so uh to kick off a healthy diet helps us feel better and it can also help us live longer right nice so we've got yes i'd say so instead of yes i think so nice change to kick off link kick off to kick off meaning to begin or to start with right to start with to kick off a healthy diet helps us feel better nice or first off i'm inclined to agree but it depends on the situation so here first off again there's a linking first off with a d not a t first off just means to begin with or to start with first off i'm inclined to agree that's a nice expression right i tend to agree i more or less agree i i'm inclined to agree nice or from the outset i'd say yes it is but eating healthy food all the time can also be a tall order sometimes right from the outset right again meaning from the beginning from the outset you can also say at the outset both are okay um i'd say again i'd say yes it is um it can also be a tall order if you've watched the video last week you'll know what that means right difficult at all order great these are different linking words to say firstly and now linking words meaning also we're going to look at also on top of that what's more and come to think of it and the question is what are the benefits of eating healthy food on the one hand you feel better and also you can live longer straightforward right notice with also you can also say and also also or and also it's fine or well obviously you feel better on top of that you have more energy to spend time with family and friends very nice right on top of that right very similar to in addition you can also use in addition when you're speaking right as well as writing and speaking but on top of that is just a little bit more colloquial and shows your control of natural english on top of that top of there's a linking again on top of that and try and get the chunk right don't say on top of that no get the chunk right the piece on top of that on top of that try it on top of that that's it nice great good or well obviously you feel better and come to think of it it's a great way to lose weight now this is a lovely linking word linking phrase actually right and come to think of it we use this when you want to add something you have just thought of or just remembered as you're speaking right and come to think of it it's quite tricky and again you want to get the chunk right say it as one piece right and come to think of it try this with me right just repeat with me um vic of the covet think of it to think of it come to think of it and come to think of it very nice the and becomes an right and and come to think of it that chunk is really nice to practice great so let me ask you then what are the benefits of eating healthy food that's it lovely remember the secret is in the practice keep practicing let's move on next linking words meaning but and we're going to be looking at but mind you but at the same time that's said and here's the question do you eat healthy food yes i do but i must admit i don't eat healthy food every day right yes i do but and then we're giving a contrast right i must admit that's a nice expression it's like i must tell you the truth or to tell you the truth or to be honest i must admit i don't eat healthy food every day or yes i do mind you it's not always that easy so i don't manage to eat healthy food every day yes i do mind you is just very similar to butt and it makes what you said before less strong right i said yes i do mind you then i'm telling the listener i'm going to contradict or say something opposing what i just said or well i try to but at the same time i must confess i don't eat healthy food every day right this is a nice expression i try to but at the same time but at the same time just meaning but right try and get the chunk but at the same time but at the same time if you like your american accent but at the same time but at the same time try but at the same time yeah nice if you can get the chunk that will help your fluency i must confess i don't eat i must confess is the same as i must admit but notice must admit must the t becomes a d sound because we're linking to admit must admit but must confess the t disappears because there's a consonant in confess i must confess right but nice expressions finally yes i do that said it can be a real struggle if you're eating out with friends so no i don't eat healthy food every day okay again with the same meaning yes i do that said so i'm gonna now make what i said less strong lovely it can be a real struggle remember that expression from one of the other videos about adjectives for difficult yeah it can be a real struggle nice let's move on now just before we continue with the the remaining linking words a small point right one of the challenges of learning new linking words or phrases is knowing when and how to use them it's really difficult right but the best way is to see them or hear them in lots of different contexts so this video is a great start but it is just that it's a start and that's why actually i think it's great that woodpecker are sponsoring this video because the woodpecker mobile app has access to thousands of videos where you can see linking words in action right especially if you look for talks like ted talks um chat shows conversations you'll be able to see and hear these linking words a very quick example let me show you one here here is a video it's an example of a ted talk where we can see down below the subtitles so i would like to start by telling you about one of my greatest friends great so i would like to start you can see straight away there we've got a linking to begin right great for starting a part two answer i would like to start i'd like to start i would like to start i would like to start so what i'm doing here is i can stop and repeat that chunk again and again so i can practice the pronunciation and get it fluently as a chunk which is great and then if there are words that i don't understand um i can add them to my dictionary um get the definition and then i have lists of words that are new words that i may want to review later fantastic so a great tool to be learning and practicing new linking words let's carry on with some more linking words next linking words meaning to be honest we're going to be looking at to be honest um quite honestly to be totally upfront and the question is do you sometimes eat fast food to be honest i don't like fast food very much though i might eat it with friends once in a while nice or you could say quite honestly i'm not particularly fond of fast food mind you i might i might eat it with friends once in a while okay the same meaning right exactly the same notice the expression i'm not particularly fond of that's nice i'm not fond of i'm not particularly not very i'm not particularly fond of something right eat it once in a while every now and then sometimes or you can say to be totally upfront i don't like fast food very much but that said i might eat it with friends once in a while the same meaning right great let's move on finally we're looking at the linking words meaning in summary which by the way is a very written linking phrase in summary we wouldn't say that here we're going to look at overall in a nutshell basically here's the question do you sometimes eat fast food i might if i'm with friends but not if i'm alone overall i don't like fast food that much lovely or you could say i might if i'm with friends but not if i'm alone in a nutshell i don't like fast food that much right same meaning or i might if i'm with friends but not if i'm alone basically i don't like fast food that much right all of these meaning the same exactly the same but what about you then do you sometimes eat fast food that's very interesting excellent great moving on great so we've seen lots of spoken linking words today we've looked at synonyms for firstly but also to be honest in summary and i hope you can see how important they are to make yourself clear to help the examiner understand you and to build your fluency the key is in the practice start practicing in your spoken conversations and in your ielts answers and really try to focus on the chunk right try and make the the linking word or phrase into one chunk or one sound and that helps you with your fluency i really do hope that all of this not only helps you become a better english student but actually a better english speaker sounding more natural as you build up fluency and confidence a big thank you again to woodpecker learning for sponsoring this video um you can download the app it's the links are down below it's for free and just notice as you start watching lots and lots more videos you'll start to notice these linking words start noticing them start trying to practice them and if you ever struggle to understand a word with woodpecker just press the word in the captions and you get the definition excellent what a fantastic learning app thank you very much guys at woodpecker learning and thank you to all of you for watching me and for following me i really do appreciate it please do remember subscribe turn on the notifications and leave me a comment right tell me what are you watching on woodpecker learning and which linking word have you noticed recently that's it take care my friends all the best now bye-bye [Music] you

Channel: English Speaking Success

Views: 603,036

Keywords: ielts speaking, ielts keith, ielts speaking tips, ielts speaking tips and tricks for band 9, ielts speaking vocabulary, ielts speaking linking words, ielts linking words and phrases, ielts speaking vocabulary words, connectors ielts speaking, ielts speaking success connectors, advanced connectors and phrases for ielts speaking how to give opinions, linking words, linking words in english, spoken linking words, linking words in spoken english, cohesive devices ielts

Id: a-RIoxqZ-Gc

Length: 20min 54sec (1254 seconds)

Published: Sat May 01 2021