Did the IELTS examiner ask you a difficult question?
Did your mind just go blank?
Today, Lindsay and Jessica share 6 phrases to help you fill that time void!
Taking IELTS?
Get our free IELTS video training course now
If you get asked a question that you can’t immediately answer during your IELTS exam, you don’t want to go silent. It’s important to keep speaking even if you need a moment to decide how to answer the actual question.
Native English speakers use many different phrases to help them do this. It’s important to understand that using a time-filling phrase won’t hurt your score. In fact, it’s likely to improve it!
Here are a few phrases to use if you need a moment to think about how to answer a question during your IELTS exam:
- “Honestly, I am a little bit nervous right now and my mind just went blank.” This says that you’re being honest, and trying. “My mind went blank” is also an idiom.
- “Frankly, this isn’t something I’m used to talking about.” Again, this is honest, and sounds like something a native speaker would say.
- “That’s a good question.” This welcomes good intonation, and that will help your pronunciation score.
Other simple and common English time-fillers:
- “Wow, let me think about that.”
- “I’ve never thought about that before.”
- “Let’s see.”
Which phrases do you plan to use, and why?
Tell us what you think in the comments section below!
Did the IELTS examiner ask you a difficult question?
Did your mind just go blank?
Today, Lindsay and Jessica share 6 phrases to help you fill that time void!
Taking IELTS?
Get our free IELTS video training course now
If you get asked a question that you can’t immediately answer during your IELTS exam, you don’t want to go silent. It’s important to keep speaking even if you need a moment to decide how to answer the actual question.
Native English speakers use many different phrases to help them do this. It’s important to understand that using a time-filling phrase won’t hurt your score. In fact, it’s likely to improve it!
Here are a few phrases to use if you need a moment to think about how to answer a question during your IELTS exam:
“Honestly, I am a little bit nervous right now and my mind just went blank.” This says that you’re being honest, and trying. “My mind went blank” is also an idiom.
“Frankly, this isn’t something I’m used to talking about.” Again, this is honest, and sounds like something a native speaker would say.
“That’s a good question.” This welcomes good intonation, and that will help your pronunciation score.
Other simple and common English time-fillers:
“Wow, let me think about that.”
“I’ve never thought about that before.”
“Let’s see.”
Which phrases do you plan to use, and why?
Tell us what you think in the comments section below!
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Are you looking for a new and fun way to learn American English? Come hang out with Lindsay and Michelle from Boston and New York City and have fun while you improve your English listening skills! We are an English as a Second Language (ESL) podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners around the world. We will show you how to use everyday English vocabulary and natural idioms, expressions, and phrasal verbs and how to make small talk in American English. We will also give you special tips on American culture, customs, etiquette, and how to speak with Americans as well as conversation and commentary on study tips, business English, life in America and Boston and New York, how to apply to university in the US, dating, travel, food and more. You'll get TOEFL, IELTS, and TOEIC help also from The Examiner of Excellence, Jessica Beck. This podcast is for adult students who are professionals and university students as well as ESL teachers. Join the community to learn to speak American English like a native! Connection NOT Perfection!
