AEE IELTS: How to Buy Time on the Speaking Test with 6 Key Phrases

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!

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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!