For most Nigerian candidates applying to study, work or migrate abroad, the IELTS Speaking test is the single most nerve-wracking 11 to 14 minutes of the entire exam.

Unlike Listening or Reading, there is no answer sheet to fall back on, and the pressure of speaking directly to a trained examiner can make it easy to freeze or, just as damagingly, over-prepare until you sound robotic.

The good news is that the test is graded against four public, named criteria, rather than a vague impression of how confident you sounded. Understanding exactly what each criterion rewards can therefore be one of the fastest ways to improve your band score.

Understand what the examiner is listening for

Every Speaking test is scored equally across four categories: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation, each worth 25 percent of the final band.

Fluency and Coherence measures whether you can keep talking without excessive hesitation, and whether your ideas connect logically rather than jumping around.

Lexical Resource measures the range and precision of your vocabulary, including whether you can paraphrase a question instead of repeating the examiner’s own words back at them.

Grammatical range and accuracy looks at how varied and accurate your sentence structures are, from simple statements to more complex clauses using words like although, because, or if.

Pronunciation covers clarity, stress, and intonation, not whether you sound like a native speaker from a particular country.

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This last point matters enormously for Nigerian candidates specifically: a Nigerian accent does not lower your score. IELTS examiners are trained to assess intelligibility, not accent neutrality, and both the British Council and IELTS Australia explicitly confirm that speaking with an accent is not penalised as long as your pronunciation is clear enough to be understood without strain.

What actually costs marks is mumbling, running words together so meaning is lost, or shifting stress patterns so unpredictably that the examiner has to work to follow you. Focus your practice on clarity, not on erasing an accent that was never the problem.

Never memorise answers

One of the biggest mistakes candidates can make in the Speaking test is relying on a memorised response, particularly in Part 2, the two-minute monologue based on a task card.

Examiners listen to many candidates and are trained to recognise rehearsed language, whether it is a pre-written answer or a generic template adapted to whatever topic appears.

A scripted answer can sound stiff, contain unnaturally advanced vocabulary that does not match the rest of the candidate’s speech, or ignore the specific details of the task card in favour of prepared content.

When an examiner detects this, it can affect your Fluency and Coherence score because genuine coherence comes from responding directly to what was asked, rather than delivering a monologue prepared in advance.

The solution is not to avoid preparation. Instead, prepare a structure rather than memorising sentences.

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For Part 2, practise a flexible structure that covers the setup, specific details, a turning point or reflection, and what you think about the subject now. Then fill that structure with fresh details based on the topic you receive on test day.

This gives you the organisation examiners reward without the unnatural delivery of a memorised script.

Use natural fillers and steady pace, not dramatic slowdown

It is perfectly acceptable to pause briefly to think. Natural fillers such as “That’s an interesting question” or “Let me think about that” can give you time to organise a more complex response without necessarily costing you marks.

Used sparingly, such phrases can sound like normal discourse markers rather than signs of weakness.

However, dramatically slowing down your speech to avoid mistakes is not a good strategy.

Multiple examiner-facing sources emphasise that speaking too slowly can be just as problematic as speaking too quickly. Fluency and Coherence partly involve how naturally your language flows, and an overly cautious pace can make your speech sound unnatural or uncertain.

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The target is a steady, natural pace — similar to how you would explain something to a friend. You do not need to race through your answers, but you also should not deliberately stretch every sentence.

If you genuinely do not understand a question, do not guess or pretend you do. Politely asking the examiner to repeat or rephrase the question is explicitly stated by the British Council to have no effect on your score.

That is safer than answering a question you did not understand, because an irrelevant or confused response can affect your coherence more than a brief request for clarification.

Use idioms only when they actually fit

Rare or idiomatic vocabulary can contribute to a strong Lexical Resource score, as the official descriptors reward the natural use of less common and idiomatic vocabulary.

The key word, however, is naturally.

Using an idiom simply because you memorised it from a study list can work against you if it does not fit the context, is mispronounced or sounds rehearsed.

An expression that is forced into an answer can make your speech sound unnatural and may suggest that you are relying on memorised language rather than demonstrating genuine vocabulary range.

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One or two well-placed idiomatic expressions used correctly and naturally can therefore be more useful than filling your answers with several memorised phrases.

If you are not confident about an expression or it does not come to you naturally, use a clear, simple sentence instead. A natural response is preferable to a complicated phrase that is confused, forced or mispronounced.

FAQs

Does a strong Nigerian accent negatively impact an applicant’s final IELTS speaking score?

No. Examiners assess pronunciation for clarity and intelligibility, not for how closely you sound like a native speaker of a specific variety of English. A Nigerian accent is not penalised as long as your speech is clear enough to be easily understood; unclear articulation or unpredictable stress patterns are what actually cost marks, regardless of accent.

What should a candidate do if they completely misunderstand the examiner’s question?

Ask the examiner to repeat or rephrase it. This is explicitly permitted and, according to the British Council, does not affect your score. Guessing at an answer to a question you didn’t understand is far riskier, since it can produce an off-topic or confused response that damages your Coherence score.

How does using rare idioms correctly boost the Lexical Resource score in the IELTS exam?

Correctly used idiomatic language demonstrates the range and flexibility that the official Band 7 and above descriptors specifically call for, which can meaningfully lift a Lexical Resource score. The key word is correctly: a forced, mispronounced, or contextually awkward idiom has the opposite effect, since examiners are trained to notice when an expression sounds rehearsed or doesn’t fit the sentence around it.
(TRIBUNE)

Former Edo State deputy governor, Marvellous Omobayo, on Friday escaped a three-month imprisonment for contempt of court after the intervention of his counsel, Ken Mozia, SAN, his apology and an agreement reached with former Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu to resolve the matter out of court.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja disclosed during Friday’s proceedings that, his ruling in the matter was ready and that, he had been prepared to commit Omobayo to the Kuje Correctional Centre for three months without an option of fine.

The judge, however, took into consideration the apology and remorse expressed by Omobayo and the steps taken by both parties to resolve the dispute.

Justice Omotosho said the proposed jail term was intended to serve as a warning to public officials, particularly members of the executive and legislative arms of government, against disobeying court orders.

According to the judge, “Let me just tell you, I would have sent you to three months imprisonment with no option of fine. I wanted to use you as an example for others, especially the executive and legislature, who are always in the habit of disobeying court rulings.”

Justice Omotosho said, judgement of the court must be obeyed and that, the sanctity of the temple of Justice must also be protected and warned Omodayo not to make any attempt to disobey a valid order of court.

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The judge consequently vacated the delivery of the ruling in the contempt proceedings which arose from a judgment he delivered on July 17, 2024, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/478/2024, in which the court voided Shaibu’s impeachment as Deputy Governor of Edo State and ordered his reinstatement.

The court had held that the Edo State House of Assembly failed to comply with due process in impeaching Shaibu and that the allegation of gross misconduct relied upon by the lawmakers was untenable in law.

Omobayo, who was sworn in as deputy governor on April 8, 2024, following Shaibu’s impeachment, was subsequently accused of refusing to vacate the office despite the court’s judgment and
Shaibu consequently commenced contempt proceedings against Omobayo.

During Friday’s proceedings, Omobayo expressed regret over his actions and apologised to the court and Shaibu.
In an affidavit he deposed to, which he read before the court, Omobayo described himself as the alleged contemnor and said he regretted the actions that led to the contempt proceedings.

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He apologised for any inconvenience caused to the court and the judgment creditor, insisting that he did not intend to disrespect the court or disregard its July 17, 2024 judgment.

Omobayo further undertook not to engage in any conduct that would violate or disobey the judgment and also undertook not to present or describe himself as the Deputy Governor of Edo State in official or private correspondence, public functions, publications, social media communications or otherwise.

He similarly undertook not to exercise or purport to exercise any powers, functions, privileges or responsibilities attached to the office of Deputy Governor of Edo State, in accordance with the judgment and subsisting orders of the court.

The development followed an earlier request by Mozia, SAN on September 23 for more time to enable the parties to complete negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute.

Mozia told the court that his team had met with Shaibu’s lead counsel, Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, and that extensive discussions had taken place and had agreed on what to do.

The lawyer appealed to the court for additional time for the parties to reconcile their positions.

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Shaibu’s counsel, Kunle Lawal, confirmed that reconciliation efforts were ongoing and did not oppose the request for a short adjournment, a request the judge granted and subsequently adjourned the matter to Friday for ruling.

The judge noted that it was unusual for him to suspend a ruling on the day it was scheduled to be delivered, but said he granted the request out of respect for the senior counsel and because of the ongoing reconciliation.

The contempt charge, dated September 13, 2024, was filed by Ogunleye on September 19, 2024.

Shaibu had sued the Inspector-General of Police, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, the Attorney-General, the Chief Judge of Edo State, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly and the Edo State House of Assembly as defendants in the substantive suit.

The July 17, 2024 judgment subsequently became the basis of the contempt proceedings against Omobayo following his continued occupation of the deputy governor’s office.
(TRIBUNE)

Foundation for the Development of Shira Community (FODESCO) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi state has commended the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for conducting a pioneer training on Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigation (EFFI) for 50 licensed engineering practitioners across the country.

Engr. Shehu Wakili, the Chairman of the Foundation made the commendation in an interview with newsmen on Friday.

According to him, the training which was conducted by COREN in collaboration with the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), was to equip engineers and professionals from academia, industry, and government MDAs with practical skills to investigate infrastructure failures and prevent recurring building collapses.

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He added that the training was also to build a pool of trained specialists who could investigate building collapses and other engineering failures, determine their root causes, and recommend measures to prevent recurrence, saying that the trainees would form part of a register of trained and certified forensic engineering investigators.

He further lauded COREN for the subsequent induction of its member, Engr. Abdullahi Muhammad MNSE, who among the 50 participants, hails from Bauchi state as a Chartered Engineering Forensic and Failure Investigator (CEFFI), certified by CIFCFIN.

“FODESCO is proud of him and wishes him well in all his endeavours”, he prayed.

Wakili, also the Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Bauchi state chapter, revealed that the training covered failure analysis, forensic investigation methodologies, risk assessment, and professional reporting.

“This initiative supports broader efforts by COREN and the National Assembly to enforce stricter building codes, identify quackery, and ensure accountability across the construction sector,” he said.