Week 6 begins — The Science of Speaking Better. This week moves from what to practise to how to practise. The research on skill acquisition is clear: the method matters more than the hours. Candidates who plateau after months of practice are almost always using the wrong method.
Why naive practice stops producing improvement
- Answer IELTS questions repeatedly
- No specific target per session
- No feedback on the target
- Works on autopilot after a while
- Produces confidence, not new skill
- One specific, measurable target
- Immediate feedback on that target
- Slightly uncomfortable — at the edge
- Requires full mental engagement
- Produces actual skill improvement
Naive practice is not useless. It builds confidence, familiarity, and fluency at your current level. But it does not raise that level. Improvement requires deliberate practice — targeted, feedback-driven, intentionally difficult.
Specificity is what turns practice into progress
Before every practice session, write down one specific target. Not "speak better" — that's unmeasurable. A real target sounds like: "use zero filler words in every answer", "use at least one conditional sentence per answer", "vary intonation on the main content word of every sentence".
With a specific target, you know immediately whether each attempt succeeded. That knowledge — success or failure against a clear criterion — is what drives skill development. Without it, you're just making noise.
Structure every practice session the same way
1. Set target — write it down before you start. One specific skill.
2. Practice — answer 3–5 IELTS questions with that target as your only focus. Don't try to improve anything else.
3. Review immediately — did you hit the target on each answer? If not, what specifically went wrong? Adjust and repeat until consistent. Then move to the next target.