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When something good happens to your friends or family members, what will you do to express your happiness? Of Course the first thing that you will do is congratulate them.
But do you know there are many different ways to congratulate someone. Learn these synonyms for congratulations to increase your vocabulary and improve your communication skills.
Do you also say OK OK a lot?
Stop saying “OK” or “Okay”. Learn different ways of saying “OK” in English. These are a couple of them! Learn these words and use them in your daily English conversation.
Do you know any more synonyms of OK? Let us know in the comment section.
Keep learning and keep practicing!
Do you know the difference between ‘Anyone’ and ‘Any One’ ? When to use which word is quite confusing.
So, to reduce your confusion, let’s check the difference between them in the post below.
Do you know how to say “Nervous” in different ways? Let’s check its synonyms below!
Learning to use these synonyms effectively can help you better communicate with others and also improves your vocabulary.
There is a confusion among all English learners – whether to use filler words or not. Are fillers actually bad to use while speaking? So to give a clear picture, I am here back again to talk about “Should we use filler words?”. If Yes, When should you use filler words and where to use it?And by the end of this article, there is a tip to help you minimize the over use of filler words.
Fillers are some meaningless words or phrases that English speakers use to fill up gaps or pauses between sentences they speak. I would consider them as ‘helping words’ that helps you to think what to speak next. In simple words, filler words are used to avoid silence in a conversation and give you a moment to contemplate.
You can make your conversation more lively and remove awkward silence using filler words. So break the myth of considering yourself as a bad English speaker even if you use fillers.
You meet so many people during the entire day, it is impossible to script your dialogue. To avoid monotony in your speech, you use fillers.
If you have heard or listened to any English speaker, they use fillers in their conversation.
Let me explain this to you with an example – One of the most important ingredients in your kitchen is Salt. If you do not add it – the food will have no flavour at all. But if you add more than required – it will ruin the dish.
In a similar fashion, fillers add flavour to your speech. However, excessive use of filler words like umm, uh, yeah, okay will showcase hesitation, lack of words, nervousness and fear.
Let me share with you all the filler words that you can apply while talking to a friend or making a conversation with anyone.
Do remember that filler words actually have no meaning. Any word that you use and has a meaning, is not a filler word.
Have a look at the conversation below with the use of filler expressions.
Mom : “ How was your day?”
Sam : “ Uh, It was quite tiresome.”
Mom : “ Oh! What did you do ?”
Sam : “ umm..Slept all day.”
Mom : Then you are tired of what?
Sam : “ umm..uh..er..tired of sleeping ! “
Fillers words are not just words but expressions. This is the reason people have started using these filler words not only at the time of speaking but also sending messages. Just to make it look more expressive and fun.
Like means you mean something not known exactly.
“ We can have like ten topics for the school project,”
“ I got like ten dollars.”
You use ‘I mean’ when you want to explain a point but not getting the exact words.
“ I mean it was a great event.”
“ I mean the science museum is a decade old.”
‘I guess’ shows that you are confused or hesitant to speak.
“ I guess I know the answer to that question.”
“ I guess they are going to the restaurant.”
‘Okay’ is a word that shows you are agreeing to something or can be sign to show that you are accepting something.
“Okay ! We will reach the site.”
“ Okay ! I am ready for the plan.”
Umm/uh/er are pause breakers or words usually when you need time to answer.
“ Umm.. that can be a great idea”
“ I know..uh..it was an octopus.”
Imagine, when you use any of these words nearly ten times in a sentence. How would it sound? Quite inappropriate to sound and eventually eliminates the essence of your words. It will also undermine the message of what you speak.
Look, you must know when to use fillers. It is quite normal to use fillers during a conversation with a friend. If you make it a habit, your words will be out of control.
You will end up using fillers in situations like, while giving an interview or giving a presentation or delivering an important message.
Fillers are not a symbol of confidence. The lesser you use it, the better the conversation will be!
One best way to minimize the excessive use of fillers and overcome this habit of yours is to slow down and contemplate while speaking. Even if you use it, eliminate the word and substitute or replace it with some meaningful words.
The next activity you can do to avoid using fillers is – Speaking ten to fifteen minutes speaking on a topic without any use of fillers. This could be more effective when you talk to someone who can heckle or stop you from doing so.
It is definitely not an overnight thing -It will take consistent practice to see improvement.
To conclude this topic – my final advice is that you should use the fillers but not repetitively.
Do you know that learning English can be super easy? You just have to stop playing by the rules instead focus on enjoying the language as a communication tool.
You would ask how’s that possible?
Well it is possible and it’s called an implicit method of learning skills – for example how did you learn your mother tongue?
Did you learn it from textbooks? Did you follow certain rules when you started?
Nope!
You learnt it by listening and speaking – that’s all. And that is what is called implicit learning.
Our brain is designed to learn a new language way faster implicitly than following the textbook route ( memorizing grammar rules, vocabulary etc. )
Honestly speaking, anything that bores you – stop doing it & instead focus on activities that you enjoy. When you enjoy it your brain picks up the information quickly and helps you learn faster.
So how to get started with implicit learning for English?
Implicit learning involves some activities that will help you climb each step slowly and steadily towards attaining English proficiency.
Step no. 1 : Forget about rules that limit you or hold you back from speaking. Rules are not just to be memorized but also to be implemented.
Step no. 2 : Find a mentor or a group with whom you can talk in English on a daily basis. Practicing with mentors on a daily basis will help you to deal with hesitation. After all, to master English fluency, you need to speak.
Step no. 3 : Imitate your mentor or anyone who inspires you – it will help you to copy their speaking style. Just like you did with your parents when you were a baby. The changes in your fluency won’t be overnight and drastic but noticeable in time.
Step no. 4 : Don’t let mistakes drag you down, instead use them as a stepping stone to raise your English level. When you start to listen and surround yourself with English content more, you learn to detect your mistakes.
Step no. 5 : Don’t learn words instead focus on learning phrases. Learning phrases helps in learning a language faster. Why so ? This is because when you learn a phrase, you know how to imply it to sentences.
Step no. 6 : Develop a sense of what sounds right and what not. Similar to how you know when someone makes a wrong sentence in your mother tongue – try to develop the same kind of relationship with the English language.
Step no. 7 : Listen to songs or watch movies and repeat the dialogue until you get the proper tone and pronunciation( But only in English).
Step no. 8 : Challenge yourself on a daily basis to speak in English on different topics. Speaking on different topics and situations will help you explore new ideas and boost the confidence within you to open your mouth and speak.
Step no. 9: Whenever you are confused, clear the confusion about the grammar rules with the example of the sentences that you are confused with. Always focus on application of the rule you are confused with instead of the rule itself. Rules are important but knowing their application is more important – because that’s how you apply them in your everyday life.
Now if we go on speaking about the steps, it would end up being infinite. Improving your speaking skills is not just about following multiple activities. But it is about effectively doing it. And most importantly, Speaking in English daily takes the precedence over anything else. Unless you speak, you cannot apply any rule, you cannot use any vocabulary.
Speaking in English should be part of your daily schedule just like eating & sleeping. Take help of EngVarta Experts – who will help you Practice English daily. In this way, you will implicitly improve your English more faster & effortlessly.
For Regular English Practice with Expert: Download EngVarta Mobile App
You have a dream to pursue a career in a foreign country or work in a company abroad & that is the reason you’re appearing for the IELTS. Maybe it’s your first attempt or maybe it’s your 2nd – this article will give you the methods which will surely improve your chances to ace the test ( if applied correctly).
If you’re new to the IELTs program and want to learn about the test pattern & the efforts required to achieve your target ielts score, read this article – IELTS Exam – Everything you need to know.
The IELTS exam consists of 4 sections – Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
For some students, the Listening section is difficult while for others, the most difficult part is Writing. But according to surveys on IELTS tests and it’s modules, Speaking test turns out to be the most challenging part of IELTS for many students.
And it’s obvious as well because most of us did not get the environment to practice speaking in English during our school days. We always took English as a subject of study and have feared speaking in English because of mistakes.
So since the speaking test is the most challenging part – let’s try to understand how you can improve yourself in that arena.
The score of speaking test depend on following parameters :
The examiner will check whether you can comprehend the question and answer accurately. Here accuracy doesn’t mean having subject knowledge instead how fluently you can speak without making mistakes & breaking a sweat.
The topics of the IELTS Exams are based mostly on your family, interest, career, education, culture, or country – these are the topics that you are generally familiar with – so all you need is practice to express yourself effortlessly.
Now let’s look at the tips on how to prepare for the speaking test of the IELTS exam or how to increase your IELTS speaking score.
Let us first apprehend what Implicit learning is. The main goal of Implicit learning is understanding practically instead of mugging it up and bore yourself with information.
Let me ask you a question, how did you learn following skills:
Did you go through any formal training for these skills – like reading a rule book and then following that?
Nope! Right?
You learnt these skills just by observing and trying yourself. And you weren’t great in the beginning however you embraced the failures and made it your mission to master these skills and look – how easily you can perform these tasks now.
Studies have shown that people learned fast when they followed the implicit method of learning English. Here are some real life examples to backup what I am saying :
[Jhanvi panwar a girl from a village in Haryana who mastered English fluency at the age of just 9 in 3 different accents ] Watch her video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoLvWtJ0-xo
Jhanvi had parents who pushed her to do better in her life but now let’s look at another extraordinary example of women from Rajasthan who had no education but she is able to understand and speak in English. Watch the video to know more about her story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4SqJGmdG8
Learn – How can Implicit Learning help you improve your Spoken English for IELTS?
In Part 2 of the speaking test, you will have a face to face conversation with the examiner. In this interaction the examiner will ask you to speak on a given topic for 1 to 2 mins.
Let me tell you that there are a majority of people who feel nervous while talking to other people in English. If you also feel the same, here are some efficient and easy tips to improve your English communication skills and confidence.
Learning and memorizing vocabulary can be an uphill battle for some.
It is for me !
And our purpose is to make life easier for you.
Flashcard is a go-to option if you hate memorizing vocabulary.
So, this activity-based learning can help you to learn vocabulary and use them in your daily English conversation.
The method is very simple. All you need to do is write the word on one side of the paper and the meaning on the other side. You can also use pictures to have a better understanding of the word.
In case, If you find it difficult to choose words on a daily basis. You can Subscribe to EngVarta’s vocabulary series for learning new words each day. This series will help you discover new words on a daily basis with weekly revision and activities.
There are many free websites and mobile applications where you can learn new words using Flashcard and improve your English speaking skills for IELTS.
Free IELTS Vocabulary Flashcards – This website will provide you with 200 IELTS vocabulary for making a better impression during your speaking test.
Vocabulary Flashcards – This website will provide you flashcards in alphabetical order. You will be able to learn the meaning of the word along with the synonyms and antonyms.
IELTS Speaking exam is an intense one on one interview between you and the examiner. The 11 – 16 minutes of conversation will check how accurate & comfortable you are in speaking English.
It is important that while doing your preparations, you get a mentor who can help you in preparing and speaking effortlessly.
Since you will be asked questions based on your life and profession – a natural tone and an effortless way of answering is important to clear the test. A mentor who has prior experience on IELTS or someone who has already cleared the test is the best person to guide you during this phase.
While doing your practice, it is important that someone points your grammatical error and gives you constructive feedback.
If you wish to practice with live English experts sitting at the comfort of your home – Go for EngVarta app. It is a platform where live English experts focus on your English speaking skills, correct your mistakes, guides you and motivates you.
Checkout this video to know more about how EngVarta English Practice session works.
It’s all about copying what you like – the way you copy a good style from someone the same way it’s time to copy & learn speaking style from others.
Just like babies do – whatever they see they copy it. They will copy the way you act, talk or walk everything…
Sounds familiar right?…
The same thing happens when you start watching a lot of English movies and shows. For instance, I used to watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S and started speaking like Joey ( my fav. Character from the show ). No kidding!
Speech shadowing is rarely used but it’s a very effective technique to gain fluency in any language. To do this you simply need to listen to an English content and then repeat it in your words in the exact way that person did. When I say the exact way, try to match the tone, pronunciation and energy level. This is a very existing exercise.
English Learners at EngVarta do this on a daily basis – after their conversation with a Live expert – they are advised to listen to their call recording imagining that they are the expert in that call. They repeat what the experts are saying how they are saying it; this helps them improve their sentence structure, pronunciation & accent. Next day they sound a little more like their experts.
Try it and let me know if you experience the same.
If you ask me what are the benefits of doing Speech shadowing. This is what I have to say :
There is always a confusion among the candidates whether they should use or avoid filler words while giving the IELTS speaking test. However, if you have heard a native English speaker, you must have realized that they often use filler words which actually makes it sound like a conversation rather than a monotonous speech.
To not make the article longer, we have crafted a separate article for Filler words where we have thoroughly written about What are fillers words & Is it good to use them?
So, these are some methods that you can use to help yourself practice for the speaking test and ace it. Even if you speak English at a beginner level, you can adapt all these methods to improve English for the IELTS exam.
Speaking in English may seem difficult or you may hesitate when you start to do it. But with consistent practice, it will soon become a habit. Even if you speak English at a beginner level, you can adapt all these methods to improve English for the IELTS exam.
IELTs exam is just to ensure you are comfortable with the language and you’re able to express yourself without any hiccups. In simple words English comes easily to you.
If you start sweating while speaking in English – try to relax and think of it as a tool of communication to express yourself – that’s all. And embrace mistakes and learn from them. Don’t let the mistakes bring you down instead you turn them into stepping stones to raise your English speaking level.
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. This is the world’s most popular English language test that is conducted 48 times a year with 1200 centers in nearly 140 countries. The IELTS exam is required for migration as well as for academic purposes in countries like Australia, US, UK, New Zealand and Canada.
The IELTS exam checks whether you are able to speak English effortlessly without fumbling or hesitation.
The exam checks your proficiency in Reading, Writing, Speaking and listening skills in English.
IELTS has two kinds of test that you can appear for
The listening & speaking test is similar in both General and Academic training tests however for the reading and writing test it’s format is different.
IELTS General training is for those who are looking for work or jobs abroad. It is also required if you are planning for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and UK. The tasks and the test reflect both workplace and social situations.
Whereas the IELTS Academic training is for those who wish to study abroad for colleges or universities. It covers the topics suitable for entering a university or professional institute.
There is often a lot of confusion among students and professionals regarding how these two training differs.
Before you register yourself for the IELTS test, it is good to check and verify, what your goal is.
General Training is for those who want to
Academic training is for those who –
IELTS test scores are calculated from a range of 1 to 9 depending on the scale. So there is nothing such as passing or failing. The final scores are calculated to the nearest tens. For instance, if you score 6.5, it becomes 7.
The candidates target their band score depending on the country they wish to migrate. Bands are allotted by analyzing their performance in the Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing skills. :
The IELTS band score requirement for different countries is completely different. Canada requires the least band score, i.e, 6 whereas Germany requires a band on a higher side that is 7.5 or 8+.
Take a look over some of the IELTS accepting countries and their maximum band score requirement. However, these requirements may vary from country to country.
| RANK | COUNTRY | BAND SCORE |
| 1 | Canada | 6.5 |
| 2 | Australia | 7 |
| 3 | United kingdoms | 7.5 |
| 4 | USA | 7 |
| 5 | France | 6.7 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 7 |
| 7 | Greece | 6.7 |
| 8 | Spain | 6.7 |
| 9 | Italy | 6.6 |
| 10 | Ireland | 6.5 |
In both the training – The listening, writing and reading test are conducted on the same day. However the speaking test can be given 3 days before or after the date of the IELTS exam.
The time duration of both the tests is 2 hours and 45 minutes. For preparation of the IELTS exam, you can try a mock test to access your abilities.
https://www.ielts-exam.net/mock-test
Do get a detailed information about each section of IELTS test conducted in the official website : https://www.ielts.org/
Duration : 30 minutes
Number of questions : 40
Task : You will listen to four recordings of native speakers and write your answer to a series of questions.
Marks : One mark for each correct answer
Recording 1 – General conversation
Recording 2 – General monologue
Recording 3 – Academic conversation
Recording 4 – Academic monologue
ALERT : You will be allowed to listen to each recording only once.
TASK FOCUS : Your ability to understand the factual information and the main idea of the recording will be assessed. You will need to understand the conversation in the recording and relationship and connections between facts in the given text.
Do give a try to this IELTS listening practice test:
https://ieltsonlinetests.com/ielts-mock-test-2021-january-listening-practice-test-1
IELTS READING TEST
Duration : 60 minutes
Number of questions : 40
Task : The Reading test will consist of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. This includes reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical arguments and recognizing writers opinions and purpose.
Marks : Each question is worth one mark.
How are the IELTS Academic reading test and General reading test different?
The IELTS Academic test has topics suitable for anyone entering universities or professional institutes. However, the IELTS General test includes topics based on general interest.
Click on this link to practice some of General IELTS Reading test –
Duration : 60 minutes
No. of questions : 2
Task 1 : You will be presented with a graph, table, chart, diagram to summarize or explain the information in your own words. You may be asked to describe and explain data.
Task 2 : You will be asked to write an answer in response to the view, arguments or problems.
Both tasks should have a formal response.
Duration : 11 -15 MINUTES
No. of parts : 4 parts of the speaking test
Each test is recorded.
PART 1 ( 4 – 5 minutes)
The examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies and interest.
PART 2 ( 2 minutes)
You will be given a card which asks to talk on a particular topic. You will be given a minute to prepare for the topic. After you have finished speaking, the examiner will ask you a question or two.
PART 3 ( 4 – 5 minutes)
You will be asked further questions about the topic in part 2. These questions will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues.
In the Speaking test, Candidates are mistaken that accents are also part of the test. But the speaking test only checks your English language proficiency, fluency, understanding of the language, clarity and grammar.
Speaking test turns out to be the most challenging part of IELTS for many students. Read this blog to improve your spoken English for the IELTS Exam.
IELTS demands top notch preparations. A right mentor can guide you and lead you to the best way to prepare for the test. Listening, speaking, reading and writing requires different strategies. When it comes to speaking, EngVarta has made sure to provide a complete English practice environment where students are able to speak unconsciously without the fear of being judged by anyone.
Good wishes for your IELTS Exam preparations !
Mastering English Fluency isn’t as difficult as it might seem. If you’re interested in finding the easiest & proven path to mastering English fluency in 2025 then keep reading:
Just invest 30 minutes per day to follow these 3 simple steps & nothing can stop you from becoming a confident English speaker in 2025.
1. 
Listen to English
Listening is important for you to adapt the language; remember the time when you were a child, you started speaking your mother tongue just by listening to people around you. The same way a kid born in UK learnt to speak English by listening to others. So by listening you are giving food to your brain & that’s the first step towards mastering English fluency.
2. 
Learn new words
A lot of the time people are unable to speak fluently because they don’t get the right words at the right time and that is the number one fluency killer and to solve this problem you can make a simple rule to learn 3 new words every day. It will make a lot of difference over a period.
No need to struggle for finding the words – you can subscribe to EngVarta’s vocabulary series ( Free of cost ) to receive 3 new words in your inbox every morning, along with a weekly summary and assignments. Watch this video to learn more about it.
2. ️
Practice with Experts
There is a good saying – you can’t learn swimming just by reading the manual or watching videos – you need to actually get in the water & try it for yourself. Therefore along with listening to English and learning new words you need to speak in English on regular basis.
The number one roadblock for major learners at this step is – what if I made mistakes? I understand we are grown-ups and grownups don’t like to make mistakes but you and I both know the mistakes are bound to happen when you’re trying to learn a new skill. No one becomes perfect without making mistakes & learning from them.
Now the key point here is that you need to practice speaking in English with someone, with whom you do not have fear of making mistakes and also that someone who can guide you motivate you to do better. The live English Experts at EngVarta helps you with exactly that.
To achieve your English fluency goal in 2025 start now and SAVE up to 40% on your English practice.
If you face any problem reply to this email and our support team will help you.
All the very best!
Happy New Year 
Dear User,
We value your constant interest in improving your English communication & appreciate the everyday efforts that you put in your English practice with yourself & with experts at EngVarta. For this Christmas to make your English practice more affordable we are offering up to 55% discount on our plans.
How to get the Discount :
It’s simple – You can avail upto 40% discount on the plans listed in the App & to get a 15% extra discount use coupon: SANTA at the checkout.
If you have any questions – just write us at care@engvarta.com and our support team will help you.
Merry Christmas!
Team EngVarta
