There are certain tips and tricks to get a band 5+ for MUET speaking. And all these tips and tricks could be clearly seen in the descriptors for MUET speaking Band 5+ that have been made available by Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM).
The tips among others are such as making your presentation sound natural and the use of idiomatic expressions.
Let’s learn more about these Band 5+ speaking descriptors. Hopefully as a result of knowing these criteria, will guide us into getting a high band for MUET.
MUET Band 5+ descriptors for all skills
These descriptors are no secret. This page above has been taken from the MUET Regulations and Test specifications. You can download the PDF form from the Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM) portal. MPM is very transparent about these descriptors.
Here are the descriptors of the aggregated scores for all the 4 skills in MUET which are the listening, speaking, reading and writing. But in this blog we are only going to look at the MUET speaking descriptors for a band 5+ candidate.
The speaking descriptors are divided into 2 sections: the production and the interaction.
Production refers to the ideas and sentences that you come up with during your speaking test.
Interaction here refers to how you share your points with the other candidates and how you respond to the points that they give.
Let’s take a closer look at the descriptors.
MUET Speaking Descriptors
As you could clearly see, the speaking descriptors contain several bullet points. These bullet points represent the different aspects of what an examiner will want to hear from you.
However looking at all these different items at once would be making this blog a little bit too long.
Due to that, we are only going to be focusing on these four items that I have identified here.
I believe that all these four items could be categorised as easy to follow by students. Hence, I do feel that we should spend some time understanding these four items closely.
By doing so it would give us a clearer idea of what examiners are looking for when a candidate is presenting for both part 1 and part 2. Once we know this, it is going to make our presentation have a better chance of getting a higher band in the MUET speaking test.
Before I start, I would just like to say that – for sure you would have to do the basic things first. These are like answering the question correctly and using appropriate language when presenting to get a Band 5+.
But in this blog, I would like to show you the EASY WAYS of how you can get extra marks in your speaking test for you to achieve Band 5+.
Let’s go through these descriptors of Aggregated scores for a Band 5+ candidate one by one. This is for both the criteria production and interaction.
Sot he first MUET speakiing tip that I would like to share with you to achieve band 5+ is for you to:
1 Sound natural when speaking
“Can present a clear, smoothly-flowing description or argument” are the exact wordings used in the descriptors.
Smooth-flowing means the ideas that you give have a natural flow and development. When you present, it sounds very natural. It also shows your confidence.
What the descriptors mean is that speaking in English is easy and natural for you. You don’t seem like you are struggling to put forward your ideas. So what then would you need to do to achieve this?
One way for you to sound natural when presenting is for you to use certain expressions. Here is a list of such expressions.
Expressions to make your presentation sound natural
Use some of these expressions when presenting in speaking Part 1 and 2
- Personally I feel that
- From my point of view
- I believe that
- In my opinion
- I strongly believe that
- I would say that
- It is in my belief that
By using these expressions before you make your point will certainly enhance your presentation. What you say would sound like it is your real, personal opinion.
Using these phrases is in line with the first descriptor that I have highlighted earlier. That is to make what you say sound smooth-flowing and natural. You could use these phrases before making your point.
Let’s now go to the next MUET speaking tip to get a Band 5+.
2 Use sentence connectors
The next thing I want to highlight is that your presentation should have a “..logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.”
Three important items are highlighted here.
- Your presentation has a logical structure
- The listeners should notice your points
- They should remember what you said
One way of acheiving all these when you speak is by using sentence connectors and conjunctions.
List of Sentence Connectors
Sentence connectors are linking words that you can use to join two sentences. They improve the flow of your speech.
Moreover, sentence connectors give your presentation a smooth movement from one idea to another. This is of course in line with the second descriptor that I have highlighted above.
There are a few other types of sentence connectors but I have chosen three to focus on. They are the sentence connectors to show addition, contrast and result.
You can use sequence connectors to show addition when you want to add a point, an idea or an example to your speech.
Moreover, I would like to stress that it is very good for you to use firstly, secondly etc. when you want to introduce a point. This is due to the fact that by using these sequence connectors will give your presentation structure which is as you know is one of the descriptors for a Band 5+ presentation.
Next is that you can use sequence connectors to show contrast. Use this type of connectors when you want to say something that is different from what you have said before.
Also, are the sequence connectors used to show results and effects. Using connectors that show cause and effect clearly highlights the connection and relationship between one event or one point to another.
Let’s now look at another tip for you to be a Band 5+ candidate in MUET speaking.
3 Can take part effortlessly in any conversation
Here are the descriptors for the category under interaction. There are 3 bullet points given but we are focusing on only the first item which is “..can take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion”.
Effortless means you are able to do something without much effort. This means that you do not seem to have any trouble expressing yourself in English. You look relaxed when speaking.
One way to make your presentation sound effortless is for you to use conjunctions. Conjunctions are words that link words, phrases and clauses together.
Let’s now look at the examples of conjunctions.
List of Conjunctions
Conjunctions are linking words that you can use to combine two ideas in a sentence. By using conjunctions, you are showing a logical relationship between ideas within a sentence.
Using these will make your speech sound effortless. You can use these conjunctions to make your presentation flow smoothly. This as we know is in line with the third descriptor that I have highlighted earlier.
These are the 3 types of conjunctions.
The types of conjunctions are such as the coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions and the subordinationg conjunctions. You do not really need to remember these names.
What is more important is that you understand their meanings and are able to use them correctly in your sentences.
So, these are some examples of coordinating conjunctions. You use coordinating conjunctions to link together parts of a sentence.
Next is the correlative conjunction. Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that work together to link parts of a sentence.
Subordinating conjunctions are linking words that join one clause in a sentence to another clause. A clause is part of a sentence – like a verb phrase is clause. A verb phrase is made up of a verb and an object.
Let’s now move on to the last part of the descriptors. The final tip for the speaking paper is for you to:
4 Use idiomatic expressions
The fourth item that I want to highlight from the descriptors is that you must show “familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialism”. Idiomatic expressions are the use of idioms when you are speaking.
Colloquialism means using ordinary language like when you are talking to a friend. It is less formal.
Using idioms can make something that you want to say sound simpler and easier to understand. Using idioms is of course in line with the fourth descriptor that I have highlighted before. To be a band 5+ candidate you would need to use idioms in your speech and to use them correctly.
But I need to point out one thing. You should not use too many idioms at one time. It will make what you want to say sound a little bit odd. So, 2-3 idioms for your presentation will do.
I have listed here some idioms that are quite useful for your Part 1 and Part 2 speaking.
Read and memorise some of these idioms. Identify others that you think are useful. Memorise them for you to use in your MUET speaking Part 1 and Part 2.
What other idioms do you think are useful for you to remember? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.
