Aptis reading Test: General Tips and Strategies

Tell me what you see in the photographs. 

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1-
What do these people have in common? 
2-
Which of these achievements is more special? Why? 
Part 4: Discuss personal experiences and opinion on an abstract topic
You will be asked three questions on a single topic and given one minute to prepare an answer. You can take brief notes and 
use these to help structure your answer. You are expected to talk for two minutes. 
1.
Tell me about a time when you were stressed out. 
2.
What made you feel that way? 
3.
What are some ways of coping with stress? 
How are the APTIS results presented and scored?
There are four marking criteria which will be used to assess your speaking:

Fluency an Cohesion (25%)

Vocabulary (25%) 

Grammar (25%) 

Pronunciation (25%) 
Speaking is given a numerical score between 0-50, contributing to a Final Scale Score out of 200. Each of these 
are aligned to a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Level of A1-C for each skill as 
well as one for the Final Overall Score. 
For further information, please visit British Council website here. 
Top Tips and Strategies for The APTIS Speaking Test 
Tip 1: Understand the questions and respond appropriately and fully 
Make sure you understand the questions and respond appropriately and fully. Try to explain or expand your answers. Listen 
carefully to the question and listen for the stressed words which give you the meaning. When you answer a question, you can 
expand by giving examples and reasons. Practice by first answering the question and then explaining the when, where, and why.
Tip 2: Use your preparation time in section four efficiently 
Again, you must make sure you understand the questions and respond appropriately and fully. You are expected to talk for 
two minutes and you have three questions. Remember that is only 40 seconds a question and practice this with a timer before the 
exam. You can use the same technique for all your answers. Give a general answer and then be more specific. Give examples, 
reasons, and results.
Tip 3: Keep your notes short and simple 
Keep your notes short and simple and think about how to structure your ideas logically. Look at the keywords in the question 
and make sure that you answer the question word used, i.e. If the question is ‘When’ talk about a time. It it is ‘Where’ talk about 
a place.
Tip 4. Practice speaking as much as you can 
Practice speaking as much as you can, do not worry too much about mistakes. Instead, focus on whether your message was 
successfully communicated. Practice ways of saying things again in another way. This will help the examiner understand and 
heve the benefit of using more time. BE CAREFUL, only do this occasionally.
Tip 5: Record yourself speaking 
Record yourself speaking and try to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation.
To prepare for speaking test, record yourself speaking as fluently as possible for a minute or two.
Try the following topics: 
- introducing yourself; 
- talking about your personal experiences & preferences; 
- comparing two different things - perhaps two cities or two houses. 

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When you listen to your recording the key things to note are: 
- grammatical accuracy. 
- appropriacy of vocabulary. 
- effective pronunciation. 
- hesitation. 
- well-sequenced ideas properly linked together. 
Tip 6: Don't memorize answers 
Don't memorise answers, especially in Part 1. Memorised language doesn't give the examiner an accurate measure of your 
English-language skills. The examiner will be able to tell if you have memorised your answers because they will sound 
unnatural and will probably be inappropriate to the question. This may influence your final band score.
Tip 7: Don't use long and unfamiliar words 
You may want to impress the examiner with long and complex words in your speaking test. But to be safe, avoid using 
words you are not familiar with. There is a higher chance of making mistakes by either mispronouncing words or using them in 
the wrong context. Mistakes can affect your final band score.
Tip 8: Use a range of grammatical structures 
When APTIS examiners asses your speaking skills, they mark you against the following assessment criteria:
• Fluency and coherence 
• Lexical resource 
• Grammatical range and accuracy 
• Pronunciation 
Try and use a range of grammatical structures using complex and simple sentences to express what you want to say. You can 
improve cohesion by including linking words that give sequences, reasons, results and contrasts. 
Know your own errors and practice speaking to friends in English. Try recording yourself to see if you can spot errors. If you 
hear an error, make sure to correct yourself. To learn something properly you must review it. Look at errors regularly to check 
you aren’t making them. 
You are assessed on your ability to use different grammatical structures accurately, so it is important to practice speaking 
about the past, the present and the future using correct tenses. If you have difficulty with a tense or structure, try to find another 
way to express the same idea. 
Tip 9: Don't worry about your accent 
With a face-to-face Speaking test, the examiner understands a wide range of accents so he or she will be able to understand 
what you say, unlike an AI machine. You are aren’t expected to sound like a native speaker. If you can communicate well, then 
there is nothing to worry about. But do be aware of sounds that you have difficulty with and make sure to use stress and 
intonation as English is a stress-timed language and you should try to mimic it. Practice with friends and they will tell you if 
they can't understand what you are saying.
Tip 10: Pause to think 
There is no harm in taking a brief pause to think about what to say. We all do it to process questions. You can use phrases to 
give you time to think during the Speaking test - phrases such as:
• That's an interesting question 
• I have never thought about that, but... 
• Let me see 
• That's a good point 
• That's a difficult question, but I'll try and answer it 
• Well, some people say that is the case, however I think... 
• Let me think about that for a minute 
Don’t overuse them because this can make your English sound unnatural. 
Tip 11: Avoid using fillers 
Speak confidently and avoid using filler words. We generally use fillers when we don't know what to say, however, this 
shows the examiner that you can't access the appropriate language or ideas so it's important to avoid them and to use the phrases 
we gave you in
Tip 5. 
Avoid the following fillers: 
• Like 
• You know 
• Umm... 
• Ahh... 
• Ehh... 
• Yeah... 

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Tip 12: Try not to stop recording and skip to next question re-utilize given 
time in full 
APTIS allows you to skip recording your voice when the time is up. However, try not to stop recording and skip to next 
question. Instead use the given time in full and show case your language skills to the full.
Tip 13: Extend your answers 
Yes’ and ‘No’ are NOT satisfactory answers in your APTIS Speaking test – you need to show the examiner how good your 
English is.
If you give very short answers, there is no way the examiner can know how good you are. Therefore, you should try to 
extend your answers with explanations, examples, results, contrasts and examples. 
If the examiner says 'Why?', they are prompting you to give a reason for your answer and to extend more fully. 
Tip 14: Smiling helps pronunciation 
Most of APTIS speaking tests are computer based but still smiling can help calm your nerves which in turn helps your 
pronunciation. Make sure you enunciate clearly, opening your mouth wide enough so that sounds come out clearly. When we 
smile, our mouth is bigger, and the tone of our voice is more friendly. Using clear enunciation and tone will show the examiner 
that you can use a range of pronunciation features.
Tip 15: Don't speak in a monotone 
Sometimes when we speak, we produce a flat sound, a monotone, with little variation. This makes it more difficult to express 
what you say and makes it more difficult for the listener to identify what parts of your message are important. Putting emphasis 
on certain words and pausing at sections in your speech can make your conversation with the IELTS examiner more engaging. 
When we emphasise certain words it makes it easier to compare and contrast ideas by stressing key words. It also increases the 
flow of conversation, so remember:
• Don't speak in a monotone. Listen to how native speakers speak and try to mimic it. 
• Vary your stress and intonation to add emphasis. 
• Don’t speak too quickly. 
• Use your hands to gesture and help the rhythm of the conversation. 
Tip 16: Practice common APTIS topics 
Part 3 of the APTIS Speaking test requires you to speak on a given topic for about 2 minutes. Practice common APTIS topics 
with friends, family or colleagues to improve and to learn vocabulary associated with each topic.
Common topics you can practice for the Speaking test include: 
• Tourism and travel 
• Education 
• Transport 
• Environment 
• Family life 
• Sport and recreation 
• Crime and punishment 
• The internet 
• Advertising and retail 
Tip 17: Don’t be shy 
It is stressful doing a speaking exam but the best way to reduce the stress is by preparation and practice. Having a plan of 
how you are going to answer the questions will make you more confident. Practicing with other people will get you more 
familiar with speaking in different situations. The exam situation is designed to make candidates feel comfortable.
Tip 18: Made a mistake? Don't panic! 
You cannot pause or stop the audio reading the questions. So be prepared. Don’t panic if you don’t hear or misunderstand 
something. If you made a mistake - don't panic! Try to correct yourself as smoothly as possible (learn a few phrases that correct 
yourself). If you can't - just continue speaking, you won't lose many points for a few mistakes.
Tip 19: Your ideas aren’t important 
Your ideas aren’t important as your knowledge isn’t’ being tested. You are not expected to be an expert, or a ‘William 
Shakespeare’. In this case, it’s not what you say but how you say it.
Tip 20: Think of your experience relating to the topic 
If the topic is museums, then think of museums you have been or would like to go to. When you are preparing for the exam, 
think about the situations given in Tip 15 and practice things you could say about them.
Tip 21: Speak from the heart and show confidence 
Speak from the heart because your English is better when you do that. Also speak your ideas with confidence to showcase 
your language skills.
Tip 22: Learn to express yourself using your own language 

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Simple ideas explained using excellent English can get you a top APTIS score.
Tip 23: Give yourself time to think 
If you are unsure how to answer the question, you can give yourself a bit more time to think by using this tip.
First, you can say: "That's a tricky question...", "I've never thought about that before..." or "That's an interesting question...". 
This way you'll have some extra time to plan your answer. 
You can also reformulate the question: 
Examiner: What was your favourite book in the childhood? 
You: What book did I like as a child? Let me see... 
These techniques work well when you use it occasionally. Don’t use them with every question or it will sound strange. 
For more detailed information, please download a copy of the Candidate Guide. 
Tip 24: Be coherent and use linking words 
Use linking words and structures. Words and phrases like however, nevertheless (for contrast). All in all, to sum up (for 
conclusion). In addition, moreover (for addition). Therefore, as a result (for result). Because, so (for reason). Such as, for 
example (for example). Will all enrich your speech.
Tip 25: Speak some English every day 
It is better to practice a little bit every day and improve your skills gradually, than to try to learn everything at the last 
minute.
Tip 26: Do a 24-hour English warm up 
It takes most APTIS students 10-15 minutes to ‘warm-up’ and perform to the best of their ability on test day. Just like an 
athlete needs to warm up before a sporting event, you also need to warm up before your APTIS exam.
Therefore, you should speak, write, read and listen to English for 24 hours before your APTIS Speaking test. Your family 
and friends might think you are crazy, but it will make a huge difference to your score! 
Tip 27: Correct your mistakes 
People make small mistakes when they speak all the time, especially when they are nervous in an exam. By correcting your 
mistakes as you make them, you can show the examiner that you really do know your grammar and vocabulary.
However, don’t try to be 100% accurate or you could end up not saying anything. 
When you make a small mistake, simply say sorry and repeat the sentence correctly. Learn expressions for correcting 
yourself like ‘’Sorry, let me say that again’’. 
Tip 28: Practice your English with your speaking partner 
Practice your English with your speaking partner. This will not only enable you to improve your speaking but enhance your 
listening skills too. Make a note of their mistakes and discuss them. Ask your partner to do the same for you. 
Tip 29: Think in English 
This is not easy if you live in a country that is non-native English speaking, but you could change the operating system on 
your phone, tablet or laptop to English. Play a game with your friends where everyone has to speak English for an hour (try to 
make it funny by trying to sound as English as possible). Have a day when you only listen to or watch things that are in English. 
Practice situations or dialogues when you are travelling or don’t have anything to do. 
Tip 30: Try as many as practice APTIS tests 
Doing practice tests will help you build your concentration levels and your instinct. More than that, practice will improve 
your English and help you with the timings you need to complete the test with the best result. If you would like to increase your 
APTIS score by practicing more speaking practice tests then please check the exam library in our website here. There you will 
find largest simulated APTIS test database. Totally free with no registration (we won't even ask for your email).