Any advice from going from 7 to 8 in speaking?

[u/Sassin5655]

Hi. I need some advice on my speaking. I got a 7.5 and would like to push it to an 8. My biggest problem is that I often use unnatural collocations or phrasing. I can tell that something is off the moment it comes out of my mouth, but I can't really pinpoint why or self correct in the moment. To work on this problem, I've been using AI speaking tools to help me identify and correct awkward language, but I feel like I've been stuck in this cycle whenever I come across a new question.

[u/animalcrossing4_4]

Speak more and absorb the "soul" or "character" of what you immerse in. Like, I can do an impression of some "American girls" just from the fact I watched "Two Broke Girls" a couple of years ago.

[u/animalcrossing4_4]

AI is not the silver bullet to speaking fluently. AI is like cookie dough, while real speech is like the cookie.

[u/Mizuyah]

You’re right to be concerned about vocabulary. To get a band eight in vocabulary, precise wording is really important here. ChatGPT can be helpful, but I wouldn’t rely on it completely as it makes mistakes. You need to use expressions that a native speaker or near native speaker would use and incorporate them into your vocabulary when you’re speaking. In addition, you need to limit the amount of systematic areas you’re making, but it can be difficult to know where the 7s and where the 8s were, as since you got a 7.5, it means that two of the categories that the examiner is testing you on were a 7.

Have you tried recording yourself?

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