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Whatistheonebigmistake
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Summary
An IELTS coach explains why using formal academic English in IELTS Speaking hurts your score, and gives 5 side-by-side examples of how to sound more natural.
Key vocabulary
financial literacypassive voiceactive voicerelative clauseconnectorregisterfluencyvocabularyacademic Englishconversational English
Grammar notes
Passive vs. active voice — The passive is more common in written English; the active sounds more natural in speech. "Children should be taught" (passive) → "We should teach children" (active).
Relative clauses with "which" — Long planned relative clauses can sound written and robotic in speech; short separate phrases feel more natural. "The restaurant which opened near my home last year has become extremely popular" → "There's a restaurant near me. It opened last year and it's become really popular."
Discourse connectors (formal vs. informal) — Formal connectors like "furthermore" and "first and foremost" belong in writing; spoken English prefers lighter alternatives. "Furthermore, technology has altered communication" → "Also, technology has really changed how people communicate."
Tense mixing in natural speech — Spoken answers naturally combine simple past, present simple, and present perfect in short chunks rather than one long planned sentence. "It opened last year, and it's become really popular."
About this video
This video tackles the single biggest mistake new IELTS candidates make: copying formal written English into their spoken answers. The coach, Keith, walks through five concrete sentence pairs — for example, swapping "Many individuals are of the opinion that social media has a detrimental effect on society" for the far more natural "A lot of people think social media is bad for society." He also explains why written structures feel wrong when spoken, covering passive vs. active voice, heavy relative clauses, and stiff connectors like "furthermore" and "first and foremost." A memorable moment is his playful warning about sounding robotic: if a candidate says "I derive immense satisfaction from devouring literature," the examiner's reaction will not be positive.
For shadowing practice, this video is excellent material. Keith speaks at a clear, measured conversational pace with a standard British accent, frequently slowing down to contrast a formal sentence with its natural spoken equivalent. That side-by-side structure gives you a built-in repetition loop — you hear the stiff version, then immediately shadow the natural version. The language is genuinely spontaneous and unscripted, full of real-time thinking aloud, which is exactly the register learners need to internalise.
This video suits B1–B2 learners preparing for IELTS or any high-stakes English speaking test. By shadowing it, you will build a feel for the difference between written and spoken registers, practise natural connectors and opinion phrases, and gain confidence in keeping answers simple, fluent, and human-sounding.
Idioms & expressions
I'm really into (something) — a natural, casual way to say you enjoy or are enthusiastic about something ("I'm really into reading.")
think on your feet — to think and respond quickly without time to prepare ("We have to think on our feet")
throw in — to add something casually or spontaneously ("Throw in an idiom: I'm really into reading.")
on top of that — used to add an extra point, equivalent to "furthermore" but natural in speech ("on top of that")
that said — used to introduce a contrasting point in a conversational way, similar to "nevertheless" ("but, that said, however")
keep it simple — an informal instruction meaning do not over-complicate your language ("Keep it simple, but keep your fluency.")
all in all — a spoken summary phrase meaning "considering everything," more natural than "in conclusion" ("So yeah, or all in all, or so overall.")
