Intonation

Intonation is indeed important in IELTS Speaking test

by Kasra Sharifan | Aug 6, 2019 | Speaking

intonation

Little do IELTS candidates know about intonation. Some may confuse it with pronunciation, stress patterns or even accent, but the truth is that intonation is not any of them. In fact, it is one of the integral parts of IELTS Speaking assessment i.e. if you ignore it, you will lose marks.

What is intonation?

“The way in which the level of your voice changes in order to add meaning to what you are saying.”
(Ref. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

In other words, if you change the way you say a sentence in English, you should expect that the meaning behind the sentence changes as well.

Rising intonation

Did you see that?
Have you been to Paris?
Excuse me! You are?

Yes/No questions

Falling intonation

James loves cookies.
This is fantastic news.
What time is it?

Wh questions
Affirmative sentences

Note

See how these questions (called tag questions) are pronounced. Pay attention to the difference between their meanings.

Q: It’s nice weather, isn’t it? ↑
A: Yes, it sure is.

He/she is not sure if the weather is really nice.

Q: It’s nice weather, isn’t it? ↓
A: Yes, it sure is.

He/she is 100% sure that the weather is really nice, and only expects confirmation.

Why is intonation important at IELTS!

It is important because the implied meaning of a sentence can be easily changed by changing the pitch word (the word(s) which is stressed in a sentence). Look at how the meaning of a sentence changes when different intonations are applied. (the stressed word is different here.):

Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; Jennifer did.
Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; that is for sure!
Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; he just parked it in the garage.
Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; he took my wife’s car.
Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; he took my caravan.
Jack didn’t take my car yesterday; he took it last week.

Kasra Sharifan

Co-founder and CFO

British Council certified English teacher, IDP-trained IELTS instructor, content writer, editor-in-chief, co-founder, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at IELTS Juice Online Academy.