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The Introduction Phase of the Speaking Test

Note that EVERY candidate is asked these questions, exactly (or almost exactly) as they are written here.

The Standard Introduction Questions

1.  “Good morning (good afternoon). My name’s X. Can you tell me your full name, please?”  (= Please tell me your name.)

2.  “What can I call you?” (= What shall I call you? = What should I call you? = What would you like me to call you?)

3.  “Can you tell me where you’re from?” (= Where are you from?)

4.  “Can I see your identification, please?” (= Could I see your identification, please? = May I see your identification, please?)

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(The examiner is usually referred to as "he" on this page because writing, "he or she" is too cumbersome. Actually, about 40% of the examiners are female.)

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The ‘Introductory’ phase of the test consists of a greeting from the examiner, followed by four questions. The main purpose of this part is to check the candidate’s identity. At the same time, the examiner begins to get an impression of the candidate’s English ability.

Although this is (indirectly) part of the test, you should not give long, detailed answers because:

a)   Long, detailed answers are not appropriate for these questions and,

b)   The examiner wants to do this part of the test quite quickly, in about 30 seconds.

Since this is the very beginning of the test and since the examiner wants to do this part quickly, try to avoid causing the examiner to ask you to repeat what you just said.

The four questions are standard questions that are used in every test. Therefore, since we know exactly what the questions will be, it is a good idea to look at them in order to avoid making unnecessary mistakes.

When the examiner first turns on the tape recorder, he makes a short statement into the tape recorder, stating such information as the date, location and the candidate’s name.

1      Then the examiner says something like: “Good morning. My name’s John. Could you tell me your full name, please?”

Many examiners say these three sentences together, without pausing after saying, “Good morning. My name's X.”  Because the examiner does not pause to wait for the candidate to return the greeting, most candidates just answer the question without returning the greeting. However, it’s both good manners and more friendly to return a greeting. In other words, you should include “Good morning.” or “Good afternoon” in your answer. If you can catch the examiner’s name (without asking him to repeat it because he wants to do this section quite fast) then you should also include his or her name in your answer.

Don't say,  “Good morning, Mr. John.” The words Mr., Miss, Mrs. and Ms. are only used before a person's surname and “John” is not (usually) a surname. The examiner usually just says his or her given name (first name), not their full name.

A suitable reply is: “Good morning, John. My name is Wang Jianfeng.” If you do not include his name, it doesn’t matter too much but remember that the examiner is a human being and hearing you say his name would be a pleasant surprise for him! He will think of you, “What a nice person!”

Throughout the speaking test, it is best to use the contracted forms of English whenever possible but in this first answer, it is perfectly appropriate to say, “My name is” rather than, “My name’s”. It is appropriate here because when a person states his or her name in a situation such as the IELTS interview, they usually want to say it very clearly so that the listener makes no mistake with the name. Don't forget, the examiner is verifying your identity here.

It’s ok to say, “Good morning, John. My full name is Wang Jianfeng.”but it’s not really necessary to repeat the word, “full”. However, you definitely must say your complete name – don’t just say, “My name’s Wang.”

Even though you are speaking a Chinese name, you still should speak it clearly for the foreigner. In fact, you should speak it more clearly than you would if you were speaking to a Chinese person. This is because it is important for the examiner to confirm that it really is you sitting there and not your brother or someone else. The examiner has your application form in front of him and your name is written on it in hanyu pinyin. Remember, the examiner does not want to waste time by asking you to repeat your name because he didn’t hear it clearly.

Don’t change the order of your name and say your name is, “Jianfeng Wang”. (Even if you do the test overseas, respect your Chinese naming system.)

Besides, your name will be written as, "Wang Jianfeng" on the application form, which is what the examiner is looking at as you say your name.

Don’t say, “My Chinese name is _____”. It is completely unnecessary to say the word, “Chinese” because the purpose here is to check your legal identity, that is, your real name; you only have one legal name and that is your Chinese name. The wording of the question, “... your full name ...” shows that this is a serious question and that the examiner wants you to say your real name. Your English name, if you have one, is no more significant than a nickname; you can change it at any time.

Don’t spell your name. (Only spell it if the examiner can't understand your pronunciation of it.) 

Don’t say, “Wang is my family name and Jianfeng is my given name.” The question didn’t ask you to explain your name. Sometimes there is a Part 1 topic concerning ‘Names’ and in such a topic, explaining your name could be suitable. But not here. Saying that also gives the examiner the feeling that your answer comes from an IELTS book. You should avoid causing the examiner to think this because examiners very much prefer original answers from you. The only time when it might be appropriate to explain which is your surname and which is your given name is if you are a Chinese person doing the IELTS test overseas.

Don’t call the examiner, “Sir”, “Miss” or “Madame”. If you didn’t hear his or her name, just say, “Good morning.” without saying his or her name. Using “Sir”,  “Miss” or “Madame” is a sign that you either consider the examiner to be a teacher or that you are being unnecessarily formal or that you consider the examiner to be your ‘superior’– you should think of the examiner as an equal, not as someone superior to you. If you think of the examiner as an equal, you will speak more openly, be more relaxed and get a better score than if you think he or she is a superior, or some kind of ‘examining god’. Remember, Westerners are usually less formal than Chinese people.

The examiner’s question was, “Could you tell me your full name, please?” and this sounds like a “Yes/No” question. However, this form of question is not really a “Yes/No” question; it’s an indirect question, which really means, “What is your full name?” Indirect questions are considered more polite than direct questions. 

Whenever you are asked such an indirect question, you should not answer with, “Yes” or, “Yes, I could.” Native English speakers sometimes do answer such questions by first saying a very quick, “Yes” but you should not say that because the examiner might think that you think it really is a “Yes/No” question. 

Some candidates give an answer such as this: “My name is Wang Jianfeng but you can call me Robert.” This answer is quite acceptable and quite natural in a non-test situation, for example, if you meet a foreigner on the bus. But I suggest you don't say that in the IELTS Speaking test because some examiners might think that you already knew what the second question is (“What can I call you?”) and that you had rehearsed your answer and examiners don’t like answers that seem to be obviously rehearsed.

Not only that, adding the words, “... but you can call me ...” in a situation where someone is verifying your identity is a little unsuitable. If a policeman or a bank clerk asked you, “Can you tell me your full name, please?” would you answer with, “My name is Wang Jianfeng but you can call me Robert” ?

In other words, I would say it is better not to add, “... but you can call me ...” after this question. Instead, wait for the examiner's second question.

2      Then the examiner will say: “What can I call you?” (Or, “What shall I call you?”)

With this question, the examiner is indicating that he or she would like to address you in the test with some name that is shorter and friendlier than your full name. This is a sign that the test will not be very formal and serious but will instead, to some extent, have some of the features of a friendly chat.

However, as I mentioned above, it is better to wait for the examiner to indicate this, with this second question, than for you to make the decision on the formality level of the test by saying, "... but you can call me ....". Let the examiner be in charge of the test.

You don’t need to use an English name! But if you do use an English name, make sure that it is simple and easy for the examiner to understand the first time you say it. It’s probably best to use a fairly commonly used name. For example, no English speaker chooses to be called, “Apple”, even as a nickname. This kind of name could cause the examiner to ask you to repeat your name because he might not be sure he heard it correctly.

If you do choose to say an English name, make sure that you can pronounce it correctly! Mispronouncing your own English (nick)name is an unnecessary mistake and would not give the examiner a very good impression. For example, if your English name is Harry, don’t say, “Just call me Hairy.” (See here for the meaning of "hairy".) Or, if your English name is Justin, don’t say, “Just call me Justine.”( Justine is the female form of Justin and is pronounced differently).

Occasionally, a candidate says something like, “Just call me by my English name, Yuki.” But Yuki (and Suki) are Japanese names, not English names. And ‘Pierre’ is a French name (meaning, Peter). You won't lose points in the Speaking test by making such errors but you won't impress the examiner with such basic errors of fact (not errors of English). If you use a name other than your Chinese name, find out if it is in fact an English name or not.

Most examiners in China are (or should be) used to candidates saying, “Just call me Xiao Wang” but, to be on the safe side, it might be better if you said, “Just call me Wang.” or, “Just call me Jianfeng.” without using the word “xiao”.

If you have a two-word name such as Liu Xiang and if this is what you would like to be called, don't say the name in exactly the same way as you said it in your answer to the first question. For example, for the first answer, you should say something like, “My name is Liu Xiang”, with the emphatic stress on your name. But for the second question, you should say something like, “Just call me Liu Xiang”, with the stress on the word “just”, not on your name this time because it is not something new.

If you use the word, ‘just’, don’t pronounce the ‘t’ – the ‘t’ is 95% silent (except when it is the last word of a sentence).

Many candidates say something like, “You can call me Stephen.” That answer is ok but you should not pronounce ‘can’ as ‘kæn’. Instead, you should pronounce it as ‘kən’ or even, “k’n” – it should be pronounced in a quick, short way, not long as in ‘candle’ or ‘Canada’. (Hear the two ways to say, "can" here.)

‘Can’ is pronounced as ‘kæn’, a) when we ask a question – “Can you help me?”, “Can you swim?” and, b) when we want to emphasize, for example, when we say, “Yes, I can.” However, it is pronounced as ‘kən’ or even, “k’n” when we speak sentences such as: “I can speak English”, “I can drive a car” and “She can play the piano.”

Some examiners will not notice the pronunciation of this word but even those who don’t notice will still feel that your English sounds natural if you say, ‘kən’ or sounds a little unnatural if you say, ‘kæn’.

Don’t say, “You may call me Stephen.” because ‘may’, in this kind of situation, is used when giving permission to, or speaking to a person of inferior status.

Some candidates say: “You can call me by my English name, Stephen.” That’s acceptable but the examiner knows that Stephen is an English name, so why say it? Certainly, you should avoid the mistake of saying, “You can call me my English name, Stephen.” – this is a grammatical mistake – you must use the word, ‘by’ in this expression. Similarly, “You can call my English name, Stephen.” is incorrect.

Another acceptable answer is: “Please call me Stephen.”

Only say something such as, “All my friends call me Stephen” if it is true! Do your Chinese friends really call you ‘Stephen’? You want to avoid giving the examiner the impression that you learned answers like that from an IELTS book.

If you feel that it's suitable and interesting to tell the examiner where you got your English name or why you chose a certain English name, then it is quite natural to add a small comment about that. Examiners are interested in learning something new from candidates and they would like a naturally stated piece of extra information. But keep it very short. (The fact that your high school English teacher gave you your English name is not interesting enough to say in this situation.)

3        The third question that the examiner will ask you is: “Could you tell me where you’re from?”  (Or, “Can you tell me where you’re from?”)

Again, this is an indirect question, which really means, “Please tell me where you’re from.” So don’t begin your answer with, “Yes.”

Just saying, “I'm from Heilongjiang” or “I'm from Harbin” is answering the question but, since these questions are checking your identity, you should give a more exact answer, i.e., don't just say the name of the province where you are from and don't just say the name of the city or town – say both.

In Chinese, you say the province first and then the city or town. But in English, it is the reverse of this – you should say the city or town first, followed by the name of the province.

Some candidates say: “I come from Shenyang, Liaoning Province.” That answer is not wrong but it could be a little better. How? By using the contracted form of English: “I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning Province.” As a general rule, you should use contracted English as much as you can, or as often as you remember in the IELTS Speaking test. It’s the natural way to speak English and it’s more fluent.

Definitely do not say: “I came from Shenyang, Liaoning Province.” The question is a present tense question and you should use the present tense in your answer.

For this question, it is suitable, (and perhaps a good idea) to add a small amount of extra information if you want but try to say it quickly and in a short sentence. For example you could say: “I’m from Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province.” Or, “I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning Province. That’s in north-east China.” (In that sentence, don't put sentence stress on the word ‘China’ because if you are doing the test in China, the examiner knows you are from China so there is no need to emphasize that word.)

Make sure you don’t make a grammatical error such as: “I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning, north-east of China.” ‘North-east of China’ means out of China (for example, Korea). The correct phrase here is, ‘in the north-east of China’ or, ‘in north-east China’.

Don’t say your town or city belongs to a certain province or part of China – that’s an incorrect usage of ‘belong to’. Instead, you should say it is ‘in’ a certain province or part of China.

Similarly, don’t say your town or city is ‘of’ a certain province or part of China – that’s also incorrect. For example, “I'm from Shenyang of Liaoning Province.”

If you come from a small city, town or village then it is perfectly acceptable to add that kind of information to your answer: “I’m from Bai Shan City, a small city in Jilin Province, not far from the border with North Korea.”

If you do the test in your hometown (city), you should say something like this: “I’m from here, Beijing.” And put the stress on the word, ‘here’. Don't answer the question in the same way you would if you were doing the test away from your hometown. Your situation is different to many other people and you should express this difference.

If you do the test in your hometown (city), don’t say: “I’m a local people” – ‘people’ is plural! However, it is quite natural to say, “I’m a local person; I’m from here, Beijing.” 

If you’re from Beijing and you do the test in China, don’t say: “I’m from Beijing, the capital of China.” I think the examiner knows that Beijing is the capital of China!! But if you do the test overseas, for example in Australia or England, that answer is suitable.

Also, if you do the test in your hometown it sounds a little inappropriate to use the word ‘come’ in your answer because you never traveled to get to the test; you didn’t ‘come’. For example, “I come from Beijing.” sounds a little strange if you are doing the test in Beijing. On the other hand, “I’m from Beijing” sounds better, but as stated above, you really should express the fact that your situation is different to that of other candidates.

It is not suitable to say something such as: “I’m from Qingdao, a beautiful coastal city in Shandong.” Why is this not suitable? Firstly, it sounds like an advertisement. Secondly, and more importantly, the word, ‘beautiful’ is your opinion but the four questions in the introductory phase of the test are really asking for facts, not opinions. It would be acceptable if you just said, “I’m from Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong.”

Describing Qingdao as ‘beautiful’ is not a major problem and you shouldn’t worry too much about making that kind of slightly inappropriate reply. The major problem with that answer is that you could cause the examiner to suspect that your answer came from an IELTS book, instead of being your own, original language. On the other hand, if you said,“I’m from Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province and it's also a famous historical city”, the answer would be more acceptable because the words, ‘famous’ and ‘historical’ sound more like facts rather than opinions.

Throughout the test, don’t ask the examiner questions – it is the examiner who asks the questions! It is inappropriate (although quite natural in a normal, non-test situation) to say something such as: “I’m from Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province. It was the ancient capital of China for several dynasties. Have you ever been there?”

Some candidates worry about which place they should say when they answer where they come from. You should choose the place where you grew up. If the address on your application form is different to the place where you grew up, it is entirely appropriate, and a good idea, to quickly explain your situation, for example: “Well, I grew up in Changchun, Jilin Province but I've been studying in Beijing for the past four years.” Examiners know that many people move to different places to study or work.

Some people think that they should answer by saying the name of the place where they were born. But if you were born in Wuhan and your family moved to Beijing when you were eight, you probably don't know much about Wuhan. In this example, to say that you were from Wuhan would not normally be a problem in the introduction phase of the test but it could cause a problem later in the test. For example, there is often a Part 1 topic, ‘Hometown’, and the examiner might ask you to talk about Wuhan. If this happened, you would then have to explain your true situation because you don't remember much about Wuhan. It would have been much better if you had explained your situation in the introduction phase of the test because if you wait until you are forced to explain your true situation, the examiner might start to wonder if you really are the person on the application form! Be honest and clear when you answer the 4 introduction questions.  

4        The final introduction question is: “Could I see your identification, please?” You should have your 身份证 in your hand or on the table in front of you, ready to give to the examiner.

Note that the examiner doesn't really ask you to say anything. If you say nothing as you give your ID card to the examiner, most examiners will not mind. (I remember that when I was an examiner, I gave a final score of 7 to some candidates who said nothing when they gave me their ID card. The important thing is what you say in the rest of the test, not what you say, or do not say, as you hand over your ID card!)

Nevertheless, although most examiners would not consider it impolite if you didn’t say anything, it would be best if you did say something. There are two reasons for this: a) it is possible (although unlikely) that your examiner might believe that you should say something, and, b) you have an opportunity here to say something original.

If you cannot think of anything original to say, then simply saying, “Sure.” or “Ok.” in answer to the examiner’s request and giving him your ID card is adequate.

More than 80% of candidates say, “Here you are.” (or, “Sure. Here you are.”) as they hand over their ID card. There is nothing really wrong with this small sentence – it is suitable and it sounds polite. However, many candidates in China have learned this sentence from a book but have never actually heard a native speaker say it, even in a recording. The fact is that this small sentence is most frequently used in spoken English and is spoken quite fast and smoothly, with the major stress on the word, ‘Here’. If you can say it so that it sounds ‘natural’, that is, so that the examiner does not immediately think, “That’s from an IELTS book!”, then it is ok. But my advice is try to find something else to say because it sounds a little too rehearsed and since almost everybody says it, it is so predictable and boring for examiners!

Some candidates say, “Of course.” or, “Of course. Here you are.” I recommend that you do not reply, “Of course” to any of the introduction questions because it sounds somewhat overly polite, formal and unsuitable. (This is my personal opinion, which might not be shared by every other native English speaker or IELTS examiner.) To me, it sounds too much like the language used by service people such as waiters. For example, if you were eating in an expensive, high-class restaurant in London and you said to the waiter, “Could I have a menu, please?”, a typical reply from the waiter would be, “Of course, Sir. Here you are.” Don't confuse the polite language of a service person, speaking to someone of ‘higher status’, with the polite language spoken between people of equal status.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find something original to say as you hand over your ID card, especially now that most people in China have new ID cards. Before the new cards came into use, some people could have said things such as: “My card’s a bit old and tattered. I need to get a new one.”; “My hair was long in this picture but that was five years ago.”; or, “I look like a child in this picture.” 

But if you can find something original and interesting to say about your ID card, consider saying that instead of, “Here you are.” as you show your card to the examiner. For example, in some parts of China, ID cards have hanyu pinyin as well as Chinese characters, and if you come from Xinjiang, Tibet or Inner Mongolia, you probably also have some non-Chinese writing on your card. 

You should definitely not use the phrases, “Here you go.” or, “There you go.” as you hand over your ID card. The reason for this is that these phrases sound too casual and can sound condescending (i.e., speaking down to someone), and are used in situations such as handing an ice-cream to a child or giving money to a beggar.

Some candidates say, “Here it is.” as they give their ID card to the examiner. This is not a huge mistake but it is unsuitable – native English speakers would not say that in this situation. “Here it is.” is more suitable if you were looking for something and then found it.

For this fourth question, I have advised you more on what you should not say than on what you should say. To sum up, if you can't think of anything original (and interesting) to say, just say a quick, “Sure.” as you hand over your ID card.

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Final Note

Except for the obvious grammatical errors that I have mentioned here, slightly inappropriate answers will not usually cause you to lose points in the test. However, if you frequently give the examiner a poor impression of your knowledge of suitable English, and a poor impression of your communication skills in this introductory phase of the test, it could influence the examiner's judgment. Remember, first impressions are often the strongest.

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口语测试的介绍阶段

请注意，每名考生都会被会问到完全相同（或几乎完全相同）的问题，如下所示。

介绍部分的标准问题

1.  “Good morning (good afternoon). My name’s X. Can you tell me your full name, please?” （早上好（下午好）。我的名字是 X。可以告诉我你的全名吗？） （= 请告诉我你的名字）

2.  “What can I call you?”（我可以怎么称呼你？） (= What shall I call you? = What should I call you? = What would you like me to call you?)

3.  “Can you tell me where you’re from?” （可以告诉我你来自哪里吗？）(= Where are you from?)

4.  “Can I see your identification, please?”（我可以看一下你的身份证件吗？） (= Could I see your identification, please? = May I see your identification, please?)

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（本页面中在提及考官时通常会采用代词“他”，因为采用“他或她”过于冗繁。事实上，大约有 40% 的考官是女性。）

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考试的“介绍”阶段中包含来自考官的问候，接下来便是这四个问题。这一部分的主要目的是核对考生的身份。与此同时，考官也开始了解考生的英语能力。

尽管这是考试中的一个（间接性）部分，但是你不应该给出丰富详尽的作答，因为：

a)   丰富详尽的答案不适合这类问题，而且

b)   考官希望在考试中快速地完成这部分的内容（大约 30 秒钟）。

有鉴于这是考试的开始部分，而且考官希望快速完成这部分内容，因此考生应该尽量避免造成考官要求你重复自己答案的情况出现。

每次测试中都会采用这四个标准问题。因此，既然我们已经了解了这些问题的具体内容，要尽量了解它们从而避免不必要的错误，这不失为一个好主意。

当考官首次开启录音设备后，他会说一段简短的陈述，阐述日期、地点和考生姓名的信息。

1        然后，考官会提出类似下述的问题：  “Good morning. My name’s John. Could you tell me your full name, please?”（早上好，我的名字是 John。可以告诉我你的全名吗？）

许多考官会把这三句话连在一起说，当说完“Good morning. My name's X.（早上好，我的名字是X）”之后不作任何停顿。考官不会停下来等待考生回应他的问候，因此大多数考生对于问候没有回复而会直接开始回答问题。但是，对问候加以回应可以展现出良好的举止和更加友善的态度。换句话说，你应该在自己的作答中加入“Good morning.（早上好。）”或“Good afternoon（下午好。）”。如果你能记住考官的名字（不要让考官重复说明他的名字，因为他希望快速地完成这个部分），那么你也应该在作答中加入他的名字。

不要说“Good morning, Mr. John.（早上好，John 先生。）”英语中的头衔“Mr.（先生）”、“Miss（小姐）”、“Mrs.（夫人）”和“Ms.（女士）”都只能用在一个人的姓氏前面，而“John”（通常）不是姓氏。考官通常只会说自己的名字，而不是全名。

适当的作答可以是：“Good morning, John. My name is Wang Jianfeng.（早上好，John。我的名字是 Wang Jianfeng。）” 如果你在作答中没有包含考官的姓名也没什么关系，但是请记得，考官也是人，当他听到你称呼他的名字时会感到很惊喜！他会觉得“这真是个不错的人！”

整个口语测试中，在可能的情况下最好使用英语的缩略形式（译注：比如it's、doesn't、we're等），但是在第一个问题中，如果说“My name is”而不说“My name’s”是完全可以的，因为当一个人在像雅思口语考试之类的场合下说明自己的姓名时通常都希望听者可以听得很清楚，不会搞错自己的姓名。请记住，考官此时是在核对你的身份。

如果说“Good morning, John. My full name is Wang Jianfeng.（早上好，John。我的全（full）名是 Wang Jianfeng。”）是没问题的，但是没必要重复“full”这个词。然而，你必须要说明自己的全名 – 不要只是说“My name’s Wang.”（我的名字是王）。

即使你在向外国人说明自己的中文名字，也还是应该做到吐字清晰。事实上，与和中国人谈话时相比，你应该把自己的名字说得更清楚。这能够让考官确认是你本人坐在教室里参加考试，而不是你的兄弟姐妹或其他人来代考，这一点很重要。考官手中有你的申请表，上面标明了你名字的汉语拼音。请记住，考官不希望因为他没听清楚而让你重复说明自己的名字，这会浪费时间。

不要改变你的姓名顺序而把它变成“Jianfeng Wang”。（即使你在国外参加考试，也要尊重中国的命名系统。）

另外，申请表上面所显示的你的名字是“Wang Jianfeng”，而考官也会在你报名时进行审核。

不要说“My Chinese name is _____（我的中文名字是_____）”。强调“Chinese”这个词完全没有必要，因为这一步的目的只是检查你的合法身份，即你的真实姓名；你只有一个合法姓名，那就是你的中文名字。“... your full name ...（... 你的全名 ...）”这个问题中的措辞表示这是一个严肃的问题，考官希望你说明自己的真实姓名。如果你有英文名字的话，它的作用其实和昵称是差不多的，随时都进行更改。

不要拼写你的姓名（只有当考官无法理解你的名字发音时，才需要拼出自己的姓名。）

不要说“Wang is my family name and Jianfeng is my given name（Wang 是我的姓氏，Jianfeng 是我的名字）”。问题中没有要求你解释自己的姓名。在有些情况下，第 1 部分的话题会涉及到“姓名”，而在这个话题中对自己的姓名加以解释是很适当的。但是在此处不可以这样做。对姓名进行解释还会给考官造成你的回答是照搬雅思考试书籍中内容的印象。你应该尽量避免使考官产生这样的看法，因为考官期待听到你的原创性答案。当你作为一名中国人在国外参加雅思考试的时候，这可能是唯一一个适合对你的姓氏和名字进行解释的情形。

不要对考官称呼“Sir”（先生）、“Miss”（小姐）或“Madame”（女士）。如果你没有听到他的姓名，只需要说“Good morning（早上好。）”而不必称呼他的名字。使用“先生”、“小姐”或“女士”的称呼表示你认为考官是一位老师、自己采用了不必要的正式语气、或是你认为考官是你的“上级”——你应该把考官视为与你平等的人，而不是你的上级。如果你把考官当做平级的人，就能够更加开放地发表意见、放松自己，从而获得更好的分数，而不要把他当成你的上级或是“考试之神”。请记住，西方人在交往时通常没有东方人那么正式。

考官的问题是“Could you tell me your full name, please?（可以告诉我你的全名吗？）”。这听起来像是一个“是/否（Yes/No）”问题，但是，这种形式的问题并不是真正的是否问题；这其实是间接性问题，真正的含义是“What is your full name?（你的全名是什么？）”普遍认为，间接性问题比直接问题更礼貌。

无论你在何时被问到间接性问题，都不应该回答“是（Yes）”或“是的，我可以（Yes, I could）”。英语是母语的人士有时候在回答这类问题时的确会先非常迅速地说“Yes”，但是你不应该这样回答，因为考官可能会认为你真的以为这是一个“是/否”问题。

有些考生可能会给出像这样的答案：“My name is Wang Jianfeng but you can call me Robert.（我的名字是 Wang Jianfeng，但是你可以叫我 Robert）。”在除考试之外的场合里（例如当你在公共汽车上见到外国人的时候），这样的答案是既恰当又自然的。然而，我建议你不要在雅思考试中这样讲，因为有些考官可能会认为你已经事先知道第二个问题是什么了（“What can I call you?”），而且会认为你已经预先演练了回答，而考官不喜欢明显经过演练的答案。

不仅如此，在别人核对你的身份的场景中增加语句“... but you can call me ...（……但是你可以叫我……）”稍微有点不恰当。如果警察或是银行出纳问你“Can you tell me your full name, please?（可以告诉我你的名字吗？）”你会回答“My name is Wang Jianfeng but you can call me Robert（我的名字是 Wang Jianfeng，但是你可以叫我 Robert）”吗？

换而言之，我的意见是最好不要在作答中加上“... but you can call me ...”。相反，你应该等候考官提出第二个问题。

2        然后考官会说“What can I call you?（我可以怎样称呼你？）” （或者“What shall I call you?”）

在提出这个问题时，考官的意图是希望在考试当中采用比你的全名更简短、更友好的名字来称呼你。这标志着此次考试不会十分正式而严肃。与之相反，口语考试在某种程度上更像是友好的闲谈。

但是，正如我在上面所述，你最好还是等候考官在第二个问题中提出这一点，而不要自己主动说“... but you can call me ....（... 但是你可以叫我....）”来自行决定口试的正式程度。请让考官来主导口试的进程。

你不需要使用英文名字！但是如果你确实使用英文名字，请确保其简单易懂，可以在你第一次说的时候就能够让考官很容易地明白。最好还是采用常见的英文名字，举例而言，说英语的人士不会选择“Apple”当作自己的名字，即使作为昵称也是如此。使用这一类的名字可能会导致考官让你重复自己的名字，因为他也许会不确定自己听到了正确的信息。

如果你确实选择要说明自己的英文名字，请务必保证发音的正确！对你自己的英文名字（昵称）发音错误是一种不必要的错误，也不会给考官留下好印象。举例来说，如果你的英文名字是 Harry，不要说成“Just call me Hairy（请叫我 Hairy）”（参阅此处了解“hairy”的意思）。再或者，如果你的英文名字是 Justin，不要说成“Just call me Justine（请叫我 Justine）”（Justine 是女名，发音与 Justin 不同）。

考生偶尔也会这样说“Just call me by my English name, Yuki（请叫我的英文名字 Yuki）。”但是 Yuki （以及 Suki）是日文名字，而不是英文名字。此外，“Pierre”是法语名字（意思是 Peter）。如果你在在口语考试中犯了这样的错误并不会被扣分，但是在基本事实上的错误（而不是英语错误）也不会给考官留下好印象。如果你想做除了自己的中文名字之外再用另外一个名字，那么请先了解它是否属于英文名字的范畴。

位于中国地区的大部分考官都习惯于（或者应该习惯于）听到考生说“Just call me Xiao Wang（请叫我小王）”。但是为了安全起见，你最好还是说“Just call me Wang（请叫我王）”。或者“Just call me Jianfeng（请叫我 Jianfeng）。”而不要使用“小”这个字。

如果你的姓名只有两个字（比如 Liu Xiang）而且你希望别人就称呼你的全名，那么不要采用与第一个回答中完全相同的方式来说明你的名字。例如，在第一个问题中，你应该采用类似于“My name is Liu Xiang（我的名字是 Liu Xiang）”的答案，并把重音放在你的名字上面。但是在回答第二个问题时，你应该说这样的答案：“ Just call me Liu Xiang（请叫我 Liu Xiang”）”，并把重音放在“just”上面，而这一次不要再强调你的名字，因为这已经不是新的信息了。

如果你采用“just”这个词，不要把词尾的“t”发出来 —— “t”在 95% 的情况下是不发音的（它处于句尾的情况除外）。

许多考生会给出这样的答案“You can call me Stephen（你可以叫我 Stephen）。”这个回答本身是没问题的，但是你不应该把单词“can”发音成“kæn”。与之相反，你应该把它发音成“kən”甚至更弱的“k’n”——它的发音应该是非常快捷短促的，而不能发出像“candle”或“Canada”一样的长音（收听“can”的两种发音方式，请点击此处。）

“Can”在两种情况下发音为“kæn”， a) 当我们问一个问题 —— “Can you help me?（你能帮助我吗？）”、“Can you swim（你会游泳吗？）”的时候，以及， b) 当我们想强调的时候，例如，当我们说“Yes, I can（是的，我可以）”的时候。但是，当我们说“I can speak English（我会说英语）”、“I can drive a car（我会开车）”以及“She can play the piano（她会弹钢琴）”之类的句子时，它的发音为“kən”甚至“k’n”。

有些考官不会注意到这个词的发音，但是即便是那些对此不太介意的考官也会注意到：如果你能够采用“kən”的发音，那么你的英语听起来会感觉自然一些；而如果你采用“kæn”的发音，那么你的英语听起来略嫌生硬。

不要说“You may call me Stephen（你可以称呼我 Stephen）。”因为单词“may”在这种情况下是用于给出许可、或是向较低级别的人说话时使用的。

有些考生说：“ You can call me by my English name, Stephen（你可以称呼我的英文名字 Stephen）”。这样的回答是可以接受的，但是考官已经知道 Stephen 是英文名字，所以为什么你要再说一遍呢？当然，你应该避免出现这样的错误回答“You can call me my English name, Stephen.” —— 这里面有一个语法错误——在这个表达方式中，你必须要使用“by”这个单词。与其类似，“You can call my English name, Stephen.”也是不正确的。

另外一个可以接受的答案是：“ Please call me Stephen.（请叫我 Stephen”。

如果你要采用“All my friends call me Stephen（我的朋友都叫我 Stephen）”这样的答案，一定要确定这是事实才可以！你的中国朋友真的都叫你“Stephen”吗？ 你要避免给考官留下你是从雅思备考书籍里面生搬硬背答案的印象。

如果你觉得把你的英文名字来历或者选择特定英文名字的缘由告诉考官是适宜而且有趣的，那么在后面增加简短的评论是很正常的事情。考官乐于从考生那里了解一些新东西，他们也喜欢听到语气自然的陈述性信息。但是务必要让这部分信息非常简短。（你的高中英语老师给了你这个英文名字，这件事情在这种情景下还不足以有趣到值得一提的程度。）

3       考官会向你提出的第三个问题是：“Could you tell me where you’re from?（可以告诉我你来自哪里吗？）”（或者”Can you tell me where you’re from?“）

这又是一个间接性问题，它的实际意思是“Please tell me where you’re from（请告诉我你来自哪里）”，所以不要用“Yes（是）”作为你回答的开头。

你只需要在作答中说“I'm from Heilongjiang（我来自黑龙江）”或“I'm from Harbin（我来自哈尔滨）”即可，但是，由于这些问题的目的是核对你的身份，因此你应该给出更精确的答案。这即是说，不要只说明你所来自的省份或是市/镇的名字——要把这两者说全。

在中文系统中，你会先说省份再说市/镇的名字。但是在英语中，顺序是相反的——你应该先说市/镇，然后再说明省份名称。

有些考生会说“I come from Shenyang, Liaoning Province（我来自辽宁省沈阳市）。”这个答案并没有错，但是还可以答得更好。如何变得更好呢？可以使用英语的缩略形式：“I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning Province.” 一般性的原则是，你应该在雅思口语考试中尽可能多地使用英语缩略形式。这是英语口语的自然形式，也会显得更加流畅。

绝对不要说：“I came from Shenyang, Liaoning Province.”这是个关于现在时的问题，所以你不应该在回答中使用过去时。

对于这个问题，如果你愿意的话可以在回答中增加少量额外信息，这是适当的（而且也许是个好主意），但是尽量用短句来快捷地作答。例如，你可以说：“I’m from Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province（我来自辽宁省的省会沈阳）”或者“I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning Province. That’s in north-east China（我来自中国东北的辽宁省沈阳市）”（在这句话中，不要把句子的重音放在“China”这个词上，因为你就在中国参加雅思考试，而考官也知道你来自中国，所以没必要强调这个词）。

确保不要出现如下的语法错误：“I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning, north-east of China”。“North-east of China”是指中国境外（例如韩国）此处的正确说法是“in the north-east of China”或者“in north-east China”。

不要说你所在的市/镇“belongs to”（属于）中国的特定省份或某个部分——这种“belong to”的用法不正确。与之相对，你应该说它“位于（in）”中国的特定省份或某个部分。

类似的是，不要说你所在的市/镇“of”（属于）中国的一个特定省份或部分——这也是不正确的。例如，“I'm from Shenyang of Liaoning Province.”

如果你来自一个较小的城市、市镇或乡村，那么在你的答案里面增添这一类信息是完全可以的：“I’m from Bai Shan City, a small city in Jilin Province, not far from the border with North Korea.（我来自白山市，它是吉林省的一个小城市，离中国和朝鲜的国境线不远。”

如果你在家乡（城市）参加考试，那么你应该这样说类似于这样的答案：“I’m from here, Beijing.（我来自这里，北京。）”并把重音放在“here（这里）”这个词上面。在回答这个问题时，在外地和家乡参加考试的作答是不一样的。你的情况与其他很多人都不同，因此你应该把这种差异性表达出来。

如果你在自己的家乡（城市）参加考试，不要说“I’m a local people（我是本地人）”——“people”是复数形式！但是，如果说“I’m a local person; I’m from here, Beijing.（我是个本地人；我来自这里，北京）”会是很自然的答案。 

如果你来自北京，而且在中国参加考试，不要说：“I’m from Beijing, the capital of China.（我来自北京，中国的首都）。”我觉得考官一定知道北京是中国的首都！！但是如果你在国外考试（比如澳大利亚或英格兰），那么这样的答案是恰当的。

此外，如果你在家乡参加考试，那么在回答中采用“come”这个词听起来有一点不妥当，因为你从来没有旅行去参加考试；所以你并没有“come（来）”。举例来说，如果你在北京参加考试，那么说“I come from Beijing（我来自北京）。”听起来有点怪。另一方面，采用“I’m from Beijing（我来自北京）”听起来好一点，但是正如上面所述，你真正需要表达的是与其他考生所不同的个人情况。

采用这样的答案是不恰当的：“I’m from Qingdao, a beautiful coastal city in Shandong.（我来自青岛，山东省一座美丽的海滨城市。）”为什么不合适呢？首先，它听起来像是在做广告。其次，也是更重要的一点，“beautiful”这个词只是你的观点，但是介绍阶段的四个问题实际上在询问事实信息，而不是你的意见。如果你只是说 “I’m from Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong.（我来自青岛，山东省的海滨城市）”是可以接受的答案。

把青岛描述为“beautiful（美丽的）”并不是什么大问题，你在给出了这种略微不恰当的回答时无需太过担心。这个答案的主要问题在于，你可能会导致考官怀疑你的答案来自于雅思备考书籍，而不是运用自己的原创性语言。另一方面，如果你说“I’m from Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province and it's also a famous historical city（我来自西安，陕西省的省会，它还是一座历史名城）”，这个答案要好一些，因为“famous”和“historical”这两个词听起来都更像是事实，而不是个人观点。

在整个口试期间，不要向考官提问题——考官才是提问的一方！这样回答是不恰当的（但是在正常的非考试情况下，这可能是很自然的事情）：“I’m from Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province. It was the ancient capital of China for several dynasties. Have you ever been there?（我来自西安，陕西省的省会，它是中国古代多个朝代的都城。你去过那里吗？）”

有些考生会担心，不知道该在回答中说他们来自哪里。你应该选择自己成长的地方作为答案。如果你的申请表上面的地址和你成长的所在地不一样，那么简洁地回答：“Well, I grew up in Changchun, Jilin Province but I've been studying in Beijing for the past four years.（呃，我在吉林省长春市长大，但是我在过去的四年间一直在北京学习。）”考官们知道，许多人都去不同的地方学习或工作。

有些人认为他们应该在回答时说明出生地点的名称。但是如果你在武汉出生，而在你八岁的时候举家迁至北京，你对武汉大概知之甚少。这个例子中，在介绍阶段里说你本人来自武汉通常不会出现什么问题，但是它可能会导致在考试的稍后部分出现问题。例如，“Hometown（家乡）”是第 1 部分的常见话题之一，考官可能会让你谈一谈武汉。如果出现这种情况，你就不得不解释自己的实际情况，因为你对武汉的记忆已经很淡薄了。如果你能够在考试的介绍阶段就把自己的情况解释清楚的话会好很多，因为如果你等到被迫解释自己的实际情况，考官可能会开始怀疑你是否就是考试申请表上面的你本人！在介绍阶段的 4 个问题中，你的答案要诚实、清晰。 

4       介绍部分的最后一个问题是：“Could I see your identification, please?（可以让我看一下你的身份证吗？）你应该把身份证拿在手里或放在面前的桌子上，准备好交给考官。

请注意，考官并没有真的要求你在这时候说些什么。如果你在递交身份证的时候保持沉默，大多数考官都不会介意。（我记得当我还是考官的时候，有些考生在递交身份证的时候什么也没说，而我最后给了他们 7 分的成绩。重要的是你在考试的剩余部分里面所说的内容，而不是你在递交身份证时候到底说了什么还是缄口不言！）

然而，如果你在提交身份证时什么也不说，多数考官不会认为这是不礼貌的表现，但是如果你能说点什么会更好一些。这样做有两个原因： a) 你的考官有可能（尽管通常不会）认为你应该说点什么，而且， b) 你在这里有机会说点新颖的东西。

如果你想不到有什么新颖的话可以说，只需要说“Sure（当然）.”或者“Ok.（好的）”来回应考官的要求，然后把身份证递给他就可以了。

超过 80% 的考生在递交身份证的时候会说“Here you are.（给你。）”（或者“Sure. Here you are.（当然，给你）”）。说这个短句并不是什么错误——既恰当，听起来又很礼貌。但是，许多中国考生都是从书本上学到的这个句子，而从来没有听英语母语的人士如何使用它，甚至都没有从磁带上面听到过。事实上，这个短句在口语中最常用，而且通常非常短促流畅，重音放在“Here”这个词上面。如果你能够说得比较“自然”，即不会让考官立刻认为“这个答案是来自雅思备考书里面的！”，那么就没问题。但是我建议你去找其他的话来说，因为它听起来演练的痕迹太重，而且每个人都会说这句话，所以这句话对考官而言毫无新意而且很无趣！

有些考生会说“Of course.（当然）”或者“Of course（当然）.Here you are（给你）.”建议你不要对任何介绍问题回答“Of course”，因为听起来有点过于礼貌、正式和不恰当了。（这只是我的个人观点，许多英语母语人士和雅思考官可能会有不同看法。）对我而言，这句话听起来太像是服务性人士（如侍者）所说的话。例如，当你在伦敦一家昂贵的高档餐厅用餐时，你对侍者说：“Could I have a menu, please?（可以给我一份菜单吗？）”，而侍者的通常回答都是“Of course, Sir. Here you are.（当然，先生。给您）”。不要混淆服务人员向“较高地位”的人士所用的礼貌用语和同级人士之间采用的礼貌用语。

不幸的是，想在递交身份证的时候找到点新颖的话来说的确很困难，尤其中国的大部分居民都有了新的身份证。在新身份证投入使用之前，有些人可以采用这样的答案：“My card’s a bit old and tattered. I need to get a new one.（我的身份证有点破旧了，需要换个新的。）”；“My hair was long in this picture but that was five years ago.（在这张照片里面，我头发很长，但这是五年前的事情了。）”；或者“I look like a child in this picture.（我在这张照片里看上去像个小孩）。”

但是，如果你能够在递交身份证的时候找到新颖有趣的话来说，那么在向考官出示身份证时就用它来替代“Here you are.（给你。）”这句话。例如，在中国的一些地方，身份证上同时标有汉语拼音和汉字，而如果你来自新疆、西藏或内蒙古，你的身份证上可能还会有些不是汉字的文字。

在递交身份证的时候，你绝对不应该使用短语“Here you go.（给你。）”或者“There you go.（给你。）”这些短语听上去太随便了，甚至有种居高临下的意味在里面（即对别人展现优越感），通常用在递给小孩一只冰淇淋或向乞丐施舍钱的情况下。

有些考生在向考官递交身份证的时候会说“Here it is.（给你。）”。这并不是个大错，但是却不太恰当——英语母语的人士在这种情况下不会这样说。“Here it is.”更适用于你在找东西并且终于找到了的情况下使用。

对于这四个问题，我对你们更多地提出了不要说哪些内容、而不是应该说那些内容的建议。总而言之，如果你想不出什么新颖（有趣）的话来说，只需要在递交身份证的时候简洁地回答“Sure.（当然）”就可以了。

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最终提示

除了我已经在上面提到的明显语法错误之外，略嫌不恰当的答案通常不会导致你在考试中失分。但是，如果你在考试的介绍阶段中给考官频繁地留下英语知识不佳和沟通技巧弱的印象，这可能会影响考官的评判。请记住，第一印象通常都是最强烈的。

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