If you’ve listened to my previous podcasts, you’ll know that want to score a band score 7 in your IELTS Speaking exam, you have to use some less common idiomatic expressions. We all know the idiom ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ because this is a common idiom. But what are some less common idioms? This podcast will give you 3 more idioms for you to learn, which you can use in your IELTS Speaking exam. Preparing for exams can be a double-edged sword. This is because examiners don’t want you to memorise and repeat your answers from memory. However, using idioms can get you a higher band score. So how do we balance this? Idioms have to be memorised, because they have to be spoken exactly. We cannot change them. For example, you cannot say ‘my parents punched the roof’, you have to say my parents ‘hit the roof.’ Another tip for using idioms is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure you are armed with a variety of different idioms in your memory bank. If you only know one idiom, for example ‘think outside the box’ you have to hope your part 2 speaking exam is a suitable topic for the idiom. You can, of course, use idioms in parts 1 and 3, but part 2 is the easiest place to slot in a few idioms, because you have 1 minute to prepare. Don’t forget to book a lesson with me, so you can practise using idioms, and get the band score you are aiming for.