SPEAKING CHALLENGE
LESSON 13
AVOIDANCE
STRATEGY
DILSHOD TOJINOROVICH MARUPOV
LESSON PLAN:
1. HOW “NOT ANSWERING” CAN
BE CORRECT
2. STEP BY STEP EXPLANATION OF
AVOIDANCE STRATEGY
3. SAMPLE ANSWERS
4. HOME TASKS
3 REASONS WHY AVOIDING
TO GIVE THE ANSWER IS RIGHT
REASON 1: SHOWS HONEST
COMMUNICATION
Examiners detect fake responses
Sounds unnatural and unconvincing
Why Avoidance is Better:
Builds trust with examiner
Shows real communication skills
Feels like natural conversation
REASON 2: STAYS ON-TOPIC
Problem with Off-Topic Answers:
Damages coherence scores
Confuses the examiner
Fails task requirements
Why Avoidance is Better:
Addresses the actual question
Maintains logical flow
Protects your IELTS scores
Key Point: Limited knowledge ON-TOPIC >
Detailed knowledge OFF-TOPIC
REASON 3: USES ADVANCED LANGUAGE
Problem with Random Answers:
Simple, repetitive language
No strategic thinking
Why Avoidance is Better: Uses sophisticated
phrases:
"To be honest..."
"I suppose..."
"It's difficult to say, but..."
It shows communication strategy and
demonstrates higher-level skills
STEP-BY-STEP
EXPLANATION OF
AVOIDANCE STRATEGY
STAGE 1: AVOIDING PHRASE
Purpose: Honestly admit difficulty without panicking
Your Answer for This Stage:
"Well, to be honest, I don't really have strong opinions about what
children should learn because this is quite a complex topic."
5 Complete Universal Phrases:
1."Well, to be honest, I don't really have much experience with
this topic."
2."That's quite a challenging question, and I'm not sure I'm the
right person to ask."
3."I have to admit, this isn't something I've thought about deeply
before."
4."This is a difficult topic for me, and I don't have clear ideas
about it."
5."To be frank, I'm not really an expert on this subject."
Key: Sound natural, not nervous!
STAGE 2: ANSWERING PHRASE
Purpose: Show you will attempt an answer despite
difficulty
Your Answer for This Stage:
"But I guess if I had to give an opinion, I would say both
are probably important for children."
5 Complete Universal Phrases:
1. "But I guess if I had to give an opinion, I would say..."
2. "But let me try to share my thoughts - I think..."
3. "But I suppose I could say that..."
4. "But if I think about it, I imagine that..."
5. "But from what I understand, I believe..."
Key: Connect smoothly from avoiding to answering!
STAGE 3: QUALIFIED RESPONSE
Purpose: Give your best attempt with appropriate caution
Your Complete Answer:
"Well, to be honest, I don't really have much experience with this
topic. But I guess if I had to give an opinion, I would say... um...
maybe children need both? I mean, I learned some traditional things
from my grandmother, like cooking, and I think that was nice. But
now everything is computers, so children probably need to learn that
too."
What Makes This Realistic:
Simple personal example (grandmother)
Basic vocabulary everyone knows
Natural hesitation (um, I mean)
Shows uncertainty but still tries
Key: Use your own simple experience!
"What role should governments play in
protecting the environment?"
"That's quite a challenging question, and I'm
not sure I'm the right person to ask. But let me
try to share my thoughts - I think governments
should... um... do something to help nature?
In my country, I see some pollution in the
river near my house, so maybe the
government could clean that. But I don't
really know about big environmental
policies."
How do you think social media affects
people's relationships?
To be frank, I'm not really an expert on this
subject. But I suppose I could say that... well,
I use WhatsApp to talk to my family, and
that's good because they live far away. But
sometimes I see people looking at their
phones too much and not talking to each
other. So maybe it's both good and bad? I'm
not really sure about the bigger picture
though
HOMETASKS
1. ANSWERING QUESTIONS BASED ON
AVOIDANCE STRATEGY
2. LEARNING AND MASTERING
AVOIDANCE STRATEGY PHRASES
3. CONNECTED SPEECH PRACTICE
4. SHADOWING PRACTICE
