Previously, I already started busting IELTS speaking myths in the previous post.

Today, let’s carry on and have an honest conversation about idioms.

Are you expected to jazz up your speech with "it’s raining cats and dogs"?

The answer is yes and... no.

You remember the golden rule, no matter how desperate you’re to impress the examiner, keep it natural.

One or two juicy idioms will give a nice touch to your discourse but overusing them kills it. Make sure you know your way around idioms and use them wisely.

What you should focus on, though, is not idioms but an idiomatic language.

Idiomatic language includes phrasing, collocations, phrasal verbs, descriptive language, those essential things that make your speech sound natural.

Where can idiomatic language be found then?

Well, if you have no native speaker at your disposal, podcasts, TV shows, interviews are out there for you.