Proper English Grammar
Practice bankChapter 9 companionFree, no account

The vocabulary tiers bank.

Currency, Gems, Crown Jewels: the three tiers of Chapter 9, forced out under time pressure until retrieval matches knowledge.

How to use this page. Every round is timed and recorded. On replay, count deployments by tier: strong Band 7+ speech runs roughly 80% Currency, 15% Gems, 5% Crown Jewels. A Gem that needs more than two seconds to arrive is not yet active vocabulary – back into rotation it goes.

01The method

Timed deployment, tier by tier.

Knowing a word and retrieving it at speaking speed are different skills. Every round below is timed, recorded and tier-counted on replay.

Chapter 9 organises vocabulary in three tiers: Currency (the accurate everyday base), Gems (precise, less common words that mark Band 7), Crown Jewels (the exactly-right sophistication of Band 8+). These rounds force each tier out under time pressure, because a Gem you cannot retrieve in two seconds is not yet yours.

02Currency circuits

Two minutes, no gaps.

Everyday topics at full length. The test is stamina: no vocabulary gap longer than two seconds anywhere.

  • RoutineTalk through a typical weekday from waking to sleeping.
  • LocalDescribe your neighbourhood to someone who has never visited.
  • PeopleDescribe a colleague or classmate you see every day.
  • ObjectsDescribe everything you carry with you when you leave home.
  • WeatherDescribe your favourite season and what changes in it.
03Gems circuits

Two from the list, naturally placed.

Each prompt carries three Gems. Deploy at least two, naturally, in a ninety-second answer. Forced placement fails the round.

  • WorkHow is working life changing? Use two of: flexibility, demanding, career trajectory.
  • CitiesWhy do people move to cities? Use two of: opportunity, infrastructure, affordable.
  • EnvironmentWhat should change first? Use two of: sustainable, degradation, mitigate.
  • EducationWhat makes teaching effective? Use two of: engagement, critical thinking, tailored.
  • HealthWhy is modern life hard on health? Use two of: sedentary, wellbeing, preventive.
  • MediaHow do people decide what to trust? Use two of: credibility, misinformation, verify.
04Crown Jewels circuits

Precision under abstraction.

Band 8 territory: nuance, hedging, exactness. Sixty seconds each; one Jewel used precisely beats three used decoratively.

  • NuanceIs honesty always the right policy? Distinguish honesty from bluntness.
  • HedgingWill remote work last? Answer with calibrated uncertainty rather than a guess.
  • ExactnessWhat is the difference between being educated and being knowledgeable?
  • RegisterExplain a tradition from your country to an academic audience, then to a child.
  • SynthesisTechnology isolates and connects. Hold both truths in one answer.
05The L1 focus sets

Tier traps by background.

Where each cohort’s tier balance most often fails.

L1 focus: Romance speakersCognates inflate the Gems count falsely: Latinate words feel sophisticated but arrive with the wrong frequency or meaning. On your weekly transcript, verify every cognate Gem against its actual English usage before counting it.
L1 focus: East Asian speakersCrown Jewels memorised as set phrases collapse under follow-up questions. Test every Jewel with the three-way rule: can you use it in a new sentence, question form, and past context without rehearsal? If not, it stays a Gem-in-training.
L1 focus: Slavic speakersStrong Currency, thin Gems: answers are accurate but stay general. In the Gems circuits, treat the two-word minimum as hard – an accurate answer without the target words fails the round.
L1 focus: Arabic speakersIntensified Currency masquerading as range: ‘very big problem’ where ‘significant challenge’ was available. Re-run any answer containing ‘very’ + adjective, replacing each pair with one precise word.
→Make the tiers automatic

Retrieval is the skill. Lists are just the shopping.

Vocabulary that cannot arrive at speaking speed does not exist for the examiner.

Lessons drill retrieval under real question pressure, with a written report naming exactly which tier needs work – £20 for fifty minutes.

Book a first lesson → About my approach

The book of the method

The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking

The method this site drills for free, written down properly: five response frameworks, thirteen grammatical structures taken to automation, vocabulary by band, pronunciation with audio demonstrations one scan away, and first-language guidance for eight language families. 614 pages, built from more than two thousand documented one-to-one lessons. Most guides teach every candidate the same English; this one starts from what your first language makes you do.

Paperback on Amazon →Kindle edition →The free 79-page companion →