Websites and apps to practice basic English communication tests

Where to practice basic English communication tests and how to practice effectively? In this article, PREP will provide you with common conversational phrases and reliable sources for communication practice tests. Take a look!

I. Some questions in basic English communication

To do well on basic English communication tests, you need to master some common questions and answers in daily conversations:

1. Questions about self-introduction

First, let's start with basic English communication about self-introduction to provide basic information when starting a conversation. The questions will revolve around your name, age, nationality, place of residence, family, etc.

2. Questions about education and work

Next, let's move on to questions about your education as well as your current occupation!

3. Questions about interests

To better understand the other person, you need to continue with questions about interests in basic communication.

4. Questions about future plans

After asking about personal information, education, work and interests, you can also ask the other person some questions about their future plans:

The above are some sample questions in daily English that you need to memorize to get acquainted with foreigners. Next, let's explore the sources to practice the basic English communication test!

II. Sources for basic English communication tests

To practice well, you need to use sources that provide basic English communication tests to study regularly. Let's take a look!

1. Websites for basic English communication tests 

1.1. Speaking9

The Speaking9 website provides free basic English communication tests to determine the entry-level proficiency for learners. The test questions are designed in a multiple-choice format about familiar communication dialogues that are commonly encountered in daily life. This helps you evaluate the grammar and vocabulary you have used in basic communication.

After completing the basic English communication test, the score and results for each question will be displayed immediately for you to review.

Advantages:

• The questions are graded in difficulty from low to high

• Simple, user-friendly interface design

Disadvantages:

• Need to pay a fee to practice the basic English communication test

• Some questions have a high level of difficulty

• Many advertisements appear

Website: https://speaking9.com/  

1.2. PREP

PREP is one of the best websites for practicing basic English communication tests, which is both cost-effective and ensures quality equivalent to a leading offline class. PREP's courses all integrate smart grading features that allow teachers to directly add feedback on each error in the Speaking practice, helping you improve your skills effectively.

Notably, the PREP website also owns the Virtual Exam Room - Vietnam's leading English practice room. Here, you can practice the Speaking Test with an AI 9.0 IELTS partner. For beginners, you can choose to just test Part 1 of the Speaking Test with common daily topics like shopping, school, work, hobbies, etc.

After each basic English communication test on PREP's Virtual Speaking Room, you will be graded in detail by the AI on each mistake, and receive a score based on the IELTS exam criteria, as well as suggestions to upgrade your speaking with high-scoring vocabulary and grammar. The test sets on the PREP website are also continuously updated so that students can experience the most realistic practice possible.

Advantages

• Top-tier teacher team, detailed grading, and sincere feedback to help students.

• Advanced AI technology automatically identifies specific errors in vocabulary, grammar, and intonation in your speaking.

• Questions and topics are standard format with the actual IELTS exam, and updated quarterly to allow effective pre-exam practice.

• Provides sample answers with high scores for each question for students to reference after each Speaking Test.

Disadvantages

• Require payment for courses and features, but the cost is very reasonable.

Website: https://prepedu.com/vi/ 

1.3. Small Talk2me

The website provides a 30-minute continuous basic English communication test to determine proficiency level. The test questions are designed in a list format for recording, along with some reading comprehension exercises based on pre-existing passages, to help you evaluate your overall skills in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

The system will provide feedback on your results immediately after you complete the test. Based on your score, you can determine your current communication level and other skills ranging from A1 to C2.

Advantages:

• Free to take the test

• Diverse range of different tests available on a daily basis

Disadvantages:

• Not provide study materials or practice exercises

• The test results do not include detailed explanations

Website: https://smalltalk2.me/   

1.4. Wall Street English

The Wall Street English website provides a variety of basic English communication tests for different learning purposes, including IELTS, TOEFL, business English, and daily conversational English.

Each test is designed with a different format and set of questions. Therefore, you have many options for basic English communication tests that suit your learning needs to practice and improve your language skills on a daily basis.

Advantages:

• Free to take the tests

• Wide range of basic English communication tests available

• Detailed test results with explanations

Disadvantages:

• Simple website interface with limited features

• Some questions have a high level of difficulty

Website: https://www.wallstreetenglish.com/english-tests 

2. Basic English Communication Test App

2.1. Speakingpal

SpeakingPal is a popular English learning app with basic English communication tests that can recognize and evaluate the learner's pronunciation and speaking. The app can also track the learning progress and improvement in speaking skills for each user.

The lesson topics are designed to be close to daily life, such as family, friends, work, business, travel, etc. Therefore, the basic English communication tests are highly relevant to real-life situations.

Advantages:

• Users can listen back to their recorded files and compare them with native speaker pronunciation.

• Closely monitor the learner's learning progress.

Disadvantages:

• Require users to pay a fee to access all the features.

• Sometimes has issues with voice recognition.

Download link:

• iOS

• Android

2.2. Duolingo

Duolingo is a language learning app with interesting basic English communication tests. The completely free curriculum includes 35 different languages from around the world with a diverse and rich system of exercises. The basic English communication tests for practice are designed as games to keep the learners engaged and entertained.

The app interface is very adorable with the cute green owl image and a clear, detailed learning path. As a result, Duolingo has quickly attracted attention in the English communication learning market recently.

Advantages:

• Adorable, lively interface that stimulates learning.

• Daily learning reminders.

• Divides the levels from beginner to advanced, customizing the experience for users.

Disadvantages:

• Focus more on vocabulary learning rather than pronunciation and grammar.

• Sometimes the test content encounters issues.

Download link:

• iOS

• Android

2.3. Speaky

Speaky is an app that helps you experience basic English communication tests by practicing speaking directly with foreigners. With its matchmaking algorithm, Speaky connects users with foreigners of the same language level to practice speaking from beginner to advanced.

The Speaky app also provides features like spell-checking, messaging, or sending voice messages directly to international friends.

Advantages:

• Practical speaking practice with foreigners.

• Speaking topics are divided into specific levels suitable for each person.

• Provide standard international vocabulary and grammar.

Disadvantages:

• Some foreigners may have a slightly difficult accent.

• It's not always possible to instantly connect with international friends, as the app may not be able to find a suitable match.

Download links:

• iOS

• Android

2.4. Elsa Speak

Elsa provides a basic English communication test focused on pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The test will ask questions and require users to respond with their voice. The questions are usually related to everyday situations, such as shopping, ordering meals, or communicating in a work setting.

After completing the test, users will receive an assessment of their English speaking ability. The Elsa app typically provides feedback on strengths and weaknesses, and then compares the user's accent to a native standard to help with improvement.

Advantages:

• Personalize the learning path for each user based on their level and learning goals.

• Diverse set of tests, including pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary, and conversational grammar.

Disadvantages:

• Require users to pay a fee to access all features.

• Sometimes the app may not accurately recognize pronunciation or provide inaccurate feedback.

Download links:

• iOS

• Android

III. How to Effectively Practice Basic English Conversation Tests

How can you effectively practice basic English conversation tests? Let's refer to the following guidelines from PREP:

1. Use dictionaries to look up accurate pronunciation

First of all, to effectively practice basic English conversation tests, you need to practice pronouncing vocabulary words accurately. Therefore, you should use reputable online dictionaries to look up pronunciation and learn accordingly.

Typically, dictionaries will provide the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription to help you understand the pronunciation of that vocabulary. Try to repeat the pronunciation and intonation according to the dictionary's pronunciation until you are accurate.

Some reputable online dictionaries you can choose from are: Oxford Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary.

2. Practice Shadowing with native accents

The Shadowing technique with native accents is a method of practicing listening and pronouncing English by immediately listening and repeating the dialogue or sentences you hear from native speakers, with the goal of imitating their standard intonation and pronunciation.

At first, when you're not yet familiar, you can turn on the transcript of the audio and adjust the speed to read along. After you have mastered the content of the speech, then remove the transcript and speak along exactly at the standard speed of the audio.

3. Combine practice of English conversation listening

Finally, combine improving your English conversation listening skills by listening to English songs, podcasts, or videos according to your interests. Spend 30 minutes a day practicing listening comprehension consistently to increase your vocabulary and reflex ability with the foreign language.

Some English conversation listening channels you can refer to are:

• English podcasts: TED Talks, The English We Speak, Serial, Stuff You Should Know.

• Channels providing English videos: Khan Academy, Crash Course, BBC Learning English.

The article above from PREP has compiled all the resources to practice basic English conversation tests, and also provided common conversational sample sentences. Be sure to save it and practice well for the test! Wishing the Preppies success!