IELTS

A: Answering questions

In this group of exercises you will focus on answering questions in Part 1 of the speaking test.

TIP:

In Part 1 of the speaking test you will be asked questions related to a number of general topics, for example: your hometown, your work or studies, free time, family or music. It's a good idea to practise responding to questions on topics like these.

The important thing to do in this part is to be able to speak for two minutes. It doesn’t matter if you diverge and talk about different aspects of what you are asked about.

It is a good strategy to paraphrase questions that you are asked. This will give you thinking time and also show the examiner that you can do this. For example:
Examiner: How do you spend your free time?
Candidate: How do I spend my free time? Well, I don’t usually have a lot, but …

1. Appropriate respnonses.

Look at the short dialogues below and decide which is more appropriate to the IELTS speaking test.

A:	Examiner:	What's your hometown like?
	Candidate A:	It's big.

B:	Examiner:	What's your hometown like?
	Candidate B:	It's quite big, with some very beautiful old buildings in the centre, but a lot of ugly new development in the suburbs....

If you decided on dialogue B, you’re right! Examiners want full answers to questions asked. Remember that the examiners are trying to assess the level of your spoken English, and the more you speak the better they are able to do this.

2. Questions and answers.

Look at the following questions and match them to the answers.

3. Making responses longer.

The examiner will usually expect a full response, rather than just a simple adjective.

TIP:

A good way to respond to questions asking for descriptions is to begin with a general adjective and then to add to this, giving more specific detail, and explaining why you’ve used the first adjective.

For example:

What's Barcelona like?

It's lovely. It's got great beaches and the city itself is very interesting, with a beautiful old quarter and some interesting modernistic buildings as well....

It's quite common to put an adverb before the adjective, to modify it

For example:

It's quite modern.
It's very beautiful.

So to describe a city, you might use this as a pattern:

					It is...
It's	+	adverb	+	adjective	It has / It's got...
					There is / are...

Now order the words to make more sentences.

4. Teresa.

In Unit 1 you watched Teresa answering questions about her hometown. She is asked the three questions below. Put the informatioin under the correct question, then watch the video to check your answers.

5. Teresa.

Now use the words to complete what Teresa says, then watch the video to check your answers.

TIP:

During this part of the test Teresa makes some minor mistakes, but these don't affect her fluency. For example, she says "politics" instead of "politicians". It is important not to worry too much about making mistakes. Worrying and being too careful could mean that you speak less.

Remember: The common negative form of I think is I don't think. For example: I don't think it's a good city to live in.

6. Make notes.

Think about your own hometown, or the place where you live now. Which of the following adjectives would you use to describe it? Check you understand all the adjectives. Use your dictionary, if necessary.

Adjectives:
old, modern, lively, lovely, busy, beautiful, interesting, great, crowded, big, small, pleasant

Which adverbs would you use with the adjectives?

Adverbs:
very / really
quite
not very / not really

For example:

It's very interesting. / It's really interesting.
It's quite crowded.
It isn’t very big. / It's not really big.

7. Task.

Now you are going to practise Part 1 of the speaking test. In this part you have four to five minutes to talk about familiar topics. Prepare your answers to the following questions:

Where do you come from?
What is it like?
Do you have a big family?
What do you do?
What do you like best about your job?
What did you study (are you studying) at university?
Did (Do) you enjoy it?
What was (is) the most interesting part of your studies?

When you have prepared your answers, practise answering the questions and then record yourself and listen back to your recording.

When you have completed this task, listen to a native speaker answering the same questions.

See the complete transcript.

B: Appropriate responses

In this group of exercises you will focus on appropriate responses in Part 1 of the speaking test.

TIP:

As mentioned before, it is best to give full answers to questions in Part 1 of the speaking test. It also a good idea, as much as possible, to give positive answers rather than negative ones. The examiner will probably respond better to positive answers, and you will be more enthusiastic when you are explaining.

1. Listen.

Listen to the following candidate statements from Part 1 of the interview. Decide if each one is appropriate or inappropriate.

2. A long answer.

Now watch a candidate, Alex, answering the first question of Part 1 of the speaking test. In his answer he gives a lot of information and speaks for 40 seconds! Watch the video and put the phrases in the order that you hear them.

3. A long answer.

Complete what Alex says and then watch the video again to check your answer.

4. Making lists.

Making lists is a good way of adding more information, as well as demonstrating your range of vocabulary. When answering the question, Alex gives examples of what he is talking about. For example:

He doesn't just say:
We produce audio.
He says:
We produce all kinds of audio for advertising, documentaries, films, ...

Practise your vocabulary. Put the words into the correct boxes.