IELTS Speaking: What things do you do for the environment?A

If your exam is tomorrow and they ask you: “How are you helping the environment?” - what do you say?

 

Well, here is an idea. It’s not my idea, nonetheless it’s an excellent one. Everybody, meet Wayne Kirk and he will teach you how to save the world.

 

Wayne Kirk lives in Chengdu, China and he is a man on a mission. He started a project that will help us all to stop the Global Warming by growing a plant that absorbs CO2 in unbelievable amounts.

 

The plant is Algae and it can convert 30 times more CO2 than any other plant. Growing it is easy and Wayne has a very simple explanation how to start on his website. Click here to quickly learn and start reducing your carbon footprint.

 

Why should you care? Well, if you decided to grow the plant, that’s wonderful and you will be doing a favor to the environment, your kids and your grand-kids, but even if you didn’t - this is something you can tell your examiner if they ask you “What have you done for the environment so far?”

 

So go ahead, check project’s website and enrich your IELTS “things to say” list!

IELTS Speaking questions from Iran and the Philippines

Even though IELTS exams in Iran and the Philippines were the same as in IELTS in Pakistan, Speaking always has many different versions, so here are another two - thanks to the kind people who took the time to update me.

Speaking test in the Philippines

Interview


- What is your full name?

- Do you study or work?

- Where did you study?

- Do you drive? If not, why?

- At what age your children are likely to learn driving, you think?

Cue card

Talk about one of the happiest events in your childhood, you should say

- Why was it important

- Where it happened


- When was it?

- Does your family still remember it? Why?

- Are you still keeping something from your childhood, like toys or pictures? For what reason?

Discussion

- Fresh fruits and vegetables in the day to day life.

- Are you eating fast food? Why?

- Is it available in your place?

- Are people following the old traditions these days? Why?

Speaking test in Iran

Interview

- Talk about your place

- What kinds of transportation you use in your hometown?

- How often do you go out?

- How do you spend your spare time?

- How often do you read books?

- What kinds of books?

Cue card

Talk about a party you would like to hold


- What do you do to hold it?

- What special things you do at this party?

Discussion

- What are the differences between old and young generation’s parties?

- Which one do you prefer, friendly gathering or family gathering? Why?

- What special things you do in family gathering?

- Talk about national ceremonies in your country.

- Are they useful or not? Why?

IELTS Speaking questions from 2 recent exams

Thanks to a couple of nice people from Jedda, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia we have 2 sets of Speaking test questions, here they are:

Speaking Test 1

Interview

- Tell me your full name


- What should I call you?

- Where are you from?

- Can you tell me something about your home / apartment?

- What improvement for your home you think needs to be done?

- When was the last time you went out with your friends?

- Do you prefer to go out alone or with friends?

Cue card

You should speak about a special toy you got as a child

- describe the toy


- tell why it was so important to you.

Discussion

- Do you think toys should be shared by children?

- What do you think is the impact of sharing toys between children?

- What can you tell about toys before and toys nowadays?

- How would a toy help in the development of children?

Speaking Test 2

Interview

- What is your name?


- Where do you stay?

- Tell me about the area you live in.

- Do you like to stay there, why?

- Any public transport available in your area?

- Do you drive? If yes, why?

- Do you want your children to drive in future?

(I was quite shocked to be asked about 10-13 questions during my 1st interview.)

Cue card

I was asked to talk about my trip which was not up to my expectations and say:


- what happened,

- what did I do and

-what was my feeling.

( I finished it in less than 2 minutes and frankly I didn’t encounter any such bad experience before.)

Discussion

I was asked question about the tourist industry, the impacts of it, both positive and negative, future tourists, etc.

two recent IELTS Speaking test

Somehow the Speaking test is easier for people to remember than the Listening, Reading and Writing. Here is a collection of questions that appeared in 2 recent Speaking tests. I hope you get the same in your exam!

Speaking Test 1

Interview

- Describe the town you come from in your country.


- Do you believe bicycles are popular where you live?

- Do you believe bicycles are important to children?

Cue Card

Describe something you have always wanted to buy.

- What is it?

- Why do you like it?

- Do you think you will buy it some day?

Discussion

- Do you believe shopping is more popular today than in the past?


- Does it affect our society positively or negatively?

- Do you believe we spend to much time shopping?

- How does advertisement affect our shopping habits?

- What are the pros and cons if it?

- How does advertisement affect business?

Speaking Test 2

Interview

- What is your full name?

- Tell me about your town.


- What do you like about your town?

Cue card

Discuss a sports activity you watched or joined, you should say

- Where it happened

- What exactly happened

- Why it was memorable

Discussion

- What do you think is the most popular sports nowadays?

- What do you think about the benefits of swimming?


- Do you think swimming is a good sport?

- What sports activities were you engaged in at school?

- If you were given a chance to go back to school, what sports would you engage in?

- Should children be encouraged to do more sports?

- What kind of sports are better for the kids, team or from individual sports?

48 words to Impress an Examiner!

aberration (n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won the World Cup, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and Poland have not won a World Cup since).

abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up getting hit in the head when he tried to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor the sport).

acquiesce (v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.)

alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Simon loved to help his girlfriend whenever he could, so when his girlfriend asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)

amiable (adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.)

appease(v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease him.)

arcane(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Kashubian literature.)

avarice(n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.)

brazen(adj.) excessively bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics condemned the writer’s brazen attempt to plagiarise Frankow-Czerwonko’s work.)

brusque(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner sometimes offends his colleagues.)

cajole(v.) to urge, coax (Magdas friends cajoled her into drinking too much.)

callous(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

candor(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.)

chide(v.) to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)

circumspect(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.)

clandestine(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine liaison.)

coerce(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

coherent(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)

complacency(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)

confidant(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, he became my chief confidant.)

connive(v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my plans to start up a new business.)

cumulative(adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent using the World English website was a vast improvement in his vocabulary and general level of English.)

debase(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

decry(v.) to criticize openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.)

deferential(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (Donata is always excessively deferential to any kind of authority figure.)

demure(adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.)

deride(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided the other teacher’s accent.)

despot(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

diligent(adj.) showing care in doing one’s work (The diligent researcher made sure to double check her measurements.)

elated(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When he found out he had won the lottery, the postman was elated.)

eloquent(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The best man gave such an eloquent speech that most guests were crying.)

embezzle(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling €10,000 of the company’s funds.)

empathy(n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such empathy for my dog when she’s upset so am I!)

enmity(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (John and Scott have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

erudite(adj.) learned (My English teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse Old English poetry.)

extol(v.) to praise, revere (Kamila extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving boyfriend.)

fabricate(v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to work.)

feral(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

flabbergasted(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)

forsake(v.) to give up, renounce (I wont forsake my conservative principles.)

fractious(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious behavior - especially his decision to crush his jam sandwiches all over the floor - convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

furtive(adj.) secretive, sly (Claudia’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

gluttony(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Helen’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I don’t know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

gratuitous(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every evening the guy at the fish and chip shop gives me a gratuitous helping of vinegar.)

haughty(adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of her co-stars will backfire on her someday.)

hypocrisy(n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician began passing legislation that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.)

impeccable(adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your brother’s, then you too would receive a car for a graduation present.)

impertinent(adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)

implacable(adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandmother’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)

IELTS Speaking tips that helped a Candidate get Band 7

Speaking is a weakness of analytic learners (who learn English from books and tapes). Moreover, in countries where English is not a first language, improving your speaking in English is really difficult. Therefore, I don’t have much experience in practicing speaking. Here are some tips that I got from my teachers and some suggestions that I think they might be helpful for you.

Pronunciation is the most important feature in speaking. If you speak correctly, academically and interestingly, but no one understands what you are talking about, you certainly lose your points.

One of my teachers, who is fluent in 5 languages, shares his experience that pronunciation is the key of learning a language. It might be true since native English speakers can pronounce a unfamiliar word correctly but don’t know how to spell it. Because English is a combination of many languages, there are no totally general rules for pronunciation. As a result, you must remember everything.

So how to pronounce the words correctly?

- Firstly, listen and learn what native English speaker said. As I mentioned, listening can help you in speaking. You can correct yourself in basic words if you listen a lot. Moreover, listening can also help you to learn how to stress important words, how to speak naturally and even how to organize your speech.

- Secondly, if you learn a new word, you must know how to pronounce it first. Typically, when people want to learn new words, they revise these words again and again, and write it down so many times. But now, to improve your speaking and listening, you must he

ust hear electronic dictionary pronouncing and repeat after it again and again.

- Thirdly, make sentences with new vocabulary. Everybody might know how to pronounce words correctly, but when they combine them all together, they cannot pronounce correctly anymore, or even if they do, their sentence may sound unnatural. The reason is they lack of intonation. Listening might solve this problem.

- Fourthly, practice pronunciation every week (3-4 times a week) by reading out loud a short passage. At first, you practice to pronounce all the words in that passage correctly. Then read the whole passage slowly and correctly (pay attention to ending sound).

Afterward, increase reading speed in each sentence (’read’ here means you must speak out the words, not read in your mind). If you speak quickly but start to pronounce wrongly, that means you reach your limit, don’t speak faster than that. And finally, you read the whole passage again at normal speed, or may be a bit faster than normal a little bit, but you MUST include intonation.

To find material for practicing this exercise, you can visit this website: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com. There are hundreds of short news and audio files spoken by a native speaker. I guarantee if you practice this kind of exercise gradually, you pronunciation will improve a lot. (Note: this is the exercise of my teacher, who speaks 5 languages, as I mentioned before)

Now, to prepare for IELTS Speaking test, you should practice some more exercises:

- Pick a topic and stand in front of mirror to practice speaking test. You should go through all three parts of the real speaking test. Standing in front of mirror will help you improve your body language and also your pronunciation. You might find it strange that mirror can correct your pronunciation. In fact, there are some vowels and consonants that you can’t pronounce correctly if you don’t know how to do that (not just simply remember the pronunciation).

- Try to speak naturally. You are advised to speak fast with intonation (the previous reading exercise will certainly help you). You should learn and apply some verb phrases, idioms and slang expressions. This is not the key part of speaking test, but it is better if you know, not only for your test but also for you speaking skill. If you want to get 7.0, you must master pronunciation, accuracy and intonation.

Important tip #1
When you practice in speaking, you must pay attention to the ending sound. But when you take the real test, don’t do that, because it will affect your fluency. In the real test, it is the time you show examiner what you got, not the time you can show them how good you can correct yourself. Using experience you gained from practicing to prove your speaking skill.

Important tip #2
Another wonderful way to practice speaking is to speak English in your dream. If you never do that, you do it now. I have already spoken English in my dreams even before my teacher advice me to do so. I just watch cartoons in English, films in English and listen to songs in English. As a result, I naturally dream in English. Actually, I can control my dreams, lol, it is very interesting, try to do that. By doing that, I can think quickly in my mind, but I still have problems when speaking my ideas out. So, you must do 2 previous exercises in order to improve speaking.

Just hear electronic dictionary pronouncing and repeat after it again and again

Some IELTS Tips - Speaking

1. Give a full answer. Don't just give one word answers. Include more information. For example, when asked where you're from, instead of just saying the name of the place, speak in a sentence which states the name, the location, and how long you've been there. This shows the examiner you are confident speaking in English. But don't speak too long or the examiner will think you've misunderstood the question!

2. Speak clearly and don't worry about your accent. Everyone has an accent when they speak English. The important point is that you enunciate the best you can so the examiner can understand you. Rehearse in advance to overcome any obvious pronunciation problems. If you make a mistake, don't worry, just correct yourself and keep going.

3. Use descriptive words. Don't use boring words like good, bad, nice, or okay. Use exciting words that covey emotion. Practice using higher level words for every simple word you know – such as thrilled instead of happy, or depressed instead of sad.

4. Speak up. Sometimes, students mumble and speak very softly because they are nervous or unsure of their words. Use simple, correct language rather than complicated vocabulary and speak loudly enough that the examiner does not have to strain to hear you. This indicates self-confidence and command of the language.

5. Don't use slang. You have 11 minutes to display the best English you know in all the years that you have been learning English! Choose to be formal rather than informal.

6. Keep a steady pace. Don't speak too fast or too slow.

7. Don't try to memorize answers to sample subjects. The examiner has enough experience to recognize that you are not speaking naturally and spontaneously and will change the subject or give you a lower score. Use the sample subjects to give you practice speaking on a variety of topics, but not to memorize.

8. Explain names or words which are in another language. For instance, if you are asked to speak about a festival, which involves using words in your language, say the words clearly and give the meaning if any afterwards, so the examiner can follow your explanation.

9. Ask questions, if necessary, in Part 3 only. You cannot ask questions in Parts 1 and 2, but you can do so, if necessary in Part 3.

10. Practice speaking with a watch. Get an idea of how long two minutes is and approximately how much content you will have to cover.

11. Stay on topic. Don't change the subject or the examiner will think you have misunderstood and may give you a lower mark.

12. Have daily discussions with friends. Take turns asking each other questions about current events and develop your ability to speak about various topics, using varied sentence structure and vocabulary.

How to get a higher band for IELTS Speaking

Many students asked me how they can get a better score for Speaking. One of the things that matters in the Speaking test is your pronunciation. When you study with a teacher, improving your pronunciation is easier – he can correct you and you can listen to him and just copy the way he pronounces words. But what do you do if you’re all alone and study by yourself?

A number of things, actually!

First, you can use a free web-based text-to-speech application such as this one (click here to try). “Text-to-speech” means exactly that – you type a word and the program says it. Get a passage of text and start reading it out loud. Any word you are not sure how to pronounce, type in that website and click “Say it” to hear it. Repeat it again and again until you remember the right way to say it.

Second, you can record yourself speak – using a computer or a tape recorder, an mp3 player, a mobile phone – now there are many devices that allow voice recording. Then listen to your recorded voice and make note of what words are mispronounced. Start working on those using the talking website again and get them right.

Third, get a recording of news/radio/anything made by native English speakers. Play it and repeat after them, trying to copy the way they pronounce words.

A word of advice – there is no quick and easy fix for bad pronunciation. The chances are that you won’t get rid of your accent completely – but the accent doesn’t matter in IELTS as long as you pronounce the words correctly, so work hard on that – and you should be just fine!

IELTS exam in Brazil - April 2009 (Academic Module)

This update came from Brazil, where M just had her IELTS exam. She shares the questions and topics while they are still fresh in her memory:

Listening test

Section 1: A guy was trying to buy a Barbecue. The sales woman explained to him the models, advantages, disadvantages and prices.
Section 2: Specific characteristics of a Barbecue that the man had chosen and complements he should buy.
Section 3: Students gathering information about a project he needs to work on.
Section 4: The history of the development of bicycles.

Reading test

Passage 1: Text about “Pearls - a jewel from the sea”. There were 2 pages and 6 paragraphs, the questions were to match main idea of each paragraph to a statement, or to complete sentences with words given.

Passage 2: “The development of emotions in babies”. The questions were to match main ideas of some paragraphs to statements and about the research data.

Passage 3: “Foreign Language - How it is managed in the business environment”. It was the most difficult one in my opinion because it asked for to many details on the last part of Reading . We had to complete a long paragraph with words given, to identify the main idea of the text and to complete sentences with words from the original text.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (report)
A table with 4 different types of housing in 3 residential areas, the information was provided in percentages.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
People say that watching television is bad for children. What do you think? Develop both arguments, positive and negative, and give your opinion.

Speaking test

Interview
The examiner asked me:
- My full name
- Whether I work or study.
- Which tools am I using to study?
- Where is the closest swimming pool to my house.
- Do people in my country like to swim? Why?

Cue card
A stage in my life I liked the most.
- When was it
- Where I was living
- Why it was important

Discussion
- Talk about marriage. What are special stages in my country. Why do I think they are important?
- If there was a particular stage or age at which people are considered adults in my country. What do I think about it.

SPEAKING INTERVIEW : SECTION 1 :Possible questions and answers

1. Where do you come from?

I live in Smallvile. It is a big city /small town located in the south of NeverNeverLand.

 

2. What is your home like?

I rent an apartment. We have two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen and of course one restroom. The apartment is not very big, about 70 square meters.

 

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages your home has?

The advantage is that my accommodation has lots of sunlight from the windows. And the disadvantage is that it is noisy because the centre of the city is near by.

 

4. Tell me about your family.

I have a mother, a father and a brother. My mother is a social worker, my father is a civil engineer and my brother is a student.

 

5. Tell me about your job.

Well, I work for a big firm /small company named BananaSoft. It is located in Smallvile. My job title is Software Designer.

 

6. Is there anything you dislike about your job?

Normally, I enjoy my job very much. But sometimes my boss gives me boring assignments, which I don’t like at all.

 

7. What are your plans for the future?

I would like to improve my English first and then to find another job with better salary.

 

8. What type of transport do you use most?

There are 2 types of transport that I use: I either drive my car or take the bus.

 

9. Do you like reading?

Yes I do. I enjoy reading very much. Usually, I read every other day of the week.

 

10. What do you like reading the best?

I enjoy reading news papers, magazines and of course my favorite fantasy books.

 

11. What kind of television programs do you watch?

Well, my favorite channel is Some TV Channel. I find it very interesting and educational.

 

12. Tell me about a film you have seen recently

I saw “Some New Movie” a week ago. It is a comedy and I like comedies. This one has some silly jokes but other than that I enjoyed it.

 

13. Do you have a pet?

Yes I do. I have a dog named Richy. He is 4 years old.

 

14. What kind of food do you like?

I prefer Asian cooking, mostly Chinese. My favorite dish is noodles with vegetables.

15. How often do you go shopping?

Well, I don’t like shopping, so I do it only when I have to.

 

16. What is your favorite festival and why?

I like October Fest. It’s a German festival that starts in late September and ends in October. People drink lots of beer at October Fest and that is why I like it.

 

17. How do people celebrate this festival?

Well, they build pavilions and stands that sell beer and all kinds of food, a lot of bands are playing there. People from all around Europe come to celebrate the October Fest dressed in German Traditional clothes.