Introduction to the IELTS

Speaking Test

 About the Speaking test Page 1

 Prepare and Practice for the test Page 3

 Make a Study Plan Page 10

Appendix Page 11

 Topics you may be asked to talk about

 Connectives/Conjunctives

A Path to IELTS
Success

Kevin McIndoe 2016

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About the IELTS Speaking Test

The IELTS speaking test lasts only 11-14 minutes; the IELTS examiner will ask questions in three parts.

IELTS speaking Part 1: Short Q & A (Question and Answer) about familiar Topics (3-4 minutes): Questions
about where you live, your work/study, hobbies, holidays, sports, entertainment. How many questions
depends on how long your answers are. See the Appendix for possible subjects.

IELTS speaking Part 2: Long Turn (2 minutes plus 1 minute for preparation): Candidates are given a topic
card and then given 1 minute to prepare a 2 minute answer. Topics include describing or commenting on a
person, place, or movie. The examiner may ask 1 or 2 rounding-off questions at the end of this turn.

IELTS speaking Part 3: Discussion (3-4 minutes): This is roughly based on the topic area of the Part 2: Long
Turn. Questions typically ask the candidate to compare, analyse or speculate on the given topic. In this part
the examiner may push the candidate hard to see the boundaries of their ability.

How the speaking test is graded

Your speaking test is graded and marked from 1-9 in accordance with four key criteria, as follows:

Fluency and coherence: Fluency is about your ability to speak at a normal speed without excessive
hesitation and restarting. Coherence refers to your speaking being easy to understand. In order to score
highly you need to show willingness to talk at length and develop your topic, use connectives/conjunctives
and discourse markers, avoid pauses and restarts.

Connectives/Conjunctives include: 'but', 'and','so', 'if', 'although', 'when', 'while', 'since', 'because'.
See other examples in the Appendix.

Discourse markers are words or phrases like 'anyway', 'right', 'okay', 'as I say', 'to begin with'. We
use them to connect, organize and manage what we say or write or to express attitude.

Vocabulary: To score highly you must use higher level words, pay attention to collocation (see
www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm), and also control your word endings (correctly use
singular/plural and use the correct verb ending for the correct tense). In addition you should try to show an
ability to paraphrase and use colloquial/slang language. You will also be rewarded for the correct
vocabulary to precisely explain things.

Grammar: To score highly you need to use a variety of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and
also avoid grammatical errors, such as with articles and prepositions and sentence order especially when
they make your speaking difficult to understand.

Pronunciation: Your grade is influenced by the level to which your accent makes it difficult to
understand what you are saying, and also the degree to which you use language features of a native
speaker such as intonation, stress, and rhythm.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don't be a parrot. In IELTS, a parrot is a candidate who repeats the question back in
statement form, for example: Q: What’s your favourite sport to watch on TV? A: My
favourite sport to watch on TV is football. As the scoring criteria of IELTS heavily reward
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those who can vary speech, paraphrasing the words or structure of the question is a fast-track route to a
higher score: I’m always watching football on TV.

2. Poor pronunciation. Great ideas are worthless if the listener can’t make out your words. There’s a good
reason pronunciation accounts for 25% of the score in IELTS Speaking and that’s because it’s fundamental
to spoken communication. Before taking IELTS, you should find an opportunity to practice with native or
native-level speakers and get an honest appraisal of your pronunciation. If they have trouble hearing your
words, it’s very likely the examiner will too.

3. Memorised answers. The examiner is very likely to notice if you try to recite an answer from memory,
and there is a penalty for this. The tell-tale signs of a memorised answer include speaking in a ‘written’
style of English, unnatural intonation, and the candidate attempting to ‘rephrase’ the question to the one
they want to answer. Any questions you try to memorise answers to are very unlikely to be asked, so it is
much more effective to practice speaking about a wide range of topics before you take the test.

4. Answering the wrong question. You will lose marks for coherence if your answer completely fails to
address the question. Ask yourself before you begin speaking if you are sure you have understood, and do
not be afraid to ask the examiner for help.

5. Saying ‘I don’t understand’. There are much better ways to check for meaning, so learn them! You can
use a straightforward request like Could you say that again, please? or ask a checking question such as Do
you mean…? that shows you have at least partly understood the question.

6.Overuse of transition signals. It’s helpful to use a few signposting words like first,
for example or on the other hand. But if you overload your speech with these you
could actually damage your score. Sounding natural, not like a signposting robot,
should be your goal in IELTS Speaking. There are also many words characteristic of
formal writing such as furthermore, moreover and in addition that are hardly ever
used in speech and could actually make you sound less natural if you say them.

7. Saying too much or too little. If you say too little, you miss the opportunity to show off your ability. If you
say too much, you risk sounding less coherent and making more mistakes. As a general guide, answers of
two to four sentences are fine in Part 1 . There are clear instructions about the length of speaking time in
Part 2. You should aim to say three to six sentences after each question in Part 3.

8. Silence. Different cultures have different attitudes to silence, but for English speakers the attitude is one
of near-zero tolerance. It’s fine to hesitate for a few seconds before speaking or between ideas, but silences
of longer than five seconds will go down badly. Happily, there’s a solution to this problem and that’s to learn
some filler expressions such as That’s a tough question and Let me see.

9. Flat intonation. Even when you pronounce words clearly, flat intonation will make it difficult to follow
what you say. We vary intonation, pitch, volume and speaking speed in order to maintain the listener’s
interest and direct attention to your important ideas. Even IELTS examiners, who are trained to listen
carefully to everything a candidate says, will find a flatly-intoned response difficult to follow and your
response may be marked down for both pronunciation and coherence as a result.

10. Asking for the examiner’s opinion. You are there to answer the questions, not ask them. The examiner
will politely redirect the question back your way if you try to stall for time by saying I don’t know, what do
you think? If you really don’t have any ideas, just say I’m afraid I know nothing about this topic and wait
for the next question.
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Prepare for the test

SPEAKING PART 1:
1. DESCRIPTION QUESTIONS: (Strategy: divide into 2 or 3 parts)

Sample answer
Tell me something about your hometown?
I come from Taipei and I have lived here all my life, although at the moment I’m studying in another city –
Taizhong. I suppose if I had to describe Taipei, the first thing I would say is that it’s very crowded, maybe
even one of the biggest cities in Asia I guess. It’s so congested that even the locals have problems finding
their way around! Another significant characteristic is that it offers splendid examples of contemporary
architecture. Actually some of the renowned landmarks are in the middle of Taipei, such as the Taipei 101,
the second tallest building in the world.

1. Well, the main thing you need to know is that…(1) + (details)…

2. On top of that I can also add that (2)…+ (details)…
3. Something else that I need to say is that (3)…so actually…(detail)

Starting-off
Ok, then; actually; alright; well, you know;

Point 1
The first thing I’d like to mention is …
The main thing you need to know is …
I’d like to begin by highlighting the fact …

Point 2
In addition I suppose I should say …
Another interesting point …
Not only that, but _______is also exceedingly …..

Point 3
And I shouldn’t forget to mention that…
I guess I could also say that (it’s) sort-of ……..
Finally I’d also like to mention ……..

Practice:
Tell me something about your hometown?
What does your neighborhood look like?
What does your house look like?

2. LIKING (Strategy: General to specific)

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Rephrasing “liking”
I’m pretty fond of…
I’m really keen on…
I’m a big fan of…
I’m passionate about…

Structure
1. Well in general I would say …
2. To be more precise/specific…
3. And I guess this is probably because…

Sample answer
What kind of animals do you like?

Well in general I would say small animals, to be more precise cats and dogs; and, I guess this is because we
often kept them when I was growing up, and they were good companions for me.

Practice:
What do you like about your hometown?
Do you like your job/studies?
What sort of music do you like?
Do you like reading?
Do you like shopping?

3. DISLIKING (Strategy: General to specific)

Rephrasing “Disliking”
I’m not really satisfied with…
I’m not much of a fan of…
I’m not really fond of…
…is simply not my cup of tea.
I really can’t stand…
… simply gets on my nerves.

Sample answer
Is there anything you don’t like about your hometown?

In general, I’d have to say that I am not so satisfied with the weather. To be more precise, I really can’t
stand the summer months. You know, it’s because the temperatures are often as high as 35 degrees, plus
it is always humid, so it makes you feel quite uncomfortable!

Practice
Is there anything you don’t like about your hometown?
Is there anything you don’t like about job/studies?
Is there any food you don’t like?
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What’s the worst thing about shopping?

Are there any clothes that you don’t like?
What type of weather do you dislike?

4. “TYPE OF” QUESTIONS (strategy: depends on)

…there’s quite a mixed variety of …

…there’s quite an extensive diversity of …
… there’s quite a wide range of …
… there’s a fairly broad range of …
… there’s quite a diverse mixture of …

Sample answer
Tell me about the different types of transportation in your city.

Of course, you know there’s quite a mixed variety of public transportation in my city. Though I think the
most commonly-used one could probably be buses. And the explanation for this could be that they are so
cheap and reliable. In fact the average bus fare in my city is about 20 dollars for a single journey from start
to end.

Practice
What kinds of restaurants are popular in your country?
What types of shops can be found in your local area?
What types of things do people collect in your country?
What types of TV programmes are popular in your country?

5. “WH-/HOW OFTEN” QUESTIONS(strategy: concession)

Well to be honest, I would have to say that it really depends.

Like for instance … Whereas in contrast…

Sample answer
What sort of restaurants do you usually eat at?

Usually I prefer to get something like fast food such as McDonalds because it’s quick and easy to get.
However, if I have more time I would rather have something healthier such as a steak and salad from a
decent restaurant like Outback Steakhouse.

Practice
When do you usually read?
Who do you spend your evenings with?
When you go out in the evenings, what do you usually do?
How often do you play sports?
Where do you usually go shopping?
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SPEAKING PART 2:

Individuals : Appearance / Personality / Hobbies / Relationship / My feeling

Buildings : Location / Exterior / Interior / Atmosphere / Service / My feeling
Cities : Location / People / Food / Cityscape / Entertainment / My feeling
Experience : What / Why / When / Where / Who / My feeling
Leisure activities : What / Who / When / Why / My feeling
Natural Beauty : Location / History / Visitors / Activities / My feeling
Animals : Appearance / Habits / Food / Relationship / My feeling
Objects : How I got it / Exterior / Function / Price / another related object / My feeling
Organizations : History / Members / Location / Duty / Influence / My feeling

Opening:
Well I’d like to talk about ………
Ok then, to start with I will talk about ………

The first point:

The first thing I’d like to mention is …
The main thing you need to know is …
I’d like to begin by highlighting the fact …
The most important point about _____ is

The second point:

Going on to my next point which is ______, and the thing that needs to be highlighted here is that (S+V).
Now concerning the matter of ______, and what I have to mention here is that ~.

The third point:

Progressing to the subject of ______. I would like to explain that (S+V).
Moving onto the business of ______, What I would like to make clear is that ~.

The last point:

Finally, I’d like to discuss __________
Finally then, if there is time, I could deal with the last question of (N).

IELTS Speaking Part 2 Example and Analysis

Describe a major decision you have taken in your life.

You should say:
– What the decision was
– What other choices were available to you
– Why you made the decision you did
Sample topic card And explain if you think the decision was a good one.
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Sample answer:

A really important decision I’ve made recently is to study abroad, which is the reason I’m here
talking to you now. No-one from my family has ever had the chance to study abroad before. My
parents were actually hoping I’d start working for our family textile business as soon as I
graduate. I think it’s too soon to join the family business though. I really want to study
marketing – especially fashion marketing – and English so I can sell our company products to
buyers all over the world. If I study fashion marketing in the UK, I can learn how to do business
in the fashion industry, which is of course very competitive and fast-moving. As for whether it
was the right decision, I’m pretty confident it was and I can’t change my mind now anyway
because I borrowed money from my parents to pay for my tuition. I’m going to do my best to
finish my course and I will go back to my country with new ideas that will help expand our
business. All I need now is to get a good score in IELTS. So, anyway, that’s an important decision
in my life.

Like many questions in IELTS Speaking Part 2, this one deals with an event or action in the past. There is,
however, a switch to the present when the candidate is required to reflect on the decision.

Analysis: This IELTS candidate scores highly by:

 Getting straight to the point and saying what the decision was in the very first sentence
 Paraphrasing the topic: A really important decision
 Using a range of tenses – past simple, present simple and present perfect – with great accuracy
 Using a wide range of grammatical forms such as a conditional sentence (If I…) and a cleft sentence
(All I need now is…)
 Signalling parts of the question: As for whether it was the right decision…
 Avoiding over-formality and using expressions such as actually and pretty that are appropriate to
conversational style
 Providing a summarising sentence to wrap up the response

Practice
In the exam, you have one minute to read the instructions and prepare your answer and make
notes. For this class, you have 5 minutes. Then you must speak for one to two minutes on the above
topic:
Describe a major decision you have taken in your life.

SPEAKING: Part 3
It’s difficult to predict exactly what questions you will get asked in the third part of the
exam, but usually they will have a close connection to the topic we discussed in part 2 of the exam. In
addition the following functions may be tested.

1. Different kinds of

What are some of the different kinds of shops in your country?

What sort of people are celebrities in your country?

2. Comparing (time/objects/concepts)
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Do you think people were smarter in the past?

What is the difference between learning skills and knowledge?

3. Predicting

Do you think people will be more intelligent in the future?

Do you think technology can replace teachers in the future?

4. Advantages

What are the main advantages of studying online?

What are the main advantages of studying abroad?

5. Disadvantages

What are the main disadvantages of studying online?

What are the main disadvantages of studying abroad?

6. Problems

What are some of the main problems that students often encounter with learning English?

What problems do students often have with their classmates?

7. Solutions

[for above “how could we solve these problems”]

8. Opinion (why)

Why do you think some people enjoy learning new things?

What are some useful ways to remember things?

Speaking sample task – Part 3 transcript

Part 3 – Two-way discussion

Transcript

Examiner: We’ve been talking about things we own. I’d like to discuss with you one or two more general
questions relating to this topic. First, let’s consider values and the way they can change. In Switzerland, what
kind of possessions do you think give status to people?

Candidate: The first thing which comes in my mind is the car. Yes, because lots of people like to have posh
cars or expensive cars to show their status, their place in the society.

Examiner: Is that a new development?

Candidate: No, I think it isn’t.

Examiner: People have thought like that for quite a long time?

Candidate: Yes. Another thing is probably the clothing. It starts already when you are young. When the
children go to school they want to have posh labels on their jumpers or good shoes.
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Examiner: What do you think of this way of thinking, that I need to have a car or certain clothes to show my
status?

Candidate: Probably it’s sometimes a replacement for something you don’t have, so if your wife has left
you or your girlfriend, you just buy some new, I don’t know, new watches or new clothes to make you
satisfied again.

Examiner: You don’t think of it as a healthy way of thinking?

Candidate: It’s probably not honest to yourself. You can understand what I mean?

Examiner: Yes. And do you think this will change? In the future, will cars and designer clothes be status
symbols in the same way?

Candidate: I’m sure that clothes will be ... that the thing with the clothes will be the same. I’m not so sure
about the cars because cars cause lots of environmental problems and probably in some years, a few years,
this will change because it’s not reasonable to drive a car anymore.

Examiner: Can you tell me a little bit more about that? ...

Practise

Examples of possible questions for the Part 2 Topic, 'Describe a major decision…'. Answer these questions.

Which people influence young people when they are choosing a profession?

How could schools provide careers advice?

What are the main factors to consider when choosing a career?

Do you think that parents generally know what is best for their children?

What are some of the skills people use when they make a decision?

What are the qualities that make someone a leader?

How much does advertising influence what you buy?

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Make a study plan

In a nutshell (an idiom for 'basically'), the IELTS Speaking Test evaluates a persons ability to speak a natural,
fluent and coherent English so that person can live successfully in an English speaking country. To be
successful you must take charge of your own learning.

 Make a time table for your study to make better use of your time.

 Have a speaking-mate to practise with every day or as often as possible. Have your speaking-mate
to time and evaluate your performance.

 Keep a dairy. Write about your daily activities and thoughts.

 Write stories about main events in your life. Include many of the topics in the Appendix.

 Take a conversational class.

 Review grammar and vocabulary by reading English articles and stories on the internet, for
example, search for 'Qingdao' and read about this/your city. Reading more is key to improving your
vocabulary and grammar. Also look at the following web sites:

• www.ieltsspeaking.co.uk/ielts-vocabulary
• www.emigraacanada.com/pdfs/Check_Your_English_Vocabulary_for_IELTS_II.pdf
• www.better-english.com/vocabulary.htm
• www.ielts-exam.net/grammar
• www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar
• www.grammarly.com/handbook/mechanics/phrasal-verb-and-idioms
• www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations – also has Vocabulary, English
pronunciation lessons with audio, English speaking lessons.

Improving your Score

To improve your score in the IELTS speaking section, you should focus on the following areas:

1. Understanding how the speaking test is graded

2. Preparing for and practising common questions that are asked

3. Learning ways of structuring an answer

4. Learning to paraphrase – this is important to get a score of over 7

5. Improving your accent – ensuring you can make all sounds correctly (th, l, r, long vowel sounds) and
also getting natural sounding stress, and intonation.

6. Improving spoken grammar – correcting any frequent errors.

7. Broadening your vocabulary – especially building common phrases that can be used in a variety of
responses, such as connectives and discourse markers.
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Appendix
Topics you may be asked to talk about

Part 1 Topics

Ages Family Letters Sports

Agriculture Festivals Meeting People Telephones
Ambitions Films/Movies Memories of the Past Television ( TV)
Animals Flowers Music The Media
Bicycles Food and Cooking Names The Sea
Birds Friends Newspapers Time
Birthdays Games Noise Time and Times of Day
Books Gardens and Parks Numbers Transport
Clothes Going Abroad Long-term Outdoor Activities Travel
Collecting Things Going out in the Evenings Photographs/Photography Visitors
Computers Grandparents Places of Interest Weather
Country Happiness Possessions Weddings
Crime Healthy Eating Public Transport Weekends
Cultural Events and Hobbies and Interests Rain Where You Live Now
Entertainment Holidays/Vacations Reading Writing
Daily Routines Hotels Restaurants Your Home
Dancing Keeping Fit School Your Hometown
Drawing and Painting Languages Seasons Your Studies
Education Leisure Shopping Your Work

Part 2 Topics

A Birthday A Story from Childhood

A Book You Have Read A Strange or Unusual Place
A Book You Learned Something From A Successful Person
A Book You Might Like to Write A Teacher
A Building, Structure or Monument A Team, Club, Organization or Group
A Ceremonial Event A Three-day Holiday
A Change in Your Life A Time When You Helped Someone
A Child A Time When You Were Busy
A City A Toy
A Classmate A TV Programme
A Company A Vehicle
A Controversial Issue A Visit You Made
A Cultural Event A Visit You Received
A Difficult Decision A Website
A Difficult Thing A Wedding
A Domesticated Animal A Well-known Product
A Family Event A Work of Art
A Famous Person Advertisement
A Film An Achievement
A Film/TV Character An Adventurous Person
A Form of Transport An Ambition
A Free Day An Animal
A Friend An Economic Activity
A Garden or Park An Environmental Problem
A Gift An Ethnic Minority
A Gift You Gave An Interesting Exhibition
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A Good Personality An Item of Clothing or Jewellery

A Happy Event from Childhood An Open-air Market
A Happy Memory Artistic skill
A Happy Person Bad Habits
A Hobby or an lnterest Economic Issue
A Holiday Elderly Person
A Home Electronic Item
A Hotel Exercise
A Hotel You Have Stayed First Day
A Job Future
A Lake, River or Sea Historical Event
A Leader Important Stage of Your Life
A Local Event Important Structure
A Long-distance Journey Learning English
A Meal Making Yourself a Better Person
A Member of Your Family Meeting a Person Speaking a Different language
A Memorable Experience An Occasion on Which You Were Late
A Modern Building Parents
A Music Group, Musician or Singe Public Transport
A Neighbour Role of Money
A Newspaper or Magazine Some Help
A Party Some Useful Advice
A Person Who Has Influenced You Something about a Different Culture
A Person You Live with Something Dangerous
A Person You Would Like to Spend a Something Exciting
A Photograph Something Expensive
A Piece of Family News Something Interesting You Hope to Do in the Future
A Piece of Music or a Song Something Old
A Piece of News Something That Made You Laugh
A Place Something You Are Good a
A Place in a City You Know Well Something You Bought You Were Not Happy with
A Place of Natural Beauty Something You Do to Relax
A Place You Have Visited Something You Made Yourself
A Positive Experience Something You Own
A Postcard or Letter Sports Facilities
A Problem The Education System
A Project or Piece of Work You Did as Team The Role of Computers
A Public Event The Role of TV
A Quiet Place The Way You Work or Study
A Radio Programme The Weather
A Restaurant Two People from the Same Family
A Room What You Did Last Weekend
A School What You Would Do if You Received a Million Dollars
A School Trip You Would Like to Visit
A Scientific Development Your Favourite Actor or Actress
A Short Course Your Favourite Time of Day
A Shop Your Home
A Small Business Your Ideal Home
A Sporting Event Youth Culture
A Sport

Part 3 topics

The questions will be related to the topic given in Part 2

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Examples of connectives/conjunctions arranged into categories.

Time Place Manner Cause Adding Contrasting
(when) (where) (how) (why) (joining alike) (comparing)

after where as if although and alternatively

as soon as wherever by as a result also but
at first like because as well as except for
at once likewise by besides however
before consequently in addition in contrast
finally despite including if not ... then
meanwhile in case moreover instead of
next in order that similarly on the other
now in that case hand
now that in this way or
since otherwise whereas
then since
until so
when so as to
while so that
therefore
though
to that end
unless
yet