Ex.

2
Match the language chunks with the target speaking skills.
1. …… industry is booming on the global scale and billions and billions of dollars
are made each year from it.
2. All in all, I truly believe…… can be a nice alternative for those who want to
quit……
3. I don't entirely agree. It is true that......however...since……
4. I love ……and I think everyone should give it a try.
5. I’m more of a …… type of person so I’d prefer…….
6. My first suggestion is that ……, or alternatively, you could……
7. On the upside, ……; however, on the flipside, ……
8. Personally speaking, my point is that …….
9. The first difference between……and……is……. While ……, …….
10. The reason behind this is that…….
11. Well, what I’m trying to say is that…… and that’s all.
12. What kind of …… would people ……in the future?
13. When I was little, I’ve heard a story about……, which has a storyline similar
to ……in western culture.

A. Providing personal information I. Suggesting

information D. Summarising J. Contrasting
B. Narrating and E. Comparing K. Justifying opinions
paraphrasing F. Expressing opinions L. Expressing a
C. Providing non- G. Explaining preference
personal H. Conversation repair M. Speculating

Types of Speaking Questions for IELTS Part 1 - Practice

1. How important...? 4. Would you rather...? 7. Where...?
2. How often...? 5. What kind of...? 8. Why...?
3. How do you...? 6. When...? 9. Who...?
A. Date or time D. Opinions about something G. Preferences
B. Frequency of something E. Person or institution H. Reason
C. Methods / procedures F. Places I. Types
Ex.3
e.g. Student A: How do you get to the shops when you go for food?
Student B: I usually go by car, but occasionally by bike if the weather is ok and I
don't need to buy too much. The car can obviously be better if it's the weekly
shopping and you need to purchase a lot.
Student A:
1. How important is having breakfast to you?
2. How often do you eat out?
3. What kind of restaurants do you like to go to if you do eat out?
4. When did you last go to a restaurant?

A. The government should do something, such as making producers label food packaging
clearly, but individuals also have to take responsibility for their own weight and
life-style.
B. I prefer to eat in as I like home cooked food. You know for sure what is in the
ingredients, whereas at a restaurant you can never be sure of what is in the food
and whether it is healthy or not.
C. I think it is principally to do with diet and time. People don't have a lot of time
so they eat fast food. The lack of time also means that people don't do enough
exercise.
D. I think the supermarkets are good to get cheap things, such as the everyday items
like tinned food and toiletries, but local stores are better for meat and vegetables
because they are always fresh.

Student B:
5. Where is the best place to shop for groceries?
6. Who should be dealing with obesity?
7. Why do you think there is a problem with obesity in many countries?
8. Would you rather eat out or eat at home?

E. About once or twice a week. Mostly I eat in because I get back from work late and
don't have time to get to a restaurant.
F. Not very important really. I often miss it as I never feel that hungry when I first
wake up. Lunch is often the first meal of the day for me.
G. Oh, it was probably about a week ago, last weekend. I went to a place called Chino's,
USEFUL IELTS INTERVIEW EXPRESSIONS
A. Saying something in another
way
B. Agreeing with an opinion
C. Disagreeing with an opinion
D. Partially agreeing with an
opinion
E. Getting asked an opinion (by
the examiner)
F. Saying your opinion could vary
according to the situation
G. Asking for clarification (part 3
only)
H. Asking for repetition

I. Summing up

down the road from me. It does great Italian food.

H. Usually it is small family run places. They have a better atmosphere than those big
chains and often the price if more reasonable too. You can also get to know the owner
which is nice.

Ex.4 Think of expressions for each function and match them with the expressions below.

1. Could you please explain what ...(word)... 15. Perhaps I should make that clearer by
means? saying...
2. How do you feel about...? 16. So all in all...
3. I would tend to agree with that. 17. Sorry, I don't understand the question.
4. I couldn't agree more. Could you explain?
5. I see things rather differently myself. 18. Sorry, I'm afraid I didn't understand the
6. I wouldn't say that is necessarily true. question.
7. I tend to disagree. 19. Sorry, can I just clarify what you mean.
8. I don't entirely agree. It is true Are you asking me ...(say what you
that......however... believe you have been asked)...
9. I agree with that to an extent. However... 20. Sorry, would you mind repeating the
10. I think it really depends... question?
11. I'm afraid I disagree. 21. Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you
12. I'm not so sure about that. repeat the question?
13. In other words... 22. That is partly true, but...
14. No, I disagree. 23. That depends...
24. That depends on how you look at it. 31. What do you think?
25. That's my view exactly. 32. What are your views on...?
26. To put it another way... 33. What's your view / opinion?
27. To sum up... 34. Yes, I agree...
28. To conclude...
29. What I'm trying to say is...
30. What I mean is...
Ex. 5 For Part 3 answers, which version is better and why?
Describe the type of food that people eat in your country.
1. I might try some other dishes occasionally, such as Korean food as I like that, but I always
tend to eat Japanese food. At home my mum will always make Japanese food too. My brother
will eat much more western food than I do, but he will go out to buy this rather than getting it
at home.

2. There are a lot of different types of food in Japan if you are in big cities like Tokyo, such fast
food outlets, Italian restaurants, Korean food, and of course a lot of Japanese restaurants. But
most local people tend to eat Japanese food, even in these big cities when there are other
choices, but especially in smaller towns and villages.

Example 2
What do you think about the way languages are taught in schools in your country?
1. In most schools in my country, English is the main language taught. I think it is actually taught
quite badly because many of the teachers are not native English teachers. A good example is
at my school. The teachers themselves were nearly all Korean, not native English people, and
their English was not perfect. So they taught us to say some things incorrectly, and also they
could not always say things clearly so we could not learn good pronunciation off them.

2. In my school we learned English and it was taught really badly. I think it's firstly because the
teachers themselves were not native English people, and their English was not perfect. So
they taught us to say some things incorrectly, and also they could not always say things
clearly so we could not learn good pronunciation off them.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
(As you will have noticed, in the bad answers, the candidate just speaks about their personal
experience and nothing general. In the good answer, the candidate talks about society in
general. However, this does not mean that you cannot refer to your own experiences, but this
should be done to illustrate your general response in order to further explain what you mean.)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………
Follow-up activities: Complete the answer with general response or personal experience.
1. How do you think a poor university education can affect career success?
II don't think that is does have to affect it because many people manage to become successful
without a higher education. It is more down to your confidence and motivation than anything
else. For example,……..

2. How healthy is your country's food?

It's not really that healthy I would say. …….. My younger cousin already has diabetes and he is
only 23 and I'm sure that is due to diet. And my father has a bad heart which is from too much
cholesterol which I think has also been caused by the food.

Ex. 6 For Part 1 answers, which version is better and why?

Choose the best answer:
1 How many people are there in your family? 

A. There are four. We live in a large house in the north of my country. It gets very cold
there in the winter but it is really nice during the summer months. I try to go back there
often.

B. There are four. My brother and my parents.
 T
C. here are four. There's myself of course. Then there's my younger brother, he's fifteen
years old. And I have my mother and father who are both in their late 70s. I have two
grandparents as well, but they don't live with us.
 
 
 

2 Do you know the people who live next door to you? 

A. No, I've never met them. The reason for this is that I'm away most of the time at
university so I've never really had the opportunity. I know my family has met them on a
few occasions, just for a quick chat, but they don't know them well. I think they like to
keep their privacy.
B. No, I've never met them.

C. No, I've never met them. I think my parents have, but I don't know who they
are.
 
 
 

3 What kinds of books do you like reading? 

 A. I don't like reading. Books are boring. I much prefer to play on the internet or just watch
TV in my free time. Reading books just sends me to sleep.

B. Although I think books are great ways to learn, and I know some people love to read,
I've never been a great fan of them. I used to read books a bit when I was younger but
not much anymore. I read a lot on the internet actually, articles on various topics. So I
do read, but it's just not usually books.

C. I don't really like reading, but I did read a book once. I'll tell you the story. It was set in
the 1960's in London. It was about a poor family who were just trying hard to make
ends meet as they had so little money. If followed the life of the boy in the family from
when he was young until he grew up. The first part of the book was about growing up
with his family and his school life...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………
You should have learnt from these IELTS speaking questions and answers to:
Stay on topic
Listen carefully to the question and make sure you are answering it. Don't talk about something
completely different just so you can talk for longer.
Extend your answers
Give reasons for your answer. This can be a useful way to extend your responses. Always explain
WHY you have given the answer that you have.
Don't speak excessively
Extend your answers but don't go on too much. This will only mean the examiner will have to keep
interrupting you to move onto the next questions.
Be honest but positive
Try to remain upbeat and positive even if you are saying you don't do things or don't enjoy things
you are being asked about.