IELTS Speaking Preparation Notes: Part 1

IELTS Speaking Test

Part 1

• Questions about your life, routines, opinions, interests

• Typical conversation questions

• 4-5 minutes

• Informal

• Medium-length replies: 1-3 sentences

Common topics

• Your home

  Which room do you spend the most time in at home?

• Your hometown

  What places would you recommend to tourists in your hometown?

• Entertainment & Culture

  Do you think music is important?

• The Internet

  How often do you go online?

• Sport & Exercise

  What is the most popular sport in your country?

• Food

  Do you often eat fast food?

• Work or Studies

  Why did you choose to study engineering?

• Shopping

  Do you ever buy anything online?

• Family & Friends

  What kind of things do you do together as a family?

• Health & Lifestyle

  How often do you do exercise?

I don’t understand the question!

• Take your time

• Ask for repetition

  • I’m sorry, could you repeat that, please?

  • Would you mind saying that again?

  • Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.

I need some time to think!

• That’s an interesting question…

• I would say that…

• Let me think for a second…

• I’m not entirely sure but…

• What I would say is…

• It depends on…

Filler phrases:

• So…

• Well…

• I guess…

• I suppose…

• You know…

Example:

Well, I guess I’m not entirely sure because… but I suppose I would say that…

Preparing topics

• Imagine you are the examiner - what kind of questions would you ask?

• Don’t memorise your answer!

• Practise your ideas - give yourself inspiration.

• What

• Where

• Why

• Who

• How many

• How much

• How long

• How often

• Do you

• Have you

Mind-mapping your ideas

Extending your answers - negative answer

Examiner: Do you do any soprt in your free time?

Student: No, I don’t.

• reasons - This is because I work long hours in my job so I rarely have time.

• effects - This means that I’m not very fit in general, although I do eat healthily.

• addition - Also, I don’t do any exercise either. I’m not a very active person.

• examples - Like, If I have to choose between staying in bed or going for a run, I’d choose staying in bed.

• comparison - Unlike my brother, who is much more sporty. He’s always training.

• opinion - I guess sport is not something that everyone finds enjoyable.

• desires - Having said that, I would like to try climbing in the future, it seems fun.

Prepare & Revise

General advice: 

• Remember, speaking part 1 is all about YOU! You can prepare for the exam by making mindmaps or other study aids on different topics from your life.

• Remember to extend your answers with linking words like ‘because’, ‘and’, and ‘but’. But remember, in the speaking test, you don’t need to use very formal linking words - the simple linking words are fine!

• Remember to extend your answers with linking words like ‘because’, ‘and’, and ‘but’. Make sure you use the right linking word for the right idea!

• Remember, make sure your answers are not too long and not too short! They should be similar to how you’d answer them in a real conversation!

• Remember to show your grammar. When you’re asked a question in the present, don’t just answer in the present. Think - how can you use past, present or future to answer each question?

• Remember, if you don’t hear or understand a question, you can ask the examiner to repeat it. You won’t lose any marks for this!

• Sometimes you might need a second or two to think of your answer in Speaking Part 1. That’s normal! Learn some phrases to say to give yourself time to think.