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IELTS® Speaking 1 Practice 5

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In part 1, the examiner will ask you general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work, studies and interests. This section should help you relax and talk naturally.

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  • library_books Preview Questions
    1. Can you tell me about your hometown?
    2. How has your hometown changed over the years?
    3. Is there any way your hometown could be made better?
    4. Are there good transportation links to your hometown?
    5. What kind of jobs do the people in your hometown do?
    6. Do you have a lot of friends?
    7. Who is your best friend and why?
    8. Who would you most like to be friends with and why?
    9. What kind of person can you make friends with easily?
    10. Which is more important to you, friends or family?
 

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Take a closer look at the sample speaking review below.

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SAMPLE IELTS Speaking Report

SAMPLE Score Summary
5.5 / 9
Pronunciation
Fluency and Coherence
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)
Audio Feedback (Sample)
Audio Feedback (Sample)
  Audio feedback helps with pronunciation, intonation and flow of speech
SAMPLE Criteria Score Reports

Pronunciation   5/9

• can generally be understood throughout, though mispronunciation of individual words or sounds reduces clarity at times
• attempts to control features but lapses are frequent
• mispronunciations are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener

Pronunciation is about how you form English sounds and how you use natural English intonation. Your pronunciation and intonation can damage your score if it is difficult for the raters to understand what you are saying.

How to Improve

Watch the following pronunciation video lessons to improve your pronunciation.

Vowel Video Lesson
Vowel ɪ and i ...
Vowel ɛ and æ ...
Vowel ə and ʌ ...
Vowel ɔ and ɑ ...
Vowel ʊ and u ...

Consonants Video Lesson
Consonant b and p ...
Consonant d and t ...
Consonant g and k ...
Consonant dʒ and tʃ ...
Consonant v and f ...
Consonant ð and θ ...
Consonant s and z ...
Consonant ʃ and ʒ ...
Consonant m, n and ŋ ...
Consonant l and r ...
Consonant h, w and y ...
...
...

Fluency and Coherence   5/9

• usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self correction and/or slow speech to keep going
• may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers
• produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems

Fluency and Coherence is about how quickly you can speak, how much pausing and hesitation you use, and how well you use connection words to develop and organize your talk. You don't have to speak quickly, but just quickly enough to sound natural and explain all of your ideas. Raters want to hear natural rhythm and flow.

How to Improve

To improve your speech flow...

Unnatural Pauses and Hesitations Reduction Exercise

Practice any IELTS question and record your answer. Then listen to your recording and...

Speech Pacing Exercise

An important key to earning a high score on Speech delivery is pacing in your speech. A good pacing means using proper pauses and word stresses. Here is a step-by-step exercise that can help you improve the pacing in your speech:

  1. ...
  2. ...
  3. ...

Grammatical Range and Accuracy    5.5/9

• uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but with limited flexibility • produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy • sentences usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems

Correct grammar usage is about how you use English grammar and sentence structure. Raters want to see that you can use what you know correctly. Your grammar doesn't have to be perfect to score high, but mistakes shouldn't interfere with your meaning.

How to Improve

Using right tenses is important in IELTS speaking. Every time you are not sure about what tense you should use, refer to our sample answer and...

Grammar topic Lesson
All past tenses ...
Present perfect tense ...
How to talk about future using right tenses ...
Mixed Verb Tenses in English: Conditionals and IF clauses ...

Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)    6/9

• has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies
• generally paraphrases successfully

Lexical Resource (Vocabulary) is about how you use English words. Raters are looking for responses that use different words correctly and accurately, and that use a wide range of words that help listeners understand.

How to Improve

To improve your vocabulary in speaking, ...

Key Words Found in this practice
IELTS speaking LessonsCompleted: 0 / 64
Useful vocabulary for Part 1 questions about friends

Do you have many friends? 

I only have four close friends. We have a lot in common and have been through thick and thin. I think it is better to have fewer confidantes, rather than many fair-weather friends.

I have many friends from all walks of life. My friends are all very different, some of them I hit it off with immediately, and it took longer to get to know others. 

I don’t have that many friends. My bestie is like my sister, I can count on her for everything. After high school, I drifted apart from most people. 

I don’t have that many friends, but I do have a few bosom friends who I am close with and confide everything in.

Are most of your friends from school or from outside school? 

Most of my friends are from college. I have always loved going to school, so it makes sense most of my friends would be from school. I do have a few friends that I met at my job. 

I have some friends at school, but mostly my classmates are just my acquaintances. I prefer to focus on my studies, rather than friendships. Most of my friends are net pals, who I can play games with.

How do you meet most of your friends? 

I participate in many extracurricular activities, and that is where I meet most of my friends. We have a lot in common and see each other a couple of times per week with our sporting schedules. 

I meet most of my friends through school. We like to study together and hang out before our classes, so it is very convenient.

I have met a lot of my friends online. We have met through playing internet games, but we really hit it off and the friendship blossomed into something great

Are you still close to your school friends? 

I still get on well with my school friends. We keep in touch through Facebook and try to meet for dinner every few months. 

I’ve lost touch with my school friends. We started drifting apart after graduation and I haven’t seen them for a couple of years. 

Tell me a bit about your best friend?

My best friend is Sarah. We get on like a house on fire because we have similar outgoing personalities. 

My bestie’s name is Julia. We have been friends for over ten years and have never drifted apart! I think we will be friends forever. 

Useful vocabulary for Part 1 questions about hometown

What is it like where you live?

Well, I live in Toronto, which is a quite cosmopolitan city in Canada. You can see people from different ethic backgrounds, from all over the world. It is also a very vibrant city. There are a lot of artists, art galleries, and museums.

Where I live is a very lively place. People are always excited on the street, and bars are always packed. But sometimes, I feel it is a bit too hectic on holidays.

I live in the suburbs. It is kind of a rural area. There are a lot of farms, and some of the buildings are run-down. But it is a close-knit community.

I live in a residential area, in a town, in India. It is kind of an old city, really. A lot of buildings are run-down, but we have got some quaint shops.

Could you tell me a bit more about your hometown?

My hometown is located in Italy. It is a sprawling city, so it takes a while to get around in it. But it has developed better public transport recently. 

My hometown, Tokyo, is a huge metropolitan city. People there are very urban, and there are a lot of contemporary stores. It is also a very touristic city. You can see tourists all the time.

What do you like about your hometown?

What I like about my hometown is that there are many orchards and vineyards. It is a truly picturesque place. Not many places in the world have that kind of view.

I like the convenience and modernness of my hometown. There are a lot of convenience stores,  pop-up stores, and futuristic shops. I also like the night view of my city. At night, the high-rise buildings with lights on make for a really beautiful scene.

I like how the people in my hometown are so friendly. It’s a really close-knit community and there are many mom and pop shops, which are hard to find in big cities. 

I like its cultural atmosphere. Within the city, you can see beautiful pavement cafes. On the outskirts of the city, there are some quaint stores that sell interesting handmade stuff.

What do you not like about your hometown?

I suppose my least favorite thing about it is the lack of fun things to do or see. Most shops are boarded-up. It’s not the most exciting place, so sometimes I feel a little bored.

What I dislike about my hometown is how expensive it is to live in. The cost of living there is too high. You can hardly find an affordable shop. Upmarket shops are all over the place.

How has your hometown changed over the years?

It has developed much better public transport, especially the metro, which has really improved the overall accessibility of the city. In the suburb, there have been a few improvements as well: several new chain stores and out-of-town supermarkets have appeared, which we didn’t have before.

Describe your friends:

  • Close friend
  • Bosom friend: a friend that you like a lot and have a very close relationship with:
  • Confidante:  a person you trust and share your feelings and secrets with:
  • buddy/sister/bestie: best friend
  • Fair-weather friend: a person whose friendship cannot be relied on in times of difficulty.
  • Acquaintancea person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.
  • Net pal:  a friend who one meet online

Describe you and your friends’ friendship:

  • Through thick and thin: under all circumstances, no matter how difficult.
  • Lose touch with someone
  • Drift apart: (of two or more people) gradually become less intimate or friendly.
  • Have a lot in common
  • Get on like a house on fire: If two people get on like a house on fire, they like each other very much and become friends very quickly
  • Get on well with someone
  • Hit it off with someone:  to be friendly with someone immediately

Words to describe the city:

Cosmopolitan: including people from many different countries.

Urban: in, relating to, or characteristic of a city.

Bustling: (of a place) full of activity.

Lively: full of life and energy; active and outgoing.

Hectic: very busy and fast.

Vibrant: full of energy, color, and life.

Sprawlingspreading out over a large area in an untidy or irregular way.

Contemporary: existing and happening now.

Touristic: relating to or popular with tourists.

 

Words to describe the town/countryside:

Rural: in, relating to, or characteristic of a countryside.

Run-down: weak or in a bad condition.

Quaint: attractively unusual or old-fashioned.

Close-knit: bound together by strong relationships and common interests.

Outskirts: the outer parts of a town or city.

Suburb: an area on the edge of a large town or city, where people who work in the town or city often live:

Picturesque: visually attractive, especially in a quaint or charming way.

Words to describe things in the city:

High-rise (adjective): tall with many floors.

High-rise (noun): a tall modern building with many floors.

Pavement cafe: cafe with tables outside on the pavement.

Upmarket shops: expensive fashionable shops.

Pop-up shop: a pop-up shop is opened temporarily to take advantage of a faddish trend or seasonal demand.

 

Words to describe things in the countryside:

Out-of-town: in a place outside the main part of a town.

Boarded up shops: when a shop is boarded up, it means it is no longer in business and that wooden planks have been nailed over its windows.

Orchard: a piece of enclosed land planted with fruit trees.

Vineyard: a plantation of grapevines, typically producing the grapes used in winemaking.

Mom and pop shop: "mom-and-pop" is a colloquial term used to describe a small, family-owned or independent business.

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