keyboard_return Exit
keyboard_arrow_left

IELTS® Speaking 3 Practice 12

settings  Settings
close
BestMyTest IELTS course is developed by a team of certified IELTS teachers from across the globe. Here, you can seek guidance and ask questions directly to our team of experienced instructors.

Get 5 Ask Instructor questions as a reward
for singing up free today.

close Filter
search
 
schedule

In part 3, it'll be a two-way discussion. The examiner will ask you further questions which are connected to the topic of Part 2. These questions are designed to give you an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas.

Subscribe to take the test

  • library_books Preview Questions
    1. Is family important in your country?
    2. Who should be responsible to care for the elderly? Should it be the family or the government?
    3. How has the size of the average family changed in your country in the last few decades?
    4. How do you think families will change in the future?
    5. Let’s move on to the roles of different family members. Should husbands and wives have different roles within the family?
    6. What role do grandparents play in the family in your country?
 

Thank you!

You have completed this part.
Start
Sign up free for more speaking practice content

Get your speaking response scored with audio feedback and a detailed score report.
Take a closer look at the sample speaking review below.

Get a Speaking Review

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 family

Do you have a large or a small family?

I have what most consider a nuclear family. Don’t get me wrong, we have relatives on each side, close and distant ones alike. But to tell you the truth, we don’t see each other that often, and our relationships are somewhat sporadic.

I grew up at my grandparents farm in a big extended family. There were a slew of jobs to do at the farm, but my grandparents never ran out of an extra pair of hands. Sadly, things have never been the same since then, and my family is pretty spread out now.

Could you tell me more about your family?

I grew up without a father, so I don’t know anyone on my father’s side of the family. On my mother’s side, we have a medical dynasty, with everyone from my great grandparents to my mother being physicians. I’m graduating next year, and I’ll be the fourth generation.

My mom is a high-school teacher, and my dad is a navy officer. Actually, military service runs in my family when it comes to men. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and it’s no wonder why I plan on applying to a naval academy.

Who are you closest to in your family?

I’d say I get on best with my grandfather. That is because he’s been through a lot during WWII, and I always learn something from our conversations.

I’ll tell you who I’m not closest to: it’s my sisters-in-law. They’re so annoying, and it seems like they’re the ones getting all the attention every holiday. Grant it, my brother-in-law is sweetness itself, and I love playing hide-and-seek with him.

What are your parents like?

My mom is what psychologists would call a type A personality: she’s easy-going and a real go-getter. I’d say it runs in the family since all women on my mother’s side are like that. My dad, on the other hand, is far from being a social butterfly, and he mostly keeps to himself.

My dad builds houses for a living, and he’s a jack-of-all-trades, just like my uncle. So he fixes things around the house rather quickly. This keeps my mom, who’s such a bookworm, very glad, and it helps her focus on her work: she’s a writer, like my aunt.

Do you get along with your brothers or sisters?

For better or worse, I grew up without any siblings. But I was surrounded by my cousins, and we always had so much fun playing together. I guess I shouldn’t complain: at least I never had to deal with sibling rivalry.

My parents have no other children but me, which is why I have no siblings. Luckily, I am sometimes a full-time parent to the nieces and nephews of my spouse. Watching them play and have fun sometimes makes me regret I have no brothers or sisters of my own.

Do you think parents should punish children?

Let us be honest: raising kids is far from being a cakewalk. And if you extol your children all the time, they’ll turn into spoiled brats. Surely, punishing your own child may be hard, but sometimes a stumble may prevent a fall.

If you ask me, I don’t believe fear is a good motivator. When you want to instill values in children, it’s much more effective to make them work hard for something that they desperately want. Be it a new video game or more TV time, make them earn it.

How do you think children should be raised?

You can’t go wrong with the good old carrot and stick. If your kids seem to have gotten out of hand, impose punishments: don’t hesitate to ground them for unacceptable behavior. On the other hand, be sure to praise and reward lavishly even the smallest of their achievements.

In my opinion, foster children are worth a special mention. Many of the conventional parenting strategies simply don’t apply in their case. For instance, giving kids time-outs is a popular tactic, but it may get foster children down and make them distrust their foster parents.

What do you think makes for a good parent?

As far as I’m concerned, a good parent must be an excellent role model. Perhaps the best upbringing you can give to your kids is being the example they can follow throughout their lives. It’s a lot easier to bring up your children when all they do is aspire to become someone like you.

In its essence, parenting is a balancing act. Nothing is set in stone when you are a parent: your child may behave exceptionally well one day but do something awful the day after. Nevertheless, I believe that relying on the expert advice of child psychologists can help you instill values in children.

Immediate/Nuclear family: Immediate family refers to a person's parents, spouse, children, and siblings and will also include the parent's spouse

Extended family: a family that includes in one household near relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in addition to a nuclear family

It runs in the family: If a quality, ability, disease, etc. runs in the family, many members of the family have it

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree is a phrase that is typically said in connection with children who show qualities or talents that are similar to those of their parents.

Sibling rivalry: competition between brothers and sisters

Bring up: to teach a child to behave in a particular way or to have particular beliefs

Upbringing: the treatment and instruction received by a child from its parents throughout its childhood.

Foster: bring up (a child that is not one's own by birth).

Extol: to praise highly.

close