It's a bit later than I planned, but I've now published my latest video lesson. In the lesson, I give you some tips and example answers for part 1 of the speaking test. There's also some interesting advice about 'strange' topics!
You can watch the lesson for free here.
when we will get next video?
Posted by: Rajoana Jannat | February 08, 2016 at 13:13
I'm aiming to publish my first video for part 2 of the speaking test this Friday.
Posted by: Simon | February 08, 2016 at 13:38
You've done a great work. Thank you very much.
Posted by: Pushi*Ielts | February 08, 2016 at 13:53
Thanks Simon. Your work has always been highly appreciated!
Happy the Chinese New Year of the Fire Monkey!
Posted by: James Z. | February 08, 2016 at 14:27
hi Simon i have studied your website for 3 months. This saturday im going to take ielts. on wednesday (10th feb) i have a speaking test and i am confused about part 2 and part 3. because my level is upper. can you give some advice for me? thanks a lot! :)
Posted by: jmer | February 08, 2016 at 18:57
hi
i need to practice with who is native speaker
but i prefer girl
plz >
this is my email [email protected]
Posted by: zenub | February 09, 2016 at 04:16
This is a marvelous video! I wrongly believed that to keep on talking is the key to high score.
I can notice my misunderstanding thanks to you.
Posted by: auau | February 09, 2016 at 15:41
Thanks guys, I'm glad you like the video.
Happy Chinese New Year James!
Posted by: Simon | February 09, 2016 at 17:56
I really appreciate all the videos!! very simple to understand. I am taking exam on 26th. I wish i can fast forward the time and have all the speaking videos. Lol. well, email me, simon, if that's possible at all cost. Lol.Adrian.
Post more video lesson too.
Posted by: adrian | February 10, 2016 at 10:38
Hi guys,i need speaking practice partner,both in Lagos and else where.
inbox me :[email protected] or you can just comment below.
Thanks,
NB my target band is 7.
Posted by: emmanuel | February 11, 2016 at 08:52
Hi Simon,
Is it a good idea to use linking words as "actually" and "definitely"? I will paraphrase two answers from your lesson as an example.
Do you like sport?
Actually, I'm not really a sports fan.
Do you think children should all have to do sports at school?
Definitely, I think children should all be encouraged to try ...
Thanks in advance.
Posted by: roshavbg | February 14, 2016 at 16:45
IELTS Speaking lesson 2
In this lesson we are going to look at Part 1 of the speaking test.
So what do you need to know about IELTS Speaking part 1:
- First, the time. It lasts 4 to 5 minutes. And the examiner has to control that time very strictly. So don’t worry if you see the examiner looking at his or her watch, that’s normal.
- How many questions are there? Well, usually 10 or 11 questions and the examiner must ask all of those 10 or 11 questions within 4 to 5 minutes. So, they are going to be quite short, fast, easy questions.
- 3 topic areas will be covered in those 10 or 11 questions. The examiner will start with 2 or 3 questions about your work or your studies, or () way you live and then they will move on to 4 questions about one short topic and another 4 questions about a second minitopic. So 2 or 3 introduction questions, then 4 on one topic, 4 on another. That’s how it (is absorbed) to 10 or 11 questions.
- And this part of the test is supposed to be easy. I’ll say more about that in a moment.
Some things to remember about IELTS Speaking Part 1:
- First, I think, your aim should be to try to show your fluency in this part of the test. I think that’s the key in Speaking Part 1.
- Don’t stop and think too much. That will be called a hesitation. And a hesitation is when your fluency stops. You stop and you’re saying “Mmm” or “Uuu”, you’re not sure what to say probably because you’re thinking about vocabulary or grammar.
- My advice is don’t worry about vocabulary or grammar in this part of the test. Of course, we don’t want to make grammar mistakes but my point is don’t try to show off your best language. You don’t need difficult vocabulary or complex grammar in this part of the test. It won’t help you. Try to focus on fluency. So just say the first thing that comes into your head, answer as quickly as you can and don’t worry about the quality of your ideas, just say something.
- So it’s an easy warm-up. That’s how I consider Part 1 of the speaking test. It should be easy. You are not expected to show off (with) your best language in this part of the test. It’s just like a warm-up to get you started.
- The questions will be short, fast and easy and your answers should be as well. So just give short, simple answers.
- And remember, you can’t get a high score from Part 1 of the speaking test. This is a warm-up really. And if you want to show off your best language and get a high score you should be worrying more about parts 2 and 3. Just get through Part 1 with short, simple answers without too many hesitations and then we can worry about language when we study parts 2 and 3.
Posted by: Dina Scherbakova | November 09, 2016 at 04:17
What is the best technique for IELTS Speaking Part 1?
It’s easy.
• Answer the question, then give a reason. So it’s one, maybe two sentences, that’s all.
• Give short, simple answers but use full sentences. Never just give a one-word answer or a short phrase. Try to answer with a full sentence.
• Stop with confidence when you finished your answer. That’s very important. Sometimes people get nervous when there is a period of silence. Don’t try to fill the silence with more answer. You’ll only make mistakes or you won’t anything to say. That’s a mistake that people often make. If the examiner leaves any silence don’t worry, don’t keep talking, just smile at the examiner, if necessary, as if to show: “I finished my answer, I’m ready for the next question.” So stopping with confidence is a good skill to practice.
Let’s look next at topics for IELTS Speaking Part 1.
A warning now, especially if you haven’t done IELTS Speaking before, the topics in Part 1 can often seem childish. They seem like the kind of questions that you might ask a small child.
? For example, What’s your favourite colour? Now this isn’t an academic question at all, is it? But that’s a real question from IELTS Speaking Part 1. Don’t be worried or don’t panic. If you get a question like this in your test just follow the technique: give an answer and a reason, and you’ll be fine. So here is my example answer: “My favourite colour is blue because it’s the colour of the sky on a nice day.” I give a direct answer in a full sentence and I give a reason. So don’t be worried about these strange childish topics, just prepare for them, and be ready for them, and follow the technique.
A good way to prepare for these strange topics that you might ask children is to practice Do you like…? questions. A good way to practice: Do you like…?
? For example, test yourself. Can you answer this question quickly? Do you like games? So say: “Yes, I like games because…” or “No, I don’t really like games because…” Practice answering that.
? Another example: Do you like walking? That was a real exam question in IELTS Speaking.
? Do you like gardens? Some people were surprised by that question in their test. But just follow the technique, even you have never thought about this before: “Yes, I like gardens because they are nice places to relax. I like nature. I like being surrounded by plants and flowers.” Anything like that is fine.
? Another example: Do you like flowers? That was a real question. What would you say if you had that question in your test? Simple answer, give a reason.
? Final example: Do you like dancing?
So practice these Do you like…? questions. Test yourself. Can you answer them quickly? And remember, you can give negative answers. You can say: “No, I’ve never been much of a dancer. I don’t really like dancing. But I understand that other people do because it seems like fun.”
Posted by: Dina Scherbakova | November 10, 2016 at 04:51
Now let’s do a full example of a Speaking Part 1 section with all 10 or 11 questions and 3 topic areas covered.
• So the first of those 3 topic areas is the short introduction, 2 or 3 introduction questions.
1. And the most common of these introduction questions is this one: Do you work or are you a student? Short simple answer, for example: “I’m a qualified doctor, but at the moment I’m studying English.” So you can tell the truth. If you work and study, just say that, it’s fine.
2. And then another introduction question following on from that: Do you enjoy your job or studies? “Yes, I love working as a doctor because I like helping people. But I’m not enjoying studying English so much.”
3. And third question: Would you like to get a different job in the future? “No, I’m really happy with the career that I’ve chosen, so I have no plans to change jobs.” So you’ve seen I’ve given (that) short simple answers. Sometimes with a reason, sometimes with a bit of extra information. Full sentences. And stop at the end confidently that () answer is finished.
• After those 3 introduction questions we go on to 4 questions about one small topic area. And the examiner will say something like this, for example: Let’s talk about sport… Now let’s talk about sport… So the examiner is introducing this minitopic of sport and you will get probably 4 questions about it. Now I’m going to put these questions on the video, on the screen now and you’ll see them one by one. I’m not going to answer them. You can stop the video, pause the video and try to answer. It would be a good way to practice. See if you can answer these questions by pausing the video and speaking aloud. You can check my sample answers on the worksheet attached next to this video. So here we go with the 4 questions about sport:
4. Do you like sport?
5. Do you think it is better to watch sports or play them yourself?
6. Why do you think some sports are so popular?
7. Do you think children should all have to do sports at school?
So those are the 4 questions about sport.
Posted by: Dina Scherbakova | November 11, 2016 at 11:31
• And then we go on to 4 questions about a second minitopic. For example: Now let’s talk about colours…
8. What’s your favourite colour? and Why?
9. Do different colours have different meanings in your country?
10. Do you think that colours can affect the way people feel?
11. Do you wear different coloured clothes now compared to when you were a child?
And that’s the 4 questions about that topic finished.
So you’ve seen all 11 in this case, 11 questions from Speaking Part 1. You’ve got a chance to practice those. Remember, short simple answers, don’t worry about vocabulary and grammar, try not to hesitate, try work on your fluency. And if you practice these you can become really good at Speaking Part 1. Remember that you can print the worksheet attached next to this video lesson to see my example answers about those 2 topics and the 8 questions that we’ve just done.
In the next lesson we’ll move on to Speaking Part 2.
Posted by: Dina Scherbakova | November 12, 2016 at 01:50