Part 1

Answer the questions:

 Where are you from?

 Are you a student, or do you have a job?
 What do you study? / What is your job?
 Do you enjoy your job / your studies?

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe something interesting that you once

found.

You should say:

 what you found

 how you found it
 what you did with it
and explain why it was interesting.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to finding things:
Collecting things as a hobby

 What kind of things do people like collecting as a hobby?

 What educational benefit do you think collecting objects like coins or stamps might have?
Archaeology

 How useful do you think it is for humans to uncover objects from the past?
 Who do you think historic objects should belong to when they have been found?
Exploration

 Can you suggest what motivated people in the past to explore the world?
 Do you think interest in space exploration will increase in future?
Part 1
Answer the questions:

 Which part of your country do most people live in?

 Tell me about the main industries there.
 How easy is it to travel around your country?
 Has your country changed much since you were a child?

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe a well-known person you like or admire.

You should say:

 who this person is

 what this person has done
 why this person is well known
and explain why you admire this person.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to famous people:
Famous people in your country

 What kind of people become famous people these days?

 Is this different from the kind of achievement that made people famous in the past?
 In what way?
 How do you think people will become famous in the future?
Being in the public eye

 What ate the good things about being famous? Are there any disadvantages?
 How does the media in your country treat famous people?
 Why do you think ordinary people are interested in the lives of famous people?
Part 1
Answer the questions:

 What's your favourite colour? [Why?]

 Do you like the same colours now as you did when you were younger? [Why/Why not?]
 What can you learn about a person from the colours they like?
 Do any colours have a special meaning in your culture?

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe a song or a piece of music you like.

You should say:

 what the song or music is

 what kind of song or music it is
 where you first heard it
and explain why you like it.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to music:
Music and young people

 What kinds of music are popular with young people in your culture?
 What do you think influences a young person's taste in music?
 How has technology affected the kinds of music popular with young people?
Music and society

 Tell me about any traditional music in your culture.

 How important is it for a culture to have musical traditions?
 Why do you think countries have national anthems or songs?
Part 1
Answer the questions:

 Do you prefer relaxing at home or going out in the evening? [Why?]

 When you go out for an evening, what do you like to do?
 How popular is this with other people in your country?
 Is there any kind of entertainment you do not like? [Why/Why not?]

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe one of your friends.

You should say:

 how you met

 how long you have known each other
 how you spend time together
and explain why you like this person.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to finding things:
Qualities of friends

 What do you think are the most important qualities for friends to have?
 Which are more important to people, their family or their friends? Why?
 What do you think causes friendships to break up?
Other relationships

 What other types of relationship, apart from friends or family, are important in people's lives
today?
 Have relationships with neighbours where you live changed in recent years? How?
 How important do you think it is for a person to spend some time alone? Why/Why not?
Part 1
Answer the questions:

 Where are you from?

 Are you a student, or do you have a job?
 What do you study? / What is your job?
 Do you enjoy your job / your studies?

 How important are clothes and fashion to you? [Why/Why not?]

 What kind of clothes do you dislike? [Why?]
 How different are the clothes you wear now from those you wore 10 years ago?
 What do you think the clothes we wear say about us?

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe a festival that is important in your country.

You should say:

 when the festival occurs

 what you did during it
 what you like or dislike about it
and explain why this festival is important.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to finding things:
Purpose of festivals and celebrations

 Why do you think festivals are important events in the working year?
 Would you agree that the original significance of festivals is often lost today? Is it good or bad,
do you think?
 Do you think that new festivals will be introduced in the future? What kind?
Festivals and the media

 What role does the media play in festivals, do you think?

 Do you think it's good or bad to watch festivals on TV? Why?
 How may globalisation affect different festivals around the world?
Part 1
Answer the questions:

 Are your friends mostly your age or different ages? [Why?]

 Do you usually see your friends during the week or at weekends? [Why?]
 The last time you saw your friends, what did you do together?
 In what ways are your friends important to you?

Part 2
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Describe an interesting historic place.

You should say:

 what it is
 where it is located
 what you can see there now
and explain why this place is interesting.

Part 3
Answer these questions related to finding things:
Looking after historic places

 How do people in your country feel about protecting historic buildings?

 Do you think an area can benefit from having an interesting historic place locally? In what
way?
 What do you think will happen to historic places or buildings in the future? Why?
The teaching of history at school

 How were you taught history when you were at school?

 Are there other ways people can learn about history, apart from at school? How?
 Do you think history will still be a school subject in the future? Why?
Part 1
Let's talk about your work.

 Where do you work?

 Do you enjoy your work? Why / Why not?
 What kinds of tasks do you have to do at work?
 Have you ever been late for work? Why / Why not?
I'd like to move on now to talk about fashion.

 Tell me about the popular clothes and fashions in your country.

 What sort of fashion shops do you have in your country?
 Have fashions changed very much since you were younger?
 Is it important for you to be in fashion? Why / Why not?
Let's move on to the topic of the internet.

 How often do you use the internet?

 Does everyone in your family use the internet?
 What do you use the internet for?
 When did you last use the internet?
If you have someone to study with, take it in turns to ask and answer the questions. Listen to the
sample on the recording and complete the checklist.

 Did the student directly answer the questions?

 Did he use a range of words?
 Did he link his ideas together well?
 Did he say enough?
 Were the answers easy to understand?
The student gave relevant answers to all the questions, using a range of appropriate
vocabulary and linkers. The answers were clear and sufficiently long for Part 1.
Part 2
Now, I'm going to give you a topic, and I'd like you to talk about it for one to two minutes. Before you
talk, you'll have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes if you
wish. Do you understand? Here's some paper and a pencil, for making notes, and here's your topic.

Describe a place that you would like to visit.

You should say:

 where it is
 when you would like to go there
 who you would like to go with
and explain why you would like to visit this place.

All right? Remember you have one to two minutes for this, so don't worry if I stop you. I'll tell you when
the time is up. Can you start peaking now, please?

If you have someone to study with, take it in turns to do the talk in one to two minutes. Listen to the
sample on the recording and complete the checklist.
  Did the student talk for two minutes?
 Did he stick to the topic?
 Did he cover the three main points?
 Did the talk flow well?
 Did he use a range of words?
The student was able to speak for two minutes and kept to the topic. He covered all the points
in the task and used a range of vocabulary and linkers. He allowed himself time to think, when
necessary.
Part 3
We've been talking about a place you'd like to visit and I'd like to discuss with you one or two more
general questions related to this. So, let's consider first of all the idea, as a student, of having a gap
year.

 How important do you think it is for young people to visit different places before they go to
university or college?
 What sort of challenges do you think you'd have, going on a gap year as a student?
 Do you think it's useful to work, for other reasons as well, besides money?
 What sort of jobs do you think would be the best sort of jobs to do?
 What sort of preparation should a student make before they go on a gap year, do you think?

 Let's move on to the topic of travelling to less familiar places. What sort of advantages are
there to reading about a country before you visit it?
 Do you think there are any disadvantages?
 Some people choose to have a guide, when they go to a very unfamiliar place. Do you think
that improves the quality of a travel experience?
 Do you think you learn more from visiting important sites or from meeting local people?
If you have someone to study with, take it in turns to ask and answer the questions. Listen to the
sample recording and complete the checklist.

 Did the student respond to the key ideas?

 Did the student support his answers well?
 Did he use a range of words?
 Did he speak fluently, using a range of linkers?
PART 1
The examiner asks the candidate about him herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar
topics.

EXAMPLE

Dancing

 Do you have a large family or a small family?

 Can you tell me something about them?
 How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?
 What sorts of things do you like to do together?
 Did/Do you get on well with your family? [Why?]
PART 2
Describe someone in your family who you
You will have to talk about the topic for one to
like.
two minutes.
You should say:
You have one minute to think about what you're
where you met them
going to say.
what subject they taught
You can make some notes to help you if you
what was special about them
wish.
and explain why you like this person.
PART 3
Discussion topics:

Developments in education

Example questions:
How has education changed in your country in the last 10 years?
What changes do you foresee in the next 50 years?

A national education system

Example questions:
How do the expectations of today’s school leavers compare with those of the previous generation?
What role do you think extracurricular activities play in education?

Different styles/methods of teaching and learning

Example questions:
What method of learning works best for you?
How beneficial do you think it is to group students according to their level of ability?
 PART 1
The examiner asks the candidate about him herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar
topics.

EXAMPLE

Dancing

 Do you enjoy dancing? [Why/Why not?]

 Has anyone ever taught you to dance? [Why/Why not?]
 Tell me about any traditional dancing in your country.
 Do you think that traditional dancing will be popular in the future? [Why/Why not?]
PART 2
Describe someone in your family who you
You will have to talk about the topic for one to
like.
two minutes.
You should say:
You have one minute to think about what you're
how this person is related to you
going to say.
what this person looks like
You can make some notes to help you if you
what kind of person he/she is
wish.
and explain why you like this person.
PART 3
Discussion topics:

Family similarities

Example questions:
In what ways can people in a family be similar to each other?
Do you think that daughters are always more similar to mothers than to male relatives?
What about sons and fathers?
In terms of personality, are people more influenced by their family or by their friends? In what ways?

Genetic research

Example questions:
Where can people in your country get information about genetic research?
How do people in your country feel about genetic research?
Should this research be funded by governments or private companies? Why?
Speaking Part 1 - Introduction and interview
[This part of the test begins with the examiner introducing himself or herself and checking the
candidate’s identification. It then continues as an interview.]

Let’s talk about your home town or village.

 What kind of place is it?

 What’s the most interesting part of your town/village?
 What kind of jobs do the people in your town/village do?
 Would you say it’s a good place to live? (Why?)
Let’s move on to talk about accommodation.

 Tell me about the kind of accommodation you live in?

 How long have you lived there?
 What do you like about living there?
 What sort of accommodation would you most like to live in?

Speaking Part 2 - Individual long turn

Candidate Task Card
Describe something you own which is very important to you.

You should say:

where you got it from

how long you have had it
what you use it for

and explain why it is important to you.

You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes.
You have one minute to think about what you're going to say.
You can make some notes to help you if you wish.

Rounding off questions

 Is it valuable in terms of money?

 Would it be easy to replace?
peaking Part 3 - Two-way discussion

Let’s consider first of all how people’s values have changed.

 What kind of things give status to people in your country?

 Have things changed since your parents’ time?
Finally, let’s talk about the role of advertising.

 Do you think advertising influences what people buy?

Unit 1, IELTS Speaking test model, part 1: Recording script
(CD 1, Track 4)

After you have introduced yourself and the Examiner has checked your ID, he or she will ask
you questions on three topic areas. The first topic area will be about your studies, your work
or where you live.

Examiner: Let’s talk about your home town. Where were you born?

Candidate: I was born in a place called Rochester in the Medway towns in Kent.

Examiner: Do you still live in Rochester?

Candidate: No, I haven’t lived in Rochester for a long time now, since I went to college. I live in
London.

Examiner: Do most people like living in Rochester?

Candidate: I guess they do. I always wanted to live in London, so… my family still live there, but I
guess it’s a nice place.

Examiner: Why?

Candidate: Well, it’s got beautiful architecture and it’s the home of Dickens and so there’s quite a lot
of historical interest there and you’ve got countryside nearby and it’s easily accessible for London.

Examiner: Do you think you’ll stay in London?

Candidate: Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been here for quite a while now and although I love it, I can’t
imagine spending my whole life here.

The next two topics will be more general.

Examiner: I’d like to move on to talk about sport. What’s your favourite sport?

Candidate: My favourite sport to watch is football, but to participate in, it’s swimming.

Examiner: When did you first become interested in swimming?

Candidate: Gosh, when I was a child, my dad used to take me swimming every week and I swam for
my school.

Examiner: How often do you participate in swimming now?

Candidate: I try to swim at least two times a week.

Examiner: What equipment do you need for swimming?

Candidate: The great thing is that you don’t really need any equipment apart from goggles and
trunks.
Examiner: Where do you go swimming?

Candidate: Anywhere I am. I love swimming in the sea but mainly I swim at my local pool.

Examiner: Now, let’s move on to talk about shopping. How do you feel about going shopping?

Candidate: I don’t mind going shopping. I like to know exactly what I’m going shopping for, though, I
like to get in, buy it and go home again.

Examiner: Do you like buying clothes or goods on the Internet?

Candidate: I’ve never bought clothes on the Internet because I like to try them on before buying
them but I’ve certainly bought electrical goods and other things on the Internet.

Examiner: What don’t you like about shopping?

Candidate: I don’t really like big crowds of people and fighting my way through them to get what I
want. I guess I don’t like paying for it all.
Unit 8, IELTS Speaking test model, part 2: Recording script

(CD 1, Track 22)

The Examiner will introduce part 2 by saying:

Examiner: Now, I’m going to give you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.
Before you talk, you’ll have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some
notes if you wish. Do you understand?

Candidate: Yes, I do.

Then the Examiner will give you some paper and a pencil for making notes, and read the
topic to you.

Examiner: I’d like you to describe a minor accident that you had in the past.

After your one minute preparation time, you will give your talk.

Candidate: When I was about seven, I was very ill after school and I was sent home from school and I
was lying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself, watching TV, and I got bored and decided to go and
ask my mum if she could go and find a game for me or a book or something else to do, and when I
went into the kitchen, my mother was cooking. And so, as I sort of went behind her, I had no shoes
on and she didn’t hear me coming, and she was making boiled potatoes, and as I got behind her she
turned around with the boiled potatoes in the saucepan to take them to the sink and I was right
behind her, so she hit me round the head with the saucepan of boiling water and it all spilled down
onto my shoulder and splattered my face and went all over my shoulder and burnt me. But because
she didn’t let go of the saucepan, she still had it in her hand, she didn’t realise that I was crying
because I was burnt, she thought I was crying because she’d hit me and bumped my head, so she
didn’t respond quickly enough, which made the whole thing worse. At the time, my dad was a
plumber and of course that was before mobile phones were invented, so dad was out at work and
mum didn’t drive, so I had to wait about seven hours on the sofa with a dressing on my shoulder for
my dad to come home from work so that he could take me to hospital. My poor mum, bless her
heart, must have been very worried and not known what to do, with not being able to drive, but I
guess there wasn’t anything else she could do, she did as much as she could, bathed it in cold water,
put a dry dressing on…

Examiner: Thank you. Now, we’ve been talking about…

Unit 11, IELTS Speaking test model, part 3: Recording script
(CD 2, Track 3)

In part 3, the Examiner will ask you some questions related to the part 2 topic. This candidate
has just given a talk about a book that he enjoyed reading.

Examiner: We’ve been talking about a book you enjoyed and I’d like to discuss with you one or two
more general questions related to this. Let’s consider first of all why people decide to write a book.
What sort of reasons do you think people have for writing novels?

Candidate: Well, some people say that every one of us has a good book inside us, but I think there
are many various reasons why people write. Perhaps they have a political message, but I think that
the main thing is that you just feel that you have a story to tell, perhaps you can’t not write it.

Examiner: And some people have an ambition to write, don’t they?

Candidate: Exactly.

Examiner: What personal qualities do you think a writer needs to have?

Candidate: Well, I think the ability to be self-disciplined and to work alone, to be able to understand
people, to get into the minds and hearts of other people.

Examiner: Do you think it’s something that many people could do?

Candidate: No, I don’t think so, otherwise we would all write that book.

Examiner: Could you ever write a novel?

Candidate: I’ve had a go, but it was a teenage experiment and it’s been long gathering dust.

Examiner: Yes. What about newspapers? Do you think newspapers are a good source of
information?

Candidate: Providing you remain aware of the political inclinations of any particular newspaper, yes,
I think it’s a good way of learning about the news, etc.

Examiner: Yes. What other information do we get from newspapers?

Candidate: Well, sport, facts and things like that, weather, and its good sort of editorial content, you
know, gossip.

Examiner: Which type of newspaper do you think is best?

Candidate: I think certainly in England the broadsheet newspapers are better than the tabloid. I
think you have to be aware again, that they may have their own agenda but I think a paper that’s not
committed to any particular political cause.

Examiner: Right. You need a lot of time to read the newspaper, don’t you? How often do you read a
newspaper?
Candidate: I try to read the paper every day. I don’t always read the paper during the week but the
paper I love to buy is on a Sunday, because so much comes with it, a great culture section, you can
read about the arts and catch up on all the things that have been going on during the week, the
news review section, the sport section, money section. I really enjoy the editorial on a Sunday.

Examiner: Do you think newspapers should contain illustrations? A lot of papers have cartoons in
them and photographs, is that helpful?

Candidate: Yes, I think so. I think certainly they can be a sort of a powerful way to convey a story, to
draw your attention to something, photographs possibly more than illustrations, although I do really
enjoy cartoons.

Examiner: Right. Thank you very much, that’s the end of the Speaking test.