Unit 1: Exercise 1

In this unit, you will learn about the structure of IELTS Speaking Part 1, Part 2
and Part 3.

Complete the information about the IELTS Speaking test with the phrases in the
box.

Time

1. total time for the test: _____11–14 minutes ____

2. preparation time for your talk in Part 2: ____1 minute ______

3. total time for Part 3: _____4 –5 minutes ___________

Sections

4. the part of the test where you speak at length on a familiar topic: _____ _ Part
2______
5. the part of the test where you have a more general and abstract discussion and explore
a topic in more depth: __ Part 3____
6. the part of the test where you talk generally about familiar topics: ____ part 1_______

Marking criteria

7. looks at how you link words and ideas together: ___ Fluency and Coherence _____
8. looks at sentence stress and intonation: ___ Pronunciation __
9. looks at how well you use vocabulary: __ Lexical Resource ____
10. looks at how well you use tenses and structures: ____ Grammatical Range and
Accuracy ___

Unit 1: Exercise 2
Match the good and bad advice in the box with the IELTS Speaking marking
criteria.

1. Fluency and Coherence

Good advice:__ Try to speak with minimal repetition and self-correction _

Bad advice: :__ Try to speak as quickly as possible _____

2. Lexical Resource

Good advice: :_ Try to use idiomatic vocabulary where appropriate ____

Bad advice: :______ Use simple vocabulary that is easy to understand __________

3. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Good advice: :____ Use more complex structures __

Bad advice: :____ Speak slowly so you make no mistakes with tenses _____

4. Pronunciation

Good advice: :__ Practise using intonation and stress __

Bad advice: :___ Try to sound as British or American as possible ________

Unit 1: Exercise 3
Read the statements. Then watch the video of three students doing IELTS
Speaking Part 1. Choose True or False.

1. The examiner explains the format of the test.

play.MP4
o True

o False

2. The first set of questions is always about where you are from.

o True

o False

3. You only talk about one topic in this part of the test.

o True

o False

4. The examiner lets you know when the topic is changing.

o True
 o False

5. If you don’t develop your ideas, the examiner will help you.

o True

o False

6. The examiner gives you enough time to speak about all of the topics.

o True

o False

Unit 1: Exercise 4
Read the information about achieving Band 8 in the IELTS Speaking test. Then
watch the video of a student doing IELTS Speaking Part 1. How well does she
do? Choose the correct examiner’s comments for the marking criteria.

It is important to know what the examiner is looking for in the IELTS Speaking test. If you
are aiming to achieve Band 8, you need to make sure you fulfil the following criteria.

Fluency and Coherence

 Speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or self-correction.

 Hesitation is usually content-related and only rarely to search for language.
 Develops topics coherently and appropriately.

Lexical Resource

 Uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning.
 Uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully and shows some awareness of
style and collocation.
 Uses paraphrase effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

 Uses a wide range of structures flexibly.

 Produces a majority of error-free sentences with only very occasional basic errors.

Pronunciation
 Uses a wide range of pronunciation features with very few errors.
 Is easy to understand throughout.
 Student’s native-language accent has little effect on understanding.

1. Fluency and Coherence

o The student frequently repeats herself.

o The student rarely repeats herself.

2. Fluency and Coherence

o The student hesitates when she is thinking of content rather than

language.

o The student hesitates when she is trying to use more advanced

words or grammar.

3. Lexical Resource

o The student tries to use a wide range of vocabulary, but there are
a number of inaccuracies.

o The student uses a wide range of vocabulary accurately. play.MP4

4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy

o The student consistently makes grammatical errors, making it

difficult to follow her.

o The student makes very few errors, but still makes some basic
errors.

5. Pronunciation

o The student is easy to understand, but there are some errors with
pronunciation.

o The student is very easy to understand throughout the test, and

she doesn’t make any pronunciation errors.
Unit 1: Exercise 5
Read the information about IELTS Speaking Part 2. Then watch the video of a
student doing IELTS Speaking Part 2. Which task card is the student doing?
Choose the correct answer.

In IELTS Speaking Part 2, you will be given a task card to talk about for between one and
two minutes. You will have one minute to make notes, and the examiner will give you a
pencil and paper for writing on. If you speak for more than two minutes, the examiner will
tell you to stop talking, but don’t worry – you won’t lose marks for this.

o Task card A

Describe a useful website that you visit frequently.

You should say:

     how you found out about the website
     how often you use the website
     what you use the website for
and give your opinion on the website.

o Task card B play.MP4

Describe a useful website that you visit frequently.

You should say:

     who told you about the website
     when you use the website
     how the website helps you
and say what you don’t like about the website.

Unit 1: Exercise 6
Read the task card. Then watch the video and complete the student’s notes with
the words or phrases that you hear. Write no more than two words from the
video for each answer.

Describe a useful website that you visit frequently.

You should say:

     how you found out about the website
     how often you use the website play.MP4
     what you use the website for
and give your opinion on the website.
A useful website

How you found out about the website:

recommended by a __friend__ /an __another structer___ suggested using YouTube to watch
__clips_

How often you use the website:

__once__ a week / when I have spare ____time__

What you use the website for:

learn life skills, e.g. how to be __confident__ , speak English properly, learn English in more
__depth___

Your opinion:
positive; TED Talks very __useful_ website, __help_ people to be more confident

Unit 1: Exercise 7
Read the information about IELTS Speaking Part 3. Then watch the video of a
student doing IELTS Speaking Part 3. Put the questions that the examiner asks
in the correct order.

In IELTS Speaking Part 3, you will be asked more generally about the topic
that you talked about in Part 2. It is important that you are able to speak about
topics in depth as well as on a personal level. play.MP4

1. What types of thing make a city a good place to live?

2. Do people in your country generally prefer to live in cities or in the countryside?
3. So, cities are getting larger and larger, as you said. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of this?
4. Why do so many young people want to live in cities?
5. Do you think this is only a positive development?
6. Will young people still want to live in cities as they get older, do you think?

Unit 1: Exercise 8
Read the information. Then watch the video of a student doing IELTS Speaking
Part 3 again. Match the techniques for extending answers with the student’s
answers.

In IELTS Speaking Part 3, it is important that you extend your answers as fully
as possible. There are different strategies for dealing with different question
play.MP4
types.

If you are asked a question about the types of thing that make something good,
you are required to provide a list of different things and reasons. In this
situation, use discourse markers such as firstly, secondly, finally, etc. to help
you move from point to point.

If you are asked a Yes / No question that asks for your opinion on a topic (e.g.
Do you think cities are becoming too overcrowded?), try to use more creative
vocabulary rather than just using yes or no for your response. For example,
instead of yes, you could say:

I believe so, yes.

Absolutely!
Yes, I think so.

Instead of no, you could say:

Personally, I don’t see it that way.

No, I don’t believe that to be true.

1. ‘First of all, I think the environment must be good … And secondly, I think
transportation in a big city must be convenient … And thirdly, I think people should
be friendly …’

______________ providing a list of different reasons _____________

2. ‘People wanted to move to big cities to improve their living standards.’

____ explaining why something happens or happened _____

3. ‘I’d prefer to live in countryside because the air is much better.’

____ stating or explaining your own view or preference _______

4. ‘The biggest advantage of cities getting larger is that it can improve the whole
economy of our country.’

______ expanding on the topic to see the bigger picture _____

5. ‘For example, the city I lived in is Hangzhou, and the house price is really high.’

_____ giving real life examples __

6. ‘Maybe some teenagers or young people want to live in a big city and want their next
generation to study in a big city to get a good education.’

_____ explaining what might be happening now and in the future

Unit 1: Exercise 9
Read the information. Then complete the conditional sentences with the words
and phrases in the box. Watch the video and check your answers.

In IELTS Speaking Part 3, you will need to talk about different results and
consequences. It is therefore important to be able to use conditional
sentences in different ways. play.MP4

1. __ As long as you __ have friends and family nearby, I don’t think it matters where
you live really.
2. I don’t think we __ will __ ever live on other planets unless technology improves
dramatically.
3. ____ if ____ local or national governments don’t introduce new laws, pollution will
increase to dangerous levels.
4. I think most young people who live in small towns want to move to big cities __ as
soon as they can __ .
5. I don’t think overcrowding will be a problem in cities, _ provided _ local and national
governments build enough houses for people.

Unit 1: Exercise 10
You are going to do the full IELTS Speaking test. You will need some paper
and a pencil.

Listen to the examiner. Record your answer. Play to hear your answer.

Part 1

1.mp3 2.mp3 3.mp3 4.mp3

Part 2

Describe a city that you have visited.

You should say:

    where the city was
    why you were visiting
    how long you visited for
and explain what you liked and disliked about your visit.

5.mp3

Part 3

6.mp3 7.mp3 8.mp3