Get Ready for IELTS SPEAKING G POWERED BY COBUILDContents Unit Title 10 " 2 Introduction Far Free time Special ‘occasions Review 1 Hometown TVand radio Weather Review 2 Work Holidays and travel Review 3 Health Important events Possessions Review 4 Practice test Audio scripts ‘Answer key Glossary Pronunciation chart Topic Family and describing people Free time activities Special occasions Describing cities Wand radio programmes Weather Studying and academic subjects Work and jobs Holidays and travel Health Important life events Talking about possessions Exam focus Pronunciation: /8/; Possessive adjectives; Talking about your own life and experience; Expressing preferences; Present simple; Identitying key words in questions Connecting ideas; Past simple; Pronunciation: Past simple verbs and -ed: Giving longer answers Pronunciation: Syllables and word stress; There is /There are; Fluency Adverbs of frequency; Organizing your answer Pronunciation: Vowel sounds; Can / can't; Giving relevant answers Pronunciation: Word stress; Collocations; Present continuous; Using a range of vocabulary Have to; Using phrases to give you time to think Opposite adjectives; Be going to; Pronunciation: /a/ and ‘sentence stress; Taking notes and preparing your answers Giving explanations; Pronunciation: Contractions; Shoula/ shouldn't; Understanding different types of questions Describing feelings; Pronunciation: Giving emphasis; Comparing; Using the right tenses in answers Describing objects; Pronunciation: Linking words; Present perfect with for and since; Exam skills review Page 4 20 26 28 34 40 & 66 68. 80 86 129 134Introduction Who is this book for? Get Ready for IELTS Speaking has been written for learners with a band score of 3 or 4 who want to achieve a higher score. Using this book will help you improve your pre-intermediate speaking skills for the IELTS Academic Speaking test. You can use Get Ready for IELTS Speaking. * asa self-study course. We recommend that you work systematically through the 12 units in order to benefit from its progressive structure. * asa supplementary speaking skills course for IELTS preparation classes. The book provides enough material for approximately 50 hours of classroom activity. Get Ready for IELTS Speaking + This comprises a book and a CD. * The book contains 12 units. Each unit focuses on a different topic and these topics are ones that often appear in the IELTS exam. * After every three units, there is a Review unit which helps you to revise the language and skills covered in the previous units. * Atthe end of the book the Practice test gives you the opportunity to take an IELTS-style test under test conditions. * There is also a full answer key at the back of the book so you can check your answers. Here you will find suggested answers for more open-ended questions and model answers for the exam practice questions in Part 3 of the unit. * The glossary at the back of the book lists the useful words from each unit with their Cobuild dictionary definitions. ‘+ The audio CD contains the listening exercises. When you see this icon af) please play the CD. Unit structure Each unit starts with the Aims of the unit. They outline the key language and skills covered. Part 1: Language development introduces vocabulary related to the topic, as well as phrases. and language that can be applied to any topic. The vocabulary exercises give you the opportunity to express complex ideas and opinions so that you are able to do so in the IELTS Speaking test. In addition, each unit covers one or more pronunciation and grammar points. The pronunciation and grammar exercises help you to develop accurate pronunciation, and grammatical range and accuracy to enable you to succeed in the IELTS test. Part 2: Skills development teaches you exam skills. The information and exercises help you to understand what a good IELTS answer is and also provide you with strategies on how to achieve this. Skills include making notes for Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test, developing your fluency, and improving the length and quality of your answers to Part 3 of the test by using news articles. Part 3: Exam practice gives you the opportunity to practise the new language you have learnt by attempting questions from Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test. These test questions increase your familiarity with the exam format and help build your confidence, Finally, a checklist summarises the key points covered in the unit.Other features Exam information boxes in each unit provide key background information about the IELTS Speaking exam. Exam tip boxes provide essential exam techniques and strategies. Watch out! boxes highlight common errors in the exam. Study tips Each unit contains approximately three hours of study material. * Try to answer the questions without looking at a dictionary to develop the skill of guessing the meaning of unknown words from context. This is important because dictionaries cannot be used during the actual exam. ‘© Use a pencil to complete the exercises, so that you can erase your first answers and do the exercises again for revision * Try to revise what you have learnt in Parts 1 and 2 before doing the practice IELTS questions in Part 3. This will improve the quality of your answers, and using the new language will help you to remember it + It's recommended that you try and complete all questions in the unit as the skills needed to do well at the IELTS test can only be improved through extensive practice. © Read the answer key carefully as this provides information on what kind of answer is awarded high marks. © Listen to the sample answers on the CD and practise reading these out loud as you listen, copying the native speakers’ pronunciation as closely as you can. * Record your answers if you can. It will develop your self-awareness: you will be able to hear what you are good at and where you need to improve. Also, hearing how your speaking has improved over time will increase your confidence. Remember that there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to the exam questions: the examiner is interested in your English, not in testing the validity of your opinions. ‘© Itis very important that you do not memorise entire sentences or answers. IELTS examiners are trained to spot this and will change the topic if they think you are repeating memorised answers, Other titles iso available in the Collins Get Ready for IELTS series: Reading, Listening and Writing.The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education, Australia There are two versions of the test: Academic * General Training ‘Academic is for students wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels in an English-medium environment. ‘General Training is for people who wish to migrate to an English-speaking country. This book is primarily for students taking the Academic version. The Test There are four modules: istening 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes for transferring answers to the answer sheet NB: the audio is heard only once. Approx. 10 questions per section Section 1: two speakers discuss a social situation Section 2: one speaker talks about a non-academic topic Section 3: up to four speakers discuss an educational project Section 4: one speaker gives a talk of general academic interest Reading 60 minutes 3 texts, taken from authentic sources, on general, academic topics. They may contain ciagrams, charts, etc. ‘40 questions: may include multiple choice, sentence completion, completing @ diagram, graph or chart, choosing headings, yes/no, trueffalse questions, classification and matching exercises. Writing Task 1: 20 minutes: description of a table, chart, graph or diagram (150 words minimum) Task 2: 40 minutes: an essay in response to an argument or problem (250 words minimum) Speaking 11-14 minutes ‘A three-part face-to-face oral interview with an examiner. The interview is recorded. Part 1: introductions and general questions (4-5 mins) Part 2: individual long turn (3-4 mins) ~ the candidate is given a task, has one minute to prepare, then talks for 1-2 minutes, with some questions from the examiner. Part 3: two-way discussion (4-5 mins): the examiner asks further questions on the topic from Part 2, and gives the candidate the opportunity to discuss more abstract issues or ideas. Timetabling Listening, Reading and Writing must be taken on the same day, and in the order listed above. ‘Speaking can be taken up to 7 days before or after the other modules. Scoring _Each section is given a band score. The average of the four scores produces the Overall Band Score. You do not pass or fail IELTS; you receive a score. IELTS and the Common European Framework of Reference The CEFR shows the level of the leamer and is used for many English as a Foreign Language examinations. ‘The table below shows the approximate CEFR level and the equivalent IELTS Overall Band Score: CEFR description CEFR code IELTS Band Score Proficient user cz 9 (Advanced) a 78 Independent user B2 5-65 (Intermediate — Upper intermediate) Bi 45This table contains the general descriptors for the band scores 1-9: IELTS Band ‘Scores 9 Expert user Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding, 8 Very good user Has fully operational commend of the language, with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well 7 Good user Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstendings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning, 6 Competent user Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations, 5 Modest user Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field 4 Limited user Basic competence is limited to fomiar situations. Has frequent problems in understanding and expression. Is notable to use complex language. 3 Extremely limited _Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familar situations. user Frequent breakdowns in communication occur 2 Intermittent user No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using Isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English. 1 Nonuser Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words. 0 ——_Didnot attempt —_No assessable information provided the test Marking The Listening and Reading papers have 40 items, each worth one mark if correctly answered. Here are ‘some examples of how marks are translated into band scores: Listening: 16 out of 40 correct answers: band score 5 23 out of 40 correct answers: band score 6 30 out of 40 correct answers: band score 7 Reading 15 out of 40 correct answers: band score 5 23 out of 40 correct answers: band score 6 30 out of 40 correct answers: band score 7 Writing and Speaking are marked according to performance descriptors. Writing: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting Task achievement (Task 1) * Task response (Task 2) ‘* Coherence and cohesion * Lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy ‘Speaking: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting: Fluency and coherence * Lexical resource ‘© Grammatical range * Accuracy and pronunciation For full details of how the examination is scored and marked, go to: www.ielts.orgz-lag Talking about family » Describing people * Pronunciation: /0/ « Possessive adjectives * Skills development: Understanding Part 1 » Exam practice: Part 1 Language developm: Vocabulary: Family 1 3 Bill a ae Pat Anna —— Simon Ande — Clare Jon Look at Andrew's family tree. Complete the sentences with the words below. brothers daughter grandparents husband mother parents sister sons wife Clare is Andrew's g Andrew and Jon are Clare's... Andrew's «1... are called Simon and Anna. Anna is Andrew's .......ssssseeeeand Simon's... Simon and Anna have three children - one and two 6 Pat and Bill are Andrew's seseseseee Billig Pat's BRONS Read and complete the text about Andrew's family. ‘My name's Andrew. I've got one (1) .. soos. Her name is Clare. I've got one saat His name’s Jon. He's a student. My (3) Js name is Anna and she's a teacher. My (4) . .s name is Simon and he’s a doctor. Watch Out! Use the contraction ‘s in spoken English. My name's Andrew. My neme-is Andrew Rewrite the text in Exercise 2 to describe your family. 8 Get Ready for IELTS: SpeakingUnit 1 Pronunciation: /6/ 4) 4 Listen and repeat each word. The words below use the phonetic alphabet. This shows you oO how to pronounce the words. Can you pronounce the /6/ sound? brother /"brada/ father /‘fa:do/ grandfather /'graendfa:da/ @) 5 Listen and repeat each word. Then listen again and write each word. 2 /*brade/ - /mada/ /grendmade/ Vocabulary: Describing people 6 Find nine personality adjectives below. Use your dictionary to help you. Which can describe you? BORER eee ee Meg ar Se J Complete the descriptions below with personality adjectives from Exercise 6. 11 My mother understands new things quickly. She's very N My father is very He tells me what to do every day. Oo ligennects speaking English! 4 My sister is never angry or worried. She's always 5 My brother is... .. because | believe in my ability. For example, I'm good at He enjoys meeting people. He's ..t00. He always makes people laugh. 4) 8 Listen to three people describing someone in their family. Write the personality adjectives 03 that each speaker uses. Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 *4)) 9 Listen again. Complete the gaps with the words you hear. Use the audio script on page 89 to 03 check your answers. Speaker 1 — SHE sssesccnsee suse like her sister. They've both got curly hai. Speaker 2 | don’t have any . or sisters. I'm an only child. Speaker 3 But their son is really funny! He's my cousin. 10 Describe someone in your family. Use personality adjectives and include extra information. FamilyGrammar: Possessive adjectives 14) 14. How would you describe your family? Read the description of Antony's family. Listen and 04 10 complete the gaps with the words you hear. My family? Well, we're a big family actually. (1) . ... house is large! I've got five brothers. (2) _-names are Carlos, Gino, Luca, Alex and Marco, Carlos is M1 and he’s the youngest. He's good looking and very funny. Marco is 27 and he’s the oldest. @) wife teaches at my college. () sou name is Maria, My mother is an only child, so (5) family is very small. But (6) ...-.-.....+-father is froma big family. He has three brothers. He looks like his brother, my uncle Georgio. They are both bossy but kind. My uncle has four children and one cat. (7) name is Lola. Tell me about (8) ....- family. Wateh Dut! Jook like = have the same appearance Hook like my mother. He looks like his father. They look like their father. 12 Complete the table below. you he it they my nt oe ated ye MO 13 Answer the questions below. Write full sentences. 1 Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are their names? Example: Yes, | have two sisters. Their names are Ela and Liz. ‘What is your father’s name? Who do you look like in your family? What is his/her name? Have you got a pet? What is its name? Who makes you laugh in your family? Is someone in your family bossy? OanaN 14 dd one more sentence to your answers in Exercise 13. Example: 1 Yes, | have two sisters. Their names are Ela and Liz. Ela looks like my mother and they are both very kind. ‘15 How would you describe your family? Record your answer. Get Ready for IELTS: SpeakingUnit 1 Part 2: Skills developme: 1 4) 2 05 4) 3 % Exam information ‘The complete Speaking test takes 11-14 minutes. The examiner asks questions and you give answers. The answers are recorded Part 1: Introduction and interview © Part 1 takes 4-5 minutes. © In the introduction, the examiner introduces himself/herself to you. The examiner asks you to confirm your identity. © Then the interview starts. The examiner asks you questions on general topics, e.g. family, hobbies, studying. * Part 1 tests your ability to give full answers and to give extra information on general topics with descriptions or explanations. Read the Part 1 questions 1-5 below. Match each question with the correct topic a-e. Are you a student? Your country Your family Your hobbies Your studies Describe your farnily. Which country are you from? What do you do? Do you do any sports? aaRonea enonD Your work Watch Out! What do you do? = What is your job? Read and listen to the examiner's instructions in Part 1. Complete the gaps. Hello. My (1) .. is Steve Smith. Could you tell me your (2 . please? Thank you. Can you show me your (3) . please? 'd now like to ask you some questions about yourself Tell me about your (4) What does your father (5) oe © much time do you spend with your family? ‘Are people in your (7) eee Cl08@ to their family? Do you prefer to go out with your family or your (8) ? Where do you (9) seseeeees at the moment? Listen to a candidate answering a question from Exercise 2. Which question is it? Family 114) 4 06 7 How can you your answer. Then record your answer again. ren to the candidate's answer again and assess it. Choose the best description. The information in the answer is relevant / not relevant. The answer is very short / OK / very jong. The candidate speaks with pauses /at normal speed / very fast. The vocabulary is relevant /not relevant to the topic. The pronunciation is poor / OK / clear. OARwWNA There are a lot of errors /one or two errors / no errors in the grammar. Record your answer to the same question. Listen to your answer and assess it. Choose the best description. The information in the answer is relevant / not relevant. The answer is very short / OK / very long. | speak with pauses / at normal speed / very fast. The vocabulary is relevant / not relevant to the topic. ‘The pronunciation is poor / OK / clear. Oa RwWN a> There are a lot of errors / one or two errors / no errors in the grammar. prove your answer? Choose one or two pieces of advice below to improve * Give a longer answer. Practise giving answers that are two or three full sentences. «Imagine you are speaking to a friend and speak at your normal speed ~ not fast and not slow. © Go back to the Vocabulary sections and learn more words for family. * Go back to the Pronunciation section or use your dictionary and practise saying difficult words. © Go back to the Grammar section and check you understand everything. Choose one more question from Exercise 2 and record your answer, Assess your answer, then try to improve it. Exam tip The questions in Part 1 are on general topics about your life. Your answers are from your life and experience. There is no right or wrong answer. 12 © Get Ready for IELTS: SpeakingUnit 1 art 3: Exam practice 1 Read the Part 4 questions. Record your answers to the questions. Which country are you from? Do you have a large family? What does your mother do? Ons Do you live with your family? 4)) 2 Listen to three more Part 4 questions. Write the questions. Then record your answers. 7 Progress check 3 Listen to your answers to Exercises 4 and 2. Tick the boxes below to assess your answers. Do you give a long answer? speak at a normal speed? use vocabulary for describing people? use correct pronunciation? use possessive adjectives correctly? Family 13AIMS: Talking about your free time * Expressing preferences * Present simple * Skills development: Understanding Part 2 and the task card * Exam practice: Part 2 r eToys mee aaa) ‘1 Match the photos A-D to four of the activities below. going shopping jogging listening to music playing computer games chatting online playing tennis reading magazines __watching a film 2 Complete the table with the nouns below. How many activities can you make? BDVD exercise football tothegym nothing for walks tennis. TV doing going playing ‘watching 3 What do you think about the activities in Exercises 1 and 2? Write each activity next to an adjective. Can you add any more activities? 1 boring... 2 relaxing 3. interesting 4 excitingUnit 2 4 — Write sentences for each activity. Use / ike ... /I don't like ... and an adjective from Exercise 3. Example: ! don't like playing computer games. | think it's very boring. Vocabulary: Expressing preferences 4) 5 Listen to three people answering the question ‘What do you like doing in your free time?’ 08 What does each speaker enjoy doing? Write the activities from the box. doing nothing going for walks going shopping playing computer games reading magazines esing theintemet Speaker 1 ‘Speaker 2 Speaker 3 4) 6 Listen to extracts from the answers in Exercise 6. Complete the gaps with the phrases below. 09 Idon'tlike Ilove I prefer _—_Ireallylike —‘Itdepends_-~—-My favourite thing using the Internet. chatting online with him doing nothing to doing exercise. going to the gym. Sometimes | like going for walks. is going shopping OoORWNA Watch Dut! We can use really + verb to give emphasis. We cannot use very + verb. | really like going to the cinema. very tike-going-te-the cinema. 7 Write a short answer to the question ‘What do you like doing?’ Use the phrases from Exercise 6 and the audio script on page 89 to help you. Freetime 15Grammar: Present simple 8S Read the rule and look at the table. Use the information to choose the correct answer (aor b) to questions 1-5. * Use the present simple to make general statements about your life a ss It like don't like, You like don't like He/She /It likes doesn't like We /You /They like don't ike, 1 Does your best friend play tennis? a No, he doesn't play tennis but he likes playing computer games. b No, he not play tennis but he likes playing computer games 2. Do you watch DVDs? a Yes, | likes watch DVDs at the weekend. But | don't like watching TV. b Yes. | like watching DVDs at the weekend, But | don't like watching TV. 3 Tell me about something you like doing ‘a | liking go to museums. It's very interesting b | like going to museums. It's very relaxing. 4 Do you do any exercise? a Yes, | go to the gym every morning at 6 a.m. b Yes, I going to the gym every morning at 6 a.m. 5 Do you like reading newspapers? ‘a__Itdepends. Sometimes | read the newspapers on Saturdays. b__Itdepends. Sometimes | liking the newspapers on Saturdays. 9 Answer each of the questions in Exercise 8. Wateh Out! on + day. on Saturdays at + time: at 6 a.m. at + the weekend: at the weekend Use every to say how often you do something: every morningUnit 2 Part 2: Skills develop! «a2 10 4) 2 1" Exam information The complete Speaking test (Parts 1, 2 and 3) takes 11-14 minutes. The examiner asks questions and the candidate gives answers. The answers are recorded. Part 2: Individual long turn ‘© Part 2 takes 3-4 minutes. ‘* The examiner gives you a ‘task card’ with written prompts. The examiner asks you to talk about the topic and include the points on the card. The topic is about a personal experience. * You have one minute to prepare your talk, and the examiner gives you a pencil and paper to make notes. * You talk for one to two minutes about the topic. You can use your notes to help you. ‘* Then the examiner asks you one or two more questions on the same topi © Part 2 tests your ability to talk about a topic, develop your ideas about a topic, and relevant vocabulary and grammar. Listen to the examiner's instructions for the task card below. What newspaper or magazine do you enjoy reading? What is the title? Describe a newspaper or magazine you enjoy reading. You should say: what kind of newspaper or magazine it is which parts of it you read when and where you read it and explain why you enjoy reading it Notice the underlined key words on the task card. Read the notes on each key word below. Listen to a model answer. Circle the notes that the speaker talks about. 1 newspaper or magazine: ‘what kind fashion | sport | travel which parts: letters | news oa ron when: every day | the weeizend | some where: home | school explain why: tes very interesting, Free time 17Exam tip Identify key words = important words which show you what to include in your answer 4)) 3 Match the sentences below to the key words in Exercise 2. Listen again and check. " 18 4 5 fl 2 3 4 5 where: 6 lake a | enjoy reading a magazine called Fab Football. !020157 Me b I prefer reading the interviews with famous players or the news. ¢ | read Fab Football every weekend, It's about sport, e f It’s very interesting Then | go home and read. .. Look back at the task card in Exercise 4 and prepare your answer. Make notes for each key word. newspaper or magazine: what kind which parts: when: explain why: sentences from your notes. Use Exercise 3 to help you. newspaper or magazine: what kind: which parts: ‘when: where explain why: OARWNa 6 Record your answer to the task card in Exercise 4. Use your notes to help you. Get Ready for IELI Exam tip Use a stopwatch to time your answer. You have one to two minutes to give your answer in the exam.