Test section – Speaking Part 1

Test familiarisation and

lexical resource
Activities
1. IELTS Speaking section quiz
2. Part 1 topics
3. Analysing model answers
4. Developing vocabulary
5. Part 1 practice

Aims
• to raise awareness of the format of the Speaking section of IELTS
• to help students develop their lexical resource for typical Part 1 topics

Learning outcomes
• Students will be familiar with the format of the IELTS Speaking section.
• Students will have analysed what is required of them in terms of topics and lexical
resource.
• Students will have practised a range of ‘typical’ Part 1 questions.

Information about this section of IELTS

In Part 1 of the Speaking Section, the examiner will introduce themselves and ask the test
taker to do the same and to confirm their identity. The examiner will then ask general
questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, work, studies and interests. This part lasts for 4-5
minutes.

Time 45 minutes
Level B1-B2
Class Suitable for groups/large classes, 1:1
F2F / Online
Interaction Pair or group work
Materials Worksheets x5 attached

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Activity 1: What do you know about the IELTS Speaking section?
Material: Worksheet 1
Time: 15 minutes
Procedure:
• put students into pairs or small groups to discuss and answer the quiz questions.
• elicit answers and go over key points of the Speaking section.

Answers
1 b, 2 a, 3 a, 4 c, 5 c, 6 b, 7 a, 8 c

Length of test: 11-14 minutes

3 parts
Part 1 – questions on personal / everyday topics (4-5 mins)
Part 2 – a 2-minute talk on a given topic with 1-minute preparation time (3-4 mins)
Part 3 – a discussion based on the topic in Part 2, in which candidates will be expected to
express opinions, to speculate and to discuss on a more abstract level (4-5 mins)
The test is recorded in case the candidate’s performance needs to be re-marked, and for
monitoring examining standards.

Activity 2: Part 1 topics

Material: Worksheet 2, A3 paper and board pens (optional)
Time: 10-15 minutes
Procedure:
• put students into small groups.
• write ‘personal / everyday topics’ on the board.
• elicit an example of an everyday topic e.g. hometown, shopping.
• tell students they have 60 seconds to brainstorm and write down as many possible
topics as they can.
• when the time is up, find out which group has the most topics. Get a student from
the group to write the list on the board. If other groups have different ideas, add
these to the list.
• either tell students to make a copy of the list on the board, or write the list on an A3
piece of paper and display in the classroom.
• The list can form the basis of further practice of Part 1 in future lessons.

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 Possible answers:
hobbies, work, studies, home and accommodation, my town, my country, learning
English, important festivals, food, music, ambitions, transport, TV, reading,
travelling, music

Activity 3: Model answers

Material: Worksheet 3
Time: 15-20 minutes
Procedure:
• give students about 5 minutes to read the questions and answers and to discuss
which answers are good/bad and why.
• elicit the answers from the class and discuss the reasons.

1 a) about right length and amount of information

b) too short
c) probably too long and too much information. It doesn’t sound like a natural
response to the question.

2 a) just lists places. Again, not very natural-sounding.

b) too short
c) about the right length and amount of information

3 a) about right length and amount of information

b) probably too long and too much information. It doesn’t sound like a natural
response to the question.
c) too short

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 • summarise the main points: Students should . . .
➢ give natural replies, neither too long nor too short
➢ not list things
➢ try not to give one-word answers
➢ not rehearse / memorise answers.

• students continue working in pairs and ask and answer the questions about
themselves (closed pairs).
• call on two students in the class to ask and answer a question (open pairs).
• repeat open pairs as necessary.

Activity 4: Developing vocabulary

Material: Worksheet 4
Time: 15 minutes
Procedure:

• tell students that the Speaking section is assessed through 4 criteria: Fluency &
Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
This exercise is designed to help students to think about appropriate vocabulary for
the topics that arise in Part 1 of the test.
• put students into pairs to complete the task.
• when some pairs have finished, ask them to write their lists on the board. The rest
of the class check their answers.
• tell faster finishers to think of more vocabulary items to add to each list. Add all
these to the lists on the board.
• you may wish to extend this exercise (for homework) by writing other topics from
Activity 2, e.g. hobbies, food etc. on the board. Students can brainstorm these for
appropriate vocabulary.

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Activity 5: Practice of Part 1 and feedback
Material: Worksheet 5
Time: 20-30 minutes
Procedure:
There are a number of different ways in which this activity can be done. A procedure can
be chosen that suits the size of the class, and/or the number of times the teacher wishes
to practise the activity.

Procedure 1

• students work in pairs.

• students should only look at their own page.
• tell students to look at the feedback questions and explain that they should tick the
boxes as their partner is talking.
• student A gives student B a co-ordinate, for example D2. Student B then acts as the
interviewer and asks student A the questions in that box.
• student B then gives student A a co-ordinate, and student A asks him/her the
questions in the box.
• when both students have asked and answered questions, they should take turns to
give their partner feedback.
• you may wish to collect the feedback sheets, or do class feedback by asking the
questions.
• there are enough topics for each student in the pair to answer questions 16 times
and it can be used for future lessons.
.

Procedure 2

• students work in groups of 3.

• cut up the handout 4A into cards so that there is a pack of 16 topics for each group.
• photocopy a copy of the feedback questions for each student.
• give out a pack of topic cards face down to each group.
• the first student turns over the top card and interviews the second student in the
group.
• the third student listens to the answers and marks the feedback questions.
• repeat this until each student has asked and answered the questions, and taken
feedback notes.
• allow 5 minutes for students to give each other the feedback.

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Extra information

• You may wish to download the Band Descriptors for the Speaking section or tell
your students to do so.
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ielts-web-static/production/Guides/ielts-
speaking-band-descriptors.pdf
• You can then point out the important differences in the Lexical Resource criterion
for the levels appropriate to your class.

Lexical Resource
Band 7 • Resource flexibly used to discuss a variety of topics.
• Some ability to use less common and idiomatic items and an
awareness of style and collocation is evident though inappropriacies
occur.
• Effective use of paraphrase as required.

Band 6 • Resource sufficient to discuss topics at length.

• Vocabulary use may be inappropriate but meaning is clear.
• Generally able to paraphrase successfully.

Band 5 • Resource sufficient to discuss familiar and unfamiliar topics but there is
limited flexibility.
• Attempts paraphrase but not always with success.

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 Speaking Part 1 Worksheet 1

What do you know about the IELTS Speaking section?

1 The test lasts about a) 4 minutes

b) 14 minutes
c) 24 minutes
2 There are a) 3 parts to the test.
b) 4
c) 5
3 In the first part you will be asked questions on:
a) everyday topics
b) academic subjects
c) topics in the news
4 In the next part of the test you will:
a) choose your own topic to talk about
b) choose between 2 topics you are given to talk about
c) be given 1 topic to talk about
5 In this part, you will have
a) no time to prepare
b) 30 seconds to prepare
c) 60 seconds to prepare
6 You will then talk for a maximum of
a) 1 minute
b) 2 minutes
c) 3 minutes
7 In the last part of the test you will
a) discuss questions based loosely on the Part 2 topic
b) discuss your reasons for taking IELTS
c) discuss your plans and ambitions

8 The test is recorded a) so you can have a copy

b) because it is always marked twice

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 c) in case it needs to be re-marked
Speaking Part 1 Worksheet 2

What topics will you be asked about in Part 1?

Work with a partner or in small groups. Make a list of the topics you might be asked about
in Part 1.

Personal/everyday topics

• hometown
• shopping
•

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Speaking Part 1 Worksheet 3
Analysing answers

1 Work in pairs or small groups. Look at the answers to typical questions from part 1
of the Speaking section of IELTS. Which answers (a, b or c) are best? Why?

1 Do you live in a small place or a large place?

a) Large. It’s a family house with 7 rooms and a lovely big garden.
b) Large.
c) Large. There’s a kitchen, a living room and a downstairs shower room and
upstairs there are 4 bedrooms and 2 more bathrooms.

2 What is the area like where you live?

a) It’s boring. There isn’t anything to do. There are no shops, or parks, or cinemas,
or restaurants, or discos or sports centres.
b) It’s boring.
c) It’s quite boring. There isn’t much to do – no shops or cinemas or anything.

3 What do you like most about your job?

a) My colleagues. They are a great group and we work very well together because
we cooperate rather than compete.
b) My colleagues. We’re a team of 10 and the team leader, Cecilia, is very good.
She gets us all working well together and we have a lot of fun at the same time. We
work hard as well, of course, but I have a lot of laughs with my colleagues.
c) My colleagues.

2 Work in pairs. Ask and answer the 3 questions above about yourself.

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Speaking Part 1 Worksheet 4

Vocabulary

beach holiday book online crime crowded current affairs

documentaries eco-tourism fantasy job satisfaction long-haul flight

look for a job made redundant movies package holiday part-time

pedestrian precincts public transport romantic rush hour salary

sci-fi soaps sport suburbs thrillers

Add words from the box to the topics below.

Holidays and travel Cities and transport

beach holiday ..................................

................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................

TV programmes Types of novels

................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................
................................ ..................................

Work

................................
................................ ................................
................................ ................................

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Speaking Part 1 Worksheet 5

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 Worksheet 5 Student A

A B C D

Tell me about your friends. Tell me about transport in your Tell me about your reading habits. Tell me about television programmes.
Do you spend a lot of time with them? hometown. Do you read a lot? Do you watch TV a lot?
What do you do together? How do you usually travel around your What types of books do you enjoy? What type of programmes do you prefer?
1 Where do you meet? town? Why? What is your favourite programme?
How do you keep in contact with your Is the public transport system good? In What are you reading at the moment? Do you get the news from the TV?
friends? what ways? Do you read books in English? Where else do you get the news?
How could it be improved?

Tell me about festivals in your country. Tell me about your holidays. Tell me about your studies. Tell me about sports.
What days are celebrated? Why? Do you generally go away for your How long have you been learning What sports or exercise do you enjoy
How are they celebrated? holidays? English? doing?
2 Do you eat special food on these days? Where do you go? What do you find most difficult? How often do you do it?
Who do you usually go with? Do you think you will use English in Is there a sport you would like to take
What do you enjoy doing on your future studies or in a job? up? Why (not)?
holidays?

Tell me about shopping. Tell me about your hometown. Tell me about your home. Tell me about food in your country.
Do you enjoy going shopping? Why Is it a big or a small place? Do you live in a flat or a house? Is there a national dish? What is it?
(not)? What sort of jobs or industries are What are some good things about your Do you enjoy cooking? Why (not)?
3 How much time do you spend shopping? there? home? If yes, what sort of things do you cook?
Do you shop online? What do you buy Does it have places to spend your free Are there any bad things? If no, who does the cooking in your
that you don’t buy from ordinary shops? time in? Which is better, living in a house or a home?
Do you enjoy living there? Why (not)? flat? Why?
Tell me about your plans for the future. Tell me about your hobbies and Tell me about your weekends. Tell me about your taste in music.
Do you plan to do more studies? interests. Do you spend your weekends at home Do you enjoy listening to music?
What sort of job would you like? Why? What do you do in your free time? or do you go out? What sort of music do you listen to?
4 What is more important to you, job Why do you like doing these things? What do you do while you’re at home? Do your friends like the same music?
satisfaction or a high salary? Why? Do your friends share the same Do you like having time to yourself? What about your family? Do they enjoy
interests? Do you ever do anything special at the your music?
Are there any hobbies you would like to weekend?
take up? Why?

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 Worksheet 5 Student B

A B C D

Tell me about your holidays. Tell me about your hometown. Tell me about shopping. Tell me about your home.
Do you generally go away for your Is it a big or a small place? Do you enjoy going shopping? Why Do you live in a flat or a house?
holidays? What sort of jobs or industries are (not)? What are some good things about
1 Where do you go? there? How much time do you spend your home?
Who do you usually go with? Does it have places to spend your free shopping? Are there any bad things?
What do you enjoy doing on your time in? Do you shop online? What do you buy Which is better, living in a house or a
holidays? Do you enjoy living there? Why (not)? that you don’t buy from ordinary flat? Why?
shops?
Tell me about television programmes. Tell me about your friends. Tell me about your plans for the Tell me about your weekends.
Do you watch TV a lot? Do you spend a lot of time with them? future. Do you spend your weekends at
What type of programmes do you What do you do together? Do you plan to do more studies? home or do you go out?
2 prefer? Where do you meet? What sort of job would you like? What do you do while you’re at
What is your favourite programme? How do you keep in contact with your Why? home?
Do you get the news from the TV? friends? What is more important to you, job Do you like having time to yourself?
Where else do you get the news? satisfaction or a high salary? Why Do you ever do anything special at
the weekend?
Tell me about your taste in music. Tell me about transport in your Tell me about festivals in your Tell me about your hobbies and
Do you enjoy listening to music? hometown. country. interests.
What sort of music do you listen to? How do you usually travel around your What days are celebrated? Why? What do you do in your free time?
3 Do your friends like the same music? town? How are they celebrated? Why do you like doing these things?
What about your family? Do they enjoy Is the public transport system good? In Do you eat special food on these Do your friends share the same
your music? what ways? days? interests?
How could it be improved? Are there any hobbies you would like
to take up? Why?

Tell me about your studies. Tell me about food in your country. Tell me about sports. Tell me about your reading habits.
How long have you been learning Is there a national dish? What is it? What sports or exercise do you enjoy Do you read a lot?
English? Do you enjoy cooking? Why (not)? doing? What types of books do you enjoy?
4 What do you find most difficult? If yes, what sort of things do you cook? How often do you do it? Why?
Do you think you will use English in If no, who does the cooking in your Is there a sport you would like to take What are you reading at the
future studies or in a job? home? up? Why (not)? moment?
Do you read books in English?

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