IELTS Speaking

A candidate attempts for either IELTS Academic or General depending on the status of their application. Students aspiring for higher studies have to appear for IELTS Academic whereas professionals opting for Permanent Resident ship or employment have to undertake IELTS General.

IELTS Speaking test is common for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General.

IELTS Speaking is an 11-15 minutes test. The test will be conducted by a certified IELTS examiner. This will be a one on one test.

It will be conducted either two to three days prior to or after the test date.

In IELTS Speaking, there are 3 parts.

Part 1 – Introduction and Interview (4-5minutes)

The examiner will introduce him or herself and ask you to introduce yourself and confirm your identity. The examiner will ask you general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work, studies, and interests. This section should help you relax and talk naturally.

Answers to this section could be wrapped up in two-three sentences.

Part 2 – Individual Long Turn (Cue Card) (3 minutes)

A cue card is a task card that contains a general topic along with points that need to be covered.

A cue card will be given to the candidate, he/she will be given one minute to prepare. Later the examiner will time them, and the candidate needs to talk on the topic for 1-2 minutes until stopped by the examiner.

Important note: The candidate must talk about all the points before the given time is up.

Part 3 – Two Way Discussion (4-5 minutes)

In this section, the examiner will ask further questions which are connected to the topic of Part 2. These questions are designed to give the candidate an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas

Your answers in this section should be a bit more elaborative and descriptive when compared to Part 1 answers.

Test 1

Part One – Introduction

  1. Could you tell me your name, please?
  2. Please show me your identification/ passport.
  3. Where are you from?

[Now I’d like to ask you a few questions about vour family

  1. Do you have a large family or a small family?
  2. Can you tell me something about your family members?
  3. How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?
  4. What sorts of things do you like to do together?
  5. Do you get on well with your family? Why?

Part Two – Individual long turn

Describe your favourite news source.

You should say:

  • what it is and how often you use it
  • what other news sources do you use
  • what types of news you are interested in

and explain why this is your favorite news source.

Part Three – Details Discussion:

  1. Compare the people’s attitude to media between now and the past 20 years.
  2. Should we trust the journalists?
  3. What do you think what a good journalist should be?
  4. Many people think the Internet will soon replace printed newspapers and magazines. What’s your opinion on that?
  5. Is the Internet as a news source trustworthy? How?

Q. Could you tell me your name, please?

A. My name is Saakshi Pawar.

Q. Please show me your identification/ passport.

A. Yes, here it is. Thank you.

Q. Where are you from?

A. I am from Maharashtra but settled in the Western state of India called Gujarat.

[Now I'd like to ask you a few questions about your family!

Q. Do you have a large family or a small family?

A. I have a large family, I live with my husband and in-laws. We are a family of 6 members.

Q. Can you tell me something about your family members?

A. My family comprises my mother-in-law who is a homemaker like me. My husband and sister-in-law work in a private company. Whereas my brother-in-law is an electrical engineer working in Saudi Arabia. Also, I have a cute 6-year-old nephew.

[Now I'd like to ask you a few questions about your family]

Q. How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?

A. Since I am a homemaker, I am able to spend an ample amount of time with my family.

Q. What sorts of things do you like to do together?

A. We are interested in watching TV, cooking and eating meals, spending time with friends, go shopping and travelling.

Q. Do you get on well with your family? Why?

A. Yes, absolutely. Actually, we are a happy and prosperous couple who enjoy living together, backing up each other in difficult times and having tremendous fun during our free time. I am totally satisfied with my matrimonial life. We love each other, and we have a great bonding of love and care.

Part Two - Individual long turn

Describe your favourite news source.

You should say:

  • what it is and how often you use it
  • what other news sources vou use
  • what types of news you are interested in

and explain why this is your favourite news source.

These days so many sources are available from where one could keep oneself updated with the happenings not just taking place around the city or country but whole over the world. If I had to choose one mode of the information, it would definitely be the news channels aired on television. I usually turn to TV channels on a daily basis after I finish off my chores at home. I believe it is designed to hold the viewers' attention for a short period of time which seems a perfect fit for today's fast-paced life. In the second place, it presents the most recent round-up of the news providing the opportunity for us to see and enjoy live incidents by reporters on the scene. That's why shared viewing of TV programs can bring families together even for a while. So, I always count on TV as a handy, reliable and efficient source of news.

With the fast pacing life, it is often tough to totally concentrate on radio news or daily newspaper, and that's why for the last few years the TV news programs are becoming more and more popular. I can turn on my TV set, and there are plenty of dedicated news channels to watch. The handiest part of the TV news is that you do not have to get 100% engaged in the TV set. I can do other things at the same time the news updates get in my ear.

The audio-visual presentation, the detailed coverage and modern facilities have made the TV news really easy to grasp. For all those reasons, my personal favourite source of news is the television.

Part Three - Details Discussion:

Q. Compare the people's attitude to media between now and the past 20 years?

A. 20 years ago people could easily trust the media and the news. But today due to such immense competition among the media, they keep providing the fake news or news in a way in which they hurt the sentiments of the people. In the race to become the news network that shares the news first, often the quality and content are compromised. Hence many of them just prefer reading newspapers or reading online articles rather than following a news channel.

Q. Should we trust the journalists?

A. I believe that we cannot solely rely on their reports. We have to check the authenticity of some news because reporting is a part of the business, and employees may exaggerate an event based on their likingfavourite or personal benefit. In this case, I have heard different news from different journalists.We should trust the journalist and their news to a certain extent, but if the news has a chance to be influenced by political motives and personal benefits, we must rely on various authoritative sources as well as use our knowledge.

Q. What do you think what a good journalist should be?

A. According to me the qualities that differentiate a good journalist from a mediocre one is the characteristics of staying true to his/her job and not getting influenced or lured by the tempting offers that may come their way and bury the actual story. Along with this, I believe the journalist should hold a great command over the language in which the news will be reported.

Q. Many people think the Internet will soon replace the printed newspapers and magazines. What's your opinion on that?

A. Today, this is a greatly debated issue, and in some cases, it is true that the number of printed newspapers will decline at a time. The internet-based newspapers have already started replacing the printed newspapers to some extent. Mostly, people want to get instant news and information on their interested topics. They get the news and information instantly by accessing the internet and browsing their preferred news websites or magazines.

Further, someone needs to buy a printed newspaper to read while the online newspapers are almost free. Hence, those are getting gradual popularity among the readers around the world.

Q. Is the Internet as a news source trustworthy? How?

A. Well, online news sources are at times trustworthy. Some of the people try to spread fake or manipulated news. And the number of such websites dealing with the fake reports is on the rise. So, it is not always confirmed that the news someone reads in an online newspaper is always reliable. Hence people like to rely on the offline newspaper because authenticity is important and risk of hurting sentiments of people is much cared here rather than in online reports.