Model IELTS Speaking Test

By Cecilia Brabin | January 10, 2012

Congratulations for stepping up to improve your speaking skills for IELTS.

I am really happy that you have decided to focus on your speaking preparation and here is my gift to you which I am sure will help you to prepare for the IELTS Speaking exam.

In the boxes to the left of this page you will find the recording of a complete Speaking test which you can listen to here or download.

This is a native speaker example but as well as listening to it and using it as a model for your own speaking preparation, you might want to consider certain aspects of the speaking on this example.

 

Pay attention to the following points:

 

  1. The speaking is not very fast – the delivery is measured and yet still fluent – fast does not = fluent!
  2. There are some hesitations – these are natural in speech – but not too many. The speaker uses erm.. and er.. now and again and also another ‘thinking’ technique of slowing down the first couple of words in the sentence: It… was… a very diff…icult choice.. (not too much)
  3. The vocabulary here is a mix of simple words with some more sophisticated words but most of the language is simple and every day and the result is very natural. Conjunctions like that.. and .. are common a few phrasal verbs some idioms
  4. This is good base from which to begin – if you have fantastic vocabulary but you are not very fluent or the examiner has problems understanding you the vocabulary will not help much.
  5. The ‘ideas are quite simple and every day and you can hear the ‘thought process as I work through the answers trying to give a clear, logical and full response.
  6. It is not perfect there are hesitations and sometimes stumbles but the answers are clear, they communicate and they are logical.

 

The questions are not always clear on the recording so here they are:

 

Part One

 

Tourism:.

 

  • – Which places would you recommend to a visitor to your country?
  • – Do a lot of tourists visit your country?
  • – How has tourism changed your country?
  • – Is your country expensive for most tourists?
  • – What are some famous landmarks in your country?

 

Part Two:


Describe a traditional meal in your country

You should say:

– What the meal is
– How it is prepared
– When it is usually eaten What, if any, is the significance or importance of this meal
– And explain whether you enjoy the traditional food of your country

 

Part Three

 

Food:

 

  • What foods to you consider to be good for you? Why?
  • What do people eat that are bad for them?
  • Why do you think people eat things that are not good for them?
  • Do you think that people’s eating habits have changed over the years?
  • How can we improve eating habits?
  • Why are people concerned about additives in food?
  • How would you change your own eating habits?

 

What to do with these examples:

  • Firstly, listen to the interview and get an overall impression of how it flows

  • Then go through and pick out some words and phrases that you think are good and would like to use

  • Thirdly, once you have listened a couple of times see if you can copy them using your own experiences – how did that go?

  • Then, try repeating some of them sentence by sentence for pronunciation practice!

  • Finally, make your own recordings of some of the answers you would give to this topic then listen to these and BE CRITICAL. I use this technique a lot with students and it really works in improving fluency and pronunciation.

 

 

 

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