IELTS Speaking
IELTS Speaking
IELTS Speaking
By Chris Tang
You don’t have to be!!!
Predictable
Easy preparation
Lots of tips to use
On Entering the Test Room
Waiting out at the door
“Do you have a mobile on you?”
Psychological suggestion
So how do you say it?
I’ve taken the test for … times. For my
previous … tests, I always got X for my
reading, X for my listening, and X for my
writing. But I haven’t got enough for my
speaking. So I have to take the test over
and over again until one day I can get at
least 6.5 for my speaking.
Why you can say it?
The four official marking criteria:
Pronunciation
Vocabulary
Grammar
Fluency
ly
One can even use analogy. Eg. It is like an oven in su
mmer time.
Activities: holiday…
Holiday season
Autumn/Fall:
Cool, crisp, mild, cozy, clear sky, golden season, az
ure sky
Golden season, season of harvest
Winter:
Cold, freezing, snowy, icy, short days, long nights
Silver season, Christmas season
I’d like to own my own house!
Do you currently live in a house or an apar
tment/flat? Where do you live? Can you de
scribe what is in your home?
Let’s see a few pictures.
To compare two or more things
Always think in terms of
Cost/price
Features (what makes it really what it is)
Effects (popular?)
What are the differences between a
house and an apartment/flat?
House Flat
Four categories
People
Place
Object
Event
And I don’t care what category it is. I
always have my way.
Well, today I am going to talk about none other than my uncle. My
uncle is quite famous in his place. People often call him Mr. Traveho
lic. And just as this name suggests, he loves traveling very much. A
nd actually traveling is one of the most important things in his life. A
nd he has been to many places throughout China, from Harbin in th
e north to Guangzhou in the South, from Shanghai in the east to Ur
umuqi in the west. And he always says his favorite place of all is Qin
gdao, because of its natural beauty, its food and its unique local cult
ure, which all drive him to return to Qingdao to visit over and over a
gain.
First, Qingdao is famous for many of its interesting places, its beauti
ful beaches, and its clean streets. Hundreds of thousands of visitors
are attracted here from all over the world by its enchanting natural
beauty.
Second, the local food and snacks are also something one can never
miss when visiting Qingdao. They come in various colors, shapes an
d tastes, to suit different palates and wallets. They are not only exot
ic and delicate to the tongue, but also to the eye.
Last but not the least, Qingdao is also famous for its unique cultural
heritage represented in local festivals and Qingdao beer. Especially,
Qingdao beer. It is quite a big name in China. It is loved by millions
of people, including me.
Anyway, that is my uncle, a traveholic, and Qingdao, a great place t
o visit.
People Cards
Who the person is
What the person looks like
What the person is like (character and
personality)
What the person does/has done
When and where you met this person
Why you like/dislike/admire/choose to talk
about this person
“Who” question
Well, I am going to talk about…
When it comes to …, I would like to talk
about
(Snow White) was a very good friend of
mine.
昵称法
A childhood friend
I would really like to talk about Slobbery,
a childhood friend of mine. Slobbery is his
nickname, because he used to let saliva
dribble from his mouth while sleeping in
class. His real name is XXX. But anyway,
he is a nice buddy…
One’s Looks
General descriptors: good/bad-looking, ha
ndsome, beautiful, pretty, plain, homely, u
gly, awful
Significant parts on the face: eyes (eye col
or:black, green, blue, hazel), eyebrow, no
se(aquiline nose), mouth, teeth, cheek, chi
n
Other parts of the body: torso, limbs
Quotation from Gone with the
Wind
Scarlet O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom
realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton
twins were. In her face were too sharply blended the
delicate features of her mother, a Coast aristocrat of
French descent, and the heavy ones of her florid Irish
father. But it was an arresting face, pointed of chin,
square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green without a
touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and
slightly tilted at the ends. Above them, her thick and
black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique
line in her magnolia-white skin—that skin so prized by
Southern women and so carefully guarded with
bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.
Character and Personality
Kind, warm-hearted, easy-going, faithful,
honest, responsible, accountable,
trustworthy, reliable, compassionate,
humble
A giving person, a man of his word, a
“me, me, me” person, an angel of mercy,
double-crosser, double talker
What One Does
Occupation
Time, Location and Story
Significance or meaning
Eg. A friend looking after you when you are si
ck. It shows that he has heart of gold.
Why?
Good character/personality impresses or
touches you
You have learned a life lesson from them
Story
A Childhood Friend
Relating topics: child, friend
Tell me about a child that you know
You should say:
How you know them
What they look like
cute, short, chubby, messy hair, dirty hands, innocent
and pure
Something about their personality
And say whether or not they are similar to how
you were as a child
I would really like to talk about Slobbery, a childhoo
d friend of mine. Slobbery is his nickname, because
he used to let saliva dribble from his mouth while sl
eeping in class. His real name is XXX. But anyway,
he is a nice buddy. Round-faced with chubby cheek
s, and usually dressed in his baggy pants, he can h
ardly conceal his over-weighted body. But you kno
w kids. They never worry about their body weight.
Don’t be fooled by his looks. He isn’t as tough as hi
s may look. He is the tenderest thing I’ve ever seen.
Whenever other kids laugh at him or bully him, he
would run to a corner and cry like a girl. Well, if yo
u ask me whether Slobbery is similar to how I was
as a child, I would say no. But he surely resembles
that kind of people who are one person on the outs
ide, different on the other.
When it comes to a childhood friend, I can’t
help thinking about Princess Fiona, my best
playmate. Her real name is Annie. Even
now, I can still recall her black curly but
long hair, and her favorite red dress with
black strings tied around the waist. She
looked so beautiful and elegant, just like a
princess. So we all called her Princess Fiona.
Not like me, Princess Fiona was a strong
little girl. She never cried, even when she
stumbled over rock and hurt her knees. Now
she’s become a big girl and even stronger,
while I am still who I am, never able to
become like her. And that is Princess Fiona,
my best playmate.
Common People Cards
A person you’d like to spend time with
Famous person
A person who is good at cooking
A person who has influenced you
A person who helped you
Old people
Best friend
Etc.
Famous person
Who he/she is
How you got to know this person
What this person is famous for
Why you choose to talk about this person
Who: my uncle
How: live in the same neighborhood
Famous for: traveling
Why: I also love traveling…
Place Cards
What the place is
When and with whom you visited that
place
What did you feel when you visited that
place
Why do you visit that place
What Questions
Name of that place
Location
… be located/situated …
… sits/lies …
Features
Ten adj. to describe a place
When and with whom
Long time ago?
Several years ago? Many years back?
Just last year?
A few months ago?
A couple of days ago?
Feeling High or Down?
Feeling:
Sad, excited, thrilled, down, frustrated,
depressed, etc.
Feeling like…
Why?
Reasons:
Tourist spot, beautiful
Understand the local culture and customs
Story
Common Place Cards
Hotel
Shopping mall
A place where there is water
Tourist site
Library
Historical site
A place you want to visit
Etc.
Object Cards
Eg. A useful equipment, a gift, a toy
Elements:
What it is
What it looks like; what functions it has
Where/when you got it; who gave it to you
How/why
Common Object Cards
A piece of news
A book
A TV program
An artistic statue
A gift
A piece of clothing
A course
A childhood game
An advertisement
Etc.
A Useful Equipment
What it is: cell phone, mp3 player,
computer
What it looks
…in color/in…color, … in shape/in…shape
Trendy, classy, hi-tech, “in”, fashionable
Function
Why it is special
Sample Answer
Well, I would love to talk about my little “girlfriend”—
iPod, a trendy mp3 player, which I would always take
along with me wherever I go. Though it is a mp3
player, I seldom use it to listen to music, but
something called Podcast, which basically is a kind of
“radio” program broadcasted on the web. There are
so many different programs, about culture, news,
politics and even language learning. I am particularly
fascinated by the free educational resources it
provides. Now I have French, German and Japanese
learning programs on my iPod. Given me some time, I
am pretty sure I can speak some French, or German,
or Japanese, at least some daily phrases. In a word,
iPod is special to me not only because it can
accompany me wherever I go just like my girlfriend,
but also because it is a new technology that I have
greatly benefited in language learning.
Event Cards
Topic questions:
What it is
When and where it takes/took place
Who (participants) and how (effects)
Why
Common Event Cards
A journey
A change in life
Help/advice received
A sport/traditional/public event
An important/difficult decision
A traffic jam
A successful experience
Etc.
A Change in Life
What it is
Going to college, graduation, going to work,
getting married, divorced, becoming a
gay/lesbian???
When and where it happened
How it changes/has changed your life
How you feel
Why
Sample Answer
Honestly I haven’t thought about this much. The one
and only great change I can think of now is leaving
school. Look, after going to school for more than 16
years, all of my life has been so used to school, my
daily schedule, my mindset, my social life, etc. The
world outside the school seems so familiar and yet so
strange. My feelings are mixed with ambition, hope,
expectation, as well as uneasiness, insecurity and
worries. It is such a difficult time. I am like a person
lost in the no-man’s land, not knowing where to turn.
Anyway, most people have to face this change once
they leave school. It is a total challenge. But just as
one great mind has once said, “life is always full of
changes and uncertainties; we just do all that we can
and hope for the best.”
Help/Advice Received
What it was
When and where you received it
Who gave it to you
Feeling
Why
Sample Answer
When it comes to this topic, I can’t help thinking about last
year when I was overwhelmed by lots of works that I have
to do. It was my college graduation year. Besides all of the l
ectures I had to attend, the graduation paper alone was a h
eavy task: there were tons of reference books to read, a ser
ies of surveys to be conducted and also the revision and edi
ting works. It was just too much for me. But thank God, my
professor XXX offered to give me a hand. Basically he gave
me some very good ideas and challenged me to consider a
slight modification of my project structure. Then he introduc
ed me to someone who happened to have done the similar
kind of project. Woow, I was feeling just like “Oh, thank yo
u dear God.” I choose to talk about this, because it means s
o much to me. Without his help, I just can’t imagine myself
successfully completing such a great project and finishing m
y graduation paper.
Stage III
Two principles:
Take evasive action
Relate it to yourself (don’t talk big, talk small)
Evasive Action
Version 1: That is a good question. I never
thought about this question before. But if
you look at this question from different
perspectives, you may just have different
answers. Well, I am not really sure. Thank
you.
Version 2: That is a very good question. I
remember reading about this before somewhere. I
have read about it on the Internet. But I don’t wear
their “colored” glasses and remember exactly what
it said about this. There seem to be many different
views. Because people all have different education
backgrounds and experiences. They tend to look at
things through thus have different ideas. Well, this
is not my field. I am not sure. Thank you.
Relate to yourself
Example:
What do you think the government should do
to end the economic crisis?
That is a good question … (evasive action).
But I don’t think it is very bad for everyone,
both poor and rich. So I sincerely hope the
government can do something about it.
Example:
Do you think primary school students should have
homework?
That is a very good question … (evasive action). But I
do remember when I was young, I had too much
homework to do. I don’t think I had very happy
childhood. So I think when I have children, I would
like them to have no homework or little homework. I
they can really have a good memory of their
childhood.