Part 1 – sample questions
- What is the climate like in your country?
- Are there any problems with the climate in your country?
- What is your favourite type of weather?
- What kind of weather do you dislike?
- Would you prefer to live in a hot or cold country?
- What is the best/worst weather for travelling in?
Part 2 – sample task card
Describe an environmental problem. You should say:
- what it is
- how long it has existed
- how it affects people’s lives
and explain how you think the problem will develop in the future.
Part 3 – sample questions
- Which environmental problems are people most concerned about in your country?
- What are the main causes of these environmental problems?
- Do you think it is the responsibility of governments alone to protect the environment?
- What measures can individuals take to protect the environment?
- Do you think large companies and business organisations should be more environmentally friendly? Why? How?
- How can we teach children about the importance of protecting the environment?
Useful Vocabulary
Environmental Problems
- destruction of the rainforests (deforestation)
- melting of the icecaps
- extinction of many species (loss of biodiversity)
- destruction of the ozone layer
- global warming / the “greenhouse effect”
- rising sea levels
- pollution of land, sea and air
- increase of natural disasters eg, earthquakes, landslides, floods
Causes of Environmental Problems
- excessive emissions of greenhouse gases, eg carbon dioxide
- chemical and industrial waste
- emissions from cars and planes
- improper dumping of household waste
- overuse of non-renewable fossil fuels
- genetic modification
- over-consumption
- over-urbanisation
Solutions to Environmental Problems
- recycling
- using renewable sources of energy, eg solar heating, wind-farms
- replanting trees
- cutting carbon emissions
- cleaner waste disposal
- sustainable consumption and development
- buying products with less packaging
- buying organic products
- buying products made from recycled material / renewable sources
- using natural remedies as alternative medicine
Useful linkers for explaining cause & effect
- caused by
- due to
- because of
- as a result of
Sample Answer
Which environmental problems are people most concerned about in your country?
I think people in my country are most concerned about future shortages of fresh drinking water, which I suppose is both a result of poor water management and general global warming. I think everyone is feeling the effects of the latter problem which is causing us to experience more extreme temperatures, for example, much colder winters and much hotter summers. The long hot summers are particularly worrying in the south of the country where there is a real risk of drought due to the consistent lack of rainfall.
I am a registered nurse from India. Even after three IELTS attempts I couldn’t score band 7 in speaking, so I enrolled on the iPass IELTS speaking course. Finally, I was able to score 7.5 in speaking and I am really thankful to Jenny who was my mentor. She gave a lot of prompt corrections and tips for me which I could apply in my test. I would highly recommend the iPass team for anyone who wants to achieve a good band in IELTS.
Susan - India
FAQs
120 IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions
- What do you do in your free time?
- Do you enjoy reading?
- Do you read or write stories or poems?
- Do you play a musical instrument?
- Would you like to learn to play a musical instrument?
- What hobbies are popular in your country?
- Do you like computer games?
Tips to score good in IELTS Speaking test
- In Speaking, don't try to give a prepared speech, or talk about a different topic from the one you are asked to discuss.
- Remember that you are not being tested on your general knowledge but on your ability to communicate effectively.
Top 5 IELTS Speaking Tips
- Speak some English every day. This is something that all my Band 7+ students have in common. ...
- Ask the examiner questions if you don't understand. ...
- Do a 24-hour English warm-up. ...
- Give full answers. ...
- Correct your mistakes.
Scoring 5.5 or 6 may seem possible from 4.5 or 5 with more practice and preparation; however, reaching 6.5 is difficult but not impossible. It will require substantial practice on your part.
How can I pass IELTS Speaking test? ›
Tips for the IELTS Speaking Test
- Tip 1: Don't memorise answers. ...
- Tip 2: Don't use big and unfamiliar words. ...
- Tip 3: Use a range of grammatical structures. ...
- Tip 4: Don't worry about your accent. ...
- Tip 5: Pause to think. ...
- Tip 6: Avoid using fillers. ...
- Tip 7: Extend your answers. ...
- Tip 8: Smiling helps pronunciation.
Here are some common IELTS Speaking topics that often come up in the test:
- Education and work: ...
- Travel and tourism: ...
- Technology and media: ...
- Environment and conservation: ...
- Health and fitness: ...
- Culture and traditions: ...
- Social issues: Discuss poverty and its causes. ...
- Future plans and aspirations:
Raw Score = How many questions you answer correctly.
| Band Score | Score / 40 |
|---|
| 7.5 | 33-34 |
| 7 | 30-32 |
| 6.5 | 27-29 |
| 6 | 23-26 |
10 more rowsYes, getting an IELTS band score of 9 in the actual exam is very much possible. This is possible if you have met the expectations of the IELTS examiner and showcased the qualities of a competent user of the English language.
Why do I get 5.5 in IELTS Speaking? ›
Speaking Band 5.5
His vocabulary is simple but sufficient for him to talk on the subject and make himself clear. The grammar of simple sentences is mostly accurate, but there are several errors in more complex sentences, many of which are left incomplete. There are many mispronounced words.
What happens if I don't speak for 2 minutes in IELTS? ›
Because there is not a separate score for Speaking Part 2, there's no exact number of points that you lose if you cannot fill the two minutes. However, having said that, it might be difficult to get a 7 or higher for Fluency if you can't keep talking.
7 Adaptable Phrases
- 1) the one I'd like to tell you about is…
- 2) my favourite was…
- 3) I'd like to talk about...
- 4) Let me tell you about…
- 5) Personally, I would have to say…
- 6) the one who/that stands out is…
- 7) I'm going to tell you about...
Practise answering questions similar to the exam questions and do at least one full test from start to finish. Recording yourself and listening back to it may help you to find ways to improve. Prepare some answers about common topics such as work or travel, but don't plan to give a memorised answer in the exam.
Can I retake IELTS speaking only? ›
You can retake any one section of the IELTS test, whether it's Listening, Reading, Writing, or Speaking. The format and timing of that IELTS One Skill Retake test is the same as that individual skill in a normal IELTS test. But you save time because you do not need to complete the other three skills.
What are the 4 criteria for IELTS speaking? ›
Fluency & Coherence (FC) Lexical Resource (LR) Grammatical range and accuracy (GRA) Pronunciation (P)
Is 6 a bad score in IELTS? ›
For example, a band score of 6 corresponds to a competent user who generally has effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. They can also use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
What are the 3 parts of IELTS speaking test? ›
The test has three parts:
- In Part 1 - you will answer questions about yourself and your family.
- In Part 2 - you will speak about a given topic, which will be introduced by the examiner on the day.
- In Part 3 - you will have a longer discussion with the examiner about the topic introduced in Part 2.
Examiners assess your performance against 4 criteria. Fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. Your Speaking results are given as band scores which range from a band 0 to a band 9. Each whole and half band score corresponds to a level of English-language competence.
How many questions will be asked in IELTS speaking test? ›
IELTS speaking part 1
The whole IELTS speaking test is around 13 to 14 minutes long. In part 1 there are 3 different topics and around 9 to 12 questions in total. Part 1 lasts for 5 minutes and these tend to be topics such as hometown, work, studies, family, hobbies, daily routine, and so on (see the picture below).
What is the first question in speaking IELTS? ›
In part 1, the examiner will first introduce themselves and ask you to confirm your own identity. They will then ask you some general questions on familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies and interests.
