As the first part of the Speaking test, preparing and learning in advance about frequently asked questions in IELTS Speaking Part 1 will help candidates have a better mentality for the following sections. The following article DOL will provide useful information and some ways to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1 !
Exam forms
General Training & Academic
Exam time
45 mins
Structure
2 - 3 short topics
Topics
Food (food), Family (family), Hobby (hobbies), Work and study (work and study), Hometown (hometown), Sport (sports),…
Scoring Criteria
Fluency and Coherence
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Pronunciation (Pronunciation)
Lexical Resource (Vocabulary)
Speaking Part 1 topics are often mentioned
IELTS Speaking Part 1 is called General Introduction.
In this part, the examiner will ask the candidate questions related to personal information such as: Food (food), Family (family), Hobby (hobbies), Work and study (work and study), Hometown (home), Sport (sport), Accommodation (place of residence),....
The questions in this section are quite simple, so candidates can answer them briefly without having to use complex sentence structures or extensive vocabulary.
The IELTS Speaking test consists of 3 parts
To know how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1 , candidates need to clearly understand the following criteria:
Fluency and Coherence: The Speaking test must be coherent, fluent and clear. Candidates need to use words or phrases to connect ideas to make the speech more fluent.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy : The candidate's ability to use grammar. Candidates need to use more advanced grammar structures (passive sentences, conditional sentences type 1, type 2,...).
Pronunciation: Candidates must pronounce clearly and naturally, especially with tail sounds. In addition, the speech must also have the correct intonation and stress, moderate speed.
Lexical Resource : Candidates should have a rich vocabulary, be able to use words from a variety of topics and apply them correctly to the context.
Examiners often rely on the above 4 criteria to score candidates in the IELTS Speaking test
Before the exam:
Candidates arrive at the waiting room at the test site on time
The examiner will confirm the candidate's personal information before the start of the test
The examiner will notify the candidate that their test portion will be recorded during the test prior to the start of the test.
During the exam:
The examiner will start asking Part 1 as soon as the recorder is turned on
Frequently asked questions in Part 1 related to candidates' personal information are mainly
IELTS Speaking Part 1 takes about 4-5 minutes
IELTS Speaking Part 1 will take place in about 4-5 minutes with 2-3 topics to be asked. The length of answer candidates should give is from 2-3 sentences in 1 question.
=>> This is the right length, which means you can both answer all the questions in the question and also expand the necessary information.
Remember one thing that in IELTS Speaking Part 1, in Yes / No questions , you should not only answer Yes or No, but instead add content explaining the reason for your answer!
Ví dụ: IELTS Speaking part 1 topic Accommodation:
What is your favourite room?
→ It will definitely have to be the bedroom. The reason is that it is the room which best shows my personality. I painted the walls blue as it is my favourite colour, and I also have a lot of ornaments to decorate the room.
What is your home's decoration?
I like to keep things simple when it comes to decoration. I use some abstract paintings to add more charm and personality to the living room. As for the bedroom, I hang my wedding photos on the walls, along with some photos of my baby.
Ví dụ: IELTS Speaking part 1 topic Clothes:
Are clothes important to you?
Well, to some extent. All I care about clothes is whether or not they are able to protect me from the weather and if they are comfortable enough for me to move in them. As for fashionable clothes, I don't really care about them.
Do you ever wear the traditional clothes of your country?
I don’t think my country has any traditional clothes, or at least not that I can remember. I usually only wear casual clothes so even if there were traditional costumes in my country I don't think I'd like to wear them very often. They are usually very intricate and not really comfortable to wear.
Note:
A standard answer for Part 1 would be between 3-5 questions. Each sentence will have a different function to ensure the coherence of the whole answer.
You should ensure the number of sentences of this Part 1 to have better control over the speaking part, as well as to meet the marking criteria for the IELTS Speaking test.
One thing to note for you when starting to enter the Speaking test is that before officially asking questions about specific topics, you will need to answer questions about yourself such as your name, optional documents, etc. Dear…
This part is called Introduction, this is not the Speaking IELTS Part 1 , so don't be confused and answer too detailed and use too complicated words!
Some common question types in IELTS Speaking Part 1
Descriptive Question - Descriptive Question
Eg:
Tell me about your family.
Tell me about your work.
Frequency Question
Eg:
How often do you eat out?
How often do you read books?
Preference Question
Eg:
Do you prefer coke or plain water?
Do you prefer comfortable clothes or good-looking clothes?
Like & Dislike Question
Eg:
Do you like swimming?
Do you like gardening?
Popularity Question
Eg:
Is social media popular in your country?
Do people in your country like using bikes?
Past Experience Questions
Eg:
Have you ever travelled abroad?
Which subject did you like studying when you were at school?
Future Experience Questions
Eg:
Which industry would you like to work in five years from now?
Would you change your job in the future?
Genre Questions - 'Type of' Questions
Eg:
What type of sports do you like?
What type of books do you often read?
8 types of questions commonly found in IELTS Speaking Part 1
For low level students:
With Linearthinking, DOL will guide you to visualize the sentence structure before speaking. In addition, frameworks and models that help you to think easily are also introduced through Linearthinking method.
Ví dụ: “Do you work or are you a student?”
Framework
1. Student - major in - school
2. Expand: Reason 1
3. Expand: Reason 2
Structure
1. major in + major
2. prefer sth to sth
3. instead of V-ing
The answer would be:
I am currently a junior majoring in English Linguistic at HCMC University of Education. Actually, I prefer social science to natural one and I am definitely good at the former one. Also, I would like to work in educational field so instead of just gaining knowledge for myself, I’d love to help others to broaden their horizons as well.
→ Comment: The sample sentence correctly answered the question "work" or "a student". At the same time, the reasons given are sufficient to meet the expansion requirements; due to measurement, this can be seen as a relatively complete answer.
For advanced students:
With Linearthinking, high-level students will be guided to practice IELTS Speaking Part 1 through 2 steps:
Bước 1: Specify the question
To make the answer different, the candidate must understand a new way of thinking, away from the usual ways of answering.
Ví dụ: Should teachers and parents teach children how to cook?
→ According to common sense, we will immediately think of answering Yes / No and give reasons to explain our choice. However, you can make your speech different by specifying your answer.
In the above example, we can "break down" the "how to cook" part into smaller things like how to use kitchen utensils, what dishes parents should teach their children or children should learn to cook from. how many years old.
Bước 2: Develop ideas logically
Once you have an idea of how to answer the question, you begin to organize those ideas into a logical and specific flow. Your idea flow can be organized into clusters like:
Cause and Effect (cause - effect)
Explanation (Explain)
Example (Example)
Story (Storytelling)
Prediction
Opinion (Opinion)
...
Eg:
Using stories you can incorporate into your answer as follows:
I couldn't agree more with this. Young people seem to think that since they are living in the age where they could always log onto an app and have hot food delivered to them, cooking is an unnecessary skill. But from my own experience, you could never know when you would end up alone with no app to use. Back when I studied abroad in Denmark, my roommate was another Vietnamese kid who came from a very well-off family. The first day in the dorm, he bragged to me about how he almost never stepped foot in the kitchen since his mom did not want him to get injured. The bragging stopped after barely a week. There were no food delivery services in that city, and supermarkets did not have ready meals like in Vietnam, so after 2-3 days of having only instant noodles and cereals, he knocked on my door and begged me to teach him some basic cooking skills. Therefore, I really believe cooking and food processing is a basic survival skill, and with the current pandemic stopping all food delivery apps, I’m so glad my mom dragged me into the kitchen back then.
A few suggestions for how to answer questions in Speaking Part 1:
Let's find out more Thinking about implementing IELTS Speaking ideas more coherently so that the speech stops faltering!
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
to some extent
tu sʌm ɪkˈstɛnt
Adverb
to a certain extent
Life is getting back to normal to a certain extent
Life is getting back to normal to some extent
to protect somebody from something
tu prəˈtɛkt ˈsʌmˌbɑdi frʌm ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
protect someone from something
Most parents want to protect their children from harsh reality for as long as possible
Most parents want to protect their children from the harsh reality of life for as long as they could
to move in something
beekeeper ɪn ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
(referring to clothes) to be able to move freely while wearing a certain type of clothing
Many girls say that it is difficult to move when wearing ao dai
A lot of girls say that it's very hard to move in áo dài
not that I can remember
nɑt t aɪ kæn rɪˈmɛmbər
Adverb
maybe but I can't remember
Maybe I don't remember clearly, but it seems that the event wasn't too crowded
Not that I can remember but I think the event wasn't that crowded
to not particularly like something
tu nɑt ˌpɑrˈtɪkjələrli laɪk ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
don't particularly like something
One thing I particularly disliked in high school was the amount of homework
One thing I particularly did not like about high school is the amount of homework
to say the least
tu seɪ ðə list
Adverb
the problem mentioned is worse in reality
Her relationship with her husband's family is quite strained, at least
Her relationship with the in-laws is straining, to say the least.
to find something comfortable
tu faɪnd ˈsʌmθɪŋ ˈkʌmfartabal
Verb
see something pleasant
I find this sofa quite comfortable, I will definitely buy it
I find this sofa quite comfortable, I think i will buy it
to be suitable for one's build
tu bi ˈsutəbəl fɔr wʌnz bɪld
Adjective
Suitable for human body
That shirt doesn't fit her body at all, it looks so baggy!
That top isn't suitable for her build at all, it looks so loose!
to put an emphasis on something
tu pʊt ən ˈɛmfəsas ɑn ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
focus on an issue
The government is focusing on getting life back to normal as quickly as possible
The government is putting an emphasis on getting life back to normal as fast as possible
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
to far surpass something
tuː fɑː sɜːˈpɑːs ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
far more than something
The boy's intelligence far surpasses that of his peers
His intellect has far surpassed kids his age
to engage oneself in something
tuː ɪnˈgeɪʤ wʌnˈsɛlf ɪn ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
actively participate in an activity
She is actively involved in many local volunteer activities
She engaged herself in many local volunteer works
to develop mentally
tuː dɪˈvɛləp ˈmɛntəli
Verb
spiritual development
Art helps children a lot in their psychological development
Art helps children a lot to develop mentally
to play around
tuː pleɪ əˈraʊnd
Verb
play, run and jump
The children are playing in the kitchen
The kids are playing around in the kitchen
to breathe (something) in
tuː briːð ˈsʌmθɪŋ ɪn
Verb
breathe/inhale something into the body
He is breathing in the fresh morning air
He is breathing in the fresh morning air
to take an action
tuː teɪk ˈækʃən
Verb
do something to solve a problem
This is done to minimize littering in the area.
This action was taken to reduce littering in the area.
to try out something
tuː traɪ aʊt ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
try something
I can't wait to try the street food in this city
I can't wait to try out the street food in this city
to originally come from somewhere
tuː əˈrɪʤɪnəli kʌm frɒm ˈsʌmweə
Verb
Verb
have a hometown, an ambassador somewhere
Bolero music comes from Cuba
to locate in somewhere
tuː ləʊˈkeɪt ɪn ˈsʌmweə
Adjective
Adjective
has a location somewhere
New Starbucks located in Van Hanh mall
to not be a big fan of something
tuː nɒt biː ə bɪg fæn ɒv ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
Verb
Not a fan of something (Not liking something)
She doesn't like ice cream very much
to be more specific
tuː biː mɔː spɪˈsɪfɪk
Verb
Verb
To be more specific
He hates durian. More specifically, he hates any food with a hint of durian.
to be impossible to do something
tuː biː ɪmˈpɒsəbl tuː duː ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Adjective
Adjective
can't do something
Agent Hunt is nearly impossible to steal.
to get a breath of fresh air
tuː gɛt ə brɛθ ɒv frɛʃ eə
Verb
Verb
Breath the clean air
She went on a trip to the sea to get a breath of fresh air
to be famous for something
tuː biː ˈfeɪməs fɔː ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Adjective
Adjective
famous, known for something
Before becoming president, Donald Trump was already famous for being an extremely successful businessman
to start one's career
tuː stɑːt wʌnz kəˈrɪə
Verb
Verb
start a career
He started his career working as a porter at the biggest hotel in the city
to come near/close (to) something
tuː kʌm nɪə ɔː kləʊz tuː ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
Verb
touchable, comparable to something
No girl in the class can match her beauty.
to be fascinated by something
tuː biː ˈfæsɪneɪtɪd baɪ ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Adjective
Adjective
mesmerized by something
They were all mesmerized by the aurora phenomenon
to get bored (Verb) : to become bored of something
Transliteration : tuː gɛt bɔːd wɪð sʌmθɪŋ
Example : Most students are getting bored with studying from home
to lose motivation (Verb): lose motivation
Transliteration: tuː luːz məʊtɪˈveɪʃən
Example: He is slowly losing motivation for work
to get dull (Verb): to become dull
Transliteration : tuː gɛt dʌl
Example: The movie gets dull once it reaches the 40-minute mark
to change things up (Verb): to change, to stir up something
Transliteration : tuː eɪnʤ z ʌp
Example: They decided to change things up for today and eat outside instead of cooking
to ask for a day off (Verb): ask for a day off
Transliteration : tuː ɑːsk fɔːr deɪ ɒf
Example: I asked for a day off but my boss decined
to go on a holiday (Verb): go on vacation
Transliteration : tuː gəʊ n hɒlədeɪ
Example: The teacher is going on a holiday in Mykonos
to have enough energy to do something (Adjective): to have enough energy to do something
Transliteration : tuː hæv nʌf nəʤi tuː duː sʌmθɪŋ
Example: I don't have enough energy to argue with you right now
to follow a routine (Adjective): to follow a schedule of activities
Transliteration: tuː fɒləʊ ruːˈtiːn
Example: Some people find it very hard to follow a routine
to spice something up (Verb): to make something more interesting
Transliteration: tuː spaɪs sʌmθɪŋ ʌp
Example: The couple decided to spice things up for their anniversary and travel to Europe
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
to go back to somebody doing something
tuː gəʊ bæk tuː ˈsʌmbədi ˈduːɪŋ ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
come home just in time someone is doing something
I got home just as thieves were escaping from my apartment
I went back home to robbers escaping my apartment.
to chill out
l aʊt
Verb
relax
I prefer to relax at home than go out
I prefer to chill out at home than going out
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
seem to be
siːm tuː biː
Verb
look
He seems to be a very funny guy, but who knows?
He seems to be a very a fun person, but who knows?
to have a very low educational level
tuː hæv ə ˈvɛri ləʊ ˌɛdjuːˈkeɪʃənl ˈlɛvl
Adjective
have low intellectual level
People in rural areas often have low education due to lack of exposure to new learning materials and facilities.
People in rural areas usually have very low educational level due to lack of exposure to new educational materials and facilities.
to make loud noises
tuː meɪk laʊd ˈnɔɪzɪz
Verb
make loud noises
The kids are making a lot of loud noises in the kitchen.
The kids are making very loud noises in the kitchen
to sing karaoke
tuː sɪŋ ˌkɑːrəˈəʊki
Verb
sing karaoke
Singing karaoke is one of her time-killing hobbies
Singing karaoke is one of her favorite pastimes
to widen something
tuː ˈwaɪdn ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
Expand something
The epidemic has widened the gap between rich and poor
The pandemic has widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
to happen regularly
tuː ˈhæpən ˈrɛgjʊləli
Adjective
happens often
This is a very dangerous bend, there are accidents happening here a lot.
This is a very dangerous curve where accidents happen very regularly
to have a good relationship with somebody
tuː hæv ə gʊd rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪp wɪð ˈsʌmbedi
Verb
have a good relationship with someone
She doesn't have a very good relationship with her father, they argue all the time
She doesn't really have a good relationship with her dad, they fight all the time
in case of an emergency
ɪn keɪs ɒv ən ɪˈmɜːʤansi
Adverb
in case of emergency
She bought her son a phone for him to use in case of an emergency
She bought her son a phone for him to use in case of emergencies
to lurk around somewhere
tuː lɜːk əˈraʊnd ˈsʌmweə
Verb
snooping around somewhere
She sees her ex snooping around her company
She saw her ex lurking around her office.
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
to enjoy one’s own company
tuː ɪnˈʤɔɪ wʌnz əʊn ˈkʌmpəni
Verb
enjoy alone time
Reading or even cooking are good ways to enjoy alone time
Reading or even cooking are good ways to enjoy your own company
to find it difficult to focus
tuː faɪnd ɪt ˈdɪfɪkəlt tuː ˈfəʊkəs
Verb
find it hard to concentrate
He is finding it difficult to concentrate when the traffic outside honks loudly
He is finding it hard to focus on his work when vehicles are honking non-stop outside
Not to mention
nɒt tuː ˈmɛnʃən
Conjunction
not to mention
He is tired from working non-stop. Not to mention he hasn't eaten all day
He is tired from working non-stop. Not to mention he hasn't eaten anything all day.
to have something to say (about something)
tuː raise ˈsʌmθɪŋ tuː seɪ əˈbaʊt ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
have an opinion (about a certain issue)
She always has opinions on how I dress
She always has something to say about the way I dress
to be into doing something
tuː biː ˈɪntuː ˈduːɪŋ ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
interested in an activity
She has been interested in origami folding lately
The girl is into doing origami these days.
to be vain
tuː biː veɪn
Adjective
frivolous, shallow/useless
He is a shallow person who keeps buying the latest phones to impress his friends.
He is a vain man as he keeps buying the latest phones to impress his friends.
in nature
ɪn ˈneɪʧə
Adverb
In essence
Although she often says mean things, her nature is really good
Even though she says a lot of mean things but she is actually really nice in nature
to enjoy doing something
tuː ɪnˈʤɔɪ ˈduːɪŋ ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
like to do something
He loves to tease his brother
He really enjoy picking on his little brother
to push the boundaries (of something)
tuː pʊʃ ðə ˈbaʊnderiz ɒv ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
break the boundaries (of something)
Marie Curie's discoveries broke the boundaries of science at the time
Marie Curie's discoveries pushed the boundaries of science at the time
WORD
English transliteration
TYPE
Vietnamese Meaning
EXAMPLE ENG
EXAMPLE LIFE
to consider somebody/something to be like something
tuː kənˈsɪdə ˈsʌmbədi ɔː ˈsʌmθɪŋ tuː biː laɪk ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
see something as something else
She only sees him as a friend
She only consider him to be like a friend
to be out doing something
tuː biː aʊt ˈduːɪŋ ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Verb
go out and do something
The dog is outside catching butterflies
The dog is out catching butterflies
to look something up
tuː lʊk ˈsʌmθɪŋ ʌp
Verb
look up, find something on the internet or in the word
I looked for him online but couldn't find anything
I looked him up on social media but found nothing
kind of/ kinda
kaɪnd ɒv ɔː ˈkaɪnd
Adverb
a little
The banana is a bit too small
The banana is kinda too small
to have someone's company
tuː raise ˈsʌmwʌnz ˈkʌmpəni
Verb
to be with someone / to have someone by your side
I don't like having her around because she talks about herself too much
I don't like to have her company cuz she talks about herself too much
to have a terrible taste in something
tuː hæv ə ˈtɛrəbl teɪst ɪn ˈsʌmθɪŋ
Adjective
Is there a way to choose something bad?
She's really bad at picking men
She has terrible taste in men
to make an informed decision
tuː meɪk ən ɪnˈfɔːmd dɪˈsɪʒən
Verb
make informed decisions
He made the wise decision to sell the stock right before the market crashed
He made an informed decision to sell the stocks right before the market plummeted
In addition, other topics will also be able to meet when taking Part 1 such as: Music, Work, Sports, Education, Window view, Trees, Purse/Wallet, Mobile Apps, Holidays, Colors, Traveling...
Do not answer the question correctly: sometimes because of the pressure of the exam room or because they are anxious to expand their answers, many candidates cannot answer the content of the question they are trying to emphasize.
Not focusing on pronunciation: Many candidates are subjective that the examiner will not be too careful when grading the candidate's pronunciation. However, many students lose points for final sounds as well as sounds that are difficult to pronounce clearly in a sentence when speaking quickly like “r” or “th”.
Does not expand ideas: IELTS Speaking Part 1 requires candidates to apply certain ways of expanding their answers to be able to express many ideas as well as make the content of the answer more complete. . However, for some strange topics or topics that you have not reviewed, you will most likely be "stuck" in ideas and worse, "don't know what to say".
Complex sentence structures cannot be applied: even though the IELTS Speaking Part does not require a high level of vocabulary or a lengthy sentence structure, you must still note that applying complete sentence structures in the answer section My word is the right thing to do.
Use a variety of vocabulary and the right topics: for rare topics like Handwriting or Drawing, you should pay attention to using the right and varied vocabulary of these topics, not using words with general meanings. This will reflect that you do not have enough vocabulary, affecting your Vocab score!
Present your speech fluently and coherently: Showing a confident demeanor and presenting your talk in a coherent and fluent manner will help you get a plus point in IELTS speaking part 1. Remember that Coherence and cohesion criteria in IELTS Speaking will generally be considered by the examiner in all 3 parts of IELTS speaking.
Speak just enough: As mentioned above, you must ensure that your answer in IELTS speaking part 1 is neither too short nor too long. Because you need to expand your answer to 2 to 3 sentences. At the same time, you must not answer too long as you may use words with errors as well as use incorrect structure, causing loss of marks.
So through the above article, candidates have somewhat understood how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1 as well as know the best approach to start and extend the speaking.
However, the Speaking test score is the average of all 3 parts Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. To improve your score, don't forget to complete the remaining 2 parts well. Immediately refer to 2 articles on how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 2 and how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 3 of DOL.
Don't forget to explore more articles in the category
practice IELTS Speaking of DOL to conquer the Speaking test well.
Do not memorize your answers, especially in Part 1. Memorized answers do not give the examiner an accurate assessment of your English skills. The examiner will be able to see if you have memorized your answer and this may affect your final score.
Many candidates often make some common mistakes in the IELTS Speaking test
Is IELTS Speaking part 1 important?
IELTS Speaking Part 1 is made to make it easy for candidates to converse with the examiner. It's not as important as Part 2 or Part 3
Are the questions in IELS Speaking part 1 personal or general?
The questions in this section are usually personal questions.
What kind of topics will be asked in IELS speaking part 1?
IELTS Speaking Part 1 includes questions related to work, study, life, hobbies, etc
Can I choose my question in IELTS speaking part 1?
No, candidates will have to answer the questions posed to them.
Through the above article, you must have known the IELTS speaking answer samples as well as how to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1 to get the highest score, right?
Do not forget to explore other articles in the IELTS Speaking section of DOL to conquer this part of the test together!