Here are some of the IELTS speaking questions reported by a candidate in a recent IELTS speaking test. Sample answers are provided to give some ideas on how to respond to these types of questions in the IELTS speaking test.
IELTS Test Part 1 Speaking
What is your full name?
It's [insert your name]
Can I see your ID?
Sure, here’s my ID card.
Where are you from?
I’m from …[insert country or city/ city and country]
Do you work or study?
I’m working at the moment; I’m doing an internship as part of university undergraduate degree in international business.
Do you find your job interesting? Why?
Yes, I love it. I’m learning a lot and getting a better understanding of issues related to topics I’ve only considered from an academic viewpoint previously – the reality is quite different sometimes.
What will be the future changes in your field?
I’m not sure, but as the world becomes more globalized I suppose we could expect business to become even more globalized too. This would mean the need for cross-border cooperation and collaboration will be even greater and that seamless integration of business processes and financial mechanisms will be even more commonplace than they are now.
What activities do you like to do at weekends?
It depends a lot on how much free time I have. If I don’t have to study or do any research I love to go to the countryside and relax. But if I’m busy or don’t have a lot of free time maybe I’d just hang out with my friends or go and see a movie or something like that.
What did you do last weekend?
Last weekend was a little different because it was my sister’s 16th birthday, so we had a big family birthday party for her. Really, that took up most of the weekend because all my relatives came to visit and we had people staying at home with us and then the celebration lasted most of the afternoon and evening, so by the end of it all everyone was quite tired.
Who was there with you?
Most of our family came at some time or another to wish her happy birthday. There are only one or two family members who don’t live locally so most of our aunts, uncles, cousins and even school friends came to our house.
Do you mostly spend weekends on study or leisure?
At the moment it’s about half and half. While I’m doing my internship I don’t have as much academic studying to do, although I’m still doing some research work in preparation for an assignment I’ll have to do next semester.
What is your favorite part of the weekend? Why?
I suppose it’s being able to sleep a little longer than normal during the week. It’s nice to just wake up naturally without an alarm clock – and nice to eat breakfast and get ready without worrying about the time.
Let’s talk about habits.
What do you do during your free time?
I like to read mostly unless I have a whole day free, at the weekends for example, then I would prefer to go out and do something with some friends.
What books do you like to read?
At the moment the books I read are normally related to my studies, but I also like reading novels, mysteries and crime stories, as I find them really interesting.
Where is the best place to read at your home?
I like to read in our garden when the weather is nice. It’s nice and quiet and when it’s cool it’s a beautiful place to sit and read for a couple of hours. I also like to read in bed at night.
IELTS Test Part 2 Speaking
Talk about some advice that you gave to someone.
You should say:- What was the advice?
- To whom did you give it?
- How did the person react?
IELTS Speaking Answer | Topic Cue Card | Advice that you gave to someone
Okay, so not long ago a friend asked me about what she should do regarding a choice she had to make. She was trying to decide if she wanted to study for her master’s degree or accept a job and start working with a multinational company in the city. The problem was she liked both options and couldn’t make up her mind about which one she thought was best.I suggested she write down all the good things about each option and also any drawbacks she could think of associated with each choice. And I told her that if she wanted we could discuss them together to see if there was an option which was clearly best for her.
She thought this was a good idea, so she first made her list and then a couple of days later we sat down and went through each point discussing it until we finished talking about everything she had written on her list. By the time we had finished she realized that she could do both. She decided to go to accept the job offer and work for a couple of years to gain valuable experience and then apply to do her master’s degree because she thought it would make more sense if she actually had some related real life experience in her field rather than just academic knowledge. She also realized that she would still be quite young when she finished her postgraduate degree and that it wouldn't be a problem.
So in the end she was really happy that she took the time to sit down and look at the situation in an analytical way because she realized that it wasn't just a case of choosing between two options – she could actually combine both and create a third option which she hadn't considered initially.
IELTS Test Part 3 Speaking
What do you think about a person who gives advice to others but never takes any advice given to him/her?
I suppose it would depend a lot on the person. I mean if the person always gives good advice and makes good decisions then I wouldn't see much wrong with that. There’s also a big difference between considering advice and acting on it. I mean if the person listened to advice offered, though about it, but then decided to do something different which worked out okay, then that would seem reasonable. On the other hand someone who wasn't even interested in listening to other people’s advice but expected people to consider the advice that he or she gave would seem a little hypocritical, wouldn't it?
Who gives you advice at your work?
My mentor mainly, but also some of the other people who work there, those who have had a lot of experience. I have a mentor who gives me a lot of advice regarding many different aspects of the job on a regular basis. Then there’s the supervisor who is in charge of the department where I work and I have a meeting with him every month and he also offers me advice based on the reports he receives regarding my performance.
Are young people capable of giving a good advice?
Absolutely, if they have relative experience and knowledge regarding the problem, there’s no reason why a young person can’t offer sound advice regarding something they know about or something they have experienced for themselves. In fact, they may be better qualified to give advice than older people if it’s a problem specifically related to young people.
Would you prefer to get advice or to take a training course?
Personally, I think the two things are very different. Getting some advice on something is usually a very personal thing whereas a training course covers a topic in wider terms. Of course, it’s impossible to do a training course for every problem or situation for which you might want some advice, so I don’t think there really is a choice between one or the other – they are two quite different things altogether.
Who are the people in your community that give advice?
There are many different types of people or groups of people in the community who offer advice to people. There are consumer advice groups, addiction advice groups, spiritual advice groups and many more organizations which are interested in educating people on various different topics. Some of these are government entities and others are non-governmental organizations or even charities which do advisory work with sections of the population. Then there are individuals such as priests, counselors, teachers and family members who also offer advice to people.
How would you answer these IELTS speaking test questions about giving advice to someone?
- What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
- If you had to give one piece of advice to a young person - what would it be?