IELTS SPEAKING TEST PART 1
What do you do?
I’m a teacher at a local high school, where I also serve as the Music and Drama Teacher at the school.
Do you like your job?
Very much. My job allows me to meet and interact with students almost every single day, which is really exciting for me.
It’s always been my joy to impart my knowledge to students and nurture their creativity, talent, and skills they have, and watch them do amazing things.
Where do you live now?
I live in Nairobi, Kenya. I was lucky to have found housing within the school premises.
Do you live in an apartment or a house?
As I said earlier, I live in a house provided by the school. It is a well-furnished two-bedroom house with a small backyard.
How long have you lived there?
I’ve lived there since I got a job at the school, so it’s been about two years now.
Can you describe your favorite room?
It’s hard to say. I don't have a favorite room per se, but if I were to choose, I would definitely go for the kitchen, and my bedroom would closely follow.
Why is it your favorite place?
I love cooking. And not just as a hobby, but also as a therapy. See, I don’t view cooking as merely mixing ingredients together and coming up with a meal.
For me, cooking is an art. A creation. Something I’m always proud of making.
So, whenever I have a terrible day at work, cooking helps me let go of any stress and anger. To some extent, I can say that it gives my life meaning.
And that’s why the kitchen is my favorite place.
Do you think people smile a lot nowadays?
In my view, I think people smile a lot in public, but I can't say the same when they are alone.
I’ve had several friends who when we’d have a meal together and hang out, they’d act like everything’s fine. But later on, I come to find out that they were in deep trouble.
Are their smiles artificial or genuine mostly?
Well, based on my experience, I’d say you’d be lucky to find one person with a genuine smile.
I think most people tend to bottle up their problems to avoid coming across as needy or desperate. Others actually fear getting help from others.
So, they put on artificial smiles on social media and when hanging out with ‘friends’ while they’re dying inside.
When do you usually smile?
I’ve really never thought about it. But come to think of it, I smile when I see something good happening, like when I help someone out. I also smile when I receive good news, I mean, who doesn’t?
Oh! Not to forget when I’m hanging out with my best friend. She’s really fun to be around.
Why is that?
Because I’ve come to realize that every moment I’m alive is precious, and I shouldn’t let any opportunity to be happy pass me by. I also know that I can change a person’s mood by simply smiling at him/her. So I smile!
IELTS SPEAKING TEST PART 2
Describe a person who came up with a new idea or invention, whom you know well
You should say:- Who is that person?
- Where and when did you meet?
- What was his/her idea or invention?
and explain how you feel about his/her idea.
SAMPLE ANSWER
When I was in high school, there was this guy, Mike, who joined our class as a new student. He sat in front of me and was quite jovial from his first day.
My first thought of him was that he was a nerd, but that was before I got to know him.
I didn’t interact with him for pretty much that whole year, besides the occasional hi or hello across the corridors.
During our final year, however, we shared a physics practical class, and that’s when I think we became friends. After a little chat with him and I actually found him to be a very interesting guy.
Mike knew a lot, and by a lot, I mean almost everything. He was the actual know-it-all kind of guy but in a good way.
Of all the things he told me, the one thing that I’ve never forgotten about him was this project he was working on.
Mike wanted to build a plastic water pump for his father’s farm.
I’d never seen a plastic pump in my life and I actually thought that he was insane! I even thought of telling him that it was impossible, but with the sheer passion and energy he had, and the way his eyes lit up when he was explaining it to me, I couldn’t do it.
A few months later, when we were almost graduating, he came with a prototype of the pump he was to design. It was magnificent!
The pump’s body was made of recycled bottles, the impellers were plastic, and it had two batteries on its rear as the power source.
He took it to the physics teacher and I remember they had a long discussion about that project he was working on. I can’t remember what exactly the teacher told him, but he was pretty excited after that meeting.
To date, I don’t really know if Mike was able to complete his project. We lost contact after graduation, but I sure hope he managed to do it.
I hope to meet with Mike again in the future. Not to talk about his idea, but about what that idea did to me. He believed that nothing was impossible, and that made me believe too.
I think that all the determination and commitment I put into my work is because of him.
Follow up question: Why did you appreciate it?
To be honest, I really appreciated the idea because it was something from his heart. He was so passionate about it, talked about it all the time, and never for one-second thought that it was impossible. I guess I also thought it was sweet of him to do it for his dad.
IELTS SPEAKING TEST PART 3
How can people innovate or make new discoveries?
One thing I’ve observed from the few people I know who’ve made discoveries is that they all identified an area of need, and they took action to meet that need.
So I guess it’s true to say that necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case, innovation and discoveries.
I think people tend to look too far for ‘world-class’ inventions when really the solution is on their doorstep.
Problems don’t have to affect the entire nation to require an innovative solution. There are problems in homes, farms, businesses, factories, schools, offices, churches, mosques, temples, everywhere.
And so I think that for people to make innovations and discoveries, they must first recognize and identify the small problems people face daily.
This way, the small solutions they come up with, can be scaled to become that groundbreaking innovation they’re looking for.
How do they come up with new innovations?
As I mentioned, for anyone to come up with an innovation, they first have to identify a problem that needs a solution.
They also have to believe in themselves - that they are capable of coming up with the solution to the problem they have identified.
Another thing is they have to consider the usefulness of the innovation they want to come up with - whether the problem is worth solving.
Lastly, I believe that research is the key to any innovation. So, they need to be willing to conduct comprehensive research on the topic at hand.
With determination and passion, I’m sure they’ll get what they are looking for.
At what age do children learn to form their own opinions and make decisions?
Personally, I think that children, from as early as the age of three, can form opinions on some things. For instance, a child might prefer orange juice over pineapple juice. But, I know this is subject to a lot of debate.
Who helps them?
Mainly those that they interact with most as they grow up I believe. People such as their parents, older siblings, and relatives. This also includes songs, movies, and shows they’re exposed to!
Psychology has shown that children tend to imitate the behavior of those around them. And this has an enormous effect on what the child grows up liking or disliking, loving, or hating.
I believe that if a child grows up in a humble family, the child will probably take after his/her parents and their older siblings' personalities.
However, they can pick up some bad habits from their friends as they get older.
Why do they start having their own opinions at a certain age?
I think it’s because, at a certain age, their brains start to mature. So, they become able to differentiate between right and wrong, or something like that.
They become aware of their environment, and of who they are.
However, I don’t think children really have their ‘own’ opinions. I believe they get their opinions from the movies or cartoons they watch, the music they listen to, and even the people they hang out with.
Do you think their opinions are likely to be similar to their parents’ opinions?
Well, yes and no. It’s common to find children who grow up to be exactly like their parents, in terms of opinions. However, it’s equally possible for the kids to have totally different opinions from their parents. Take most of Generation Z for example.
Why is that?
There are many reasons for this. But I think the main reason for this is the difference in the environment. For instance, advancement in technology means that children today are exposed to way more things than what their parents were exposed to at the same age.
This means that there’ll definitely be a difference in how they both view things.
I also think that a child’s choice of friends also affects their opinions. I don’t mean to be rude, but some friends are just not right for your kid!