Here are some example questions from a recent IELTS speaking interview in the UK.
Speaking Test IELTS Part 1
It’s Miguel Jose Cervantes
Can I see your ID?Yes, of course, here’s my ID card.
Where are you from?I’m from Valencia in Spain.
Do you work or study?I’m working. I recently graduated in international business and started working at a multinational company here in the city.
Which is more important to you, the people you work with or the job itself?Honestly, they’re both important to me. I like the work a lot but one of the reasons I love it so much is because of the people that work there. They’re all really nice and very supportive and I’ve learned a lot from them in the last couple of months.
Do you like your job?I like it because it’s all very new and interesting for me at the moment and there’s a lot to learn, so every day seems to be full of interesting things and time flies past when I’m working.
What interests you the most in your job? Why?Really, there are so many things to learn and tasks which I have to become familiar with that It’s a little difficult to pick just one thing which stands out – but at the moment I’d have to say it’s being able to see the connection between things I’ve studied in the past and how that theory works in the real world – it’s so much more complex and involved in reality.
Did you read a lot as a child?Yes, I used to be a prolific reader, sometimes my mother had to tell me to stop reading when I was eating or to stop reading and go to sleep. I used to love it and read almost whenever I could.
What kind of books did you read? Why?When I was a young girl, I used to read fiction, many adventure stories, about characters having an adventure in exotic and far-away places. I guess you’d call them fantasy adventure stories.
Then when I got a little older, I began to read other types of books I used to read almost anything except history. I never really like historical things.
By the time I was in my late teens I used to read my father’s newspaper almost every day, mainly the business section because my father was interested in business affairs and that’s where I think I got my interest in business which later turned into my career choice.
Do you still like to read?Yes, although most of my reading nowadays is for studying for work purposes. But now and again I like to read a novel or something different, for a little variety, you know, but I don’t have as much free time as I used to.
Speaking Test IELTS Part 2
You should say:
- Who is in that photo?
- Where and when was it taken?
- Why is it important to you?
I remember fondly one particular photo which is in our living room. It was taken a long time ago when I was a young child, maybe eight or nine years old.
It’s a family photo with my sister and parents and it was taken at a beautiful place we used to visit near a lake in the summer.
In the photo we are sitting on the porch of the house next to the lake and we are chatting and drinking some juice together. It was a beautiful day and the sky was very clear and so the light was very bright and you can see all the colors of the trees and the landscape well in that photo. The whole setting was just dreamlike.
It’s an important photo because it was a special place we used to go to almost every year for at least one weekend and sometimes maybe more often to enjoy the summer days and the activities on the lake.
It’s also special because the whole family is in the photo, as it was taken by a neighbor, whereas normally my father took most of the family photos, so he wasn’t in a lot of them. It’s one of my favorite photos of all time.
Speaking Test IELTS UK Part 3
I don’t know, maybe because it was such a beautiful day or because my parents wanted to have a photo of the whole family and the man who lived next door was there at the time.
I’ve never asked my parents why they had it taken. We have lots of other photos from when we spent time there, at different times, but they were mostly taken by my father and they’re of me and my sister playing near the lake and things like that rather than a photo of the family together.
That depends, I mean a drawing or painting could be important but, for example, many drawings we do when we’re children maybe aren’t that important, but some of them might be special because of when we draw them, or the content of them, or the occasion, or maybe we give them to someone special as a present.
As for paintings, it’s pretty much the same, and well, clearly some paintings are important, and also very valuable, I mean there are loads of museums full of paintings which are worth millions of dollars and there are drawings and sketches too which are extremely valuable for various reasons.
So I guess whether or not a drawing or painting is important would depend on various things such as who did it, what it depicts, who it was done for, when and where, and things like that.
Like most things, if you’re interested or passionate about it, then yes you can probably learn to do it quite easily. Some people seem to have a natural talent for things, but if you’re interested and learn the basic rudimentary concepts of drawing or painting and practice to improve your skills. Then I suppose almost anyone who is interested could develop a good level of skill and talent for it.
Not necessarily a ‘must’ but they should definitely be available for anyone who is interested in taking them.
It’s quite normal for children to have some kind of art activities at school and through those learn whether or not you maybe have an interest or talent for that sort of thing.
But I don’t think there’s any need to force people to do art classes by making them compulsory or obligatory if children really have no interest in it.
It is in elementary schools, although there isn’t such an emphasis on it, all children are introduced to different art activities through a range of classes so that they get an opportunity to learn about drawing and painting and other art such as sculpting and modeling and things like that. But there isn’t as much importance given to it as math or language or science.
Absolutely, if it allows a child to discover they have a talent, skill, or even just an interest in art-based activities.
It could lead to a child following an arts-oriented career later in life, so yes, it can be beneficial, sure, just like children being exposed to a range of other things when they are young.
Because they must learn a little about everything so that they can make choices later in life based on at least some experience or knowledge of a subject.
At least by trying something they can learn whether they like to or not – or are more interested in one particular subject than another, for example.
Well, as far as advantages are concerned, it’s the easiest way of taking a photo for most people, it’s instant, it’s easy to carry a phone in your pocket and it’s just a case of point and shoot, so anyone can do it anywhere, anytime, without any technical knowledge.
When it comes to disadvantages, I don’t really think there are any if we’re talking about just taking everyday photos – but obviously, if you want a photo taken for professional purposes then the quality of a photo taken by a mobile phone probably won’t be sufficient.
Normally, professional photographs are taken by professional photographers using professional photography equipment. They have a lot more technical knowledge and take into account aspects of lighting and composition much more than a normal person simply snapping a selfie or other photo would ever consider.