Speaking Practice Part 1
Food
In the IELTS speaking test, you will be face to face with the examiner. The examiner will ask you a series of questions that you must respond to. The test is broken up into three parts. Part 1 consists of 12 questions based around 3 different topics and this part of the test will last for no more than 5 minutes. Your answers to these questions should be short but should also contain enough detail and language to show off your English language skills. I recommend you aim for 3-4 sentences per question response.
To help you to prepare for this part of the test, I recommend using the audio recording below. Play the recording and pause it after each question. Give your answer (remember to aim for 3-4 good sentences!) and then press play to proceed to the next question. Alternatively, you could ask a family member or friend to ask you the questions – this will give you good experience of having to give your answers face to face.
TOP TIP #1
One good method to check if you are giving enough detail in your answers is to use a timer on your phone or watch to time the length of this part of the test. The whole of part one (12 questions) should fill approximately 5 minutes. So, for these 4 questions, you should aim to speak for around 1 minute 40 seconds. Start the timer when I begin asking the first question and stop the timer once you have finished answering the final question. If the timer shows a time less than 1 minute 30 seconds, you need to work on giving longer answers. If the time shows a time over 2 minutes, then you will need to work on giving slightly more concise answers.
TOP TIP #2
Another good way to improve your speaking ability is to record yourself giving your answers. Listen back to it at the end of the test and consider these questions:
- Did you answer the question?
- Were your answers grammatically correct?
- Did you use a good range of vocabulary?
- Did you speak clearly?
- Did you use correct intonation when talking?
Play the audio recording, start your timer and answer the questions. After the test, you may wish to have a look at the model answers written out below.
Audio Clip
Listen to the audio file by clicking on the play button:
Questions
- What is your favourite food?
- What food do you dislike?
- What food is popular in your country?
- Do you think you have a healthy diet?
MODEL ANSWERS
- What is your favourite food?
My favourite food is probably pizza. I like pizza because it is a combination of two foods I really enjoy eating, which are bread and cheese. My favourite flavour of pizza is hawaiian. Not everybody likes that flavour as some people think putting fruit on savoury dishes is wrong, but I think it is delicious!
- What food do you dislike?
I am very fortunate in that I enjoy eating most foods. However, the one food that I really hate is olives. I find the taste very overpowering. A few years ago, I bought a loaf of ciabatta bread and heated it up in the oven. I was so excited to eat it but, when I bit into it, I realised it contained small pieces of olives so I had to throw it away!
- What food is popular in your country?
I live in Hong Kong so Chinese food is very popular here. Dishes such as peking duck and sweet and sour can be found very easily in the city. However, I particularly enjoy Chinese dim sum. It consists of foods such as dumplings and BBQ pork buns that are both crispy and sweet. They really melt in your mouth!
- Do you think you have a healthy diet?
Overall, my diet is quite healthy. I try to eat a balanced mix of protein, carbohydrates and dairy every day. Like most people, I do have my bad days but I try to make it up by being even healthier the following day. I like to keep fit and do exercise so living a healthy lifestyle is important to me.