Typical IELTS Speaking Part One vocabulary, topics, questions, and tenses
Warmer Part One- Your Personal Past, Present or Future
Tell your partner one word about your past, present or future, e.g. “puppy” or “German”. They must then try to make a true sentence about that thing and you, e.g. “You had a puppy when you were younger” or “You want to study German”. Tell them if that sentence is true or false about you, then take turns doing the same.
Warmer Part Two- Typical IELTS Part One Vocabulary
Continue the game with the words below
| Street stalls | A dorm/ a dormitory | Near the sea | Main course |
| A shrine/ a temple | Bunk beds | Skyscrapers | Beer/ cider |
| Pray/ a prayer | A shared house/ student house | A large/ small/ medium-sized town | Starter |
| Good luck charms | Two storeys | A village | A diet |
| Traditional dances | Condo (=condominium) | The capital (city) | Your diet |
| Fireworks | A back yard (= a back garden) | In the countryside | English breakfast |
| Gifts | Suburbs | In the mountains | Supermarket |
| Processions | A bedsit | A river | Market |
| Grave/ graveyard/ cemetery | Open-plan | A lake | White tea/ coffee |
| Wrapping paper | A youth hostel | Green spaces | Dessert/ pudding/ sweet/ afters |
| Computer games | Younger sister (=little sister) | Graduation (ceremony) | Commute |
| Sci-fi (=science fiction) | An only child | Kindergarten | A season ticket |
| Cards (=card games) | Eldest brother | An office worker (clerk) | By coach |
| Horror | Schoolmates | Pupil/ student | On foot |
| Go shopping | Workmates (=colleagues) | Primary school/ elementary school | Student visa/ tourist visa |
| Do martial arts | Great grandfather | Secondary school/ junior high school | Travellers cheques |
| Play ball sports | Relatives | Translator/ interpreter | Backpacking |
| A collection | Nephew/ niece | Temporary job/ summer job | Package tour |
Write the vocabulary above in the right boxes below. More than one box may be possible
| Hometown | Accommodation |
| Festivals and celebrations | Family and friends |
| Hobbies, free time and interests | Work and studies |
| Food | Transport and travel |
Add at least three more words to each category, then continue playing the making sentences game with your new words.
IELTS Speaking Part One Questions
Decide each if question below is about your hometown (H), your accommodation (A), your friends and family (FF), your free time, hobbies and interests (FHI), work and studies (WS), festivals and celebrations (FC), food (FO) or transport and travel (TT):
What hobbies did you have when you were a child?
How has your hometown changed since you were a child?
What is your favourite food?
Is there anything you dislike about your job/ your studies?
Are there any new hobbies you would like to take up (= start)?
Have you visited many foreign countries?
What subjects did you like at school?
Do you have much time to do your hobbies?
Where are you living at the moment?
What are your plans after you take the IELTS test?
Where were you born?
Are you living in a house or a flat?
How do you think your town will change in the next 20 years?
What kind of town did you grow up in?
Did you get on well with your brothers and sisters when you were younger?
Would you like to start studying any other languages?
Do you have a large family?
How long have you been studying English?
When did you last meet up with your whole family?
How did you first become interested in your hobby?
What job would you like to do?
How long have you been living in the place you live now?
Is the transport system in your country nowadays better or worse than in the past?
Did you use to like different food when you were a child?
How often do you cook?
Are you going anywhere for your next holiday?
What kind of films (=movies) do you like?
How do you usually travel to school or work?
How do people celebrate birthdays in your country?
Are primary schools different nowadays from how they were when you were at school?
What kind of house would you like to live in?
When did you first go abroad?
Do you have any ambitions (= goals)?
When is the next festival in your country?
Go through the questions one more time and decide if each question below is about the past (P), the present (PR) or the future (F)
Exam-style IELTS Speaking Part One practice – about four minutes
Ask your partner questions about three of the topics above. For each topic, ask about the present and then about the past and/ or future.
| Examiner’s phrases for introducing the topics I’d like to start by asking you some questions about… Now I’d like you to talk about… Finally, can I ask you about…? |
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Related pages
Over 300 more pages of IELTS Speaking classroom materials available at https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/ielts-speaking/
