Take turns answering IELTS Speaking Part Three questions. You get one point for each function from below that you can say using different language from what anyone has said before. You don’t score a point for repeating phrases that you or someone else has said before, but even slightly different phrases are fine. You can only use each card once.
| Checking/ Clarifying | Checking/ Clarifying | (Dis)agreeing |
| (Dis)agreeing | Examples | Filling silence/ Pausing for thought |
| Filling silence/ Pausing for thought | Generalising | Importance |
| Logical arguments (cause and effect, etc) | Looking at both sides | Personal experience |
| Personal experience | Sources of knowledge | Strong opinions |
| Strong opinions | Weak opinions/ Hedging | Weak opinions/ Hedging |
| Checking/ Clarifying | Checking/ Clarifying | (Dis)agreeing |
| (Dis)agreeing | Examples | Filling silence/ Pausing for thought |
| Filling silence/ Pausing for thought | Generalising | Importance |
| Logical arguments (cause and effect, etc) | Looking at both sides | Personal experience |
| Personal experience | Sources of knowledge | Strong opinions |
| Strong opinions | Weak opinions/ Hedging | Weak opinions/ Hedging |
When your teacher stops you, brainstorm phrases for doing each thing above.
Compare phrases, then do the activity above twice more, then first time looking at the phrases to help if you like.
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IELTS Speaking Part Three question stems
from official IELTS tests
Make questions for each other with the questions stems below. Any topics are okay. If possible do it in exam format (one person asking the other questions for three or four minutes, then switch).
- Are people in your country generally interested in…?
- Are people in your country worried about …?
- Are there any negative effects of…?
- Are there times/ occasions when…?
- At what age do you think…?
- Can you compare… to…?
- Can you contrast… with…?
- Can you explain why…?
- Can you give some examples of…?
- Can you think of any bad effects of …? (On balance, do you think…?)
- Could you describe how people in your country…?
- Do you agree that…?
- Do you believe that people your age in your country…?
- Do you believe that… is a good idea?
- Do you think …is getting better or worse? (What makes you say that?)
- Do you think… is always a good thing?
- Do you think it’s okay for … to…? (Why do you have that opinion?)
- Do you think it’s possible (for…) to…?
- Do you think it’s good/ better/ best for… to… (or…)?
- Do you think it would be a good idea for… to…?
- Do you think it’s a good thing that…?
- Do you think that …is changing?
- Do you think that… is about right?
- Do you think that… will become more… (in the future)?
- Do you think that it’s better to… or…?
- Do you think… will… in the future?
- Do you think that the government should…?
- Do you think there are too many…?
- Do you think… should…?
- Do you think there is a danger that…?
- Do you think young people…?
- Do you think your government is doing enough to…? (Why do you think that?)
- How can… be encouraged to…?
- How easy is it to…?
- How has …changed over the last 50 years in your country?
- How has/ have… affected…?
- How important is/ are…, in your opinion?
- How is/ are… different from…?/ How does/ do… differ from…?
- How much do you think the government should get involved in…?
- How popular is/ are…in your country?
- How should…?
- In what ways do …benefit society?
- In what ways has/ have… changed (in the last… years)?
- Is… a problem where you live?
- Is … becoming…?
- Should… (or not)?
- Some people say that… Do you agree or disagree?
- To what extent are people influenced by…?
- What advice would you give someone who…?
- What are some of the ways…?
- What are the (dis)advantages (and…) of… (rather than…)?
- What are the main reasons why people…?/ What reasons might people have for…?/ Why do some people…?
- What are the most popular kinds of… in your country?
- What are your predictions for …in the next few years?
- What can be done to stop…, do you think?
- What can be done to…? (Do you think that is likely?)
- What could be the consequences of… be?
- What do you think …will be like in 50 years’ time?
- What do you think about …in your country?
- What do you think motivates… to…?
- What effects… have on…?
- What is the best way to…?
- What is the biggest …problem facing your country, do you think?
- What kind of influence can… have on…?
- What (possible) difficulties/ problems can people have…?
- What types of… do people in your country…?
- What would be the advantages of…?
- Who do you think should…?
- Who tends to…?
- Would you say that…?
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Related pages
IELTS Speaking Part Three page
Functions card games (TEFLtastic Classics Part 40)
Over 300 more pages of IELTS Speaking classroom materials available at https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/ielts-speaking/
