IELTS Speaking Examples
IELTS Speaking Examples - 1
Describe a present you have given
someone.
You should say:
Who
you gave it to
What kind of present it was
How it compared to other presents you have given
What kind of present it was
How it compared to other presents you have given
Explain why you decided to give this
particular gift.
IELTS Speaking Examples - Model Answer
I’m going to talk about a present that I gave to someone.
The person that I gave it to was a very good friend of mine at the time. His name was Kaaliya
and he came from India. I knew him because we studied together at a language
school in Cambridge. Although we were from different backgrounds and cultures,
we got on really well and we had the same sense of humour so we became very
good friends.
The present was a picture that had been painted of the River Cam in Cambridge. It was
not so big - maybe around 10 inches by 14 inches, but it was very
beautiful. It came in a gold plated frame and the picture had been drawn
by a particularly well-known Cambridge artist. It had been signed by this
person as well.
It’s the first time I have given this person a present, and I
guess it’s quite different from presents that I have given to other
people before – I don’t recall ever giving someone a picture actually.
If I’m buying for family then I’ll usually buy clothes or maybe some jewelry if
it is a special occasion. Normally when I’ve bought something for friends it’s
something more jokey so we can have a laugh about it, nothing that serious.
The reason why I decided to give this particular gift is because we had spent a lot of time
together in Cambridge and we had had some really fun times punting on the River
Cam – that’s obviously why I thought this was an appropriate present. We
used to go punting at least once a week, sometimes a couple of times. On one
occasion there was a group of about ten of us that went down there, and we
spent the whole day sitting by the river in the sun and as usual we went on a
boat trip together. We all have a lot of photos to remind us of this
great day.
So my friend, Kaaliya, is the person that I gave a present to and
this was because I felt it would always remind him of the fun times that we had
and also of Cambridge.
IELTS Speaking Examples - 2
Describe an old person that you
know.
You should say:
What
your relationship is to this person
How often you see them
What people think about this person
How often you see them
What people think about this person
Explain
why you like them.
IELTS Speaking Examples - Model Answer
Ok, I’d like to tell you about an old person that I know.
His name is John, and he is the owner of a small convenience store
at the end of my street.
I would say that my relationship with him is as a friend. I know him because I
regularly go to the shop in order to buy things when I don’t have time to go to
a supermarket. He’s quite friendly and I always have a chat with him. I’ve
known him now for about five years - since I’ve lived in the area in fact.
That’s why I’d now call him a friend.
I’d say that I see him fairly regularly. Like I said, I go to the big supermarket out
of town sometimes to stock up, but you always need odd things during the week such
as milk, or some snack or other. So when this happens I just have a walk down
to his shop. So I’d say I see him every one or two days.
I think John is pretty popular as he’s been there for years as far as I’m aware, so most of
the locals around the area know him. There will always be someone in the shop
having a chat with him. They like him because he’s not just the shopkeeper but
he’s also very involved in activities in the community. For example, I know he
helps out at the old people’s home some nights, and he runs the quizzes at the
local pub. He also helps to organize the fete that is held each year in the
town.
The reason that I like him is that he’s great to have a chat with. For instance, a while
back I was having problems with my work, and I was really feeling stressed. I
didn’t really have anyone to talk to at the time as my family is abroad and a
couple of my good friends were not around. I mentioned it to John and he was
great. He listened and also gave me some really good advice. He didn’t need to
do that so it was great that he made the time to anyway. Generally, though,
he’s really welcoming when you go to his shop. He’ll always have a smile on his
face.
IELTS Speaking Examples - 3
Describe a happy childhood event.
You should say:
When it happened
Who was involved
How you felt at the time
Who was involved
How you felt at the time
Explain
why you remember this particular occasion.
IELTS Speaking Examples - Model Answer
I’m going to talk about a happy childhood event that I remember, and that event was
my 13th birthday.
It was 10 years ago now because I’m 23. My birthday is on the 7th May. What happened
was my parents surprised me on my birthday by telling me that they were going
to take me to a theme part that is a few hours from our house. I’d never been
before - it had only been open a few months and they knew that I really wanted
to go. As I recall it was a Saturday that we went. They didn’t tell me until
the morning when I woke up that day.
My whole family was involved in the event. I have a brother and a sister so of course
they came as well as my Mum and Dad, and not only that, we also picked up my
grandparents on the way so they could join us. They were too old to go on the
rides but it was still a great trip out for them!
The theme park was really amazing. There was a huge roller coaster
which I remember was really scary but still excellent fun. One particular thing
I remember is the ghost train. My younger sister was not allowed to go on the
ride because she was too young and she was really upset and jealous of me and
by brother! I think it was lucky she didn’t though. It was really realistic –
there were real people in there who were actually dressed up as ghosts and they
jumped out just when you weren’t expecting it – it made us jump so many times!
How I felt really depended on what I was doing. Obviously I was excited the whole day, but I
remember that I felt really exhilarated when I was on the rides such as the
roller coaster, and scared but still excited on the ghost train.
The reason that I remember it so well is that I had been so desperate to go to the
theme park and I’d been talking to my friends at school for ages about how I
wanted to go. So it was so great when I found out that I could. Also I remember
it so well because all of our family was together. My Dad was pretty busy most
of the time with his work so we didn’t always have much time to do things
together when I was a younger.
So for these reasons, is was a really special occasion that I’ll
never forget.
IELTS Speaking Examples - 4
Describe an environmental problem
that has occurred in your country.
You should say:
The
cause of the problem
What effect it has had on your country
The steps, if any, that have been taken to solve this
What effect it has had on your country
The steps, if any, that have been taken to solve this
Explain why you think this problem is so important to solve.
IELTS Speaking Examples - Model Answer
Ok, I'm going to talk about a problem with the
environment in my country.
One of the most serious problems at the moment is flooding. This is starting to happen every
year and each year it seems to get worse. I think it may be caused by a number
of factors. Firstly there has been a lot of deforestation in the north of the
country, a lot of it from illegal logging. Because of this, when it rains the
water has nothing to soak it up so it just runs down the mountains and into the
villages and towns. Another factor may be global warming. Scientists believe
that this is causing more severe weather so this may account for the increasing
amount of rain that we seem to be seeing. It also means the soil is more dry so
again the rain water runs off it rather than being soaked up.
Unfortunately, there have been really serious effects on my
country. As I said, the excess
water runs into the villages and the towns through the rivers and the rivers
then overflow causing massive flooding. This effects thousands of people who
then become homeless. Several hundred usually die each year as well. It travels
through the country as it starts in the north and goes down to the sea, so it
can affect many towns and the capital city too. This also has repercussions for
the government as they have to spend so much money managing the disaster each
year.
The government is trying to tackle the problem, but it is not easy. They are trying to stop so
much deforestation but a lot of the damage has already been done so what can
they do? They are also starting to build defences such as walls along some of
the major rivers that run through the town to try to stop them overflowing.
Another thing they are doing is trying to improve their response systems. In
most towns there is now a government organization responsible for coordinating
relief operations and making sure they are prepared in advance.
I think this problem is a top priority to solve because it has such devastating impacts. As I
mentioned before, it causes suffering for so many people and it is also a huge
expense for the government and as we are not a rich country we cannot afford
this. It means that other services suffer because of a lack of money. There are
other problems that my country has but I think that is by far the worst.
So, that is the serious problem in my country, and I only hope
that it does not continue to get worse.
