IELTS Speaking practice

IELTS Speaking marking criteria

IELTS Speaking scores are calculated using 4 criteria:

1. Fluency and coherence (FC) = how clear and structured is your speech.
To increase score for FC:
○ connect your sentences by linking words and signpoints
○ extend your answers, add all the relevant details
○ speak smoothly and continuously
○ use pausing correctly
2. Lexical Resource (LR) = how good is your vocabulary.
To increase score for LR:
○ use a wide range of vocabulary
○ discuss different topics freely, using appropriate words
○ speak formally or semi-formally
○ choose words accurately
○ use idiomatic language
3. Pronunciation (P) = how naturally you sound.
To increase score for P:
○ pronounce words as clearly as possible
○ record your speech and work on the words that you spell incorrectly
○ stress words and sentences correctly
○ use correct intonations
○ try to be easily understood by the examiner
4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA) = how good is your grammar.
To increase score for GRA:
○ avoid grammatical mistakes
○ try to use more advanced grammatical structures (passive voice, direct speech,
different tenses and conditional sentences etc)

IELTS Speaking score calculation

Each of these criteria receives a score from 0 to 9 points. After that, an arithmetic mean is calculated to
determine the section's total score. For example, if your marks are: FC - 7, P - 8, LR - 7 and GR - 6,
your total score will be (7+8+7+6)/4 = 7

For example, if your marks are:

● Fluency and Cohesion: 7.5,

● Pronunciation: 7.0,
● Lexical Resource: 7.0,
● Grammatical Range and Accuracy - 7.5.

Then your total score for IELTS Speaking is (7.5+7.0+7.0+7.5)/4 =7.25, which will be
rounded to 7.5.
 IELTS speaking part 1

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 1 (Accommodation & Hometown)

1. Let’s talk about your hometown. Where is your hometown?

2. What do you like about it?

3. What do you not like about it?

4. How important is your hometown to you?

5. Do you think you will continue to live in your hometown?

6. Let’s move on to talk about accommodation. Tell me about the kind of accommodation

you live in?

7. Does the place you live in have many amenities?

8. Is there anything you would like to change about the place you live in?

9. Do you plan to live there for a long time?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 2 (Hometown & Weather)

1. What is your country famous for?

2. Where do you live in your country?

3. Is it a interesting place to live?

4. Are you planning to live there in the future?

5. How is the weather today?

6. What’s your favourite kind of weather?

7. Is there any type of weather you really don’t like?

8. What is the climate like in your country?

9. Does the weather affect people’s lives in your country?

10. Do people change in the summer?

11. Does bad weather ever affect transport in your country?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 3 (Work)

1. Do you have a job right now?

2. Do you enjoy your job?

3. What responsibilities do you have at work?

4. What is your typical day like at work?

5. What would you change about your job?

6. What job do you think you will be doing in five years?

7. What skills and qualifications are required for this job?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 4 (Volunteer Works)

1. Have you ever worked before?

2. What was your first day at work like?

3. What responsibilities did you have at work?

4. What was your typical day like at work?

5. Have you taken any volunteer works?

6. Why did you do the volunteer works?

7. Do you know any volunteers?

8. How do you define volunteer work?

 Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 5 (Hometown)

1. Can you tell me about your hometown?

2. How has your hometown changed over the years?

3. Is there any way your hometown could be made better?

4. Are there good transportation links to your hometown?

5. What kind of jobs do the people in your hometown do?

6. Do you have a lot of friends?

7. Who is your best friend and why?

8. Who would you most like to be friends with and why?

9. What kind of person can you make friends with easily?

10. Which is more important to you, friends or family?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 6 (High School & Hometown)

1. Where is your hometown?

2. How often do you visit your hometown?

3. How many people live in your hometown?

4. What is your hometown famous for?

5. What’s the oldest part of your hometown?

6. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?

7. What’s your favorite subject in high school?

8. Do you still remember what happened on your first day of high school?

9. Do you still keep in touch with your friends from high school?

10. Do you miss your life in high school?

 Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 7 (Lifestyle & Work)

1. What do you do in your free time?

2. Do you have a busy social life?

3. Do you lead an active life?

4. Has your life changed much in the last year?

5. What would you like to change about your lifestyle?

6. Do you work right now?

7. Do you get on well with your co-workers?

8. What responsibilities do you have at your work?

9. Are there good work opportunities in your home country?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 8 (Family & Housework)

1. How many people are there in your immediate family?

2. Who do you get on best within your family?

3. Do you have a large extended family?

4. What do you do together with your family?

5. Why is family important to you?

6. Do you do housework at home?

7. What kind of housework do you often do?

8. Did you do housework when you were a child?

9. Do you think that children should do housework?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 9 (Books & TV)

1. Do you like watching TV?

2. How often do you watch TV?

3. What kind of TV programmes do you like to watch?

4. What are the most popular TV shows in your country?

5. Has the internet affected your viewing habits?

6. How often do you read?

7. Do you like reading books? Why?

8. Do you have many books at home?

9. Do you prefer to buy books or borrow them?

10. What are the benefits of reading?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 10 (Home & TV)

1. Who do you live with?

2. What is your favourite room in your home?

3. How is your home decorated?

4. Do you like visitors coming to your home?

5. Do you like watching TV?

6. What is your favourite TV show now?

7. What was your favourite show when you were a child?

8. Do you like watching TV shows from other countries?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 11 (Accommodation & Weather)

1. Do you live in a house or a flat?

2. Is it a big place?

3. How long have you lived there?

4. What do you like about living there?

5. Is there a garden in the place you live in?

6. Do you prefer to hot weather or cold?

7. Tell me about the weather in your country in different times of the year?

8. Which time of the year did you enjoy the most when you were the child?

9. Do you (usually) pay attention to the weather forecasts?

10. Has the weather changed much in your country in recent years?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 12 (Advertisements & Books)

1. Do you like reading books? Why?

2. What book would you take on a long journey?

3. How easy is it for you to read books in English?

4. Have you given up reading a book recently?

5. What kind of people like reading and what kind of people don’t like reading very much?

6. Do you like watching advertisements?

7. Will you buy something because of an advertisement?

8. How do you feel when you see pop-up ads on the internet?

9. Do you like funny or serious advertisements?

10. What makes a good advertisement?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 13 (Celebrity & Computer)

1. Do you use computers?

2. What do you use a computer to do?

3. Did you use computers when you were little?

4. Do people often use computers these days?

5. Will people continue to use computers in the future?

6. Who is your favorite celebrity?

7. Do you like any foreign celebrities?

8. Would you want to be a celebrity in the future?

9. Do you think we should protect famous people’s privacy?

10. How do celebrities influence their fans in your country?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 14 (Movies & Music)

1. How often do you go to the cinema?

2. Are cinema tickets expensive in your country?

3. What are the advantages of seeing a film at the cinema?

4. Do you usually watch films alone or with others?

5. Which actor would you like to play you in a film?

6. How do you listen to music?

7. When do you listen to music?

8. What’s your favorite kind of music?

9. Is music an important subject at school in your country?

10. What kinds of music are (most) popular in your country?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 15 (Music & Newspaper And Magazine)

1. What’s your favorite kind of music?

2. Do you like to listen to live music?

3. Is live music popular in your country?

4. Have you ever been to a concert before? Or Have you ever been to a musical

performance?

5. Do you often read newspapers?

6. Do you prefer to read local news or international news?

7. Which is more popular where you live, newspapers or magazines?

8. Do many people today read newspapers?

9. In the future, do you think more people than today will read magazines, or fewer people?

10. Do you think newspapers will be very important to you in the future?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 16 (Music & Travel)

1. Where was the last place you visited on holiday?

2. Would you like to go back there again?

3. What kind of tourist destinations do you usually prefer?

4. Has a foreign visitor ever stayed at your home?

5. What’s the best way to save money while traveling?

6. How much time do you spend listening to music every day?

7. Are your music tastes varied?

8. What is your favorite song?

9. Do you like to sing along to your favorite songs?

10. Are you learning to play a musical instrument at the moment?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 19 (Internet & Major)

1. How important is the Internet to you?

2. Do you use the Internet more for work or in your free time?

3. Do you think you use the Internet too much?

4. How will the Internet develop in the future?

5. Are there any negative things about the Internet?

6. What is your major? Or what was your major?

7. Did you or do you like it?

8. Is it a popular subject at your university?

9. If you could change to another subject, what would it be?

10. Would you change it if you had the chance?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 20 (Internet & Outdoor Activities)

1. Do you like outdoor activities?

2. What outdoor sports do you like?

3. How much time do you spend outdoors every week?

4. What types of outdoor activities are popular in your country?

5. How often do you use the Internet?

6. Do you think you use the Internet too much?

7. What are your favourite websites?

8. What are the positive and negative things about the Internet?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 21 (Indoor Activities & Transportation)

1. Do you prefer public transportation or private transportation?

2. What’s the most popular means of transportation in your hometown?

3. Is it easy to catch a bus in your country?

4. Is driving to work popular in your country?

5. What do you think will become the most popular means of transportation in your

country?

6. Do you like indoor activities?

7. What indoor activities do you like?

8. How much time do you spend indoors every week?

9. What types of indoor activities are popular in your country?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 18 (Major & Sports)

1. Do you work or study?

2. What is your major? Or what was your major?

3. Why did you choose that major?

4. What is the most difficult part of studying that subject?

5. Do you plan to use the subject you are studying in the future?

6. Do you play any sports?

7. Do you watch sports on TV?

8. What is the most popular sport in your country?

9. How do people in your country stay fit?

10. Is it important for children to play sports?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 22 (Gift & Noise)

1. Do you mind noises?

2. What types of noise do you come across in your daily life?

3. Are there any sounds that you like?

4. Where can you hear loud noises?

5. Do you think there’s too much noise in modem society?

6. Are cities becoming noisier?

7. When do you send gifts?

8. When was the last time you received a gift?

9. Have you received a gift you didn’t like?

10. How do you feel when you receive a gift?

11. Do people in your country send gifts to show their generosity?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 23 (Patience & Politeness)

1. What do you think patience is?

2. Do you think patience is important?

3. Do you think you are an patient person?

4. Have you ever lost your patience?

5. Are you a polite person?

6. Who taught you to be polite?

7. Is it important to be polite?

8. What do you do if others are not polite to you?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 25 (Colors & Weather)

1. What’s the best season of the whole year?

2. What do people normally do in that season?

3. What’s the weather usually like in your country (or, your hometown)?

4. How is the weather here different from the weather in your home country?

5. What colors do you like?

6. What’s the most popular color in your country?

7. Do you like to wear dark or bright colors?

8. What’s the difference between men and women’s preference for colors?

9. Do colors affect your mood?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 27 (Food & Weather)

1. Do you have a healthy diet?

2. Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?

3. Do you like ordering food to be delivered?

4. Who do you get food delivered with?

5. Do you eat meals differently now compared to when you were little?

6. What sort of weather do you like the most?

7. Would you say the weather in your hometown is suitable for working (or studying)?

8. Would you like to move to a place with the different weather?

9. What season (or weather) do you think is most suitable for work and/or study?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 28 (Clothes & Photos)

1. What is your favourite item of clothing?

2. Are there any traditional clothes in your country?

3. Where do you usually purchase your clothes?

4. Have you ever bought clothes online?

5. Who do you usually take photos of?

6. How do you keep your photos?

7. Do you keep your photographs on your computer?

8. Have you framed any of your photos?

9. Do you prefer to send postcards to people or to send photos that you took yourself?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 29 (Art & Photography)

1. Do you like art?

2. Do you think art classes are necessary?

3. How do you think art classes affect children’s development?

4. What kind of paintings do people in your country like?

5. What benefits can you get from painting as a hobby?

6. Do you like to take photographs?

7. Do you prefer to take photos yourself or to have other people take photos?

8. How often do you take photographs?

9. Do you prefer to take pictures of people or of scenery?

10. Are there any photos on the walls of your home?

Ielts Speaking 1 Practice 31 (Bags & Boat)

1. Have you ever taken a ride on a boat?

2. Do you like traveling by boat?

3. What are the advantages of travelling by boat?

4. Do people in your country like to travel by boat?

5. Will it get more popular in the future?

6. Do you like bags?

7. What types of bags do you like?

8. Do you usually carry a bag (when you go out)?

9. What types of bags do you use in your everyday life?

10. What do you put in these bags?

11. What sorts of bags do women like to buy?