IELTS Speaking Task 1 Questions

You may have heard that the IELTS speaking interviewer uses a set of pre-determined questions on a topic to ask you for the first task.  Basically the interviewer will ask a series of questions about your background, but he or she is only able to ask you questions within that “frame”.

Yes, the frame or the examiner frame is true. Does this mean you can find out from other candidates who have previously taken the exams what the questions you will get in your exam? No, the use of frame does not mean that the interviewer will be asking the same set of questions to all candidates on the same day. 

IELTS Speaking Task 1 – Introduction and Interview

It is a certainty that you will be asked at least a few general questions about your background.  This does not mean you should memorize all possible answers regarding your background.  Sounding like the answers had been memorized will get a mark down.

Remember that all the questions you will be getting in this part of the speaking test are general questions about your background; the only hindrance in this part of the exam will be your willingness to talk about yourself, people and things related to you. Show some enthusiasm when answering questions and give even a little bit of detail when answering questions.

Keep Talking and Be Positive– IELTS Speaking Test

First impressions are very important, the speaking test will last a maximum of 15 minutes; you don’t have enough time to change a bad impression.  The first part of the speaking test is where the examiner will be asking personal questions about the candidate; when answering, be as informative, descriptive and positive as you can be.

Do not answer with a simple yes or no to a question and wait for the next one.  Try to be as helpful as you can by providing additional information; if your interviewer asks about your house, don’t just give the address and wait for the next question to come; describe the house, the color, the levels, rooms and bathrooms. Keep talking until the interviewer either stops you or ask a follow up question.

When describing anything or anyone, try to be as positive as you can be. Focus on the positive aspect of whatever it is you are trying to describe, tell your story in a more

IELTS Speaking Fears

Most people don’t see the IELTS speaking test as the hardest, but most would agree that it is the most terrifying of all the sub-test.  This fear may stem from the fear of the unknown; the most common concern I hear is that the interviewer could be extremely intimidating, even purposefully intimidating. 

Intimidate, a verb meaning to frighten into submission, compliance or acquiescence. It also means to fill with fear.  I see no reason for any examiner to deliberately intimidate any candidate; they get no added benefits whether the candidates pass or fail and thus give them no reason to intimidate.  If the candidate does feel fear towards the examiner, it means that the candidate is afraid of what has been imagined about the examiner. 

Since we established that there is no need to fear the examiner, we can proceed to relax and think about the actual IELTS Speaking test.  You should be prepared for the interview; here are some tips to consider when preparing for the IELTS Speaking test:

Earth Hour 2011

I know this isn’t about the IELTS, but it is about our planet.

Earth Hour 2011, one hour to make a difference and show we care about our planet and ourselves.
At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011

What to Wear for the IELTS Exam

There is no dress code for the IELTS exam; therefore you may wear anything you wish to wear to the IELTS exam as long as you are not naked or breaking any local laws.  Not having a dress code may let you wear anything you want; it doesn’t mean that you should just wear anything that pops into your head that morning.

There are a few things that you could consider first when deciding what to wear:

Not Finishing the Writing Task in Time – IELTS Writing Test

This is one of the most common questions I get about the IELTS writing test, after all it is a common concern and it is a good question to ask.  There are 3 ways to look at this concern; I just focus on one task (make sure it’s an extremely good piece of work) and not attempt the other task; I attempted both task 1 and 2, then end up not finishing both; I finish one task and not finish the other.

Although I would agree that the second task does have a heavier bearing on the total score, and scoring well on that task will certainly boost your total score; I will not advice devoting the whole hour to try and make sure that you will come up with “the best” task 2 that you can.

How to Improve Your Writing Skills – IELTS Writing

Based on my observation and from talking with our previous students, most find the IELTS writing test to be the hardest.   According to the students, the reason why they find the IELTS writing test difficult is because, they don’t write on a daily basis. 

I did some further digging; majority of our students were nurses, I asked if they had to write reports about their patients and what they did during their shifts.  Most admitted that they did write daily reports, but did not consider it as a writing practice.  I couldn’t blame them for not considering their daily report as practice for their IELTS writing test, as it turns out they could write their report with a mixture of English and our native language (Filipino/Tagalog),