hi there it's Asiya with the latest selection of the most
challenging IELTS speaking part 1 topics reported in recent exams
here we hear sample answers and learn some useful vocabulary you can use to improve your answers
and I have an announcement to make now you can get all our sample answers and vocabulary
on a variety of challenging topics used in real IELTS speaking exams in one convenient
place our new IELTS speaking library you can become a member and for a small fee get all
these materials in PDF and more click join to see what's included and now let's get started [Music]
here is the first topic The Examiner says something like let's talk about writing by hand
writing that's something I hardly ever do do you let's look at four possible questions think about
what the examiner is really interested in why do they ask these questions number one do you
prefer to write by hand or type on a keyboard so the questions often start by encouraging you
to talk about personal preferences or habits do you prefer do you like do you often or usually
my answer is I would definitely say typing on a keyboard I find it much better to write that way
because it's easier to make changes and check over what I've written by scrolling up or down
and to be honest my handwriting is a mess and my spelling is not that good either so I love
this spelling check on Word and then there follows a question that goes into your past
asking you to talk about personal experiences some questions about the past start with did you
have you ever when what how where did you did you write a lot by hand when you were younger
well yeah of course at school we had to write everything by hand right up until the last couple
of years at high school where you could hand in some projects done on the computer in fact when we
were about 9 or 10 years old we had a teacher who tried to show us how to have beautiful handwriting
what's the word calligraphy that's it then the other two questions are often more speculative
they are asking for your general point of view or opinion about the future for example
is good handwriting important well that teacher mentioned thought so
I don't know I mean maybe in some jobs where you need to write clearly it's important a doctor
maybe but nobody can understand their handwriting on the other hand In some cultures Japan or China
for example writing by hand is like a form of art so I guess it all depends or the next question
do you think you will write by hand more or less in the future
personally I don't see myself writing much by hand in the future even short memos at work are
going to be through texting and in fact it will be the smartphone we'll be using even more than
a laptop or tablet to communicating writing ah and one thing I would like to use more is voice
dictation this this answer looks perfect for the examiner to ask why because it makes life
so much easier I downloaded the app all I have to do is speak and it tries the dog for you it
saves time and I believe I think better when I speak than when I write thinking about these
four answers your grammar will probably move from talking in the present in question one
to the Past in question two and then on to Future and conditional forms by the fourth question
there is a progression from the easier to the more difficult just as a speaking test itself becomes
more demanding as we go from part one to part two and part three what about vocabulary these answers
are about nine although for band 7 your language can be simpler your vocabulary should still
be Broad and buried and also show that you can handle some less common and idiomatic vocabulary
some examples here are the follow-up answer to question 4 where we see makes life so much
easier it writes the talk for you they may not appear so original but believe me the examiners
do take notice of the way you use these common phrases in context as for the other questions
yes there are some good words and phrases to use when we talk about handwriting and compare it to
using a keyboard such as scrolling or calligraphy to scroll is to move information on a computer or
smartphone screen to read it and calligraphy is the art of producing beautiful handwriting
for some special vocabulary associated with handwriting I thought you may use these words your
handwriting can be good or poor if it's almost impossible to read it's illegible make sure this
word can't be used to describe your IELTS writing answers and now let's look at another topic yes
let's talk about birthdays I'm going to present four questions do they follow a similar pattern
to the ones on handwriting moving from easier descriptive questions to more speculative ones
listen to my answers and think are these answers long enough too long too short question number one
what do you usually do on your birthday
I always try to celebrate with friends we go out to a restaurant or maybe I throw a party
in my flat if my birthday falls on the weekend and I don't have to go to work the next day or
and of course I call my parents and chat that live far away so I don't get to see them on their day
I'm describing my birthday habits with all the verbs in the present tense vocabulary
when you go to a restaurant you go out if you organize a party you throw a party
notice how you say that your birthday falls on a certain day instead of just is for example
great this year my birthday falls on a Saturday so I can have a big party without
worrying about getting up early the next day or the dream birthday that doesn't happen often
question number two what did you like about birthdays when you were a child the parties
it didn't matter if it was my birthday or someone else's there would always be a party with lots of
games and a cake and sometimes it would be outside like in a park yes past tense narrative but notice
how we use wood there would always be to mean something that happened regularly in the past
if we say there was always a party it's correct but it lacks the Precision of meaning
we get with would always be the structures repeated with sometimes it would be outside
we can use wood to talk about repeated past actions that don't happen anymore
question number three is it important for you to celebrate your birthday yes maybe because
of all those great childhood memories I mean it's just another day really but it's nice to have one
day in the year when you feel special perhaps when I get old I won't feel the same of course
examiners I like to hear you use collocations or common word combinations accurately
so notice childhood memories as well as expressions like it's just another day
next which birthdays are more important to celebrate in your country
in Kazakhstan when a boy or girl reaches the age of 18 it's very special
this is a kind of coming-of-age event where all the family and friends come together to celebrate
coming of age is when a person reaches the age at which they have an adult's legal rights and
responsibilities it may be 18 or 21. so were these answers long enough too long too short
I counted one minute 30 seconds is it good in part one The Examiner has a maximum of five
yes five minutes to check your ID and ask you a total of 11 questions on three topics
that's about one and a half minutes per topic exactly what do we have of course some answers
can be shorter some a bit longer generally give an open answer to each question but don't stress
your examiner by talking too much another topic names it may be easy for you or not if that's
not something you give much thought to question number one does your name have a special meaning
I know that Asia is the name of Arabic origin and it's said to mean caring one or
I really don't know in fact all I know is that my name Carolina is the female equivalent of Charles
but I have no idea if it means something special next who usually names babies in your country
sometimes it's a family tradition for example my eldest brother was named after our grandfather
on our father's side my granddad was the first son my brother too and they called the first son David
but I know some people who choose names simply because they like them
so someone can be named after a family member or a famous person who are you named after
and don't forget that your family has two sides you can talk about your mother's side of the
family and your father's side did your family have a nickname for you when you were a child yes and
they still call me by it it's just Lena because when I was small I couldn't say my whole name
Carolina so I would say Lina and everyone would love that's where it started many people have
nicknames we can also talk about having a pet name a name used to express great affection for someone
so maybe in this case it's a pet name the next question is would you like to change your name
actually I was considering changing my name when I moved to the UK and found out that
most people struggle to pronounce it but it's a big decision your name becomes a part of you
something you identify yourself with so closely eventually I decided against it again about one
and a half minutes for a set of questions and answers when you're practicing at home use a
timer to understand how much you should say aim for at least five minutes or a bit more the next
topic today is one where most of us would have plenty to say whether we like it or not cooking
how often do you cook quite a lot I live by myself and I like to eat well so I don't have much choice
I wouldn't say I was that good in the kitchen I mean more often than not I make something simple
like pasta or whatever but I get by we can see in effective views of good in the kitchen as a
synonym of a good cook here it's neither good or bad a get by means I survive I do all right here
is another option how often do you cook never I'm hopeless and luckily I don't need to because my
partner is a brilliant cook your partner is your husband or wife or a boyfriend girlfriend you live
with it's a more polite word to talk about your or someone else's half without going into detail
to be a good cook is to cook very well the next question is when you are a child did you help to
prepare meals yes my mother used to ask us to help set the table and help a beat in preparing salads
and stuff when we were quite young about six or seven that was my brother and me later on when
I was a teenager I used to do more my mother really enjoyed cooking so it was fun to help
remember that to set the table means to place the plates Cutlery dishes on the table you can
also say to lay the table question number three do you think children should be taught cookery
at school absolutely I've heard that years ago cooking classes at school were mandatory
at least for girls but these days that just doesn't happen it's so important that kids
learn practical things like how to cook and not just girls of course boys must learn as well
cookery it's in the question not the answer cookery means the art and practice of cooking
we can talk about cookery lessons or classes most of us use cooking more often and we see
that in the reply something is mandatory if it must be done because of a law or rule
the next question is is it important to know how to cook well it all depends on the individual
if someone enjoys cooking then yes why not the satisfaction and sense of achievement you can get
from cooking incredible meals must be fantastic as well as the pleasure it gives to other people
but I see it as something very personal not just something important for your role in society
for this topic it's probably a good idea to know what any special dishes in your culture
are called in English or at the very least you should know how to describe them shortly more
generally what helps most in the speaking test especially in part one perhaps it's
always be yourself be natural there is no need to try to impress The Examiner with big fancy
words or extra complex or formal sentences there is nothing better than showing that you know your
grammar that your vocabulary is straightforward but specialized when it needs to be
and if you'd like to get sample answers and vocabulary to prepare to a variety of more
challenging topics from real IELTS exams you can get our new IELTS speaking Library
if you become a member of this YouTube channel you'll be able to download it straight away
click join to learn more and now I have to go because I've been invited to a birthday party and
I promise to make a cake or was it a handwritten card and what was the name of the birthday girl
oh dear thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye