IELTS Speaking practice test

The following questions were asked in an IELTS speaking test held in Philippines.

Speaking part 1

Examiner: Do you work or study?

Candidate: I work. I work at a call centre in Pune.

Examiner: Do you like your job?

Candidate: Yes, I do. My job gives me an opportunity to interact with lots of people and find solutions to their problems. The only thing that I don’t like about my job is the odd hours. I work in shifts and sometimes I have to do night shifts.

Examiner: Do you find satisfaction at work?

Candidate: Yes. As a BPO employee, I sometimes have to deal with irate customers. I get tremendous satisfaction when I manage to resolve their problems and make them happy. I also get satisfaction when I reach my targets.

Examiner: Do you work better in the morning or afternoon? Why?

Candidate: I work better in the mornings than in the afternoons. Actually, I feel a bit lethargic in the afternoon. I am a morning person. I always feel fresh after I take a bath in the morning. Now that I work in shifts, my sleep patterns have changed. Still, mornings are the most productive hours for me.

Examiner: Can you dance?

Candidate: No, I don’t. I am terrible at dancing. I have always been bad at dancing. I can’t quite explain this inability because my brother dances really well. That said, it doesn’t bother me much.

Examiner: Can you name a few events when people in your country dance?

Candidate: People in my country dance at weddings and during important religious festivals like Navratri and Ganesh festival. As I don’t dance, I feel a little awkward while participating in these events.

Speaking part 3

Examiner: Do you like learning a new language?

Candidate: Yes, I enjoy learning new languages. Actually, I am always looking for opportunities to learn a new language. I already speak Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujarati. Although I don’t speak Sanskrit, I can understand it reasonably well. Right now I am learning Spanish. I have already joined some online forums for learners of Spanish.

Examiner: What are the benefits of learning a new language?

Candidate: Some of the most interesting people I have met in my life speak multiple languages. I have always felt that proficiency in more than one language makes a person more interesting. Perhaps the biggest benefit of learning a new language is that it gives us an opportunity to understand a new culture. Language skills also improve our job prospects.

Examiner: Is it better to start learning a foreign language as a child or an adult?

Candidate: Children learn a new language faster than adults. So, I think learning a new language as a child is a better idea. I learned all the languages that I speak as a child. Now when I learn to speak Spanish as an adult, I experience a lot of difficulty.

Examiner: Why do you think so?

Candidate: I am saying this from my own experience. I spent my childhood in Mumbai where we had neighbours from all over India. I learned to speak Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati before I turned five. I studied in an English medium school. Although English is a foreign language to me, I got introduced to it at a very young age and that helped me a lot. So, I feel that children are better at learning new languages.

Examiner: How can teachers help in learning a new language?

Candidate: Teachers need to be fluent in the language they teach. This is not always the case in my country. Many English language teachers lack proficiency in English. They understand grammar, but they can’t speak fluently. This needs to change. Language skills only improve with practice, so teachers should encourage students to converse in the language they learn.

Examiner: What do you think about children’s visits to other countries?

Candidate: I am in favour of this practice. It gives students an opportunity to understand foreign cultures. This will broaden their horizons and help them to become global citizens.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.

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