Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking

tion; could you ask it again please? 
I’m sorry I missed that one; could you repeat it please? 
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188 
As a rule, if this happens two or three times in Part One, there will be no problem. If it 
happens more than 4 times, then the examiner will reduce your fluency score (usually by 
one point, i.e. 5 will be reduced to 4). 
In Part Two, it is unlikely that you will need the examiner to repeat anything because 
the examiner doesn’t actually say much. However, if there is a word on the topic card that 
you don’t understand , then the examiner is allowed to quickly explain that word to you 
(usually by replacing it with an easier word or giving an example). You can avoid this 
problem by checking all the topic cards featured in this book. 
In Part Three the rules are less strict. The examiner will explain vocabulary, change 
the wording of questions or simplify the questions whenever necessary. This shouldn’t 
happen very often because when Part Three begins the examiner should have a very clear 
idea of your language level and he/she will ask the questions in a way in which you should 
be able to understand quite easily. 
4.5. Example interview scripts 
The following pages give a clear picture of what a complete interview looks like. 
Remember that your interview might be slightly different to these because the number 
of questions asked will depend on the length of your answers. 
This section is only intended to give you a full picture of what the whole interview 
looks like on paper. For the first example there are suggestions of what type of answer 
structure to use. 
Interview 1 
Good afternoon, my name is Can you tell me your full name please? 
OK, can I see your ID card please? 
In this first part I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself. So first of all let’s 
talk about where you live. Do you live in a house or a flat?(Simple direct answer) 
Tell me the good things about your house of flat(Use Part One ―Liking‖ structure) 
Is there anything you don’t like about it?(Use Part One ―Disliking‖ structure) 
Do you think you will move to another area in the future?( Use Part One ―Would‖ 
structure) 
Now let’s move on to talking about reading. Do you like reading?(Use Part One 
―Liking‖ structure) 
How often do you read?(Use Part One ―It depends‖ structure) 
Where do you normally read?(Use Part One ―It depends‖ structure) 
What types of books are popular in your country nowadays?(Use Part One ―Types 
of‖ structure) 
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189 
Let’s talk about music now. What types of music do you like listening to? (Why) (Use 
a mix of Part One ―Types of‖ and ―Liking‖ structures) 
How much time do you spend listening to music?(Use Part one ―It depends‖ structure) 
Where do you usually listen to music?(Use Part One ―It depends‖ structure) 
OK, now I’m going to give you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two 
minutes. Before you talk you’ll have one to two minutes to think about what you are going 
to say and you can make some notes if you wish, do you understand? 
I’d like you to describe the type of clothes you like wearing.(One minute preparation) 
OK, so remember you have one to two minutes for this so don’t worry if I stop you. 
I’ll tell you when the time is upCan you start speaking now please? 
Topic Card 
Describe the type of clothes you like wearing. 
You should say: 
What kind of clothes you usually like to wear 
Why you like these clothes 
Where you buy them 
 Whether these clothes are popular in your country 
OK, we’ve been talking about clothes that you wear and now I’d like to discuss with 
you one or two more general questions related to this. So first of all let’s consider clothes 
and fashion. Do men and women have different ideas about fashion? ( Use Part Three 
―Comparing‖ structure) 
Why do teenagers like to follow fashion? ( Use Part Three ―Why‖ structure) 
What are the disadvantages of following fashion? ( Use Part Three ―Disadvantages‖ 
structure) 
OK, now let’s move on to talk about uniforms. Why do some companies prefer their 
staff to wear uniforms? ( Use Part Three ―Why‖ structure) 
Interview 2 
Good afternoon, my name is... Can you tell me your full name please? 
OK, can I see your ID card please? 
In this first part I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself. So first of all let’s 
talk about where you live. Tell me about the area that you live in. 
What do you like about the area? 
Is there anything you don’t like about the area? 
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190 
Do you think you will continue to live in this place for a long time? 
Now let’s move on to talk about films. How often do you watch films? 
What type of films do you like watching? 
Do you prefer watching films alone or with someone else? 
Is it better watching films at home or in the cinema? 
Let’s talk about birthdays now. Do you usually spend your birthday with your friends 
or with your family? 
What do children generally do on their birthdays in China? 
Are birthdays important? 
What is the most important birthday or age which is celebrated in China? 
OK, now I’m going to give you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two 
minutes. Before you talk you’ll have one to two minutes to think about what you are going 
to say and you can make some notes if you wish, do you understand? 
I’d like you to describe some help which you received in the past. (One minute 
preparation) 
OK, so remember you have one to two minutes for this so don’t worry if I stop you. 
I’ll tell you when the time is up... Can you start speaking now please? 
Topic Card 
Describe the help which you received in the past. 
You should say: 
What type of help you received 
Who helped you 
Why you needed this help 
How you felt after you received this help. 
OK, we’ve been talking about the help that you received in the past and now I’d like 
to discuss with you one or two more general questions related to this. So first of all let’s 
consider different kinds of help. Generally, what kinds of help do people often need in their 
lives? 
Do you think, in general, society is helpful? 
Do you think people were more helpful in the past than they are nowadays? 
What kinds of help with people need in the future? 
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191 
Interview 3 
Good afternoon, my name is... Can you tell me your full name please? 
OK, can I see your ID card please? 
In this first part I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself. So first of all let’s 
talk about what you do. Do you work or are you a student? 
What are you studying? 
Why did you choose this college/ university? 
What’s good about where you’re studying? 
What would you like to do after your studies? 
Now let’s move on to talk about collecting things. Have you ever collected anything? 
What things do people collect in your country? 
Why do people collect in your country? 
Would you like to start collecting something new in the future? 
Now let’s talk about weather. What’s the weather like where you live? 
What do you do when the weather is bad? 
Whay type of weather do you like best? 
Would you like to have that type of weather all year round? 
OK, now I’m going to give you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two 
minutes. Before you talk you’ll have one to two minutes to think about what you are going 
to say and you can make some notes if you wish, do you understand? 
I’d like you to describe your childhood home. (One minute preparation) 
OK, so remember you have one to two minutes for this so don’t worry if I stop you. 
I’ll tell you when the time is up... Can you start speaking now please? 
Topic Card 
Describe your childhood home. 
You should say: 
Where this place is located 
What type of house it is 
How long you lived there 
What you liked about this place. 
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OK, we’ve been talking about your childhood home that and now I’d like to discuss 
with you one or two more general questions related to this. So first of all let’s consider 
different kinds of houses. Are houses nowadays different to houses in the past? 
What kinds of houses will be common in the future? 
What are the advantages of living in an old house? 
Why do some people like to move to a different house? 
4.6. Suggested, further reading 
Most book stories stock a wide variety of IELTS books of varying quality. 
If you have read this book, then you will have noticed that it is very language 
orientated and does not offer many ideas and content for topics and questions. As I have 
stated many times, content is really not very important in the speaking test; however, if you 
find it difficult to think of ideas and content, then there are a number of books which can 
help you. I would recommend that you combine the ideas and content of those books with 
the language structures presented throughout this book. 
Your best strategy for further improvement is to focus on two key aspects of the 
marking system: vocabulary and grammar. 
If you want to buy a vocabulary book, I would strongly recommend that you choose 
one that organises the words by topic. In this way you can study the topics that are IELTS- 
related and ignore those which do not appear in the test. A good example is: English 
Vocabulary Organiser by Chris Gough (available in China). 
In addition, I would suggest learning more idioms and phrasals verbs (especially if 
you want to score 7 or higher). 
In the same series as the above tittle: 
English Idioms organiser by Jonathan Wright available in China). 
Phrasal Verbs organiser by John Flower (available in China). 
To improve your overall grammer performance I would recommend the following two 
titles: 
English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (available in China); 
Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings (available in China).