IELTS Training: Speaking

Speaking

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 1

PART 1 - Introduction
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Q. Tell me about the most important festival in your country.
A.  The most important festive in my country would be the Eid. A majority of our population are Muslims and this is why the Eid is the most celebrated and most important festival in our country.
Q. What special food and activities are connected with this festival?
A.  During the Eid Mubarak in Indonesia, people cook and eat Ketupat and Rendang, which are served with spices and fried chicken. Among the activities, people go to Pray in the morning, visits relatives and friends, wear new dresses and embrace each other to great people and cooks delicious foods to celebrate this day in a special way.
Q. What do you most enjoy about it?
A.  What I enjoy most about the festive is that I could see people spend sometimes with their big families once in a year. They would pray and dine in together, and it feels great to see that. People are usually busy at their colleges or office and during the Eid, they get a long vacation and meet the people they care. I also like the way small kids celebrate this special day. They seem to be so happy and contented and all of them wear new dresses and that gives me immense pleasures.
Q. Do you think festivals are important for a country? Why?
A.  Yes, I do believe that festivals are important because they could represent the identity of a country. And then festivals could also attract tourists and would boost the tourism industry sector. Working class people need vacations and the festivals are great ways to refresh the tiredness of people that they feel from the monotonous daily routines. The important festivals also bring people together and eliminate the classifications we have in our society.
PART 2 - Cue Card

Describe a film or a TV programme which has made a strong impression on you.

You should say:
  • what kind of film or TV programme it was, e.g. comedy
  • when you saw the film or TV programme
  • what the film or TV programme was about
 and explain why this film or TV programme made such an impression on you.
You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish. ]
PART 3 - Detailed Discussion
Discussion topics:

People’s cinema-going habits nowadays
Q. Do you think the cinema has increased or decreased in popularity in recent years?
A.  I believe that the popularity of cinema has increased in the past few years. It can be seen from the number of Movie theatres that have been build in many big cities. It means that the demand of cinema has increased and more business people are investing on the building the cinema halls. Apart from that, more television channels are showing movies daily and the numbers of movie viewers are increasing day by day. The globalisation and easy access to foreign films made it possible for people to watch movies that were produced and released on the other side of the planet.
Q. In your opinion, will this trend continue into the future?
A. Yes, I do believe that it will grow more in the future. It is because that we are living in the modern world where we have more opportunity to view the various genres of movies from different countries.  The working hours have become longer and the works are more stressful these days. This means that people need more entertainment to loosen their tense, and one of them is by going to the cinema. Movies are becoming more popular among the teenagers and because of the variety of movies people would go to watch movies more.

Making a film or TV drama of real/ fictional events
Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of making films of real-life events?
A. The advantages of making films based on a real-life event are that we could learn many things from such films. For example, when we make a film based on a true story of World War 1 or 2, we can learn about the cruelties of war, therefore we should avoid any kind of wars and support the world peace. The real event movies are more important in terms of underlining story, lesson, historical figures and facts. This type of film reveals the past among us and creates a lasting impression on the viewers.
However, among the drawbacks of such films, we can say that it is not easy to produce such movies that would be based on true facts and entertaining at the same time. Producers often need to put extra emphasis on choosing casts, costumes and locations to make such movies. Such films might be biased sometimes and would spark a flame of criticisms. Then there is a chance that it won’t be able to attract all types of movie viewers and that the box office hits of such movies are often uncertain.
Q. How important do you think it is for a filmmaker to remain true to the original story?
A. Well, I think it depends on how the director wants to convey the message of the film. If his purpose is to show history, then I believe that it should stick to the original story. Meanwhile, if the aim of the films is for popularity or entertainment, then the director could develop the story.
Sometimes many books are converted to films and in such cases, the filmmakers often change the dialogues and story of the original one. If the story is a fictitious one, I think the filmmakers should change a bit to make the movie more attractive. However, if the story is based on a prominent historical event or person, then they should remain as much authentic and true as possible to the original event or character.
Censorship and the freedom of the film-maker/TV producer
Q. Should films and television be censored or should we be free to choose what we see?
A. In my opinion, I think films and TV programmes should be censored since they might contain some inappropriate scenes which could be embarrassing for the whole family. The amount of violence, blood-scene, drug abuse and slangs used on TV programmes and movies should also be censored as it might not be appropriate for people of all ages. 
Many films show adults or violence scenes these days, and they should be censored, since it could have negative effects on people, especially on the children’s imagination.
Q. How do you think censorship laws will change in the next 20 years?
A. Well, even though I support censorship, but I think it will be loosen in the future because people would be able to access films from many sources including the internet these days. For example, children will be able to download films in their tablet PCs and watch films that they like. Therefore it is important for us to monitor our children’s gadget these days, to ensure that they watch appropriate films.
The trends of movie censorship reveal the fact that movies are not censored as strictly as the used to be in the past. The freedom of creative arts will also be a dominating factor for the loose censorship of movies.

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 2

PART 1 - Introduction:
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]

Visitors:
Q. What would you suggest a visitor should see and do in your country?
A. I am from Singapore and my country is not only famous for high-end shopping malls, fine dining and luxury hotels but also it has a vibrant history and diverse ethnic quarters, lovely public places and many tourist attractions. For a visitor, I would suggest Marina Bay Sands, Chinatown, Changi Chapel and Museum, Sentosa Island and Singapore Flyer. Those are already very famous tourist spots in our country and a visitor would definitely enjoy the lovely sights and attractive landscapes there. If the visitor loves shopping, Singapore is the place to be.
The rich collection antiques, local products, electronic gadgets and other necessary things make the Singapore shopping malls hot favourite among visiting tourists. Dining is another great experience a tourist can have from here and the museums and botanical gardens would be exquisite places for any tourists to explore and learn about true Asian traditions and customs.
Q. Are there any traditional arts or music you would recommend?
A. We have comparatively young history and we went through a rapid modernization and due to this genuine art, cultural heritage and music are not as diverse as it should have been. However, in terms of rich ethnic markup without any doubt, we have the best Western-style performing arts such as opera or ballet as well as plenty of indigenous Malay, Indian and Chinese arts.
Each of the ethnic group here maintains their traditional music, art and artistic heritage. We have vibrant art galleries and exhibition works across the country.
There is no better place than Singapore Art Museum to get a thorough grounding in Singaporean visual art. Singapore Symphony Orchestra at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay is a place I would recommend highly. Apart from these Mosaic Music festivals, Singapore Dance Theatre, Indian Bhaskar Academy of Arts some other recommended places to get a thorough glimpse of our traditional art and music.
Q. Tell me about the kind of foreign visitors or tourists who go to your country.
A. Tourism in Singapore is very famous and it is indeed a major industry to our economy and GDP. We get more than double tourists each year than our own population. A majority of the tourists who visit Singapore come from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Australia and India. Other countries from where a significant number of tourists visit Singapore each year are the Philippines, Japan, the UK, Thailand and the United States.
The visiting tourists come from different age groups and among them 20-40 years old could be seen more frequently. Some tourists come to enjoy their holidays, some come for shopping and business needs and some of them are adventure seekers and explorer.
Q. In what ways has tourism changed your country?
A. Tourism is one of the most significant contributors to our economy. The numbers of tourists come here is much higher than our own population. Because of the substantial growth in tourism in Singapore, both seasonal and full-time job opportunity has increased. Cross-cultural and intercultural communications have developed and many extensive infrastructural developments have been done by the Government. For example, the creation of SembCorp NEWater plant has been established in Singapore which is one of the world's largest water recycling facilities now. Because of the tourists from different countries, our own heritage has been greatly enriched and it has become a lively place.

Among the negative impacts, I would say air pollution has increased from all the carbon emissions from planes and land transport. Some loss of authenticity of culture and traditions was obvious.
PART 2 - Cue Card

Describe a memorable event in your life.

You should say:
  •   when the event took place
  •   where the event took place
  •   what happened exactly
and explain why this event was memorable for you.
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

PART 3 - Detailed Discussion
The role of ceremony in our lives:
Q. How important are ceremonies in our lives?
A. Ceremonies are our expressions of joy, passion, devotion and bonding. We celebrate through the different ceremonies we have in our life. Some ceremonies have religious, patriotic, cultural and traditional significance. They are filled with ritual and it helps us to acknowledge the true meaning of our life and presence.
Many ceremonies strengthen our family and social bonding. We celebrate to welcome a newborn into this world, to cherish our memory, to congratulate someone; in graduation, marriage and anniversary ceremonies. Many ceremonies show that we care, and we are true friends; which simply help to heal the wound.
Ceremonies motivate us, inspire us and refresh us to work in new spirit and some ceremonies let us forget our woes and depression. Some ceremonies like New Year Eve, Christmas, Eid are celebrated worldwide and remind us who we are, what course of actions define us.  Finally, ceremonies can bring enemies together to forget their hostility and gives us excellent opportunity to know new people and make friends.

Q. Do you see the role of private and public ceremonies changing in the future?
A. I think I have already observed some changes in the role of both private and public ceremonies in our life. That’s why I believe that the ceremonies, as well as their roles in our personal and social life, would also change in the future. For example, some ceremonies are not as widely celebrates as we used to do it in the past. Many public ceremonies have political relation and that would surely be changed.
In terms of the role of private ceremonies-- their role would change in terms of their influence on our personal and social life. Since people in a different era have different doctrine and way of living, the role of private festivals thus changes over time. The public ceremonies changes based on a country’s economic and political situations, so do their roles in our lives.

Attitudes to marriage in your country:
Q. Have attitudes to marriage changed in recent years?
A. Yes, in my opinion, that has changed a lot. While arranged marriage was the norm in past decade, people no longer follow this trend nowadays. The average age of marriage for both male and female is around 25 years, while it was far less than that just in last decade. Parents in older generations prepared their daughters to get married to established men. This attitude has changed and they are now making sure that their daughters have their own identity and establishment before getting married.
While the number of single fathers or single mothers in our country was very few, this has increased nowadays and seems like this is because of the increased divorce rate.

Q. In what ways do men and women feel differently about marriage, in your opinion?
A. I think the basic feelings of marriage would be same for both men and women. This includes the excitement, some anxiety, dream, hope, uncertain new lifestyle, responsibilities etc.
But it’s also true that in our society marriage means a bonding between a man and woman and in a traditional arrangement the bride would leave her house and start living in the groom’s house. From this context, the girl’s feeling would be different from the boy. The boy would be responsible for earning the money and that’s something the bride would not feel anxious about.
Events of national/global significance:

Q. What sort of national events make headlines in your country?
A. Any big political movement, a success or failure by our national sports team, a natural disaster, a new law, any brutal crime, national festivals or misconduct by any renowned politician would usually make headlines in our newspapers.
Any big success by our scientists, engineers, researchers would also make headlines. Sometimes news editors pick some interesting and comical events to presents at the headlines of their newspapers as well.

Q. Does the media in your country pay more attention to global or national events?
A. We have more than 100 daily newspapers and more than 20 TV channels that mainly focus on our nationals events. But that does not mean that they ignore the important global events to be reported. In fact, they make a good balance of national and international news and events. Some programs and sections of newspapers are dedicated for national events while others are for international news and events. I would say that would be a 60, 40 rations in terms of national and international news and events in our media.


IELTS Speaking Mock Test# 3

PART 1 - Introduction
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/ her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]

Daily Routine
Q. What would you like to change in your daily routine?
A• I would like to wake up early in the morning. I usually wake up at around 9.00 am and that’s mainly because I am late to go to bed and I would like this one aspect to be changed from my current daily routine.
Q. Are all your days the same?
A• Not really. For me, a day-off is quite different than the busy working day in every perspective. Apart from that different circumstances and events make the days different from each other. While Sunday is a day to spend time with my family members and to meet friends and play with them in the evening, I have a tight schedule at the university and work on Monday.  
Q. Tell me about your typical weekday and your typical weekend.
A•  In a typical weekday I have to wake up a bit early and revise my university lessons and then I rush to the university campus to attend the lecture. At around 2.00 pm I eat my lunch in the cafeteria and spent the whole evening in the library. After I return home at around 7.00 pm I spent my time in my study room and have my dinner with my family members. I watch a news channel for an hour and then get back to my room. I read a storybook for a while and at around 1.00 am I go to bed.
On the contrary, in a typical weekend, I wake up late and take my breakfast in the TV room while surfing the TV channels. I go shopping with my father at around 12.00 and eat my lunch with my family members. I either take a nap or play computer games in the noon and in the evening I meet my friends. At night I watch a movie and take my dinner late than usual. I surf the internet and watch TV sometimes at night.
Q. What is the balance of work/ study and free time in your normal day?
A•  In a typical weekday, I have to put more emphasis on my study, classes and assignment. But that does not make me totally busy not to have my very personal time at all. Amid of a busy day, I find my times. For instance, after I wake up in the morning, I meet my parents and spent few times with them. In my way to my university, I read story books or magazines. During the break of my classes, I gossip with my classmates and sometimes I meet my friends on my way back to home. I help my mum on some household works at night and I make time to watch TV, browse the internet and read novels. So I would say my daily routine is kind of balanced and I am contented with that.
PART 2- Cue CardTopic:

Describe something you own which is very important to you.

You should say:
  • where you got it from
  • how long you have had it
  • what you use it for
and explain why it is so important to you.
PART 3 - Detailed Discussion
Discussion topics:
How values can change
Q. What kind of possessions show status in your country?
A• Well, in our country a large house, expensive and latest car, latest electronic gadgets are often considered to be the possessions of high status. Apart from that, a top position in a well-known company and exposure to media are two other things that people often consider as symbols of high status.
Q. Do you think it was different for your grandparents?
A• I think it was not much different. The electronic gadgets would be the latest additions, though. During my grandparent’s era, the symbols of status were land ownership, political influence, big houses, and expensive cars - which were quite similar as they are today. I guess the so-called status symbols are quite materialistic in our society and that’s why it was not much different from my grandparents as well.

The consumer society
Q. Modern society is often called ‘materialistic’. Why do you think this is?
A• This is mainly because of our inclination to worldly success and competition to possess more than we need. The globalisation has also affected our mentality to possess more and more than ever before. We compete with others and put too much concern about our status. The old ways of traditional life and values have declined alarmingly among the societies and we are following the trend without giving much consideration. The decline of family bonding and patriotism are also making us more materialistic. We feel proud to own a luxury car, latest cell phone and powerful parents while we think very less about the people who are suffering from daily basic needs. This mentality is like a virus and competition among us is also making it worse.
Q. Do you think consumerism is a positive or a negative development?
A• The concept of consumerism causes a materialistic belief that the more materials acquired by an individual the better, implying an increased value placed on material possessions. In my opinion, this is a negative development. While millions of people are starving every day, others are changing their mobile phone and car every few months. The waste disposal has already become a huge issue and the increased usage of electronic devices are increasing the world temperature which is dangerous for the world. The consumerism also makes people more materialistic and thus they forget the traditions and values of their society.

The consumer market
Q. What is the role of advertising?
A• The true role of advertising is to promote a product or service among the potential consumers and customers. Advertising is particularly important to establish the brand reputation in the market and to allure people to purchase a product or to enlist to a service offered. Advertisement from non-profit organisations and the government often aim to create awareness on important issues among people.


Q. How do you think the Internet will affect buying patterns in the future?
A• The Internet has already established its supremacy in the consumer market and a lot of people nowadays purchase products or services online. The e-commerce is booming and it is not far away when people would absolutely rely on online shopping than the conventional marketplace. The e-commerce websites are ever increasing and people no longer needs to go to a shopping mall to purchase the products s/he needs. The advancement in internet technology will capture a major share of all trades and shopping done by consumers in the near future.



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